Pastries

Quick & Easy Jam Fritters

Sep 1, 2010 By Cheri in Fall, Kids, Pastries, Sweets 10 Comments Tags: doughnuts, filled, fritters, fry, jam

I know that technically it”s still summer but it”s really beginning to feel a lot like fall here and I”m more then ready. Over the last week I have begun to feel a lot better and the cold crisp air is breathing new life into me. I”m ready for a new season and a new start in this pregnancy. Bring on the cravings! :)

Doughnuts are something that my family loves. My mother-in-law makes one mean glazed doughnut and I love it! My problem is finding time to make the dough, roll it out, cut it out and deep fry it. They”re definitely worth the effort but I”m hard pressed to find the time with an antsy two year old.

That”s why these jam filled fritters make me a happy woman. You simply whip up a tasty muffin batter, drop it into hot oil, pipe it full of strawberry jam and dust it in icing sugar. Bliss. I”m already thinking of different ways to fry up this spice infused batter. I think some chopped apples would turn these into some pretty fine apple fritters.

These would be a great way to end the first week of school. You can have the fritters all ready for when the kids come home, then they can help fill them with jam and dust them in icing sugar. I”m sure they won”t complain and few will probably disappear on their way to the serving tray.

Quick & Easy Jam Fritters

adapted from Sugar

1 1/2 cups milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups sugar

2/3 cup canola oil

2 eggs

3 1/2 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

canola oil, for deep frying

1/2 cup jam

icing sugar, for dusting

Make batter: Mix together milk, vanilla, sugar, oil and eggs. Set aside. In a separate bowl sift together flour, baking powder, nutmeg, salt and cinnamon. Stir into milk mixture.

To Fry: Heat oil to 350ºF or until water spits when a small drop is added to the oil. Drop the batter by tablespoon amounts into the hot oil and fry until golden and cooked through, flipping halfway through cooking time. Remove from pot and drain on paper towels.

To Fill: Using a skewer or toothpick poke a hole in the side of a fritter and twirl it around inside to create some space in the centre. Place jam in an icing bag with a small round tip. Insert tip into hole and fill fritters with jam.

To serve: Toss fritters in icing sugar and serve immediately. Best served four hours after being made or re-heated from frozen.

Makes: 2.5-3 dozen fritters

*This makes quite a large batch so I froze them before dusting in icing sugar. That way when we”re in the mood for some doughnuts we just have to zap them in the microwave and toss them in icing sugar.

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Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble Pie (video)

Aug 2, 2010 By Cheri in Fruit, Pastries, Sweets 8 Comments Tags: cinnamon, crumble, ginger, pie, rhubarb, strawberry

Last week I was feeling good enough to break my six weeks of baking silence. Let me tell you, it felt wonderful! My poor hubby has been deprived of homemade goods for so long that he was almost giddy when he found out I was actually going to bake him a pie (and one of his favourites at that!). So giddy in fact, that he decided to capture the process on film. He did such a good job of capturing why I love to bake.

James and I love pie so much that we had it at our wedding instead of cake. Our mothers went through lot’s of work that summer making and freezing pies for the big day. Strawberry Rhubarb was definitely one that we requested be on the menu.

This recipe is a little bit different then your average Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. The obvious reason being that it has a crumble, which makes it that much more of a breeze if you have frozen pie shells in your freezer. The other reason is that the filling is infused with the flavours of cinnamon and ginger. They give such a warmth and richness to the pie. I think I may need to make another soon.

It feels good to be back!

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble Pie

adapted from Sugar

1-9″ unbaked pie crust

4 cups rhubarb (fresh or frozen), chopped

2 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

dash salt

crumble topping *recipe below

Toss rhubarb, strawberries, cornstarch, cinnamon, ginger and salt in a bowl until well combined. Pour into pie shell. Cover with crumble topping. Bake at 400ºF for 20 minutes then lower the heat to 350ºF and bake for an additional 40 minutes until crust and crumble is golden brown and filling is bubbly.

Crumble Topping

2/3 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 cup butter, melted

Mix together all ingredients until crumbly. Sprinkle over pie.

Serves: 6-8

* I used this recipe for the crust. It has been my go to for years. Except I make it with butter instead of shortening and I froze the other half for another day.

