Lovely Bush Lemon Crostata....with thanks to Matt and Bill Granger

 


Last week while Biss was visiting me at my new home on the Sunshine Coast we went for a nice long walk along my nice long beach... On the path to the beach by my home Biss spotted a bush lemon tree.... the lemons were knobbly and juicy looking, alas we could only reach one little lemon.

A few days later on a walk to the beach with my darling husband i asked him to collect the lemons for me. OK, so i may have been taking advantage of his drunken state and may have challenged him to retrieve me some lemons. So up the tree went Matt and down came the lemons! It turns out though that lemons are quite thorny buggers, poor Matt had plenty of battle wounds and decreed i better make him something "f*#*king yummy" with those bush lemons. And so i did.

This recipe is a combination of two of Bill Granger's recipes from his cookbook Bills Basics. I had been wanting to make his Plum Jam Tart (p45)  recipe for a while, however there are no plums yet! i spotted his Lemon Tart (p234) recipe which is a crustless tart, only i love my biscuitty bases... so decided to bastardize his 2 recipes to suit me to a T.  This is a really easy recipe as there is no kneading required, no leaving to rest in the fridge and although i blind baked the crust i didn't need to worry about any pastry weights.

I have now eaten WAY WAY more than my share of Crostata and am a content fatty... man do i need some friends around to help eat all these goodies!

happy baking until next post~
x Ba

Lemon Crostata

Base
100g unsalted butter (melted and cooled)
1/3c caster sugar
175g (just over 1c) Plain Flour - i use wholemeal
1/4c ground almonds

Filling
3 eggs
1/2c plain flour - i used wholemeal
1c caster sugar
125g unsalted butter melted
zest of 2 unwaxed lemons
150ml lemon juice
300ml cream

Method

* Pre-heat oven to 180degrees
* Line the base of a 23cm spring form cake tin
* In a bowl stir the butter and sugar together.
* Add the flour and a pinch of salt, stir to make a soft dough
* Press the dough evenly into the base of the tin
* Bake in oven on a baking tray, for 15-20mins until the pastry is just slightly puffy and golden
* Remove from oven, sprinkle the ground almonds over and let cool while you make the filling
 * In a large bowl whisk the eggs
 * Gradually add the flour, then the sugar, butter, lemon zest, juice a small pinch of salt and the cream. Whisk well
* Pour on top of the base and bake for a further 40-45 minutes, until slightly browned.
* Remove from oven and let cool for 20minutes before slicing.
* serve with yoghurt or cream.

Yummy still warm...or cool

Strawberry Hazelnut and Condensed Milk Brioche Scrolls (with Chia Seeds)

 

Hello Friends!
We are here, still alive and kicking..... Sorry for the long wait between bites, life has been happening at quite a pace lately!
I know Biss has been a busy girl since arriving home from her 4 months of travels gallivanting around the globe... and me? Well I've been cooking up my bun in the oven, 6 weeks until he is ready to join us in this delicious world. On top of pregnancy i have just moved with my husband to the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. The past few weeks i have spent unpacking DIY-ing and nesting...and trying to learn the ways of my new kitchen and oven. Prior to that i was madly packing and organizing our great migration... so i apologize profusely for the neglect the blog has been experiencing.

I hope you are all well and have sprung to life with the change of season. The change in menu has been most welcomed in my house with the spring fruit and veg now available and i eagerly await the tropical summer fruits just around the corner.

Today I baked some buns in the oven, I have been craving sticky cinnamon  scrolls for a few days...and found in the current (October) issue of Delicious magazine a yummy looking recipe for Dulce De Leche Brioche Buns by Rachel Khoo author of cookbook The Little Paris Kitchen. We have a recipe for Dulce de Leche on our blog if you would like to make this recipe as it can be hard to find ready made. I cooked up a variation as i had plenty of strawberries in the fridge, which turned out to be delicious and slightly (only slightly) better for you.

Strawberry, Hazelnut and condensed milk Brioche Scrolls (with chia seeds). All i can say is yummo my craving has finally been satisfied!

This is a bit of effort to cook as you need to begin the day ahead, knead and prepare and then let rest the following day for another 2 hours before baking... and they are best eaten warm from the oven...however I do suggest though that you give it a try and i hope you enjoy them as much as i did!


