Figs with Quark

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figs_w_quark_7webNow that it’s summer, even I can’t always have sweet cakes for brunch and breakfast.
Baking is also not that great an idea if the apartment is already heated up through the sun…

If it’s warm I feel like something lighter instead, something without the carbs and without cream or butter as cutting the calories a little is no bad thing in the summer!

One of these lighter breakfasts I rustled up the other day is so tasty that I wanted to share it with you here even though it can hardly be called a receipe as it’s really just an arrangement of a few ingredients. The textures of these simple ingredients are what makes this dish so enjoyable: juicy figs, topped with creamy quark and crunchy pistachios.

I’m sure most of you know about Quark by now. It’s a naturally fat free soft cheese but if you stir it, it still gets a creamy consistency. I know that in Germany at least, you can get different types of quark with added cream but I’d still keep it light with the fat free one which works fine here.

Per portion you’ll need:

  • 2 figs
  • ½ tsp vanilla essence
  • 1 tbsp honey (use runny honey or, if you only have set honey, put a tablespoon of it in a microwavable dish and blitz it in the microwave for a few seconds which makes it runny)
  • 125g of quark
  • 1 tbsp pistachios

Add the vanilla essence to the quark and stir it in until the quark is creamy.

Cut the figs into quarters and arrange them on a plate.

Roughly chop the pistachios and sprinkle them over the quark topped figs.

Drizzle with the honey and serve.

Black Bottom Muffins

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This kind of muffin caught my eye on a recent morning in a little local NY coffee shop – it wasn’t called ‘black bottom muffin’ but ‘farmer’s friend’.

After a bit of online research I found that most people seem to call them ‘black bottom cupcake’ but there are also some names featuring farmers, such as ‘farmer’s delight’. I don’t know why but I do know that they do have a black bottom that is, similar to the red velvet cupcake, made with cocoa powder and the vinegar/bicarb of soda raising agent, and I also know that the cream cheese top is a delight.

They taste very similar to a red velvet cupcake but without the need for them to be red they are easier to make and without the sweet icing of a red velvet cupcake they are a bit easier to digest for breakfast or brunch.

The receipe is very easy and quick – I whipped a batch up between coming home from work and going out for the evening all in less than one hour flat!

 

For 12 muffins you will need

  • 225g (or 8 Oz) cream cheese
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • a pinch of salt 
  • 1 ½ cup plain flour
  • ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 cup of water
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 tbsp cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Line a 12 hole muffin tray with paper cases and preheat the oven to gas mark 4.

In a bowl, whisk together the first 4 ingredients – the cream cheese, egg, 1/3 cup of sugar and a pinch of salt – until fluffy. You could do this with a balloon whisk though I prefer my trusty electric one. Set aside while you make the ‘black bottoms’.

In another bowl, mix the flour, 1 cup of sugar, cocoa, bicarb of soda and salt with a metal spoon or fork so all is well combined.

Make a well in the middle and pour the water, oil, vinegar and vanilla extract in. Stir everything together with a balloon whisk until you have a smooth dough that has a very liquid consistency.

Using a small ladle fill the prepared muffin cases 1/3 of their depth with the cocoa dough. Then top them with the cream cheese mix, evenly dividing it between the 12 cases.

During the baking, the base will rise and cause the cream cheese topping to crack which I think makes quite a nice effect, similar to my crinkle cookies. If you don’t want this to happen you can swirl the cream cheese mix in with a little cake fork but don’t overdo this as you still want some of the cream cheese mix on top.

Bake for around 25-30 minutes and cool down completely before tucking in!

PS
These muffins are very moist and will therefore keep about 2 days – but preferably in a cake tin, in the fridge.

Lemon Pie

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I’m a fan of a good lemon pie…

In New York my favourite lemon pie is from a shop called Four & Twenty Blackbirds in Brooklyn. Their lemon pie features a crispy pastry with a generous amount of a tangy lemon filling and is tastiest when eaten with a little bit of whipped cream on top.

The lemon pies back in London tend to be more like the French lemon tartes which are also nice but tend to be a less thick with a more buttery pastry.

When I make a quick lemon pie at home I have an easy receipe using ready made pastry dough.

The result is something in between a French lemon tarte and American pie – it’s still tastiest with some whipped cream!

