For Thanksgiving this year I did not make Apple Pie. I’ve never been the biggest fan of Apple Pie. I’m actually not the biggest fan of making any kind of pie that requires two crusts (a top and a bottom). Though I consider myself a pretty adept crust maker, it’s still a laborious and nerve inducing process. I especially dread rolling out the dough and then transferring it to the pie tin. While I roll, Luke watches carefully and provides words of encouragement. Together, we flip the crust a couple times, re-flouring the surface between flips, to avoid sticking. We roll the dough up onto the rolling pin at the end to transfer it to the pie tin. We patch up the sides; the crust is never perfect. It’s always a relief when it’s in the tin. Having to do the process all over again with the top…oof.
Here is another quintessential summertime recipe we’ve been meaning to share. Yes, we know it’s past Labor Day and we’re already into the second week of September, but there’s still time! Summer is not over yet and therefore this dessert is still seasonal.
Cherry Clafoutis is a dessert that’s easier to make than properly pronounce. My mom’s directions for making clafoutis are as follows: “pour palačinke batter over cherries and put it in the oven.” The only messy part of this recipe is pitting the cherries – a task I didn’t particularly enjoy as a 5 year old child. I realize now why my mother’s directions for clafoutis are so straight-forward. She leaves out the part where I do all the grunt work and end up covered in cherry juices.
Because Hillary and I are too structured of people to actually follow the palačinke batter + cherries advice, we use Mimi Thorisson’s recipe from A Kitchen in France. Mimi actually doesn’t pit her cherries, which is something my pre-k self would have been very happy about. If you’d rather not throw caution to the wind, try these pitting methods or pick up a special pitter.
Ingredients:
3 1/2 TBS unsalted butter, melted and cooled + extra butter for cake pan
1 LB cherries, pits removed
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped
3/4 cup + 1 TBS whole milk
4 eggs
Powdered sugar for *dusting*
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Pit the cherries either with a pitting tool or using a chopstick.
Butter a 9 inch round cake pan. Arrange the cherries in the bottom of the pan.
In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, salt, and vanilla bean seeds.
Whisking gently, add the milk and then eggs (one by one). Add the melted butter and whisk until the batter is nice and smooth. Pour the batter over the cherries.
Bake for 15 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350°F and bake for another 30ish minutes.
Place the pan on a rack and let cool for at least 1 hour.
Mastering a chocolate tart recipe sort of makes you feel like you could pull off the eternally enviable style of Parisian women – you are Patricia, the beautiful American heroine of Breathless. That, “I woke up this stylish and put-together” look. Seemingly effortless and simple, but at the same time tailored and unique. Parisian style is unassuming, beautiful, and beguiling. For years us American woman have been trying to crack the code. Serving this chocolate tart to guests, you’ll elicit a similar response. They’ll be thinking, “It’s so simple, but so good and I’m not sure how I can recreate this for myself.” This tart is perfect all on its own – no need to accessorize with whipped cream or ice cream. The filling is silky smooth chocolate, but with just the right amount of bite. And you’ll only need a sliver. There’s a lot of decadence in a tiny portion.
The inspiration for this recipe comes from David Lebovitz, a Parisian emigrate and our favorite ex-pat food writer. We used a crust recipe from Amanda Hesser, though David has his own as well (which we are sure is great).
Ingredients (Crust, makes 2):
8 oz (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened + extra for greasing
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp milk
12 oz (about 2 1/3 cup) all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
Chocolate Filling:
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
6 TBS warm coffee
4 oz unsalted butter, cubed at room temperature
pinch of sea salt
4 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 large eggs
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
Make the crust. In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add the egg yolk and milk and beat to combine. In a separate, medium bowl combine the flour and salt. Slowly add the flour to the butter mixture, stirring until completely blended. Gather dough into 2 balls and wrap each in plastic wrap. Freeze one for a later date and chill one in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
Heavily butter a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Make sure to butter all the nooks and crannies. Roll out the dough and press the dough into the pan, patching up the sides and trimming the edges as needed. Prick the bottom with a fork and place in the freezer for 30 minutes.
Prebake the tart shell. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Remove tart from freezer, fill with pie weights, dried rice, dried beans to prevent the crust from puffing up. We use a lot of coins! And line the crust with parchment paper or a buttered piece aluminum foil before pouring in coins or weights. Bake until golden, 20-25 minutes.
