Plum Tart with Cinnamon Cream

This is the recipe for the plum tart I mentioned in my last blog. It is an old traditional recipe from the area I grew up in. Not much has changed in this recipe for the past few generations. My grandma used to make it. It is one of the 1^st food memories I have.

It is a tart that is usually baked in the late summer when the plums are getting ripe. Ideal is to use dark ripe plums fresh from the tree. I actually called up my mother to double check with her if I got the recipe right. She was very amused when I did this but happily reconfirmed her recipe to me.

Unfortunately plums here in India are not as sweet as the ones that grow in my parents garden. This is why I added up a bit of sugar and cinnamon to the cream.

Traditionally this tart is served when it is still a bit warm with a big spoon of fresh unsweetened whipped cream on the side. It reminds me of my childhood when my Mom made it on Sunday afternoons. We would sit on the terrace or in the garden and indulge in a cake feast. This tart never lasted long and to be honest not much has changed since than. We still fight over the last piece of cake or the last spoon of cream whenever this is served.

For the short crust I take 250g flour, 2 leveled teaspoons baking powder, 50g custard sugar, 150 g very cold butter cut in dices and 60g egg. I put it all in a bowl and quickly mix it with my hands until I have a smooth dough. This dough I chill for about 1 hour in the fridge.

In the meantime I take 1-1,2kg ripe plums, cut them in halves and remove the seed.

I pre-heat the oven to 180°C and grease a 26cm tart form.

To roll out the dough I sprinkle some flour on the kitchen counter surface. I take the dough out of the fridge and pat it flat with my hands. With a rolling pin I roll the dough until it is round in shape and about 4mm thick. With the help of 2 spatulas I move the dough into the tart form. I cut off ans dough that is overlapping from the form. This will later go on top of the plums, similar to a crumble topping. The plums are put in circles into the tart form. On top of it I sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of sugar-cinnamon mix and add the left over dough in small pieces. The tart needs about 25-30 minutes in the oven.

For the cinnamon cream I take 200g fresh cream and whip it until it just starts to set. Now I add 1 tablespoon of sugar-cinnamon mix and whip it just to mix. The cream should not yet form peaks.

Cut the tart in generous pieces and serve it with the cinnamon cream on top or on the side.

You can make this tart also with apples or pears. You can also sprinkle some slivered almonds over it.

Enjoy and have fun in the kitchen!

Love

Carola

Mango-Cointreau Cake

I admire the cake artists who have the talent to turn every piece of cake into a piece of art by decorating it with colourful frosting, marzipan and fondant. It is a talent I don't have. And I love looking at these cakes.

But on the other hand I must confess that I prefer my cakes more natural. I don't like using food colour or artificial flavours. I also don't like it if cakes are coated with enormous amounts of sugar or butter cream. For me that ruins the taste of the cake. All I taste is sugar.

If I decorate a cake I either give it a rather thin layer of plain chocolate or ganache or just a simple frosting or glaze. For me the less coating there is the better. And when it comes to cream fillings I also like them to be packed with flavour rather than sugar. That doesn't mean that I don't like pastries, gateau or cream tarts. I just don't like the artificial sugary stuff.

There needs to be a balance between the flavours in a cake. One of the worst things for me are these death by chocolate cakes which have a sweet chocolate cake filled with chocolate butter cream and than drowned in chocolate sauce. Truly death by chocolate as the overdose of it kills it all.

I rather have a strong chocolate flavour balanced with some fruit or spice. And as much as I love desserts, cakes and sweets I don't like them too sweet.

Take for example a Sachertorte. It is a classic and the apricot jam used as a filling gives it the perfect balance with the chocolate cake and coating.

The same goes for fruity cakes and pastries. For me the filling of a key lime pie or lemon meringue must be nice lemony sour to balance the sweetness of the meringue that covers it.

But than this is purely my personal taste. The other day for example I made a fresh plum tart (recipe will follow). As the plums were a bit sour I simply served it with a slightly sweetened cinnamon cream on the side to balance it out.

Just before the mango season ends I have another recipe that has that sweet-sour balance. It is a Mango-Cointreau cake. There is a lot of fresh orange juice in the dough so it is not very sweet but than you also have lots of chunks of fresh sweet mango baked into it.

                          Fresh out of the oven... not even put on a serving plate

To start with I pre-heat my oven to 180°C.