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Butter Tart Slice a Canadian Treat made Simple

Feb 19, 2010 By Cheri in Cookies & Bars, Pastries, Sweets 23 Comments Tags: butter tart, canadian, coconut, raisins, tart

The first time I made this recipe was in my first year of marriage and I accidentally subbed three cups of flour for the three teaspoons called for in the recipe. It became more like a cake then a tart, but it was still delicious. You”ll never guess what happened this time I made it. I put in three tablespoons of flour instead of three teaspoons. Dang it! Why is three teaspoons so hard to remember! I have made it the correct way, I promise, and it looks and tastes just like this, just even more gooey.

Butter Tarts are considered a Canadian treat and are similar to the more familiar Pecan Pie in look and flavour. This recipe deviates from the norm and becomes more simple by being baked in a 9X13 pan, rather then into individual tarts. That coupled with the shortcrust bottom, makes this super quick and hassle free. It also makes a great party treat as it makes a large amount and can be picked up with your hands. You might consider making it for an Olympic party to show off your skills at Canadian cuisine. :)

It may not be the most attractive looking desert but after one bite of gooey goodness, you won”t mind.

Butter Tart Slice

adapted from Grand Slam

Crust

2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup butter, softened

pinch salt

Combine ingredients until evenly distributed (I like to use my hands in order to feel for clumps). Press into the bottom of an ungreased 9×13 pan.

Filling

2 cups brown sugar, packed

1 Tbsp. baking powder

pinch salt

3/4 cup coconut

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup raisins

3 tsp. flour

3 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup butter, melted

In a large bowl combine first 7 ingredients (the “drys”). Add eggs and butter. Stir until well combined. Poor over prepared crust.

Bake at 350º for 35 min. or until filling is set. Cut into bars to serve.

* This tastes equally delicious served warm from the oven as it does at room temperature. Although, once it has cooled it will be easier to handle.

* Store in an airtight container at room temp.

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Cannoli Christmas Trees

Nov 27, 2009 By Cheri in Christmas, Creamy, Daring Bakers, Pastries, Sweets 43 Comments Tags: cannoli, christmas, christmas trees, icing sugar, pistachio, pomegranates, raspberry, ricotta, whipped cream, white chocolate

The November 2009 Daring Bakers Challenge was chosen and hosted by Lisa Michele of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. She chose the Italian Pastry, Cannolo (Cannoli is plural), using the cookbooks Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and The Sopranos Family Cookbook by Allen Rucker; recipes by Michelle Scicolone, as ingredient/direction guides. She added her own modifications/changes, so the recipe is not 100% verbatim from either book.

If you know me well, then it is no secret that I am a bit of a Christmas fanatic. I know it may seem strange for someone my age to get so excited about Christmas, but who can resist all those warm and fuzzy feelings that are invoked at Christmas time? I feel like a child again when the first snow falls, reminding me of the love and warmth that surrounds you when you spend time with the ones you love. It is irresistible to me and I can”t help but get excited. A holiday dedicated to peace, joy and love. What could be better?

This year I get to go home for Christmas. In fact, I am already here. I was not able to bring my camera equipment with me so things are going to be looking a little different around here over the Christmas Holidays. But, not to worry, there will be lot”s of goodies to go around with the “Dear Mrs. Claus” post sshowing up on Mondays, featuring all of your wonderful Christmas recipes. (If you are interested in submitting your Christmas photos visit this post) And, I will be doing Christmas interviews with some of my favorite bloggers. In the New Year I will be up and running again with my photos and recipes, but for now I thought it quite fitting to share the love and goodies from other bloggers. That”s what the season is all about right?

Being that I will not be able to post all the Christmas recipes that are spinning around in my head, I could not resist squeezing one in before I left for home and the Daring Bakers Challenge provided the perfect opportunity. Therefore, traditional Cannoli became Cannoli Christmas Trees. They are layered with raspberry, white chocolate and pistachio ricotta fillings and spruced up (ha) with icing sugar snow and pomegranate lights. I think they”re pretty cute. And, tasty too. :)

I made my own ricotta for this challenge and have linked to the recipe below. I use this recipe often as it is so simple to make and I find it cheaper and fresher then store bought. It is also helpful because you can make the amount needed so there is no waste.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas Season and are able to sit back, relax, and enjoy time with ones you love.

