Chocolate, Almond & Fleur De Sel Pots de Crème

When I crave chocolate, a chocolate bar from the nearby grocery store won't do. When I crave chocolate, I need something homemade {and heavenly good}. Like a rich chocolate cake, chewy chocolate chip cookies, or, like last time, sophisticated pots de crème.

Aran Goyoaga's cookbook Small Plates & Sweet Treats, which was published in October 2012, is one of my most favorite cookbooks. It's full of delicious recipes arranged by season, lovely memories & stories, and gorgeous photography & food styling.

These pots de crème caught my attention immediately. The original recipe calls for hazelnuts and hazelnut butter but I used almonds and almond butter because that was what I had on hand. I also sprinkled some blueberries on top and liked the flavor combination a lot. Next time I may serve them with some vanilla-flavored sautéed apple cubes.

This is a wonderful, rich chocolate dessert for any occasion. I'm sure you too will fall in love with it.

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Chocolate, Almond & Fleur de Sel Pots de Crème

recipe adapted from Small Plates & Sweet Treats by Aran Goyoaga, p. 62
recipe can also be found on her blog

30 g (¼ cup) almonds
500 ml (2 cups) unsweetened coconut milk
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise & seeds scraped out
1 egg (L)
2 egg yolks (L)
50 g (¼ cup) coconut palm sugar
2 tbsp almond butter
60 g (2 oz) milk chocolate, finely chopped
60 g (2 oz) bittersweet dark chocolate (70 % cocoa), finely chopped
½ tsp fleur de sel

whipped cream, to serve
optional: blueberries or other berries or fruit, to serve


Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Roast the almonds on a baking sheet for 5 to 7 minutes, or until fragrant. Let them cool and chop coarsely. Reduce the oven temperature to 150°C (300°F).

In a medium-sized pot, combine the coconut milk, vanilla bean, and seeds. Over moderate heat, bring to a low simmer.

In the meantime, in a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, sugar, and almond butter until (at least almost) lump-free.

When the coconut milk has come to a simmer, remove the pan from the heat. Remove the vanilla bean pod. Add both chocolates to the warm coconut milk and stir until the chocolates have melted.

Pour a little bit of the hot coconut milk mixture over the eggs while whisking. Slowly add the rest of the milk mixture and whisk until homogenous. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean pot or bowl. Add the fleur the sel and stir.

Pour the custard into 6 (4-ounce) oven-safe ramekins. Place the ramekins in a deep baking pan and place it on the oven rack. To create a water bath, carefully pour hot water into the baking pan to come half-way up the sides of the ramekins.

Bake the custards for 30 to 40 minutes. The custards are ready when the cream is set. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature, allowing them to set completely.

The custards can be enjoyed at room temperature or chilled. Personally, I prefer mine chilled. To serve, top with whipped cream, roasted almonds, and blueberries.

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Oh and I have approximately 30 kilos of apples on my balcony… Recipe suggestions, anyone?  

A Rainy Day and Plum Crumble

Lie on the bridge and watch the water flowing past.
Or run, or wade through the swamp in your red boots.
Or roll yourself up and listen to the rain falling on the roof.
It's very easy to enjoy yourself.

– Tove Jansson, Moominvalley in November

It was a rainy day. Rain on the roof, against the windows. Sometimes quite harsh, sounding like a drum roll. Then gentle again, like a whisper, quiet and peaceful. Rain. I love its smell, its sound, and the comfort it brings. Walking through a warm summer rain and getting completely soaked. Don't like to get wet? Maybe the Rain Room is what your dreams are made of. Cocooned and protected.

Fall cannot exist without crumbles - apple crumble, plum crumble, berry crumble, pear crumble... You name it! And because it was raining and it's fall and I had some plums sitting on my countertop, I decided to make a plum crumble. I don't know where the idea with coconut came from but it turned out to be just as good as I imagined. With a hint of cinnamon to give it a homey feeling. Served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Enjoyed in good company. A dream!

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Coconut Plum Crumble

Filling
500 g (1 lb) plums, quartered
1 tbsp demerara sugar

Crumble
60 g (2 oz; 2 dl) desiccated coconut
50 g (1 3/4 oz; 1 dl + 1 tbsp) rolled oats
40 g (1 1/2 oz; 1 dl + 2/3 tbsp) all-purpose flour
45 g (1 1/2 oz; 1/2 dl) demerara sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
60 g (2 oz) unsalted butter, cold & diced

Vanilla ice cream, vanilla sauce, or whipped cream, to serve.

Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F).

To make the crumble: In a medium-sized bowl combine the coconut, oats, flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Using a pastry blender, a fork, or your hands, cut in the butter. You can make the crumble ahead of time. Just keep it refrigerated until ready to use.

Put the plums and sugar into a 21 cm (8") baking dish. Sprinkle with the crumble.

Bake on the middle rack for 30 minutes, or until the juices are bubbling and the topping is golden. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream, vanilla sauce, or whipped cream.

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A Moment of Late Summer Bliss & a Red Currant Tart

It’s all about berries these days. And somehow, although I’ve been berry picking multiple days a week for the past 3 weeks, I’m not bored. Not a bit. Summer is good to us and we should embrace it.

A couple of days ago I made a small trip to the countryside to the summer house of my dear great-aunt and her husband. A red wooden house surrounded by woods, water, and….berry bushes! Red, black, and white currants. Some blueberry bushes too.