For the 24cm rose flower baking dish shown in the picture I take 180g egg and beat it with 120g sugar until I have a fluffy whitish coloured mass. In a bowl I mix 150ml freshly squeezed orange juice with 110ml vegetable oil and 40g yoghurt. If you have a problem with lactose you can replace the yoghurt with vegetable oil. In another bowl I mix 225g flour with 10g baking powder. I slowly add the liquid mixture to the egg mixture and mix it until it is well blend. Now I add the flour to it and mix it just enough to get a smooth dough. Make sure you are not over mixing it.

After pouring the dough into the greased baking dish I put about 300g of fresh diced mango on top of it.

I bake it at 180°C for about 60 minutes. While the dough is rising the mango chunk will sink into the cake.

After I removed the cake from the oven I pour 4 tablespoons of Cointreau over the cake while it is still on the baking dish. Now I let it cool for about an hour. Than I take it out of the baking mould and pour another 4 tablespoons of Cointreau over the other side of the cake. Let it cool down completely.

I like the cake just like this as the different shades intensify the flower effect. If you like to decorate it further I suggest a simple sugar icing with 250g icing sugar and 2-3 tablespoons orange juice. If you like a stronger Cointreau flavour replace 1 tablespoon of the orange juice with Cointreau.

Enjoy and have fun in the kitchen!

Love

Carola

Chilli Con Carne

Recently a friend of mine was invited to a wedding. The bride and groom asked all their friends to send them a recipe which reminds them of a special moment with the particular friend. In the end they put it together into a nice personal cookbook. I think this is a wonderful idea.

My friends dilemma was that the recipe she wanted to send was not something she cooked, it was something I cooked for her on her birthday last year. Chilli Con Carne. So she called me up to get the recipe. I was more than happy to give it to her as it also reminds me of great times we spent together.

I got this recipe from my Mexican neighbour almost 20 years ago when I was living near Pittsburgh. At this time I also learned that the secret to a good Chilli con carne is to cook it with beer. The beer takes away the burning from the chillies. As a result you have a nice spicy Chilli without the burning sensation in your mouth. It really works even though I never found any scientific proof for it.

This makes it a truly international recipe as it is from a Mexican living in the US, given by a German living in India to my friend living in Turkey who sent it to the happy couple in Germany.

This is a dish that takes time because the longer it is cooked the better it tastes. And the more often it is reheated the better it takes.

For 6 portions I take 250g red beans and soak them overnight in water. If you have less time you can take 2 cans of canned red beans, drained and rinsed.

The next morning I cut a large onion, about 100g, into diced. In a large pot I heat 3-4 tablespoons vegetable oil. I add the onions along with 5 gloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped and 500g beef tenderloin cut into 2cm cubes. Fry it until the meat is brown on all sides. Now I add a teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, 2 teaspoons chilli powder, I like to use kashmiri chilli powder but you can use what ever chilli powder you like, and either 4 fresh red chillies or 5-6 dried red chillies cut in halves. I stir this well to temper the chilli. But be careful that it does not get burned.

To this mixture I add 400ml tomato paste, 500g fresh tomatoes, peeled and diced and the soaked beans. After stirring it well I add 500ml of beer. Any regular beer is fine. Do not use strong or dark beer. At this point if you like to you can add some sweet corn kennels to the Chilli.

I cover the pot with a lit, reduce the heat to a minimum and let the Chilli cook for a minimum of 2 hours. I check on it in regular intervals to give it a stir and add up more beer if necessary. If you use canned beans add them after 1 ½ hours of cooking as they otherwise will be overcooked.

After 2 hours I check the taste of the Chilli. If necessary I add up some more spice. This is also the time to add up salt to the Chilli. I let it cook for another 15-30 minutes.

While the Chilli is still on the stove I pre-heat my grill. I take about half a baguette and cut it in thin slices. In a small pot I melt 50g butter. With a bakers brush I brush both sides of the baguette slices with the melted butter and roast it under the grill until both sides are golden brown and crisp.

Most of the times I cook chilli con carne for a buffet at a party. It is so easy to serve. Just put the pot on the buffet, some roasted baguette or tortilla chips in a basket and a bowl of sour cream on the side and everyone helps them selves.

To serve it in a more formal way I pour the chilli into individual bowls. These I place on a big plate along with a small bowl of sour cream and some roasted baguette or tortilla chips on the side.

Enjoy and have fun in the kitchen!

Love

Carola