0 BLACKBERRY LOVE

Blackberry Pie Bars
Blackberry Tart

0 WEEKEND CAT BLOGGING #223

This week, Breadchick and LB at "The Sour Dough" (USA) are happy to announce that they are hosting Weekend Cat Blogging #223...

To submit your kitty picture(s), you can either leave a message in their blog's comment section (with your permalinks) or contact them via e-mail without forgetting to give all the needed information.

You can't look at a sleeping cat and be tense.
~ Jane Pauley ~

0 ANNECY, FRANCE - PART III

0 CHESTNUT & CINNAMON PRUNE TART

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, one of my favorite harvest time fruits has to be "Italian Plums" (or as we call it here "Zwetschge", "Quetsche" or "Prune"). I can never get enough of this wonderfully fragrant stonefruit...

Every week, since the day that this Swiss fruit was made available on market stalls, I buy kilos of prunes and eat them in all the possible ways. I've baked tarts, crumbles, cobblers, clafoutis, bars, cakes and made compotes as well as jams, you name it!

This marvelous fruits has such a pretty color as well as delicate aromas and is so delightful for the palate that it is impossible not to fall in love with it at first sight and taste!

So, the other day when I was contemplating baking something autumn-like with my fresh little violet gems, I came up with a great idea. I thought it would be great to pair those fruits with chestnut spread from Ardèche and cinnamon. I was sure that combo would be quite original and totally divine. I wasn't wrong.

My creation proved to be totally blissful, ambrosial and terribly enjoyable. The tart disappeared very fast and each forkful was followed by "mmmmhhhs" and "aaahhhs" of pleasure!

Try it, you'll adopt it!

~ Chestnut & Cinnamon Prune Tart ~
Recipe by Rosa @ Rosa's Yummy Yums 2009.

Makes one 22cm tart.

Ingredients for the "Shortcrust Pastry":
250g Plain white flour
110g Unsalted butter, very cold and cut into small cubes
15g Lard (see remarks), cut into small cubes
1 1/3 Tsp salt
1 Tsp Sugar
About 60-100ml icy water or enough to bind the mixture
Ingredients for the "Chestnut Filling":
250g Chestnut spread (Crème de marrons de l'Ardèche)
2 Tsps Cornstarch
2 Tsps Kirsch or Prune brandy
Ingredients for the "Prune Filling":
15 Fresh prunes, pitted, halved and slit halfway through the middle
3-4 Tbs Light brown sugar
3/4 Tsp Ground cinnamon

Method for the "Shortcrust Pastry":
1. Sift the flour, sugar and salt into a medium-sized bowl/bassin.
2. Add butter and the lard. Rub between the fingers until the mixture is flaky.
3. Pour in water, gradually, while continuously cutting and stirring with a knife (stop adding water when the dough is stiff/it should not be sticky or wet). Gather up into a soft ball.
4. Dust your working area and rolling pin with flour and shape the pastry by rolling away from you and always turning the pastry around in order to achieve a round shape.
5. Place it in the tart pan and trim the edges.
6. Prick the bottom with a fork.
Method for the "Chestnut Filling":
7. Preheat the oven to 210° C (410° F).
8. Mix together the chestnut spread, cornstarch and alcohol.
9. Spread evenly the pastry bottom.
10. Place the prunes in a neat way.
11. Sprinkle with the light brown sugar and cinnamon.
12. Bake in preheated oven for 50-60 minutes, or until the sides of the pastry are pale golden and the fruits are cooked through.
13. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.

Remarks:
Lard is solid pork fat. You can replace it by the oil of your choice or margarine which also make the crust nice and crispy/flaky.
Always lift the flour out of the bowl while rubbing; it makes the butter/flour mixture airy.
Be careful not to add too much water as the pastry should not be stick to the touch.
While mixing the water to the flour/butter mixture never work the pastry like a bread dough, otherwise you would end up with a stiff, hard and elastic pastry, because you would have liberated the gluten in the flour.
You will have a little bit of pastry leftover. Use it as you wish.

Serving suggestions:
This tart is delicious when eaten with either a scoop of homemade ice cream (vanilla, pistachio, caramel, walnut, etc..) or a dollop whipped cream.
You can also sprinkle some almond praline over it.

***************

~ Tarte A La Crème De Marron, Cannelle Et Prunes ~
Recette par Rosa @ Rosa's Yummy Yums 2009.

Pour une tarte de 22 cm.

