crumbles

Plum Crumbles & Ginger Ice Cream

28.09.2010 50 Comments

Summer is looking to find Fall around here it seems. Today for example is what I like to call "une journee formidable" – a glorious day. And as corny as it sounds, (I like corny, there) I’ve been humming this old song all day. Bright sunshine, mild temperature and a nice breeze. I turned the A/C off and opened up all the windows.

And breathed. I have put myself on mandatory time outs at 11 and 3 o’clock every day and go outside, do a funky shake down – move about in the house or just play with the pups. Days are intense, yes, but absolutely gratifying. I was just thinking the other day that I may have a lot of projects in the works but all have a wonderful personal relationship attached to them. Everyday I am given the chance to help someone’s vision come true. That is a privilege.

When Holly and I decided to celebrate our working together on her cookbook, she graciously invited us to her house and I volunteered to bring dessert. I was not going to bring tarts, that’s for sure…! I took advantage of the farmers market bounty one weekend and bought tons of fresh dark and juicy plums.

I needed something that could go on a little ride around the block and still make it in presentable form. I was, indeed, going to have dinner with a Cordon Bleu graduate, eheheh! As usual at our farmers market, I bought a little more than what I needed so I made one 8×8 crumble to take to dinner and a few smaller ones for us to enjoy again later.

With travels, work and just "being" (friends, weeekends, parties,…), I did forget they were there, all by their lonesome self in the freezer. Yep. I know. Sad. Well only for a brief moment when I realized they had been hanging out with a full container of ginger ice cream I had just made for a party. I took the crumbles out one evening and selfishly kept some of the ginger ice cream for us too.

Indeed, Summer was calling on Fall that night. And quite perfectly so…

Plum Crumbles With Ginger Ice Cream:

Serves 4 to 6

Notes: you can replace the gluten free flours and the cornstarch with the same amounts (for each) in all purpose flour.

For the plums:
4 plums, pitted and thinly sliced (skin on)
1/4 cup sugar (I used sucanat – a non refined sugar)(use regular sugar if needed)
zest of one lemon
2 Tb lemon juice
2 Tb cornstarch

For the crumble topping:
For the topping:
3/4 cup (90gr) millet flour
3/4 cup (120gr) brown rice flour
1/2 cup (65gr) cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
pinch of salt
6 tablespoons (80gr) unsalted butter, cold, in small pieces
1/4 cup sucanat (or sugar)

Prepare the crumble topping:
In a large bowl, stir together all the flours and cornstarch, cardamom and pinch of salt. Add the butter and sucanat and start mixing everything together with your fingertips. You want to form a few large clusters of dough. It will be easier to grate once cold. Freeze the mixture while you prepare the fruits.

Preheat the oven at 350F and position a rack in the middle.

Prepare the plums:
In a large mixing bowl, combine the plums and the rest of the ingredients. Toss well. Divide between 4 -6 ramekins and place them on a baking sheet as the fruits are most likely to release their juice, causing a spill. When ready to bake, grate the crumble over the ramekins (use a box grates) and bake for 30-35 minutes.

For the ginger ice cream:
See this post.

Plum – Raspberry Cardamom Crumbles

13.10.2008 67 Comments

It’s been a yucky week….all grey with some rain drops here and there. Rain with warm tempereatures. Thunderstorms and shorts, I’ll never get used to this!! I decided to see it as soft and comforting. I baked and I baked without prospect of a good picture taking day. The fridge is overflowing, the freezer is about to get there. In the midst of running out of room in former, I had to start reorganizing the latter. I pulled out one bag each of raspberries and juicy plums to replace them with other desserts that will hopefully be "taken care of". I already told the neighbors to come over for desserts because there is no way B. and I can eat a dozen fast enough. Well we could….but our doctor would not be very happy!

The weather had been threatening us with rain long enough for me to let my guard down and leave the house without an umbrella. Don’t ask…Of course I got soaked while leaving the grocery store after a quick run for milk and eggs one early morning!! Actually I was still dripping when I got home that I figured "what’s a little longer?" and took the dogs for their long walk. They were wired and going crazy and I needed a quiet house later on to work, not the usual circus of Bailey hanging from Tippy’s tail. Once back inside, we were all hungry and in need of a little comforting. I let them chase each other around, that their idea of comfort. Well more like Bailey running like a kid who just put his paw in a plug and Tippy watching, shaking his head as if to say "you crazy dog". I, on the other hand, was craving the comforting smell of a freshly baked crumble and a cup of tea.

Easy, fast, comforting…I don’t know about you but at that moment a crumble felt as good as a dry towel.

I tossed together the raspberries and plums and topped them with a streusel topping spiced up with a little cardamom. Thirty minutes and a dry off later, I was rewarded with the wonderful smell of freshly baked "comfort". I exclaimed "you missed all the fun!" when B. got home and saw us all huddled together on the living room floor enjoying the rest of the morning. He saw an extra crumble dish on the counter top and quickly replied "no, I don’t think I did" before proceeding to dig in his share with a happy smile. Dessert before lunch….my idea of making the best out of a rainy morning!

Plum-Raspberries Cardamom Crumbles:

Serves 4

For the fruits:
4 plums, pitted and chopped into small cubes (about one cup diced)
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
1/4 cup sugar
zest of one lemon
2 Tb lemon juice
2 Tb cornstarch

Streusel topping:
6 tablespoons butter, cold
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat your oven to 30F.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the fruits and the rest of the ingredients. Toss well, but gently not to break the raspberries too much. Divide between 4 ramequins and place them on a baking sheet as the fruits are most likely to release their juice, causing a spill. Set them aside while your prepare the topping.
In a bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cardamom and walnuts if using. Add the butter cut in small pieces and mix with your fingertips until you get a mixture that ressembles coarse crumbs. Divide th topping evenly among the 4 dishes. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the topping is golden brown.

