CAKES AND FRUITS - PART VII: Autumnal Cake with Vanilla Custard and Marzipan stuffed Apples

The seventh and last recipe in my „CAKES AND FRUIT“ series features an autumnal Autumnal Cake with Vanilla Custard and Marzipan stuffed Apples. Make the most of the apple season by trying and using lots of wonderful, delicious apples. There are countless varieties of apples available at the country fairs, greengrocers, farmers´ markets as well as supermarkets. The flavors of the different apples range greatly and there are two basic types of apples available, the eating apple and the cooking apple. The ones sold as “eating apples” are sweeter and have the more interesting flavors, they include “Golden Delicious” and “Granny Smith”, the “cooking apples” are usually larger and more acidic and include varieties such as “McIntosh” and “Pink Lady”.

There are early varieties, mid-summer fruit and late-season apples – the varieties depend entirely on the place where you live. But whatever kind of apples you buy, the best fruit is the one that was recently picked. You can create countless dishes with apples, you can put them in pancakes, slice them over your morning muesli, add them to red cabbage or a stuffing, pair them with pork, duck, chicken or turkey, make juice and cocktails (or buy Calvados), bake tarts, cakes, muffins and puddings, prepare compote, jelly and fritters, or this very pretty treat of a cake.

Recipe for the Autumnal Cake with Vanilla Custard and Marzipan stuffed Apples
(“Herbstlicher Kuchen mit Vanillepudding und Marzipanäpfeln”)

Ingredients for the Pâte Brisée
(the recipe is enough for one large 28 cm (10- 11- inch) springform pan which I used)

• 300 grams (2 ½ cups) AP flour
• one pinch of fine sea salt
• 1 tsp super fine sugar
• 250 grams (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
• ¼ to ½ cup ice water

Preparation of the Pâte Brisée

1. To make the pâte brisée, in the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, salt, and sugar.
2 Add the butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse oatmeal, 8 to 10 seconds. You can also make the dough with a pastry cutter/by hand.
3. With the machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through the feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process in intervals of more than 30 seconds.
4. Pat the dough into a ball. Flatten the ball into a disc and wrap in plastic.
5. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least one hour.
6. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the cold pâte brisée and fit it into your spring form pan, try to fit it in with a few centimeters/inches up the sides.
7. Transfer the pan to a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Prick dough all over with a fork. If the dough is too soft, transfer to refrigerator again and re-chill for about 30 minutes.
8. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius (400 degrees Fahrenheit), line the unbaked dough with parchment paper and fill up with ceramic pie weights or uncooked rice or beans and blind bake for 15 minutes. Remove weights and paper and continue to bake for another five to eight minutes or until the crust is golden color.
9. Take out of the oven, place on a rack and let cool while preparing the topping.
10. Maintain heat while preparing the ingredients for the pudding and the topping.

Ingredients for the Vanilla Custard

• 65 grams (1/3 cup) sugar
• 2 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
• 450 ml (2 cups) whole milk
• 120 ml (1/2 cup) heavy cream
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small bits
• the seeds from one vanilla bean (1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract)

Preparation of the Vanilla Custard (you can also use your favoritr recipe for vanilla custard, has to serve 4)

1. In a medium saucepan, whisk together sugar and cornstarch.
2. Whisk in milk and cream.
3. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking frequently, then boil, taking care not to "burn" the custard. Continue whisking for about one minute.
4. Remove the saucepan from the heat and whisk in butter and vanilla.
5. Transfer to a bowl and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the hot custard. Set aside to cool while you prepare the rest of the Cake.


