Plum + Ricotta Galette

July 26, 2014

Santa Rosa Plum Galette with house made licorice basil goats milk ricotta

This Galette was a fourth of July inspired pastry. Once again we had a tremendous amount of Santa Rosa Plums at Camp Joy just screaming to be used. Galettes are simple and surprising easy to prepare. The crust that hugs the ricotta and plum filling can be used in both sweet and savory galettes; tomatoes, peaches, spinach and cheese are all excellent choices!

Plum + Ricotta Galette

Crust
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon table salt

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

Zest of half a lemon

8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1/4 cup ricotta, yogurt or sour cream

3 to 4 tablespoons cold water

Combine flour, salt, sugar and lemon zest in a large bowl. Add butter pieces and work into a coarse meal, so the butter turn into roughly the size of a pea. Add water to ricotta and knead into dough. Make a ball and wrap in plastic. Flatten into a disc. Chill for at least an hour.

Filling
3-5 plums, sliced

1 sprig licorice basil, minced

Pinch of salt

1 cup ricotta

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On parchment paper roll out dough until about a 1/4 of an inch thick. Cut into pentagon shape. Lay ricotta in center and lay plums atop in a spiral pattern and sprinkle with basil. Gently fold dough around filling.

Glaze
1 egg yolk beaten with 1 teaspoon water

coarse sugar, for sprinkling

With a pastry brush, brush yolk mixture on outside of pastry and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool & enjoy!

Goats Milk Ricotta

4 cups goats milk

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

3 tablespoons distilled vinegar, fresh lemon or lime juice

butter muslin

In a non reactive pot, simmer milk until 185 degrees. Remove from heat and add salt and vinegar. Strain through butter muslin for 10 minutes.

Chocolate Plum Skillet Cake

July 4, 2014

Chocolate Skillet Cake with Santa Rosa + toasted Coconut shavings

When I miss people, I bake. Its an odd habit I picked up when I was younger. When friends or family would go on trips or as of lately when I've felt homesick, I'm attached to the oven, baking my feelings. Theres something about opening the oven to a tasty dessert thats like seeing an old friend again. I also love simple one pan meals.

Lately we've had a lot of gorgeous Santa Rosa plums bursting from our fruit trees in Boulder Creek. One day at lunch I was staring at a gorgeous bowl of plums sitting on the table when I realized how badly I wanted chocolate, which is pretty much always. Suddenly this recipe occurred to me! I find that the chocolate cuts through the sharp sweetness of the plums. This cake is inspired by a few different recipes. The caramelizing of the plums and the use of the skillet stemmed from the idea of a tarte tatin mixed with the gluten free buckwheat chocolate almond cake I made last month. Most stone fruits would work well and the addition of jam or a chocolate drizzle takes the cake to the next level.

Chocolate Plum Skillet Cake

4-5 ripe plums

2 tablespoons butter

6 oz (170g) chocolate*

1/2 cup (115g) butter

4 large eggs, separated

1/2 cup (100g) sugar

1/3 cup (80 ml) yogurt

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup almonds, roasted

1/4 cup buckwheat flour (35g)

powdered sugar & cocoa powder, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350. Half plums and remove pits. In a 8-10 inch cast iron skillet heat 1 tbsp butter and when hot lay plums down face down and allow to caramelize for about 5 minutes. Flip to skin side and cook for an additional 5. Add another tablespoon of butter and swirl in the skillet. Set aside. In a double boiler, melt down remaining butter and add chocolate. Once melted remove and allow to cool. In a bowl, separate eggs into whites and yolks. Whisk the egg yolks, half of the sugar, yogurt, vanilla, and salt, stir in melted chocolate. In a food processor pulse almonds until fine and add in the buckwheat flour. Stir into chocolate mixture. In a mixture (or by hand if you want a work out!) whisk egg whites until soft peaks form, add the remaining sugar and beat until firm peaks form. Slowly fold into chocolate mixture. Scrap bowl into skillet with plums and bake for 25-30 minutes or until slightly firm in the center. Cool and remove from pan and dust with powdered sugar & cocoa powder, or jam & chocolate and enjoy with a scoop of ice cream for added decadence!

* I used semi-sweet chocolate chips, but dark chocolate would be amazing as well.

Gingersnap Whoopie Pies with Cranberry Orange Ganache

November 22, 2013

I recently moved out of Philadelphia and back to my family's bed & breakfast the Bridgeton House on the Delaware in Upper Black Eddy, Pennsylvania. Our 1836 Inn overlooks the Delaware River and is riddled with my childhood memories. I remember all the incarnations of the Inn's kitchen and I always loved sitting at the counter, watching the chef prepare breakfast, but mostly I was in it for the cakes & cookies.