Ingrédients pour la "Pâte Brisée":
250g de Farine blanche/fleur
110g de Beurre non-salé, coupé en petit dés
15g de Saindoux (voir remarques), coupé en petits dés
1 1/3 CC de Sel
1 CC de Sucre cristallisé
Environ 60-100ml d'eau très froide ou assez afin que la pâte forme une boule
Ingrédients pour la "Garniture A La Crème De Marron":
250g de Crème de marron d'Ardèche
2 CC de Maizena
2 CC de Kirsch ou eau de vie de prunes
Ingrédients pour la "Garniture Aux Prunes":
15 Prunes, coupées en deux, puis fondues par le milieu
3-4 CS de Sucre brun clair
1 CC de Cannelle en poudre

Méthode pour la "Pâte Brisée":
1. Tamiser la farine, le sucre et le sel dans un bol moyen.
2. Ajouter le beurre et le saindoux. Frotter la farine et le beurre/saindoux entre les doigts afin d'obtenir un mélange qui ait la texture sabloneuse.
3. Verser l'eau, graduellement, tout en mélangeant bien (n'ajoutez plus d'eau quand la pâte aura atteint la bonne consistance/ni trop mouillée, ni trop collante). Former une boule.
4. Fariner votre rouleau à pâtisserie et votre plan de travail. Etalez la pâte avec un rouleau à pâtisserie (du milieu jusqu'à l'extérieur) afin d'obtenir une forme ronde.
5. Posez la pâte sur votre moule et découpez l'excédent de pâte.
6. Piquez la pâte avec une fourchette.
Méthode pour la "Garniture A La Crème De Marron":
7. Préchauffer le four à 210° C (410° F).
8. Mélanger ensemble la crème de marron, la maïzena et l'eau de vie.
9. Etaler ce mélange sur le fond.
10. Placer les prunes sur la garniture à la crème de marron.
11. Saupoudrer avec le sucre brun clair et la cannelle.
12. Cuire dans le four préchauffé pendant environ 50-60 minutes, ou jusqu'à ce que les rebords de la pâte soient légèrement dorés et que les prunes soient cuites à point.
13. Laisser reffroidir sur une grille.

Remarques:
Le saindoux est de la graisse de porc (solidifiée). Vous pouvez le remplacer par de l'huile ou de la margarine qui rendent aussi la pâte croustillante.
Soulevez toujours la farine lorsque vous la frottez avec le beurre/saindoux: ça apporte de l'air au mélange.
Faites bien attention de ne pas ajouter trop d'eau à votre pâte. Elle ne doit pas être collante.
Pendant que vous mélangez l'eau au mélange farine/beurre/saindoux, ne la travaillez pas telle une pâte à pain, autrement votre pâte sera dure, élastique et pas manipulable du tout car vous aurez libéré le gluten contenu dans la farine.
Vous obtiendrez un reste/surplus de pâte. A vous de l'utiliser à votre guise.

Idées de présentation:
Cette tarte est délicieuse lorsque qu'elle est accompagnée d'une boule de glace maison (vanille, pistache, caramel, noix de Grenoble, etc..) ou de crème chantilly.
Vous pouvez aussi la saupoudrer de pralin aux amandes.

0 WEEKEND CAT BLOGGING #222

This week, Miz Mog and Kitties at "Mind of Mog" (USA) are happy to announce that they are hosting Weekend Cat Blogging #222...

To submit your kitty picture(s), you can either leave a message in their blog's comment section (with your permalinks) or contact them via e-mail without forgetting to give all the needed information.

"The phrase "domestic cat" is an oxymoron.
~ George Will ~

0 ANNECY, FRANCE - PART II

0 LEMON & ROSE CHEESECAKE BARS

Barbara at the great "Winos And Foodies" blog is a very kind, courageous and strong woman from Australia who has kicked cancer in it's butt and celebrated it with other bloggers in July. And man, we are all so relieved that she finished her chemo treatment!

Every year, Barbara is organises an event called "A Taste Of Yellow" in order to support LiveSTRONG Day . This time it will occur on the 2nd of October 2009 in order to coincide with the date Lance Armstrong was diagnosed with cancer 10 years ago..

She is asking all (food)bloggers to take part in the round-up by making a dish that should contain some yellow (banana, cheese, saffron, etc...). Closing day is September the 13th 2009, but I guess that if you ask her politely, she will accept your recipe even if you send it two or three days later (Email your entries to her at atasteofyellowATgmailDOTcom)...

Although you might find the subject a little redundant, today I will be presenting yet another "Cookie Bar" recipe...

I'm awfully sorry for always blogging about this Anglo-Saxon and for sounding like a scratched CD, but "Slices" are like the Holy Grail to me. I can't help baking them on a regular basis as as they are so scrumptious, easy to make and versatile. I just cannot go through a month without testing a new "Square" recipe.

As I had quite a few cartons cream cheese in my fridge (bought on sale) and since I had been craving cheesecake lately, I thought that I could make "Cheesecake Bars". So, I went on the net looking for recipes and I came across Martha Stewart's delicious "Lemon Cheesecake Squares".

This basic recipe is great as it can be played around with to suit individual cravings of the moment and one can customize it to his'/her's liking. That's exactly what I wanted to do.