Ingredients for the Apples

• 7-8 small apples (choose cooking apples that are all the same size and red skinned, if possible)
• 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 50 – 75 grams (1.7 to 2.6 ounces) marzipan, such as “ Odense” (I used “Lübecker Marzipan”)
• 2 tbsp raisins soaked in rum or apple juice 
• 1 tbsp cinnamon sugar
• 8 small cinnamon sticks, or long ones that you will have to break into equal pieces

Preparation of the Apples

1. Wash the apples and take out the remaining stem.
2. With a sharp kitchen knife or vegetable peeler, cut some of the peel off (like a spiral around the apple).
3. Rub the exposed areas of the apples with the lemon juice.
4. Turn the apples top side down on the counter and using a sharp kitchen knife, carefully core the fruits, leaving the top intact.
5. With a fork, mix together the marzipan, cinnamon sugar and the raisins.
6. Stuff the hollowed out cores of the apples with the marzipan mixture.
7. Stick a cinnamon stick in the top of each apple (you have to get a really good grip of the apples to do this).

NOTE: For slicing the cake, you can take out the cinnamon sticks, that will make it easier to cut nice pieces of the Apple Cake.

Equipment

one large spring form  pan 30cm (10 – to 11-  inches)
parchment paper
ceramic pie weights or dried rice/beans

For the “Final Touch” (optional)

2 tbsp homemade apple jelly
some slithered almonds
some confectioners´ sugar

Putting together the Cake

1. If you turned off the oven after blind baking the cake crust, you have to pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit) again.
2. Place the baking pann with the pre-baked and cooled crust onto the baking sheet covered with parchment paper (same you used when blind baking).
3. Take your vanilla custard and with an off-set spatula spread it over the bottom of the crust as evenly as possible, do not worry about some lumps, they will smooth out during baking.
4. Taking one apple at a time, carefully place the apples on top of the custard, one in the center, the others around the "center apple". Push ever so slightly into the custard.
5. Return the cake to the oven and bake for a good hour. Take out of the oven. Let the cake cool on the baking sheet. NOTE: after half an hour of baking, you can also loosely cover the cake with a large sheet of aluminium foil to prevent the custard from turning too dark or to help the apples become a bit softer (optional).
6. In a small saucepan, heat the apple jelly and with a soft-bristled pastry brush carefully brush the areas of the apples that are "sticking out" of the pudding.
7. Toss a few slithered almonds over top and dust ever so slightly with confectioner´s sugar.
8. Remove the cake from the spring form pan and transfer to a serving plate.

NOTE: you should let the cake cool completely before unmolding and serving it, it will be much easier to cut.

For stuffing the apples, try to find real good marzipan, the kind that is made only with ground almonds and sugar, you will not need a lot and you will have plenty left over for some other good uses. The one I always use is "Niederegger-Lübeck Marzipan" - the ratio of almonds and sugar in good quality marzipan is 70% whole blanched almonds to 30 % sugar, pure and simple (http://www.niederegger.de).

Although this pretty Autumnal Cake is the last cake to be featured in my week-long series on CAKES AND FRUITS, I will be putting together one more post this week that will conclude this series – it will be about the Country Fair that I visited with my family and that inspired me to do this series. Hope that you enjoyed the recipes that I presented!

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CAKES AND FRUITS - PART I: Plum Torte and Sweet Dough Leaves with Plums

CAKES AND FRUITS - PART II: Red Currant Meringue Cake

CAKES AND FRUITS - PART III: Green Grape Tart - "Tarte mit grünen Trauben"

CAKES AND FRUITS - PART IV: Pear Bundt Cake with Dark Chocolate, Hazelnuts and Red Wine

CAKES AND FRUITS - PART V: Mirabelle Plum Tart with Honey Streusel

CAKES AND FRUITS - PART VI: Walnut Fig Cake

CAKES AND FRUITS - PART VII: Autumnal Cake with Vanilla Custard and Marzipan stuffed Apples

CAKES AND FRUITS - PART VI: Walnut Fig Cake

The sixth recipe in my „CAKES AND FRUITS“ series features a glorious Walnut Fig Cake ("Walnuss Feigen Kuchen") made with freshly ground and chopped new harvest walnuts and fresh, not dried, figs. This striking fruit, with its fresh green or deep purple skin and vibrant deep pink flesh, is a wonderful addition to the autumnal table. When buying figs, remember that they do not ripen after picking, so make sure to choose the ripest and most fragrant fruits you can find.

