Belle de boskoop Mince Pies

Belle de boskoop mince pie

Merry Christmas to all of my wonderful readers out there. I’d like to wish you a happy and healthy holiday season, and also share a great seasonal treat with you; mince pie. This recipe came to mind when I started cleaning the pantry and the refrigerator to get them organized for 2013. When I saw these sad looking Belle de boskoop apples that I had purchased at the UBC apple festival last October, I knew I could turn them into something magical that evoked the best elements of a  white Christmas.

As goboroot literally goes back to its roots in the next few weeks during my trip abroad, I’m hoping to report foodie or may not so foodie scenes in the land of Japan. So stay tuned! xoxo

Belledeboskoop mince pie

Belle de boskoop mince pie

Belle de boskoop mince pie

Warm holiday wishes

Belle de boskoop Mince Pies

Makes 8 x 2½ inch muffin tin

Filling (start a day before serving)

2 Belle de boskoop apples, cut into ¼ inch pieces

1/3 cup raisins

1/3 cup shredded coconut

2 tablespoons cane sugar

2 teaspoons maple syrup

1 tablespoon brandy based vanilla extract (or regular vanilla extract)

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

Pie dough

150g butter, softened

¾ cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

¼ cup lightly packed, ground and blanched almonds

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg, room temperature and lightly beaten

1¾ cups all-purpose flour

Extra butter for greasing the tin

Extra flour for dusting the tin and rolling the dough

1 egg yolk + 1 tablespoon water for brushing the tops of the pies

Extra confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Make the filling by combining all the ingredients well. Let stand overnight in the refrigerator.

Next day. Grease the pan with butter and dust lightly with flour. Keep in the refrigerator.

Make the dough. Place the butter in a food processor and beat until creamy. Add the sugar, almonds, salt, vanilla and egg, and continue to beat until well incorporated.

Scrape down the side of the wall as necessary. Add the flour in a few installments. Continue to beat until the dough comes together to form a ball.

Separate the dough in two portions. Flour the working surface and flatten the dough into disks. Wrap with a piece of Saran wrap separately, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Take out the filling from the refrigerator and stir well. Preheat the oven to 350F.

Flour the work surface well and roll one of the disks into 1/8 inch thickness with a rolling pin, keeping the other disk in the refrigerator.

Cut out 8 X 3 ½ inch circles. Fit the circles into the muffin tin.

Roll another disk into 1/8 inch thickness on the floured work surface. Cut out 8 X 2 ½ inch circles. Fill the muffin tin with the mince filling, press the circles and seal. Using water makes it easy to stick the bottom and top dough pieces together. Make slits on the top of the pies.

Combine egg yolk and water to make an egg wash. Brush plenty on top of the pies.

Bake until the sides of the pies become golden brown, for about 30 minutes.

Dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve.

Pie dough adapted from Desserts by Pierre Hermé

 

Beet & Chocolate Muffins

beet & chocolate muffins

Whether or not you are a beet lover, if you are looking for the way to someone’s heart, try these red muffins. They are fun to make, and even better the naturally intense colour of these muffins makes them an attractive as well as nutritious treat!

beet & chocolate muffins

The idea of perfecting this recipe came after I gently nagged a local chocolatier, my farmer’s market friend, demanding that he create beet flavoured chocolate to accompany their unique kale, tomato and other vegetable flavours. He explained that any additional flavouring added to chocolate making has to be strong and distinctive enough to overcome the taste of chocolate.

cooked beets

Since it didn’t seem like the chocolatier was inclined to try this experiment, I decided to create my own concoction. Since beet has an earthy, subtle taste, after a couple of trials with grape seed oil and/or brown sugar and/or whole wheat, I have settled on a mixture of butter, cane sugar and white flour that gingerly brings out the earthy flavour of the beet. A chocolate piece is then inserted inside the muffins, and the slightly roasted coconut flakes placed over top helps create the perfect match in your watering mouth. The dream team of my imagination finally came true!

beet & chocolate muffins

beet & chocolate muffins

Beet & Chocolate Muffins

Makes 8 muffins

1 cup cooked beets (about 3 large beets), cooled and finely shredded

100g butter, room temperature

140g cane sugar (fine texture)

2 eggs, room temperature, slightly beaten

200g unbleached white flour

¼ teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons baking powder

2 tablespoons milk, room temperature

8 pieces of dark chocolate

Shredded coconut flakes

Preheat the oven to 350F. Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder.

