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Ginger Rhubarb Tarts with Cardamom Creme Fraiche: Day 5 Irene’s Beans

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A Sunday morning repose, an afternoon respite. The crunch and yield of the pastry, the toothsome jammy filling complimented by a cool spiced cream. Easy elegance, how lovely.

Forgive me dear readers for this delayed post. I’ve been a bit of a traveling bum, and last week I indulged in not taking along my computer. Though I have missed being away, it was a delight to roam and indulge without distraction. If you haven’t had the chance to do the same in awhile, I invite you to treat yourself as soon as humanly possible! If you need me to write you an excuse note- just let me know, you have my permission.

I can clearly remember the first day of summer when I was a girl of about 9 years old. I remember waking, smelling the sweet air and thinking, “I have all day for ME! and weeks and weeks of it!”. I wore shorts every day, ran around the yard with my brother, trekked to the beach with a cooler of cold lemonade and sold my mother’s garden tomatoes on a table in the front yard to passing neighbors. This is the joy that I’ve been experiencing recently and truly, the air has been just as sweet.

This last installment of coffee treats is certainly not the least. The Gingered Rhubarb filling is a summer go to that I hope will become a favorite of yours. A healthy dollop onto a square of puff pastry makes a quick elegant jewel of a dessert, but the leftover sauce warmed and served over vanilla ice cream is another divine treat. Both of these desserts are good “emergency” sweets. Whenever I find myself in need of a last minute something, dashing for a pint of vanilla ice cream is simple enough, and a warm fruit sauce makes a near disaster sublime- and if the oven is on from dinner, frozen puff pastry takes just minutes to thaw and those babies can be popped into the oven in no time.

There is magic in puff pastry. Go for the magic.

I hope by this point you have taken a moment to visit Irene’s Beans. You will understand why I am so taken with her coffees. I can tell you that tasting the different styles has been a delight, and one I really want you to try for yourself.

So here comes the full on summer my loves. Enjoy an afternoon coffee and start planning your summer fun- and no kidding about that note, life is just too short.

Ginger Rhubarb Tarts with Cardamom Creme Fraiche 
makes about 2 cups
 
4c rhubarb cut into small chunks
1c strawberries rough chopped
1T fresh minced ginger
.5 c sugar
pinch of salt
prepared puff pastry- I used Dufours
4T creme fraiche
.5t cardamom- freshly ground
 
In a medium heavy saucepan place the fruits, sugar, ginger and salt. 
 
Slowly warm over low heat until the sugar draws out the moisture in the rhubarb and berries. Raise the heat and bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 mins.
 
The lumpy chunky rhubarb will break down and meld into the the berries into a beautiful sauce.
 
Place into a container and cool or place in fridge for future use.
 
To make the tarts:
 
*a word on puff pastry*
I know a lot of folks that can be intimidated- and you should be. Nah, just kidding, but puff pastry does need delicate handling. Puff pastry is a heavenly balance between butter and flour that is science at it’s best. It’s important to keep your pastry as cold as possible, and not handle it more than necessary, so as not to disrupt that balance. If things are taking longer than they ought to, just toss the pastry into the fridge to cool and then carry on. You can also prep these tarts in advance, store in the fridge and then pop into the oven when ready.
 
Preheat oven to 350˚
 
Thaw pastry in the fridge. If you have a marble pastry slab this is the perfect time to use it, if not, the counter is just fine.
 
Cut the pastry dough into 4 equal squares. 
 
Lightly sprinkle the clean workspace with a little flour. Gently roll out a square of pastry to approximately half it’s thickness.
 
With a sharp knife, cut into 2″ squares.
 
Place a healthy dollop if Rhubarb sauce in the center and place onto baking sheet.
 
Pop into the oven for approximately 12 mins until puffed and golden.
 
Combine the cardamom with the creme fraiche and let stand a few minutes before serving. Making the creme the day before is even better to allow the flavors to meld and the cream to thicken- but it’s all good.

 

Warm Chocolate Pudding Cake with Caramel Creme Anglaise, Day 4: Irene’s Beans

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Heading home today from my time in Guatemala- the land of chocolate and coffee. It has been a fantastic time brushing up on my crusty rusty Spanish, exploring a new place, and making new friends. Unfortunately I’ve managed to develop a wicked head cold that is making me foggy minded and a big goofy, so forgive the lack of chit chat, it’s onward to an amazing cake and delicious coffee.

This cake is super moist with a slightly mousse-like texture. It’s delightfully not sweet, which is fantastic since it then calls out for some sort of topping. The caramel Creme Anglaise is perfection. The milk creaminess is so wonderful and the caramel brings out the chocolate. The Creme Anglaise needs to be made in advance and cooled, if you don’t have the time, sweetened whipped cream would not be a hardship nor ice cream.

The coffee pairing for this is the French Roast. OK, one little bit of a chat. Amongst my close friends it is well known that I am really not so much a coffee drinker, but an espresso drinker. In fact so much so that I am teased mercilessly for it- mostly as a result of one rough morning in a New Orleans Supermarket when I was asked which coffee I would like for the apartment we were sharing with friends. No coffee, only espresso. La-di-dah! (Sorry Mary!) What can I say? A girl knows what she likes.