Fresh figs have a very short shelf life. There are thin-skinned and they bruise easily, so be careful when handling them and wrap them in tissue paper before bringing them home from the store. Ripe figs do not keep for more than two or three days in the fridge and if you would like to bring out their delicate scent and flavor, leave them in the sun for an hour or so before you serve them. Figs have a naturally high sugar content, making them an ideal match for equally intense ingredients, such as salty prosciutto or goats´ cheese. Slice them into wedges, caramelize them and serve them with bitter greens in a salad. Make a fig compote, jam or figgy pudding, make fig fritters or fig tempura or bake them until tender and drizzle with honey, crème fraîche or yoghurt. You can also poach them in port or sweet sherry with flavorings such as cinnamon, vanilla and citrus peel. Or bake this glorious Walnut Fig Cake.

Recipe for Walnut Fig Cake
(“Walnuss Feigen Kuchen”)

Ingredients for the Cake

• 125 grams (1 stick plus 1 tbsp) unsalted butter, room temperature – plus some more for greasing the pan
• 150 grams (3/4 cups) super fine sugar 
• one package pure vanilla sugar (1 1/2 tsp or 9 grams - you can substitute pure vanilla extract)
• 75 grams (1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp) AP flour, plus some more for flouring the pan
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon, from Ceylon if possible
• 2 tsp baking powder with saffron (you can also use regular baking powder) *
• 3 eggs (L), free range or organic, lightly beaten
• 100 grams (3.5 ounces) new harvest walnuts, ground
• 50 grams  ( 1.7 ounces) new harvest walnuts, chopped into small pieces 
• 6-8 fresh figs (not too ripe, still a bit firm) washed and halved

PLEASE NOTE: you should only use walnuts from the new harvest, they have just appeared in the markets around here.

For Serving

• some confectioners` sugar
• crème double, clotted cream or crème fraîche
• homemade fig jam
• a few fresh figs
• new harvest walnuts

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).
2. In your electric mixer, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla sugar in a large mixing bowl until pale and fluffy. That should take about 3-5 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon and baking powder.
4. Using a rubber spatula, fold the flour and eggs alternately into the creamed butter mixture.
5. Fold in the ground walnuts and then the chopped ones.
6. Grease a 20 cm (8 inch) baking pan and line the bottom with a round of parchment paper, butter and flour the paper and the pan and shake out the excess.
7. Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake pan.
8.  Arrange the figs, cut side up, in a neat layer on top of the cake batter.
9. Bake the cake for about 55 minutes to 1 hour, or until a skewer poked in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
10. Leave to rest in the cake pan for about 10 minutes before turning out and placing on a wire rack.
11. Let the cake cool on a rack.
12. When the cake is cool, dust with confectioners`  sugar just before serving.
13. Serve with a nice dollop of crème double, clotted cream or crème fraîche and serve with homemade fig jam and some figs and walnuts (optional).

Walnuts are high in omega-3 oils which make them a healthy snack, but also likely to go rancid quickly. Keep them in a cool, dark place and use as soon as possible.

Walnuts add texture and crunch to salads. Pair them with goats’ cheese and a drizzle of walnut oil or stir them into a classic Waldorf salad. Pickled walnuts can be eaten with cold meats and cheeses - they go particularly well with blue cheese.

Very young walnuts that are still green and in their shells can be salted and pickled to serve with a cheese tray or with cold meats.

* The Dr. Oetker Company in Germany now carries a "Baking Powder with ground Saffron" that I use a lot in baking these days. However, only the regular baking powder is available in the US, other European countries and most other countries where Dr. Oetker products are sold, of course, you can use regular baking powder in this recipe (http://www.oetker.com).