Currant picking is quite a straightforward business. No scratches all over your arms or small worms nesting in your goodies like when raspberry picking. Nor are there stained fingers or that awful pain in your back which you get from picking bilberries. Oh and no mosquito air force waiting to drain the blood from you.

So I picked currants with a smile on my face. I went to the sauna and cooled down on the porch with a glass of homemade red currant juice in my hand. I listened to bird songs. Peaceful. A moment of late summer bliss.

Now I have my freezer and fridge full of currants (I came home with nearly 10 liters!). I’m still figuring out what I’m gonna make from all of them. I think there will be some jam making sessions and some will be saved for cold winter days. I’m also intrigued by the idea of making black currant juice. I’ll see.

I decided to start with this red currant tart. My great-aunt served quite a similar, simple but oh so delicious, tart and I couldn’t resist making one at home too. I especially love the tartness of it and the small vanilla seeds in the filling. So pretty!

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RED CURRANT TART

Crust
85 g sugar
200 g unsalted butter, cold and diced
1 egg (M)
pinch of fine sea salt
185 g all-purpose flour
115 g whole grain barley flour

Filling
85 g sugar
120 g quark
120 g sour cream
1 egg (M)
½ tsp natural vanilla paste or ½ vanilla pod (sliced lengthwise and seeds scraped out)
250 g red currants (or any other currants or berries)

In a medium-sized bowl quickly rub the butter into the sugar with your fingers (or a pastry cutting tool or alternatively pulse in a food processor) until well incorporated and crumbly. Add the egg and mix. Add salt and both flours and knead until everything has come together. Avoid over-working the dough - try to work as fast as possible. There should still be some small butter pieces left. The dough should feel quite crumbly but stick together. Form the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F). Roll the dough out and press into a 26 cm (10”) tart mold. If the dough cracks, don’t worry, just pinch it back together. Cut off any excess. With a fork, poke several holes in the bottom of the tart dough. Bake on the middle rack for 10 minutes. {I didn’t use baking weights and my tart came out perfectly.}

In the meantime prepare the filling. Remove currants from stems, wash them and dry with a kitchen towel or household paper. Beat the sugar, curd, sour cream, egg, and natural vanilla paste (or vanilla seeds) in a small bowl until smooth.

Pour the mixture into the prebaked tart. Top with the red currants. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the edges start to brown and the filling has set. Let cool down a bit before serving.

Serve with vanilla ice cream or vanilla sauce, if desired – especially if you want to balance out the tartness. I have to say that in Finland we would always enjoy this alongside a cup of freshly brewed coffee. We are, after all, a coffee nation.

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A Beginning & Queen Jam

So this is it. My first post on this little space of mine. I’m excited and nervous at the same time. So let’s just start, shall we?

With the abundance of fresh summer berries and fruit, I’ve been canning like a mad one. We have a long, dark season ahead of us and a little jam at my breakfast table always helps me get through those winter mornings when I would prefer to stay in bed and wake up when it’s spring again.

So I've been picking berries at our summer cottage in the mornings and afternoons and canning on the evenings. When preserving, it's important to make sure that everything is at their peak of quality. You don't want one rotten berry or piece of fruit to ruin your whole batch of jam. Always work with clean equipment and try to work fast.

Mixing raspberries and blueberries is quite a traditional flavor combination for jam here in Scandinavia. We call it Queen Jam. Wait, Queen Jam? Where’s the King? Please don’t ask, I really don’t know why it’s called that way. I use wild raspberries and bilberries (“European blueberries”) as they both have a much stronger, more tart flavor than cultivated raspberries and “American” blueberries. This jam is especially delicious served with crêpes or waffles and whipped cream.

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Queen Jam
yields about 1,15 l

650 g (23 oz) raspberries, cleaned
350 g (12.3 oz) bilberries, cleaned
330 g (11.6 oz) gelling sugar 3:1
25 ml (2 tbsp) water
optional: ½ vanilla bean, sliced lengthwise & seeds scraped out
 

To sterilize the jars: Preheat the oven to 110°C (230°F). Put the clean and empty jars in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes. To sterilize the jar lids, put them in boiling water for 5 to 10 minutes. Fill the jars with the hot jam immediately.

Making the jam: Put the berries, gelling sugar, water, vanilla bean and seeds in a medium-sized pot. Gently bring the mixture to a boil and keep boiling for 3-5 minutes stirring regularly (please check the instructions on your gelling sugar). Skim off and discard any foam from the surface of the mixture as it cooks. To check if the jam is ready, you can drizzle some jam on a cold plate. It should set within a couple of seconds, otherwise keep the jam boiling for some more minutes (this is a great tip which I’ve learned from delicious days). Discard the vanilla bean. With the help of a funnel tube, fill the sterilized jars with boiling hot jam, leaving about half a centimetre (or less) of headspace. Close jars with the lids and let cool completely.
 

I highly recommend labeling your jars so you know what you have in your pantry (I’m talking from experience here). I especially love these ones. Because this jam is made with less sugar than regular jam, it needs to be stored in the fridge. If the jars are properly sterilized and sealed, the jam will last for up to one year.

Note: You can also make this jam using 500 g of gelling sugar 1:2. The jam will of course be sweeter and the cooking time will probably vary as well. This kind of jam can even be stored in room temperature. You could also use slightly thawed frozen berries. Just omit the water if doing so.

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