Cream the butter in a large bowl and add the sugar in a couple of instalments. Continue to stir until pale and fluffy.

Add the eggs 1 at a time and continue to stir until combined. Add the beets and mix well.

Add half the amount of flour mixture and stir until mixed, then add the rest and gently fold with a spatula in a circular motion. Do not stir too much.

Divide the batter into prepared muffin cups in a tin. Insert one piece of chocolate inside each muffin. Sprinkle with coconut flakes on top. Bake until done, about 25 minutes.

Transfer the muffins to a rack and let cool.

 

Plum Upside-Down Cakes + Grand Marnier Ice Cream

plum upside-down cake

Has your long awaited dream come true recently? One of mine just did with the sweet and juicy fragrance of Japanese plums wafting all over our house and garden. The name of the plum tree “Beauty” somehow coincides as if celebrating a realization of my will. I have kept a twelve-year-old fine COOKING magazine, the September issue to be exact, that features two pastry chefs in a challenge to improvise a plum dessert using a limited number of ingredients. From there, one recipe particularly grabbed my heart so much that I was determined to plant my own plum tree(s) in a future garden and bake this recipe with the very fruits from the tree. I have baked this recipe a number of times but now that I can finally harvest my own hard-earned fruits, I can report that it was a splendor well worth waiting for! You undoubtedly have your own dreams. Let them come true by maintaining a strong will, desire and a little patience.

Japanese plums "Beauty"plums and flowers in the gardenplum pickingplums and a dog

Plum Upside-Down Cakes

The recipe calls for smallish plums that are ripe but firm. I used my Japanese “Beauty” plums, and they worked wonderfully with their nice balance of sweetness and acidity to accompany a big dab of Grand Marnier ice cream.

Makes eight 8-oz ramekins

10 oz. (2½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

Extra butter for greasing the ramekins

¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar

6 medium-size red plums, pitted and sliced 1/8 inch thick

½ cup plus 1 tablespoon milk

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

6 oz. (1½ cups) cake flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼  teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

Grated zest of 1 orange

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Butter the ramekins. Heat the oven to 350F.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine 6 oz. (1½ sticks) of butter with the brown sugar, whisking until smooth and combined. It’s okay if you still have sugar granules.

Immediately pour into the bottoms of the buttered ramekins, dividing evenly. Arrange a layer of plum slices in each ramekin, overlapping them slightly, using smaller slices to fill any gaps.

In a small bowl, combine the milk and lemon juice. The mixture will curdle and that is okay.

In another bowl sift together the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

Cream the remaining 4 oz. (1 stick) of butter with the sugar and orange zest in a mixer. Add the eggs and vanilla, and mix to combine.

Alternately add the dry ingredients and the milk mixture, mixing just to combine.

Divide the batter among the ramekins. Arrange the ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until the cakes are firm to the touch and the juices are bubbling, 35 to 40 minutes, rotating the sheet midway through baking to ensure even cooking.

Let cool on a rack until warm. Run a paring knife around the inside edge of each ramekin, invert onto a plate, and gently lift it off the cake. Top each cake with a scoop of Grand Marnier ice cream (recipe below).

*If you’ve baked the cakes ahead, heat the oven to 350F, set the ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet and heat until just warmed, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Adapted from Karen Barker’s recipe from fine COOKING.

 

Grand Marnier Ice Cream

This dessert is a perfect way to chill out during hot summer afternoons. It also happens to be a perfect match for the Plum Upside-Down Cakes.

Makes about 1L

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

2 cups whipping cream

2 cups whole milk

¼ cup to ½ cup Grand Marnier

Beat the eggs and milk together in a large saucepan. Add sugar and cook over low heat, whisking constantly until thickened, about 15 to 20 minutes. This is the time to dream about your future. Instead of yesterday’s thoughts, let’s imagine and dream, not necessarily about a plum tree but whatever suits your fancy; and of course, don’t forget to keep whisking! The mixture should smoothly coat the back of a spoon.

Strain into a large bowl and cool. Then, add the cream and Grand Marnier starting from a small portion. Taste it and adjust the amount of liquor.

Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Churn the mixture according to the manufacturer’s instructions. You can transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and store in a freezer to encourage further solidification.

See more ice cream recipe here.