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CAKES AND FRUITS - PART I: Plum Torte and Sweet Dough Leaves with Plums

CAKES AND FRUITS - PART II: Red Currant Meringue Cake

CAKES AND FRUITS - PART III: Green Grape Tart - "Tarte mit grünen Trauben"

CAKES AND FRUITS - PART IV: Pear Bundt Cake with Dark Chocolate, Hazelnuts and Red Wine

CAKES AND FRUITS - PART V: Mirabelle Plum Tart with Honey Streusel

CAKES AND FRUITS - PART VI: Walnut Fig Cake

CAKES AND FRUITS - PART VII: Autumnal Cake with Vanilla Custard and Marzipan stuffed Apples

French Fridays with Dorie - Eggplant Tartine with Tomatoes, Olives, and Cucumbers

Today´s recipe for the French Fridays with Dorie group is ”Eggplant Tartine with Tomatoes, Olives, and Cucumbers”. The title of this recipe is somewhat deceiving because there is no bread involved in Dorie´ s recipe for this unusual entrée. When I read the recipe for the first time, it reminded me of the “Tomato-Cheese Tartlets” that we made just last month with the group – basically an Insalata Caprese on a puff pastry round. So in order to have a new  presentation for this dish, I decided to give the Tartine a bit of a different look.

Having chosen two beautifully shiny and oblong aubergines, instead of cutting aubergine rounds and taking off  some of the lovely dark violet skin of this wonderful vegetable, I decided to cut them in half lengthwise and score the flesh in a criss-cross pattern, so that after roasting in the oven, they would be the perfect "vehicles" for the salsa. I brushed the flesh with a good quality olive oil, sprinkled them with my favorite French sea salt and some freshly ground black pepper and roasted them in the oven for about 40 minutes, until the flesh turned a dark golden-brown.

While the aubergines were roasting in the oven, I mixed together the ingredients for the topping, namely, seeded and cubed yellow and red tomatoes, green and black olives, salt-brined Italian capers, a bit of garlic, pepper, salt, oregano and basil, then more olive oil and some red wine vinegar. Once the aubergines came out of the oven and had cooled, I placed them in a vintage pan, spooned the “salsa” over top and, as a final touch, crumbled Greek feta all over the plate. This recipe was easy and perfect for this time of year – the most difficult part was coming up with a presentation.

We enjoyed the aubergines alongside grilled lamb chops and a big plate of Italian style greens that I prepared with red and white Swiss chard and sliced garlic. What a nice Friday evening dinner treat!

For me, this was one of those Dorie recipes that just called out for some “playing around”.

To see how the other Doristas prepared the Tartine, please click here.

CAKES AND FRUITS - PART V: Mirabelle Plum Tart with Honey Streusel

The fifth recipe in my "CAKES AND FRUIT" series features the wonderfully fragrant Mirabelle Plum.The Mirabelles are small golden plums that taste similar to regular yellow plums with a discernable taste of honey. The fruit is primarily used in jams and pies but also in clafoutis, compotes, gratins or fruit jelly and its juice is commonly fermented into a very famous mirabelle plum brandy. The mirabelles are also excellent when eaten fresh. The fruits are harvested from mid-July to mid-September.

These small plums originated in the Lorraine region of France, which is said to have an ideal climate for the cultivation of this fruit. Since 1996, the "Mirabelle de Lorraine" has been recognized and promoted by the EU as a high-quality regional product. The word "Mirabelle" originated from the Latin term "mirabilis" which means "wonderful" and "beautiful to look at". In Italy, it is a common name for girls. Mirabelle trees can also be found growing in a lot of gardens in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and other European countries.

Recipe for Mirabelle Plum Tart with Honey Streusel 
("Mirabellen Tarte mit Honigstreuseln")

Ingredients for the Pâte Brisée
(the recipe is enough for one large 30cm (12-inch) tart pan which I used)

• 300 grams (2 ½ cups) AP flour
• one pinch of fine sea salt
• 1 tsp super fine sugar
• 250 grams (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
• ¼ to ½ cup ice water