 Strawberry  Hazelnut and Condensed Milk Brioche Scrolls (with Chia Seeds)

Ingredients:

dough:
75g unsalted butter
50ml milk
7g dried instant yeast
1 2/3C plain flour (i used half wholemeal)
60g Rapadura sugar 
2 eggs (lightly beaten)
1 heaped tbs creme fraiche (i used sour cream)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp orange blossom water (optional)
filling:
150g condensed milk
2tbs chia seeds
1 punnet (250g) strawberries roughly chopped
1 handful chopped hazelnuts

Method
Put the butter and milk in a small saucepan and heat until the butter has just melted. You want the milk and butter lukewarm NOT hot. Add the yeast and stir to dissolve

In a large bowl mix the flour, sugar and a pinch of salt. Create a well in the middle and stir in the the milk mixture, half the egg, and the remaining dough ingredients. Mix until you have a soft sticky dough. Place in a bowl cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight.

Next day... Line a 24cm spring form cake tin with baking paper.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured working surface and knead for 5 mins.
Roll into a large rectangle (approx 40 x 30cm)

Drizzle the condensed milk over the dough leaving a 2cm border. Sprinkle the chia seeds over, then the strawberries and hazelnuts. Roll the dough up to form a long log. Cut into 6 equal pieces.

the condensed milk will make this a little messy but the condensed milk will thicken and caramelise in the oven and be delicious. Place the cake tin on a baking tray lined with baking paper (to catch the excess oozy mess).

Place the pieces cut side up into the prepared pan, brush with some of the egg then leave covered with a clean tea towel in a warm place to rise for 2hours, or until doubled in size. (I placed the tray on top of my little coffee machine on the cup warmer..it worked a treat. i have also used a Italian trick in the past of filling the kitchen sink with hot water and placing the dough in the cupboard under the sink.)

Pre-heat the oven to 160 degrees. Brush the buns with a little more egg, then place in the oven to bake for 30-40minutes or until nice and golden brown. Once cooked transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly.

Kässpätzle - Germany

Kässpätzle means cheese spätzle, spätzle being a type of egg noodle. This dish is known throughout all of Germany and beyond, however, it is said to be a Swabian dish originating in Baden-Württemberg for which Stuttgart stands as capital.

Although nothing alike, these noodles are so much easier to make than Italian pasta and you can't go wrong really... Some people say this is the German version of macaroni cheese, which doesn't do it justice. This dish is a delicious winter warmer. You could serve this with a glass of spicy Glühwein to warm you up on a cold winter's night. I have also made Kässpätzle and added in some fresh chopped spinach or sliverbeet before baking it in the oven.

Of course you can buy the spätzle ready made, but making the noodles is so easy and you can really taste the difference. This is an original Swabian family recipe a friend gave to me. We recently visited him in Baden-Wüttemberg and made it together. It was yum! :)

Serves 6 - 8 
4-5 brown onions sliced
Oil or butter for frying 
500g plain flour
3 eggs
approximately 1/4 -3/8 L water
1-2 teaspoons salt
250grams of grated Gouda, Edam or Emmantaler cheese or a mixture

Heat a pan with some oil or butter and then add the sliced onions. Fry the onions over medium heat until golden and caramelised and set aside.

Place flour in a bowl. Add eggs and salt and some of the water and stir. You can use a whisk if you have a strong one (as the dough becomes quite sticky and thick) or use a wooden spoon, stirring an d mixing until the flour lumps dissolve. Add water until you have a fluid but thick and stick consistency. Keep stirring until you see large bubbles appear as you mix it. NB these are not like the bubbles you see when you make pancakes at the top of the mixture. These are large bubbles that form whilst stirring.

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Bring a large pot of water to the boil with a tablespoon of salt.When the water is boiling place some of the spätzle dough onto a bread board and smooth it out into a a layer a few millimeters thick. While holding the bread board over the boiling water, use a large knife to scrape strips of of the sticky spätzle dough off the bread board directly into the boiling water and repeat until all dough has been made into spätzle noodles.

Once the spätzle is cooked it will float to the top of the pot. Scoop it out as you go and place it in a a large baking dish layering it with spätzle , caramelised onions and cheese.

Repeat until you have used all the onions and spätzle . Top with cheese and place in a preheated oven for about 20-30 minutes or until golden on top.