Cherry Tart with mixed Nut Frangipane

"Hallihallo!" Soo, I'm back from my year in London and oh dear it was fuuuun!! Magic city, cool markets, great people... But let's keep that on another note - there will be a detailed post with all experiences, tips etc. coming soon. For now: Cherry Frangipane Tart.

Refined sugar free Cherry and mixed Nuts Frangipane Tart to be exact. We bought 2 kgs cherries yesterday - dark red, juicy, ripe goodies who just seemed to scream at me from their place in the fridge. 20 minutes later some of them were resting atop a smooth frangipane wrapped in a crunchy crust in the hot oven. 30 minutes later the alarm goes off and the tart was transferred into a cooler environment on the countertop. 15 minutes of further patience testing aka cooling time. Then the tart was cut and devoured right from the pan - an edible taste of summer! As civilized human beings do we laid the table, tablecloth, dishes, cups, forks and all necessities, sat down and enjoyed a taste of summer.

Cherry Frangipane Tart                           
- makes one 8 inch/20 cm tart, serves 6
For the crust:
- 200g flour
- 120g coconut oil
- 3 Tbsp honey or agave syrup
- 1 tsp salt


For the franigpane
- 120g mixed nuts, ground- 2 eggs, can be substituted with flax eggs (4 Tbsp flax seed meal mixed with 5 Tbsp water)- 60g flour, I used white spelt flour- 80g honey or agave syrup for a vegan version- 40g butter or coconut oil/plant based spread if you follow the vegan version
- 130g fresh Cherries, pitted and halved (equals 150g fresh, unpitted cherries) or canned, drained and mixed with   1 Tbsp flour

1. Prepare the crust: mix all ingredients together until a smooth dough forms. Wrap in cling film and leave in the fridge while you prepare the filling.
2. Frangipane filling: Beat together the butter/coconut oil and honey for about 2 minutes until pale and fluffy. Add in the eggs or flax eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Fold in the ground nuts and the flour.
3. Grease and flour a 8 inch/ 20 cm tart pan. Take the crust out of the fridge and press into the prepared pan. Prick with a fork a couple of times and bake it in the oven for 10 minutes until slightly browned.
4. Pour the frangipane batter into the crust. Assemble the cherries on top, the cut side facing upwards.
5. Bake for 30 minutes until slightly browned.
6. Remove from the oven, let cool for 15 minutes before removing the pan. Enjoy! Great served with creme fraiche or greek yoghurt!

Super-crusty Apple pie

My new running track in London goes right around one of the many beautiful green parks here. For most people this would rather be called a forest though, but I think "park" just sounds more british or sophisticated (in a good way!). And at one point I pass a beautiful small apple tree - it's not actually that huge or big old apple tree like, but it's like a miraculous spot right in the middle of an already magic area. I don't think I'll have to start much rambling about how much I love apples or apple trees - but as soon as the green gems start to get some colour going and urge to be picked I won't wait long to take the call!

We actually picked a lot of feral apples on a family trip to southern Germany back in August. And what do you do with all the apples? You may have guessed it: BAKE. SOME. CAKE. Sorry for being so direct with my point, but if you've got some buttery crust with juicy sweet apples - what's not to love? You don't aaaalways have to be as fancy and put them in a chocolate cake like here or sprinkle them into muffins like this - sometimes a simple and quick cake is all you need to go with your afternoon cup of coffee or tea. To remind you that simple things own some magic as well and that you can find it if you only let the magic in.

In this way, get your oven going and put those apples out there to a good use - happy baking everyone! :)

Super-crusty Apple Pie
makes one pie, 20 cm in diameter
For the filling:
- 6 apples, I used tart feral ones
- 3 Tbsp sugar
- 2 Tbsp cinnamon
For the crust:
- 250g butter
- 180g sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 350g whole wheat flour
- 2 Tbsp cinnamon
- 3 Tbsp milk
For serving, optional:
- 200g whipping cream, whipped to desired consistency and optionally sweetened

1. Peel the apples and cut them into small cubes, mix with the sugar and cinnamon.
2. Preheat your oven to 175 °C/ 350 °F. In a medium sized bowl beat together the butter and brown sugar for about 2 minutes until creamy. Mix in the eggs, then work in the flour, cinnamon and salt.
3. Grease or line a 20 cm pan with parchment paper. Spread one half of the crust dough onto the bottom and the sides of the pan. Drain the excess liquid from the prepared apple filling and layer the apples onto the prepared dough. Top with rough pieces of the remaining dough and glaze with the milk.
4. Bake your pie for 45-60 minutes until crust is slightly browned and apples are fully cooked.
5. Remove from the oven, let sit for 10 minutes before removing from the pan. Best served warm with a generous dollop of whipped cream Enjoy!