I didn't have any Graham Crackers at home, so I used Lotus Caramelised Biscuits from Belgium. I ommited the lemon juice as well as the lemon zest. Instead, I flavored my cream cheese filling with lemon extract, vanilla and ground dried rosebuds. Luckily, that combination worked fine and my "Lemon & Rose Cheesecake Bars" were delightful.

The cookie base is deliciously caramelly, slightly salty and crunchy, and the cream cheese filling is delicately fragrant and creamy-textured. Those bars are fabulous, especially if served with a not-too-sweet seasonal "Cinnamon Prune Compote".

A dessert item that is extremely irresistible and so toothsome!

~ Lemon & Rose Cheesecake Bars ~
Recipe by Martha Stewart and adpted by Rosa @ Rosa's Yummy Yums.

Makes 16 squares.

Ingredients for the "Crust":
1 1/4 Cups (145g) Lotus caramel cookies (or Graham Crackers), finely powdered
2 Tbs (30g) Castor sugar
3 Tbs (45g) Unsalted butter, melted
1 Pinch Sea salt
Ingredients for the "Filling":
480g (2x 8 oz) Cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 Cup (158g) Castor sugar
1/2 Tbs Flour
1 Pinch Sea salt
2 Large eggs, at room temperature
2 Dried rosebuds, powdered in a mortar
1/2 Tsp Pure vanilla extract
2-3 Drops Lemon extract

Method for the "Crust":
1. Preheat oven to 170° C (325° F).
2. Butter a 22 X 22cm (8-inch) square baking pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
3. In a food processor, blend cookies/crackers with sugar and salt until finely ground. Add the melted butter and pulse until moistened.
4. Transfer crumb mixture to prepared pan, and pat in gently.
5. Bake until beginning to brown, 10 to 12 minutes.
6. Let cool on a rack.
Method for the "Filling":
7. Place cream cheese in food processor and blend until smooth and creamy.
8. Add sugar, flour, salt, eggs, rosebud powder, vanilla, lemon extract and blend until smooth.
9. Pour mixture onto hot crust in pan and smooth the top.
10. Bake until set (filling should jiggle only slightly when pan is gently shaken), 30 to 35 minutes.
11. Cool completely in pan.
12. Cover very loosely with plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 12 hours.

Remarks:
The longer the cheesecake squares are chilled, the better, so don't be hasty.
Keep them in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Serving suggestions:
Serve with a cinnamon prune/plum compote.

****************

~ Carrés De Cheesecake Au Citron Et A La Rose ~
Recette de Martha Stewart, adaptée par Rosa @ Rosa's Yummy Yums.

Pour 16 carrés.

Ingrédients pour la "Croute":
1 1/4 Cups (145g) de Biscuits Lotus au caramel (ou de Graham Crackers), réduits en poudre
2 CS (30g) de Sucre cristallisé
3 CS (45g) de Beurre non-salé, fondu
1 Pincée de Sel de mer
Ingrédients pour la "Garniture":
480g de Cream cheese, à température ambiante
158g de Sucre cristallisé
1/2 CS (7.5g) de Farine
1 Pincée de Sel de mer
2 Gros oeufs, à température ambiante
2 Boutons de rose, réduits en poudre (dans un mortier)
1/2 CC d'Extrait de vanille pure
2-3 Gouttes d'extrait de citron

Méthode pour la "Croûte":
1. Préchauffer le four à 170° C (325° F).
2. Beurrer un moule de 22 X 22 cm et recouvrir le fond de papier sulfurisé.
3. Passer les biscuits/crackers avec le le sucre et le sel au mixer, puis ajouter le beurre et pulser jusqu'à ce que le tout soit bien humide.
4. Mettre ce mélange dans le moule et applatir avec les doigts.
5. Cuire pendant 10 à 12 minutes.
6. Laisser refroidir sur une grille.
Méthode pour la "Garniture":
7. Mettre le cream cheese dans un batteur électrique et mixer afin qu'il devienne crémeux.
8. Ajouter le sucre, la farine, le sel, les oeufs, la poudre de boutons de rose, la vanille et l'extrait de citron, puis mixer jusqu'à ce que le tout soit homogène.

9. Verser ce méalnge sur la croûte et lisser.
10. Cuire 30 à 35 minutes, jusqu'à ce que la garniture soit figée (la garniture devrait légèrement trembloter quand le moule est secoué).
11. Faire refroidir (dans le moule).
12. Couvrir avec un film alimentaire et mettre au frigo au moins 12 heures.

Remarques:
Plus vous laisser ces carrés au frigo, plus ils seront meilleurs, alors ne soyez pas trop pressés.
Ils se gardent jusqu'à 5 jours au frigo.

Idées de présentation:
Servez ces carrés avec une compote de questches aromatisée à la cannelle et à la vanille.