Preparation of the Pâte Brisée

1. To make the pâte brisée, in the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, salt, and sugar.
2 Add the butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse oatmeal, 8 to 10 seconds. You can also make the dough with a pastry cutter/by hand.
3. With the machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through the feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process in intervals of more than 30 seconds.
4. Pat the dough into a ball. Flatten the ball into a disc and wrap in plastic.
5. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least one  hour.
6. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the cold pâte brisée and fit it into your pie plate, preferably with a removable bottom, trimming excess dough if necessary.
7. Transfer the tart pan to a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Prick dough all over with a fork. If the dough is too soft, transfer to refrigerator again and re-chill for about 30 minutes.
8. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius (400 degrees Fahrenheit), line the unbaked tart with parchment paper and fill up with ceramic pie weights or uncooked rice or beans and blind bake for 15 minutes. Remove weights and paper and continue to bake for another five to eight minutes or until the crust is golden color.
9. Take out of the oven, place on a rack and let cool while preparing the topping.
10. Maintain heat while preparing the ingredients for the pudding and the streusel topping.

Ingredients for the Vanilla-Orange Pudding

• 500 grams (about one pound) mirabelles or yellow plums
• 65 grams (1/3 cup) sugar
• 2 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
• 450 ml (2 cups) milk
• 60 ml (1/4 cup) freshly squeezed orange juice
• 60 ml (1/4 cup) heavy cream
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small bits
• 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• zest of one organic orange

Preparation of the Vanilla-Orange Pudding

1. Wash and clean the plums and set aside while preparing the vanilla pudding and the streusel.
2. In a medium saucepan, whisk together sugar and cornstarch.
3. Whisk in milk, orange juice and cream.
4. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking frequently, then boil, taking care not to "burn" the pudding. Continue whisking for about one minute.
5. Remove the saucepan from the heat and whisk in butter, vanilla and orange zest.
6. Transfer to a bowl and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the hot pudding. Set aside to cool while you prepare the rest of the Tart.

Ingredients for the Streusel Topping

• 175 grams (1 1/2 cups plus 1 tbsp) AP flour
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• one pinch of fine sea salt
• 80 grams (1/3 cup plus 2 tbsp) super fine sugar
• 100 grams (1/2 cup minus 1 tbsp) cold unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp honey (use a local honey if possible)
• 50 grams (1/3 cup) slithered almonds

Preparation of the Streusel Topping

1. Stir together the flour, cinnamon, salt and sugar.
2. Using a pastry cutter (or fork), blend the butter and honey into the flour mixture.
3. Mix in the almonds.
4. Put in the fridge to cool while preparing the rest of the Tart.

Equipment

one large tart pan 30cm (12 inches) with a removeable bottom
parchment paper
ceramic pie weights or dried rice/beans

For Serving (optional)

some confectioners´ sugar
extra honey

Putting together the Tart

1. If you turned off the oven after blind baking the pie crust, you have to pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit) again.
2. Place the pre-baked and cooled pie crust to the baking sheet covered with parchment paper (same you used when blind baking).
3. Take your vanilla-orange pudding and with an off-set spatula spread it over the bottom of the tart as evenly as possible, do not worry about some lumps, they will smooth out during baking.
4. Halve the mirabelle plums and remove the pits.
5. Place the plum halves round side down on the pudding, gently push them into the pudding. The surface of the pudding should be completely covered with one layer of plum halves. NOTE: mirabelle plums need to be prepared at the last minute, otherwise they will discolor rather quickly.
6. Take your prepared streusel out of the fridge and spread it reasonably evenly over the top of the plums and the puddding.
7. Return tart to oven and bake for a good hour. Take out of the oven. Let the tart cool on the baking sheet. Remove the baked tart from the tart pan and transfer to a serving plate.

The honey that I used for this tart comes from a beekeeper that we trust. He sells his product at the country fair that inspired this week long series.

I chose a honey with a light floral taste and while I added some of it to the streusel, it tasted absolutely terrific when drizzled on top of the tart just before serving. Since the Mirabelle Plums taste a bit like honey, the fruit and the honey harmonized rather well in the Mirabelle Plum Tart.

If you cannot find Mirabelle Plums, you can substitute any other small yellow plums.
.