Cannoli Christmas Trees

cannoli stars (large and small)

raspberry ricotta filling

white chocolate ricotta filling

pistachio ricotta filling

pistachios, chopped

icing sugar

pomegranates

Place one large cannoli star onto serving plate. Top with raspberry ricotta. Top with another large star and add a dollop of white chocolate ricotta. Top with one more large star and top that with pistachio ricotta. Sprinkle with additional chopped pistachios and stick a small cannoli star into the ricotta point side down.

Sprinkle with icing sugar and pomegranates if desired. Serve immediately.

Cannoli Stars

2 cups flour

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

3 Tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. white wine vinegar*

1/2 cup wine (Marsala is what is traditional used)*

Vegetable or any neutral oil for frying (2 inches deep)

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer or food processor, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the oil, vinegar, and enough of the wine to make a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and well blended, about 2 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge from 2 hours to overnight.

Cut the dough into two pieces. Keep the remaining dough covered while you work. Lightly flour work surface and roll the dough until super thin, about 1/16 to 1/8” thick (An area of about 13 inches by 18 inches should give you that). Cut out 4 inch star shapes as well as 2 inch star shapes. Cover with a damp towel and let sit for several minutes to help keep the dough from shrinking.

In a deep heavy saucepan, pour enough oil to reach a depth of 2 inches. Heat the oil to 375°F (190 °C), or until a small piece of the dough or bread cube placed in the oil sizzles and browns in 1 minute. Have ready a tray or sheet pan lined with paper towels.

Dock the cannoli with a fork, making sure to go all the way through. This is to avoid the cannoli from puffing up in the centre. Carefully lower a few of the cannoli stars into the hot oil. Do not crowd the pan. Fry until lightly golden, about 2 minutes, turning them so that they brown evenly. Remove to paper towel lined tray to cool.

* I substituted the wine with apple juice and upped the vinegar to 1 Tbsp to make up for the lost acidity.

Raspberry, White Chocolate & Pistachio Fillings

1 cup dry ricotta (or half this recipe)

2/3 cup icing sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. lemon zest

1 cup whipping cream

2 Tbsp. each, chopped pistachios, chopped white chocolate, crushed raspberries

Cream together ricotta, sugar, cinnamon and zest until smooth.

Whip cream to soft peaks and fold into ricotta.

Divide into 3 bowls. In one bowl fold in pistachios, in another fold in white chocolate, and in last fold in raspberries.

* If you want more vibrant colors feel free to add some food coloring.

* You can use fresh or frozen (and thawed) raspberries for this filling.

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Caramel Peanut Wontons – Daring Cooks

Oct 14, 2009 By Cheri in Daring Cooks, Pastries, Sweets 13 Comments Tags: caramel, chocolate, fried, peanut, wontons

One part of the Daring Cooks challenge this month was to make some sort of fried wonton dessert. The filling and shape were up to us. I chose to go with a Peanut Caramel which I rolled into balls and coated in chocolate before wrapping them up into homemade wonton wrappers. Once they were cooked, I drizzled them with more chocolate and sprinkled them with peanuts. The only thing that I would change about this recipe is that there was too much caramel per wonton. It was very sweet. I wrote the recipe as I would make it next time. I thought these were very tasty and would make an excellent addition to a dessert platter.

Go to the bottom of the post for step-by-step photos.

Caramel Peanut Wontons

24 wonton wrappers (recipe here)

egg wash (1 egg whisked with 1 Tbsp. water)

1 recipe peanut caramel

8 oz. semi sweet chocolate, melted

oil (make sure it is suitable for high heat. ie. canola oil)

2 Tbsp. finely chopped peanuts

Dip each caramel ball into chocolate and place back onto parchment paper.

Cool in the freezer until chocolate is firm.

Place one wonton wrapper on work surface (making sure to keep others covered with a damp towel). Brush the edges with egg wash.

Place one chocolate covered caramel into the centre of the wonton. Lift up two opposite corners and press together at the top. Take the remaining two corners and do the same. Seal all corners and openings.

Cover with damp towel and repeat with remaining wontons and caramel.

While you are forming the wontons heat 2 inches of oil, over medium heat, to 350ºF (180ºC ). If you do not have a thermometer, an easy way to tell when the oil is ready is to place the handle of a wooden spoon into the hot oil, if bubbles form around it, it is ready.

Fry the wontons, a few at a time, until golden. About 1 min. Remove with a slotted spoon onto paper towel, to drain.

Once all of the wontons are fried. Drizzle with remaining chocolate and sprinkle with chopped peanuts.

Makes: 24 wontons

* Do not refrigerate.