This cake is at it’s best warm, but seriously, cold is quite wonderful too.

Warm Chocolate Pudding Cake with Caramel Creme Anglaise
serves 8
 
5oz bittersweet chocolate
6T unsalted butter
1T olive oil
3T sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
4T all purpose flour
1/8t baking powder (eye it)
large pinch of salt
 
Preheat oven to 350˚ and boil a large pot of simmering water. Grease and line a 6″ baking pan. You will also need a larger baking/roasting pan to set the cake pan into.
 
Over a double boiler, melt the chocolate and butter together. Stir in the sugar and salt. Allow to cool until warm to the touch then thoroughly stir in the eggs and oil.
 
In a small bowl combine the flour and baking powder. Gently stir into the chocolate mixture.
 
Pour batter into the prepared pan, then set pan into the roasting pan. Add enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the cake pan.
 
Place the whole magilla into the center of the oven and bake for 30-35mins. Trend toward under baking rather than over baking.
 
Remove from oven and remove cake from water bath. Allow to cool for a few mins then remove from the pan and allow to cool another 5mins before serving.
 
Caramel Creme Anglaise
makes 1.5c
 
1c whole milk or cream
2t vanilla
4 egg yolks
4T sugar
2T water
 
In a heavy saucepan combine the water and sugar and place over medium high heat. Watching closely, boil the sugar until it caramelizes. Remove from the heat one shade lighter than you would like as it continues to deepen quickly at this point.
 
Pour in the milk or cream. It will steam and create a cold hard sugar lump on the bottom of the pan. Just ignore all that, but be careful about the steam.
 
Stir in the yolks and vanilla and gently warm again over a medium low heat. The sugar will dissolve into the sauce and it will slowly thicken.
 
Warm until the sauce is a thick heavy cream. It should coat the spoon. Be gentle with this, overheating will cause it to break.
 
Once the sauce has reached the desired consistency remove from the heat immediately and strain through a sieve into a bowl.
 
Cool completely.
 
 

Incredibly Easy and Twice as Delicious: Almondine Cookies- Day 3 of Sweets with Irene’s Beans

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You are either going to love me or hate me for this recipe. These Almondines are so crazy easy to make, and the crunchy and yet chewy texture of the cookies are frighteningly addicting.

This past Mother’s Day I was delighted to celebrate in my new apartment. It was the first time that I had my Mother over to see the new place and I looked forward to entertaining her. It was a beautiful day spent with my three children and my Mom. The weather was warm and sunny in NYC, warm enough for us to take a walk along the river in Riverside park after we shared a cold lunch that I had prepared: Cold poached lobster served on green sauce, Shrimp ceviche with melons and mint (similar to my previous post), Israeli cous cous salad with heirloom tomatoes and cumin and a romaine salad with bleu cheese dressing and bacon bits. I’m sorry that I didn’t take a photo, but sometimes guests need full attention and Mother’s Day was a day that I got to indulge myself in them.

My “children” are all adults now, so gathering them all together in the same space and time gets harder and harder. The beautiful thing is when they do end up in the same room, it’s back to the old antics from their younger years. Seriously, I believe my children can take their “act” on the road. When they were younger I referred to them as The Flying Walendas. They are a three ring comedy act, and they move in sync without missing a beat. As a mother who was always in the kitchen, listening to my children play in the background (I had strategically placed doors and mirrors so I could keep an eye on them at all times), the raucous laughter brought back memories of those earlier days. They joke and tease, and break into song and little dances to punctuate a story, that to me is poetry in motion.

I’ve often thought of raising children as the same as enjoying an ice cream cone on a scorching hot day. There is so much effort spent on managing the drips, and then it’s gone before you can fully enjoy it as much as you should.

The years certainly have zipped by, and with three kids and a demanding business, I managed too many drips. So naturally, I feel blessed when I can recapture some of those moments.

My eldest, Olivia, brought us some apple hand pies (that being the hands of Paul Bunyon, they were huge and gorgeous!). Before we headed out into the sunshine, I made a quick batch of these cookies. They cooled while we strolled in the dappled sunlight and walked off a bit of the lunch. When we returned, I warmed the apple pies and served chunks of the pies with some ice cream with the Almondines on the side, while the coffee brewed.

With this sweet I paired Irene’s coffee from Papua New Guinea. The coffee has a caramel-y, nutty note, not too heavy to suggest an added flavoring, with a tinge of earth and smoke. A great coffee for any time of day and lovely with these cookies or not.

This is a great recipe to keep in pocket. Only 3 ingredients and 2 minutes to throw together. The only hard part is to keep an eye on them so they don’t burn. The sugar and the egg whites make for a slightly chewing cookie, and the almonds give it some crunch and depth of flavor. I pulled it directly out of Ottolenghi: The CookBook, so I am sorry, I cannot, and will not, print the recipe- but I can attest, that the cookbook is well worth owning, if you don’t already.

These cookies are a bit of a metaphor for this next stage in my life. Keep it simple, keep it sweet, make it delicious, and share with the ones you love.