While prebaking, make the chocolate filling. Spread sugar in an even layer in the bottom of a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan or dutch-oven. Cook the sugar over medium heat until the edges liquefy and begin to caramelize. Using a heatproof utensil, gently drag the liquified sugar toward the center of the pan. This encourages the sugar to melt evenly.
Once the sugar is melted it will caramelize fairly quickly. When it starts to smoke, but before it burns, turn off the heat and stir in the coffee. Be careful when you do this; wear oven mitts and don’t stand too close to the pan. The mixture will bubble and seize up a bit. If the caramel has seized up a bit, stir it gently until smoothed.
Add the butter and salt and stir until melted. Then add both chocolates and stir until smooth. Once smooth, mix in the eggs, then the flour. Finally, stir in vanilla.
Pour the mixture into the pre-baked tart shell. Bake 15-20 minutes, just until the filling starts to rise and crack at the edges but the center is still jiggly. Don’t over bake!
Remove from oven and let cool completely before slicing.
You can enjoy with some whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, but it truly is delicious all on it’s own!
If you haven’t noticed yet, Hillary and I love a good *dusting* of powered sugar. Our breakfast palačinkes, afternoon canelés, and xmas linzer cookies always come with a light coating of sugar. The act of “dusting” has recently reached the big stage thanks to a certain Turkish chef aka #Saltbae. We’re glad to see he salts his steak with the same care as we do with our delicately powdered desserts. In our attempt to share some of Saltbae’s spotlight, we recently whipped up some dusting-friendly madeleines. These desserts are great with a lemon or chocolate glaze, but a subtle coat of sugar is really all you need.
The recipe is adopted from one of our favorite chefs / Instagrammers David Lebovitz. His recipe makes 24 medium sized madeleines – the perfect amount for any party or dessert/breakfast combo.
Ingredients:
3 eggs at room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp honey
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
zest of 1 small lemon
9 TBS of unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature + a bit of butter for the baking sheet molds
Directions:
Begin by brushing melted butter into each madeleine baking sheet mold. Dust with flour and put in the fridge or freezer until ready to use.
With a standing mixer or hand mixer/bowl, whip the eggs, sugar and salt until thick and frothy (about 5 mins)
Pass the flour through a mesh sifter into a small bowl. Gradually fold the flour into the egg mixture until incorporated. Let the batter rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
As the batter sits in the fridge, prepare the melted butter and lemon zest mixture. Start by melting the 9 tablespoons butter and let it cool to room temperature (15-20 mins). Add lemon zest to cooled butter and let sit.
Remove batter from the fridge. Gradually spoon butter into the batter and simultaneously fold until incorporated. Add honey and vanilla as you fold in butter mixture. Return to fridge and let sit for another 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 425°F. Plop enough of the batter to fill 3/4th’s of the baking sheet indentation. Do not spread, but give the baking sheets a few knocks on the counter-top before placing in the oven.
Turn oven to 400°F and bake for 8-9 minutes, keep a close eye on the edges to make sure the bottoms don’t burn. Remove from the oven and dust with powdered sugar.
Details: Makes 24 medium sized madeleines. Store uncovered or loosely covered so they don’t loss their crisp.
Canelés are the perfect treat. They’re bite-sized, super sweet, crunchy and custardy. You can enjoy with a morning coffee, as an afternoon snack, or have a couple after dinner for a little sweetness. And when sprinkled with powdered sugar, they’re très photogenic – perfect for Instagram. We discovered this recipe via Luke’s mother, who mastered making canelés by following a recipe in Mimi Thorisson’s A Kitchen in France. Proper French pastry chefs use copper molds, but a silicone mold (recommended by Mimi) makes life a lot easier. The only qualm we have with canelés is that they require some serious patience! You must make the batter at least 24 hours in advance. We suggest making the batter Saturday morning so that you can enjoy these little gems with Sunday brunch…and lunch, dinner, and midnight dessert!
Ingredients:
2 cups + 2 TBS whole milk
1-2 vanilla beans, split lengthwise and seeds scraped out
Note! Batter must be prepared at least 24 hours before baking, so plan ahead.
In a medium saucepan set at medium-low temp, whisk together milk and vanilla seeds. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Let it rest for 5 minutes then transfer to a large bowl.