Peanut Caramel

adapted from here

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup sugar

1 Tbsp. corn syrup

2 Tbsp. butter, room temp.

3/4 cup lightly salted peanuts

Heat cream to boiling. Keep hot.

Place sugar in a non-stick skillet warmed over medium heat. Do not stir.

Once sugar is melted stir in the corn syrup and let bubble until a deep caramel color is reached.

Stir in the butter carefully as caramel will bubble furiously.

Once butter is incorporated add cream, being careful of spatters once again.

Lower the temperature and let simmer for 2 min.

Remove from heat and stir in peanuts.

Let cool a bit before dropping by teaspoons (making 24) onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Allow to cool fully.

Once cool, roll into balls.

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Almond Pear Tart

Oct 6, 2009 By Cheri in Fall, Fruit, Pastries, Sweets, Thanksgiving 12 Comments Tags: almonds, pastry, pear, tart, thanksgiving

I am pretty sure that I have not yet had the chance to meet all of my lovely readers, and you know what? I would love to meet you! So why not introduce yourself? And, for those of you that I have had the honour to “meet” already, I would love to know more about you. To get the ball rolling I will fill you in on some tidbits about me that you may not know:

A couple of years ago I was a live host of an hour long radio show for young teens. I also script wrote and directed a short mini-drama for each show called “The Adventures of Bob and Alfred.”

I used to volunteer at a hospital where I accidentally dropped a frog on an immobile elderly lady. I promise we were only trying to add a little excitement to her life, just not that much.

I also used to be the bus driver for said hospital and ended up lost in the woods with 5 old people, trying to find my way back to the hospital, while one of them got up every time I stopped because she wanted to go to the bathroom in the woods.

I am extremely stubborn and if you tell me that I can”t do something, I will just have to prove you wrong. This is how I blacked out just before the finish line in the 200 metre dash in my high school track-meet. But, I still came in third, gosh darn it!

Now it”s your turn. You don”t have to get quite so personal. But, I would love to know something about you. So, fill me in people!

Now about this tart. Let me tell you, it is delicious. Neither me or my husband have stopped thinking about it since I made it. And, he doesn”t even like pears! We managed to polish it off the day after it was made. There is so much wonderful flavour in this flaky pastry parcel. The sliced almonds add a lovely nuttiness, while the lemon zest adds a brightness that make it taste fresh and inviting. The crust itself is amazing, I may just use it for all of my freeform tarts. It”s easy to work with, flaky and buttery. Just perfect! I will be making this again soon, and this time I think I might try it with apples, for my loving husband (even though he gobbled it down just fine with pears). :)

Almond Pear Tart

adapted from TasteofHome

Pastry dough

Pear filling

1 Tbsp. butter

Egg wash (1 egg white + 1 tsp. water, whisked together)

1 Tbsp. sugar

Glaze

1/4 cup sliced or slivered almonds, toasted

Roll the pastry dough out to a 14 inch circle. Place on a large baking sheet.

Spoon the filling over the pastry leaving a 2 inch wide rim. Cut the butter into small cubes and sprinkle over the filling. Fold the edges of the pastry over the filling, pressing the pastry together, to seal.

Brush egg wash over the pastry and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at 375°F for 45-50 minutes, until golden brown.

Pour glaze over the warm tart and sprinkle with almonds.

Serves: 8-10

Pastry Dough

1 1/3 cups flour

3 Tbsp. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

7 Tbsp. cold butter, cubed

2-3 Tbsp. cold water

Combine flour, sugar and salt. Cut in cold butter until the mixture is crumbly. Add water 1 Tbsp. at a time until the dough sticks together to form a ball. (You may need more water depending on the humidity in your area. Just make sure it sticks together without being sticky to the touch.)

Pear Filling

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup sliced or slivered almonds, toasted

1/4 cup flour

1.5 tsp lemon zest

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

4 medium sized ripe pears, peeled and sliced

Toss together all ingredients until pears are well coated.

Glaze

1/4 cup icing sugar

1.5 tsp. milk

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix together until smooth. (Do this just before glazing so that it does not start to set)

*Note on toasting almonds: My preferred way to toast nuts is on the stove top in a frying pan. Just place over med. heat, stir occasionally and keep a close eye. As soon as you can smell the nutty flavour and see a bit of color they are done. You must keep a close eye because they can go from perfect to burnt pretty fast.

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