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CAKES AND FRUITS - PART I: Plum Torte and Sweet Dough Leaves with Plums

CAKES AND FRUITS - PART II: Red Currant Meringue Cake

CAKES AND FRUITS - PART III: Green Grape Tart - "Tarte mit grünen Trauben"

CAKES AND FRUITS - PART IV: Pear Bundt Cake with Dark Chocolate, Hazelnuts and Red Wine

CAKES AND FRUITS - PART V: Mirabelle Plum Tart with Honey Streusel

CAKES AND FRUITS - PART VI: Walnut Fig Cake

CAKES AND FRUITS - PART VII: Autumnal Cake with Vanilla Custard and Marzipan stuffed Apples

CAKES AND FRUITS - PART IV - Pear Bundt Cake with Dark Chocolate, Hazelnuts and Red Wine

The fourth fruit that I am featuring in my series "CAKES AND FRUITS" is the wonderful Pear. Pears are thick-skinned with juicy, sweet flesh that can be buttery or slightly granular in texture, depending on the variety of pears that you are choosing to buy. They are normally sold when they are still firm and not quite ripe so that these wonderful fruits do not bruise so easily in transport. However, once you bring them home, they will ripen within a few days if kept at room temperature.

You can use the very versatile pears in savory salads mixed with bitter greens and sharp-flavored cheeses, in main dishes, in drinks, desserts, preserves, compotes, pickles, chutneys, and, of course, in baking, for cakes as well as tarts. Pears are often poached in with wine and spices such as vanilla, cardamom or ginger to enhance their delicate flavor.

Recipe for Pear Bundt Cake with Dark Chocolate, Hazelnuts and Red Wine
("Rotweingugelhupf mit dunkler Schokolade, Haselnüssen und Rotwein")

Ingredients for the Cake

• 100 grams (3/4 cup) hazelnuts, ground (you can use almonds)
• 150 grams (1 1/4 cups) AP flour, plus some for the pan
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, preferably from Ceylon
• one pinch ground cloves
• 15 grams (3 tsp) baking powder
• one pinch of fine sea salt
• 250 grams (2 sticks minus one tbsp) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus some more for greasing the pan
• 200 grams (1 cup plus 2 tbsp) light brown sugar, packed firmly
• one package of pure vanilla sugar (you can substitute 2 tsp pure vanilla extract)
• 4 eggs, (L) free range or organic if possible
• 2 medium to large sized ripe but still firm pears
• a few drops of freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 125 ml (1 cup plus 1 tsp) good quality red wine
• 50 grams (1/3 cup) hazelnuts, chopped (again you can use almonds)
• 100 grams (3.5 ounces) good quality dark chocolate, chopped (I used Lindt Excellence 70%)

Ingredients for the Glaze

125 grams (1 1/4 cups)  confectioners´ sugar
some red wine

Equipment

Gugelhupf - or 10-12 cup Bundt pan

Preparation

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).
2. Butter and flour your Gugelhupf -  or Bundt pan (usually for a cake with ground nuts, we butter the pan and dust with some of the grounds nuts instead of flour), shake out any excess flour (or nuts).
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the ground hazelnuts, the flour, the cinnamon, the cloves, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
4. In the bowl of your electric mixer, cream together butter, sugar, and vanilla sugar until light in color and fluffy.
5. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
6. In the meantime, peel the pears, core and then cut into small pieces, add a few drops of lemon juice to avoid discoloration. NOTE: raw pears need to be prepared at the last moment.
7. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, alternating with the red wine.
8. Switch to a rubber spatula and fold in the pear pieces, chopped hazelnuts and the chocolate.
9.Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.
10. Bake the cake until the top is brown and a tester inserted near the center comes out with moist crumbs attached, about an hour to an hour and 10 minutes, depending on your oven.
11. Cool the cake in the pan on the rack for about 30 minutes. Then turn the cake out onto the rack and cool completely.
12. In a medium bowl, whish together the confectioners´ sugar and the red wine - you should have a thick but pourable glaze.
13. Pour the glaze over the cake and let the glaze set before you slice into the cake. Or simply dust with confectioners´ sugar.