Poppy Seed Tartelettes

It's a special person's birthday next week. And what's one to do to show the most important woman in the whole wide world alias mom how much you love her?

Arrange a small pre-birthday present i.e. bake mom an ultimate weekend treat starring one of her all time favourite ingredients, one that pairs up beautifully with her beloved good ol' british tea.
In this case that means a dessert loaded with poppy seeds - seriously not just a cake with some poppy seed speckles or a sweet yeasted loaf where you might accidentally stumble across some poppy seeds in the filling - no, just pure, honest and true poppy seed goodness: pitch black and with the lovely, characteristic nutty taste.





To achieve that I went for a lovely buttery whole wheat crust to wrap the velvety filling up, topped it with some streusel made from the same dough and then piped a little meringue on top to really give the poppy seeds a "canvas" where it can pop out and be the absolute star for the taste-tasting gourmet (or my sister, who started asking for more immediately while still munching on her first bit - if that's no sign for true poppy seed perfection I don't know what it is ;-)).



And oh boy, those were a hit in the whole family (of course especially my mom was suuper excited - mission accomplished!)- it was pretty hard to keep enough for next day's coffee time, every last crumb was gone in the end. To make it a really simple recipe, the dough for the crust and streusel can be prepared the night before the day when served and the meringue will only use the remaining egg whites of the yolks that are used in the filling, so you won't end up with any egg parts that have to be used up soon - easy peasy but a sure rock star when served!





Poppy Seed Tartelettes
- with Streusel and Meringue, makes enough for 12 Tartelettes, 4inch/10cm in diameter or one regular sized tart pan
Crust/Streusel:
- 2 and 1/2 cups/300g Flour (I used Whole Wheat, but All-purpose works great as well)
- 1 and 1/8 cups/200g Butter
- 1/2 cup/100g Sugar
- 1/2 tsp Cinnamon

Filling:
- 1 cup/240 ml Milk
- 5 Tbsp Sugar
- beans from 1/2 a scraped Vanilla pod (omit completely or substitute 2 Tbsp of sugar with vanilla sugar, if you don't have one on hand)
- 1 Tbsp Butter
- 1 Tbsp Flour
- 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
- 2 cups/200g grinded Poppy Seeds (or grind them yourself)
- 2 egg yolks

Meringue:
- 2 egg whites
- 5 Tbsp caster sugar

1. Prepare the crust (this can be done a day ahead, so you save time on the day when served): Mix Flour, Sugar and Cinnamon, then work in the butter with your hands or a fork until a dough comes together. Wrap in plastic foil and leave in the refrigerator to rest for at least 30 minutes to overnight.

2. Preheat your oven to 180 °C. Grease and flour your tartelette pans/tarte pan well. Divide the dough into three equal parts. Crumble one part into a bowl and set aside for later use. Divide the remaining two parts in six smaller parts each, if using tartelette pans, so you end up with twelve equal parts for the crust. Press the parts into the prepared pan(s) and prick with a fork. Blind bake for 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile prepare the filling: mix the milk with the sugar, vanilla, butter and cinnamon in a saucepan and set on medium-high heat, stirring occasionally so it won't burn, until butter is melted. Take off the heat and add in the flour and the poppy seeds. Let cool for a further 2-5 minutes until warm to the touch, then add in the egg yolks and mix until well combined.

4. Scoop the filling into the ready baked crusts and spread evenly. Add the Streusel on top, leaving some empty spots on top of the filling for the meringue. Bake for a further ten minutes.

5. Meanwhile beat your egg whites on high until soft peaks form, then carefully add in the caster sugar and continue beating until you've got a glossy meringue. Pipe or spread it on the empty spots on the still hot tarte/tartelettes and go for a final 5-10 minute bake until the meringue is slightly browned on top. Take out, let cool, carefully remove from the pans and enjoy!