Whisk in the sugar and flour slowly, avoiding any lumps. Add egg yolks one at a time and mix until incorporated. Stir in the melted butter. Pour in the rum and whisk the batter until smooth. The batter should have the same consistency as palachinkes (aka crepes).
Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours (can be up to 48 hours).
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
If using silicone canelés molds, you do not need to brush with butter. Copper/metal molds are trickier to use. Consult more professional canelés-makers for suggestions.
Fill molds about to 2/3, be very careful to not fill too much. Bake at 450°F for 10 minutes then turn down the oven to 350°F and bake for additional 50 minutes.
Let canelés cool in their molds for 5 minutes and then transfer to wire rack. Dust with powdered sugar when you’re ready to enjoy!
Details: Most silicon molds hold 15 or 16 canelés, we had a bit of batter leftover once our mold was filled.
I am a proud half-Croatian, which means even though I can’t speak a full sentence, I can still root for the soccer team and visit family on the beautiful Dalmatian coast. One of the biggest treats of growing up with a Croatian mother was the occasional palachinka (known as crepes to most) breakfast. This recipe comes from my grandmother, “Baka” in Croatian, who happened to celebrate her 85th birthday earlier this week. Baka’s recipe calls for seltzer or club soda, which gives the palachinka a perforated appearance. As I demonstrate above, the key technique for palachinka making is a tight roll and an even sprinkling of powdered sugar. Jam and nutella make the perfect filling for this classic Croatian breakfast.
Ingredients:
1 cup flour
Pinch of salt
1 TBS sugar
1 1/4cup milk
2 eggs
Dash of vanilla extract
1/4 cup seltzer
1/4 cup canola oil for pan/skillet
Directions:
In a medium sized bowl, mix the dry ingredients. flour, salt, and sugar. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, and vanilla extract.
Whisk the wet mixture with the dry ingredients, being sure to add slowly or in couple of batches. After fully incorporated add the seltzer. It is important that it be added last! The palachinka batter should have the texture of melted ice cream. If it does not, adjust with extra milk or flour. You can refrigerate for 30 minutes and up to 24 hours or start cooking right away. A crepe pan is ideal for cooking, but a small skillet will also do.
Heat the pan to medium-high and add about a teaspoon of oil. Swirl the oil around the pan.
Lift the pan off the flame and pour about 1/4-1/3 cup of the batter to the center of the pan. Swirl the batter around until it covers the pan evenly. Cook on one side for 2 minutes and then flip with a silicone spatula or spoon (wooden spoon works well too, just don’t use anything with sharp edges!) and cook on the other side for 45 seconds to 1 minute.
Important note! Cooking time will get shorter and shorter as you go because the pan will get hotter. Adjust accordingly. Check out these visuals to study up on the swirling and flipping technique.
Serve with a variety of jams and ideally Nutella. Sprinkle some powdered sugar on top for a little flair and extra sweetness.
Jam cookies are a traditional Christmas cookie for Luke’s family, passed down from his Baka (i.e. Croatian grandmother) to his mother and now to us. The other cookies you will likely find at Luke’s home during the holidays (according to Luke): the “half moons,” the “cutouts,” and the “chocolate ones.” In my household, the cookies have bit more specific names. In addition to the ubiquitous cutout cookies, we also make gingersnaps, wonder bars, and sugar cookies. Sugar cookies is a vaguer name. It probably brings to mind those frosted cookies you find in every single supermarket. That’s what Luke initially thought we were making when I suggested baking sugar cookies. Fortunately, my mother’s sugar cookies are of a different variety. These classic crowdpleasers are easy to make, festive for holiday parties and office potlucks, and are a perfect 12:01am Christmas Eve snack.
Ingredients:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 lb unsalted butter
2 eggs
1 cup vegetable or canola oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar (or 2 tsp lemon juice)
Red + green sugar sprinkles
Directions:
Cream together butter and sugar, until pale and a bit fluffy. Add eggs and beat. Add remaining ingredients – oil, salt, vanilla, flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Mix together until smooth. Chill overnight or for several hours.
After chilled, remove dough from fridge and preheat oven to 325°F.
Roll dough into small balls (a bit smaller than golf ball size) and put on a cookie sheet, evenly spaced.
Prepare to small plates with sprinkles – 1 green, 1 red. Dip the bottom of a circular glass into sugar then use to flatten dough balls down.
Bake for 8-10 minutes, until light brown at the edges.
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