When I buy pears at a store or market, I always look for fruits wrapped in these lovely colorful tissue papers - sometimes the fruit mongers will "dress up" pears or apples and wrap these papers around some of the fruits on display. The "Williams" pears that I used for my Bundt Cake were from Italy!

Apart from the Williams pears, there are so many different varities of pears to discover such as Bosc, small Seckel, Anjou, Bartlett, Comice, Conference, Forelle, Abaté Fétel, Josephine, Winter Nellis and Packham - this is just a very short list and depending on where you live, and when you buy your fruit, you will be able to find different ones, but no matter which variety you buy, do give pears a try!

Source:

Tulip Flower Cake Pan (26 cm - 10.25 inches), cast aluminium from Berndes (http://www.berndes.com).

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CAKES AND FRUITS - PART I: Plum Torte and Sweet Dough Leaves with Plums

CAKES AND FRUITS - PART II: Red Currant Meringue Cake

CAKES AND FRUITS - PART III: Green Grape Tart - "Tarte mit grünen Trauben"

CAKES AND FRUITS - PART IV: Pear Bundt Cake with Dark Chocolate, Hazelnuts and Red Wine

CAKES AND FRUITS - PART V: Mirabelle Plum Tart with Honey Streusel

CAKES AND FRUITS - PART VI: Walnut Fig Cake

CAKES AND FRUITS - PART VII: Autumnal Cake with Vanilla Custard and Marzipan stuffed Apples

CAKES AND FRUITS - PART III: Green Grape Tart - "Tarte mit grünen Trauben"

The third recipe in my “CAKES AND FRUITS” series features lovely seedless green grapes. Grapes are juicy, sweet berries that grow in bunches. Their skin can be black (purple or ruby) or white (yellow or green), while their translucent flesh tends to be pale green. Although seeded varieties have a stronger, more fragrant flavor than seedless grapes, you should use seedless green grapes for the Green Grape Tart.

Add raw grapes to sweet and savory salads, such as a goats` cheese salad or fruit salad, or serve on their own with a fine cheese or with baked brie.

Grapes are delicious cooked, for example, with fish such as sole, or in a breadcrumb stuffing for chicken. Extract grape juice for a jelly or sorbet by lightly cooking the grapes until their skin pops and they start to release lots of juice. Strain and season with lime juice. Avoid woody or wrinkled grapes

Recipe for Green Grape Tart (“Tarte mit grünen Trauben”)


Ingredients for the Pâte Brisée (Pie Dough) – you can use also substitute  your favorite recipe
(the recipe is enough for one large 12-inch tart pan and one small pie pan or two 8- to 9- inch pie pans)

• 300 grams (2 ½ cups) AP flour
• one pinch of fine sea salt
• 1 tsp super fine sugar
• 250 grams (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
• ¼ to ½ cup ice water

Preparation 

1. To make the pâte brisée, in the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, salt, and sugar.
2 Add the butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds. Instead of making the dough with the food processor, you can also make it by hand.
3. With the machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through the feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process in intervals of more than 30 seconds.
4. Divide the dough into two equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disc and wrap in plastic.
5. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least one  hour.
6. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the cold pâte brisée and fit it into your pie plates, preferably with a removable bottom, trimming excess dough if necessary.
7. Transfer the tart pan to a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Prick dough all over with a fork. If the dough is too soft, transfer to refrigerator again and re-chill for about 30 minutes.
8. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius (400 degrees Fahrenheit), line unbaked pies with parchment paper and fill up with pie weights and blind bake for 15 minutes. Remove weights and paper and continue to bake for another five to eight minutes or until the crust is golden color.
9. Take out of the oven, place on a rack and let cool while preparing the topping.
10. Maintain heat while preparing the ingredients for the topping.