For a 23cm/9 inch pie you’ll need

  • an unbaked pie crust/ ready made pie pastry
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • finely grated zest of 3 large, unwaxed lemons
  • the juice of said 3 large lemons
  • 5 eggs
  • 1/3 cup butter, melted
  • whipped cream, to serve

Preheat the oven to gas mark 3.

Roll out your pastry to around 3mm (around the thickness of a one pound coin) and line a 23cm inch pie form, cutting any excess pastry off with a knife.

Combine the sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice in a bowl and beat in the eggs – one by one – with an electric whisk. 

Continue to whisk and slowly pour in the melted butter until all is well combined.
Pour the filling into the prepared pastry and bake in the oven for 45 minutes.

Cool down fully before serving – with a dollop of lightly whipped cream!

 

Cheat’s Cinnamon Buns

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I am back in NY for a few weeks (yay!) and this means that I am living in a short let apartment that is not quite set up for baking adventures.
There’s no scales, no whisks, no baking tins and none of all the other small and large utensils needed.

So I had to come up with a cheat’s way of making a brunch treat, something that you don’t have to make from scratch but can still serve up as a special treat.
And here it is: a cheat’s receipe for cinnamon buns and you won’t need any special bakeware for it either – I just used the iron frying pan.

I’ve always been on the lookout for an easy receipe for cinnamon buns and it can’t really be any easier than this one here, as you use a can of Pillsbury, or another similar brand, Crescent Rolls. My non-American readers probably don’t know that I am referring to the refrigerated cans of ready make dough that can be rolled up into croissants to be baked at home. I’m sure you will find something similar in your supermarkets.

One word of warning though – these buns are very sweet.
That’s just how we roll here in America…

You’ll need:

  • 1 can Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
  • 1/4 stick unsalted softened butter
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup white sugar 
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup creme fraiche
  • 1 cup icing sugar

Combine the white sugar and cinnamon.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

On the stove, melt half of your butter in the frying pan.
Add the brown sugar and stir it in to combine.

Unroll the crescent dough and press the seams together so you create one sheet, spread this with the remaining butter and sprinkle the white cinnamon sugar over it – keeping about  2 tbsp aside. Roll the sheet into one long log and cut it into 8 rolls. Place the rolls in the prepared frying pan and sprinkle the remaining cinnamon sugar on top. Bake for 20 minutes.

Stir the creme fraiche and icing sugar together until evenly combined and spread this icing over the cinnamon buns while they are still warm. 

Poffertjes

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If you have come across this receipe by searching for Poffertjes, you probably know what they are. If you are one of my regular readers from England or America you might not…

Let me tell you, they are one of the best things to come out of the Netherlands. Little doughy pancake bites, served with lashings of butter an icing sugar – what’s not to like!

Even though I’m not sure the Dutch would eat them for breakfast I think, if you eat pancakes for breakfast (and who of my readers does not) then you should have a Poffertjes breakfast too.

To make them you will need a special Poffertjes pan, which is a frying pan lots of little shallow indentations to bake the Poffertjes in. It also helps to have a plastic bottle with a big nozzle – even an empty squeezy ketchup bottle will work – to drop the right amount of dough into each little indentation.

This receipe makes loads of Poffertjes, serving at least 5 people.

You’ll need:

  • 250g plain flour 
  • 1 egg
  • 250ml milk, warm
  • 250ml water
  • 15g dry yeast (the one that comes in sachets, of which you’ll need a about 2 or 3 )
  • 50g unsalted butter, melted
  • a pinch of salt

To serve:

  • icing sugar
  • more unsalted butter

Dissolve the yeast in 3 tbsp of the warm milk, then add it to a big bowl with the flour, rest of the milk and water and whisk everything with an electric whisk to make a smooth liquid dough.

Add the egg, melted butter and pinch of salt and whisk again until all is incorporated. 

Cover the bowl with a wet cloth and set aside for 30 minutes to allow the dough to rise.

Heat the Poffertjes pan and brush each dimple-like indentation with a little butter.
When the butter sizzles, drop small amounts of the dough in to the ‘dimples’. 

Once the top side of the Poffertjes show tiny bubbles and start to go dry it’s time to turn them around (with the help of a small cake fork) so they can go golden brown on both sides. This only takes two minutes or so on each side.

Serve with a generous dusting of icing sugar and lots of butter that will melt all over the Poffertjes…delish!