You can make this gluten free by substituting the all purpose flour with gluten freee flour or rice flour. Why am I mentionning this? October is Celiac Awareness Month! If you want to venture into gluten free baking, check this article.

Don’t forget to enter the drawing to win one of 5 copies of Confetti Cakes for Kids! The contest ends Tuesday October 14th at midnight US Eastern time.

Warm Berry Crumbles And Fromage Blanc Ice Cream

15.04.2008 57 Comments

I meant to post this yesterday but I found out that home improvements seriously interferes with blogging. Noting like holding crown molding with one hand and typing with the other, right?!! We decided to tackle the little things we skipped when we built our house (and I mean "we" as owner/builder), exhausted after 15 months spent on a dream and ready to relax on the sofa with a book and a cup of tea. In that spirit, it looks like my friend Inne from Vanille & Chocolat might be coming to the end of her DIY home improvements and share with us this lovely Lemon And Lavender Cake. I am mentioning this, because in the world of food blogging, two things that will never cease to amaze me in the awesome sense of community and incredible friendships that we create. We take notice when somebody does not update for a while, we inquire about certain recipes and enthusiasm and support are kings! Having this cookbook giveaway this past weekend was a way for me to pass on the goodwill and tell you how much I appreciate your support and readership. two things that push me to improve in all aspects of life.
With this said…I am happy to announce the winner of the Nestle dessert cookbook: Congratulations to Kelli from Life In General, in Texas! Send me your mailing address at marinette1 @ comcast . net and the book will be on your way! Thanks to all that participated, it was really great to read about all your favorite cookbooks and I have since added a few to my wish list.

This weekend was what I consider typical April weather, well the kind of days I grew up with, and that makes me very nostalgic about home and my family. Sunny and windy, warm and inviting, with fresh and fragrant smells of blooming trees. The kind of weekend that makes you want to kiss the familiar comfort of winter goodbye and embrace the warmer days ahead. When C. called to get together as we do on most Saturdays (oyster roasts, bbqs, etc…) to ask what I was bringing for dessert, I said "I have got ice cream churning, still figuring out the rest"…which was a complete lie but I don’t like telling her what I am bringing ahead of time, spoils the fun of having dessert, don’t you think?

This Warm Berry Crumble With Fromage Blanc Ice Cream was completely in sync with the day itself and inspired by one of my favorite cookbooks, the "Larrousse Des Desserts" by Pierre Herme (I know, I know…him again). No oven was turned on and yet it sent us back to the few colder days we had: the berries are cooked on the stove with a splash of olive oil, white balsamic vinegar and a dash of cracked black pepper, the crumble part is just crushed ginger snap cookies (crumbled graham cracker sheets work great too). I used a mix of strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries, basically whatever I had in the refrigerator that day that needed to get used pronto. Next time I might add a bit of rhubarb to it, it is so beautiful this time of year and I go through pounds of it like mad in April and May.

The promise of warmer days called for some ice cream to top the crumble with, and I went for one of my new favorites, fromage blanc ice cream. One of the things I miss the most about home is having "fromage blanc" at the end of a meal with a fruit (typical dessert in my family) or in the morning with some granola on top. You can find it at nicely stocked health food stores, or even online, but it can cost an arm and leg (money I’d rather save for the increasing price of flour lately). Thus, I started making my own at home following this recipe, and keep it well covered in the refrigerator. In a pinch, I found that Greek Yogurt works great for the ice cream, both have similar texture and taste, and I realise that not everybody is considering buying a cow and a goat like I am sometimes so I could have all my favorite dairy product readily available.

I already talked about how cancer affected my life by taking away family members and friends, but one thing occured to me while I was making these: they are packed of wonderful nutrients and essentials vitamins and minerals. Berries are natural superfoods, full of radical fighting agents and the yogurt or fromage blanc is packed with digestive building bacteria, all crucial for healthy living. I hope that Chris from Mele Cotte will agree and include these in her Cooking To Combat Cancer Event.

Warm Berry Crumble With Fromage Blanc Ice Cream:
Serves 6
Printable Recipe

For the ice cream:
400 ml water
240 gr. sugar (about 1 cup)
zest and juice of one lemon
350gr. fromage blanc (or use store bought or Greek yogurt)

In a large and heavy saucepan, bring the water to a boil with the sugar, zest and juice of the lemon, until the sugar is dissolved. Let cool completely. Add the fromage blanc and and whisk until well blended (it is ok if it appears to separate, it will come together in the ice cream process). If you have an ice cream maker, freeze and process the mixture according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
If you do not ave an ice cream maker: freeze the mixture for a couple of hours, take it out and give it a good whip either with a stand mixer or a hand held blender, repeat the process a couple of times, every two hours.

For the crumbles:
1 – 2 cups coarsely crushed ginger snap cookies or graham crackers (amount will vary according to the size of your dishes and how "crumbly" you want to get versus the amount of fruit)
2 cups mixed red berries
1 Tb olive oil
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tb white balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp cracked black pepper

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat, add the berries and cook just until they start to soften. Remove from the stove and add the vinegar and black pepper.
Sprinkle some cookie crumbs at the bottom of your glasses or dishes, divide the berries evenly on top, add some of the juices too. Top with some more crumbs of desired and a scoop of ice cream.

What next? I am off to check out my two adoptee bloggers, because I have been a bad godmother and need to see what delicious goodies they have made lately!