Ingredients for the Cream Topping with Grapes

• 500 grams (1 pound) green seedless grapes.
• 50 grams (1/2 cup) ground almonds
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon, from Ceylon if possible
• 4 eggs (L), organic or free range if possible
• 60 grams (1/3 cup) super fine sugar
• 200 grams (7 ounces) crème fraîche
• 6 tbsp half and half
• 100 grams (3.5 ounces) slithered almonds
• confectioners` sugar

Preparation

1. Wash and clean the grapes.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the ground almonds and cinnamon.
3. Spread the cinnamon mixture on the bottom of the baked pie shells.
4. Arrange the grapes on top of the cinnamon mixture.
5. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, crème fraîche and half and half.
6. Pour the cream mixture over the grapes in the pie shells.
7. Distribute the almonds on top of the cream mixture and bake for about 45 minutes or until the cream topping is set, golden colored and some of the grapes have collapsed ever so slightly.
8. Take the pies out of the oven, cool on racks and dust with confectioners` sugar just before serving.

Equipment

one large 12 inch tart pan with a removable bottom plus a small one
or two 8- to 9- inch tart pan
or one 14- inch rectangular tart pan plus one small one
parchment paper
pie weights

The Phoenicians brought the first grapevines to Greece soon after 1000 B.C., where they flourished. There are now more than 8,000 varieties of grapes worldwide, including those specifically grown for wine, juice, jams and jellies, and table uses, as well as raisins and currants.

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CAKES AND FRUITS - PART I: Plum Torte and Sweet Dough Leaves with Plums

CAKES AND FRUITS - PART II: Red Currant Meringue Cake

CAKES AND FRUITS - PART III: Green Grape Tart - "Tarte mit grünen Trauben"

CAKES AND FRUITS - PART IV: Pear Bundt Cake with Dark Chocolate, Hazelnuts and Red Wine

CAKES AND FRUITS - PART V: Mirabelle Plum Tart with Honey Streusel

CAKES AND FRUITS - PART VI: Walnut Fig Cake

CAKES AND FRUITS - PART VII: Autumnal Cake with Vanilla Custard and Marzipan stuffed Apples

Tuesdays with Dorie - Nectarine Upside Down Chiffon Cake

Today´s recipe for the Tuesdays with Dorie group is a lovely and very pretty Nectarine Upside Down Chiffon Cake.

It is early September, and while the weather is not quite as summery anymore, it is still quite warm for this time of the year and yesterday felt like a good time to bake a cake with nectarines. Spanish nectarines are still widely available in stores and are still juicy, rosy-cheeked and sweet.

While I have baked my share of peach, apricot and nectarine upside-down cakes, I had never baked a Chiffon Upside-Down Cake before. The recipe by contributing baker Mary Bergin, although a bit lengthy, is straightforward and not difficult to handle. The first step is making some “streusel” and baking it on a tray in the oven. It smelled very nice while baking for about 15 minutes on a baking sheet:. The almonds, cinnamon, ginger and butter make for a wonderful combination and the streusel tasted delicious on its own, not overly sweet, a nice component of the Nectarine Cake.

Then onto the topping which consists of butter, brown sugar and, of course, ripe, sliced nectarines to be arranged in a nice pattern at the bottom of the baking pan. Once the topping is nicely arranged in the baking pan, there is only the cake batter left to be prepared. No butter there but oil, I chose to use a good quality sunflower oil which I usually use when a cake recipe calls for oil. Then there is fresh lemon juice, egg yolks, beaten egg whites, flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda. Half of the batter gets poured over the nectarine layer, then some streusel, then the rest of the batter – which makes for a nice layered look when you slice the baked cake.

After baking for a good hour, the cake needs to rest for a while before you can safely turn it upside down. The nectarines make for a very pretty presentation. Overall, I had no difficulty with this recipe.  I served it on its own and only for some of the taste testers with a dollop of whipped cream. We all liked this light, pretty and spongy textured cake and I certainly appreciated that it was a breeze to put together.

The hostesses for today´s recipe are Marlise of The Double Trouble Kitchen and Susan of The Little French Bakery. A great big “Thank You” to both of them!

To see how the other Doristas fared today, please click here.