Today was the first day I had free reign of the kitchen and prepared breakfast for the guests. While mastering my omelet game & making pumpkin cornbread waffles, I made a simple cranberry orange compote. After breakfast was all said and done it was time to make cookies for tea time (my dream). I decided to make a simple ginger snap but also wanted to get rid of my excess cranberry sauce. After baking off the snaps, I decided to take the compote add a little sugar and cream cheese and make a filling for whoopie pies! The color alone is super fun and they taste even better.

Gingersnap Whoopie Pies with Cranberry Orange Ganache

Gingersnaps

makes about 4 dozen cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon table salt

3 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon allspice

2 sticks unsalted butter (room temperature)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 large egg

1/3 cup unsulphured molasses

Method

Combine dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars. Slowly add the egg and molasses and beat until combined, scraping the edges of the bowl often. Slowly add dry ingredients and scrape sides of bowl until mixed. Transfer dough into plastic wrap and refrigerate for and hour or until firm.

Preheat oven to 350. With a small ice cream scoop or spoon, roll into 1 inch balls. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until deep brown. Sprinkle with Turbinado suagr for a festive pop.

Cranberry Orange Ganache

3 cups Fresh Cranberries

1 or 1/2 cup Maple Syrup

Zest of 1 Orange

1/2 cup Cream Cheese

In a sauce pan over medium heat, add cranberries and simmer until berries burst and release juices(5-10 minutes). Add zest and syrup to taste and let cool. In a mixing bowl, add the cranberry mixture and cream cheese and combine.

Assembly

Take two like sized ginger snaps and place about a tablespoon of the ganache in the center. Press together and practice serious self control in trying not to eat them all!

No-Bake Coconut Blueberry Pudding

August 20, 2013

Chia seeds are one of the most amazing health foods around. Yes, the once chia pet seeds also pack a real dietary punch! Rich in omega 3 fatty acids and fiber, chia has many benefits in one tiny seed. The interesting thing about chia seeds is when moisture is introduced, wether it be water, milk or kombucha they expand and become gelatinous. This makes chia seeds useful for vegans who miss jello and other such animal products. One of my favorite recipes I stumbled upon on the back of a trader joes package was to mix chia with coconut milk and create a rich pudding like dish. Simply combine coconut milk and chia seeds and allow to firm up in the fridge for a minimum of an hour. I experimented with different preparations, adding macerated fruits and honey. My favorite was this recipe but try any and all of your favorite summer fruits!

No-Bake Coconut Blueberry Pudding

1 cup coconut milk

1/4 cup chia seeds

2/3 cup maple syrup/honey

Handful mashed or puréed blueberries/summer fruit

Dash cinnamon

Combine all ingredients. Stir until chia seeds are completely covered in milk. Refrigerate for one hour or until firm.

Blueberry Hand Pies

August 14, 2013

I've always been a huge fan of portable food. Personal sized treats are always a crowd pleaser, and when I decided to sell a baked-good for a fundraiser for Caravan, I was set on making hand pies. A good friend of mine is a bit of a pie aficionado and when we teamed up for this fundraiser, I knew I had to have her help me develop a sinfully delicious hand pie recipes. Well two days of prep, countless test recipes, three different fillings, and hours of baking later, we came up with this wonderful sour cream based crust. We filled them with her signature jersey blueberry filling and sold over 80 of these bad boys at The Barbary. This recipe is great for summer fruits (peach, apricot, nectarine) but is also great for savory fillings too- We tried vegan chorizo and turkey with summer squash and they were all a hit, you could even go ahead an call them empanadas if you're feeling festive.

Blueberry Hand Pie

Makes roughly 18 Hand Pies

Sour Cream Crust

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, cut into 1/2" cubes

1 8-ounce container sour cream

1 to 2 tablespoons cold milk, optional

In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt. Add the butter and mix together. Put the bowl in the freezer for 10 minutes. On a clean dry counter roll out the dough, flattening butter into flour. Knead the dough until butter is throughly mixed into the crust and return to the freezer for an additional 5 minutes. Repeat once more and freeze for 10 minutes. If mixture becomes dry add milk. Fold in sour cream and combine. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or overnight.

Blueberry Filling

2 cups sugar

3 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup water

6 cups fresh blueberries

2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

In a saucepan, combine all ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes or until mixture reduces and thickens.

On a floured surface, roll out dough until about 1/8 inch thick, an empanada press makes this easier. Cut dough into a 6 inch circle with a cutter or round bowl. Add 2 tablespoons mixture to center and fold dough over mixture, and sealing edges with a few drops of cool water. Cut a 'V' shaped vents in top and bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until golden brown.