Blueberry Plum Galette

I spotted my first plum of the season and I’m totally thrilled to be back to making simple and delicious galettes filled with the fruit of the moment. I also had some blueberries on hand so decided to make a spring mix.

Galettes are simply the French version of a single crust pie without the need for a pie pan. When you want to savor nature at its finest without much embellishment, this is a quick and easy way to showcase the season's brightest flavors using your favorite fruit.



Bench notes:
- Resist the temptation to add any more water to the pastry dough. Work it slowly and gently and it will come together.
- The amount of flour and/or sugar to use for the filling will depend on your choice of fruit. Plums tend to be quite tart and blueberries are quite juicy.


Blueberry Plum Galette
Serves 8

Galette Dough

1 C flour
1 1/2 t sugar
1/8 t salt
3 oz cold butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 C cold water

Filling

1 large plum
3 C fresh blueberries
juice and zest of 1/2 lemon
1/2 C sugar
1 T flour

1 T butter, melted
sugar to sprinkle

To prepare galette dough, whisk the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl to combine. Cut the butter into the flour mixture until you have mostly small pieces the size of tiny peas and some just a bit larger. You can use your fingers to do this or a pastry blender works very well. Be sure each piece of butter is coated with flour. Add the cold water and mix gently with a fork or your fingers until the dough just starts to come together. Gather the dough on a work surface. Use a pastry scraper or metal spatula to get under the dough and fold it back onto itself. Gently pat down with your hands into a loose disc. Repeat this process again once or twice until the dough looks like it’s coming together. Place the dough on a piece of plastic and wrap tightly. Chill thoroughly, preferably overnight.

When you are ready to roll out the dough, remove from the refrigerator and rest on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper for a few minutes so it can soften just a bit to prevent cracking. Then roll the dough out to a 14” circle about 1/8”thick, moving the dough after each roll and keeping the parchment lightly floured as needed. When you have the desired shape, lift the parchment onto a flat pizza pan or baking sheet. Chill for about a half hour.

Squeeze juice of half a lemon into a large bowl along with the lemon zest. Slice the plum into thin wedges and toss in the lemon juice with the blueberries. Combine the sugar and the flour and set aside.

Remove prepared galette dough from the refrigerator and sprinkle two tablespoons of the flour/sugar mixture evenly across the bottom, leaving about a 1 1/2” border all the way around. Arrange the fruit evenly on top. Sprinkle with the remaining flour/sugar. Now start to lift and gather the dough up and on top of the fruit, being very careful not to create any cracks that will cause the galette to leak. Work with both hands, pressing gently to keep the dough in place. Chill for one hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Brush the border of dough with melted butter and dust the dough with a generous sprinkle of plain or coarse sugar. Bake for about 40 – 50 minutes, until the dough is crisp and browned. Cool on a wire rack to keep the bottom of the galette crisp.

Walnut Spice Tartlets with Coffee Cream

Walnuts appear in just about every culture and invite an entire world of wonderful flavor combinations. These tartlets are but one interesting and delicious blending of nuts and a mixture of the essence of coffee, spice and citrus. The crunchy, chewy nut filling contrasts nicely with the soft cream and crisp, crumbly tart shell. Luscious but not too rich, they make a very satisfying accompaniment to tea or coffee and look fun and inviting on any dessert tray.


Bench notes:
- The pastry dough can be made a day ahead and chilled. Once baked, the tartlet shells should be eaten the same day for maximum enjoyment. The filling can also be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for several days.
- I’d be tempted to try adding a very small dice of pear or apple to the filling for a little variation. Or a small dose of caramel to the whipped cream.


Walnut Spice Tartlets with Coffee Cream
Makes about 20 small tartlets

Tartlet Shells
adapted from Chez Panisse Fruit

4 oz (1 stick) butter
1/3 C sugar
1/4 t salt
1/4 t vanilla extract
1 egg yolk
1 1/4 C flour

Walnut Filling

1 C walnuts
1/4 C + 1 T sugar
1/4 t cinnamon
zest of 1/2 orange
1 - 2 t orange flower water, to taste

Coffee Cream

1 C heavy cream, chilled
2 T + 2 t sugar
2 T Kahlua
1 t espresso powder

Beat together butter and sugar until creamy. Add the salt, vanilla, and egg yolk and mix thoroughly. Add the flour and mix just until there are no dry patches. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and press into a 4-inch disk. Chill several hours or overnight.

Roll out the dough between two pieces of parchment paper. Dust one of the pieces of paper with flour, center the disk on it and dust the top of the dough with flour. Cover with the other piece of paper and roll out the disk into a 12" circle. If the dough starts to stick while you rolling, gently peel back the parchment and dust with flour. Flip the dough and parchment over and repeat on the other side, going back and forth until you have a 12" circle.

Remove the top sheet of parchment and use it to flip the dough over. Peel off the other piece of parchment and cut the dough into several small pieces. Press evenly into small tartlet tins. Work quickly and pinch off any dough overhanging along the edges. Place on a baking sheet and chill thoroughly or put in the freezer for about 10 minutes or so before baking.

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Bake until slightly golden, about 13 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

For the filling, place the walnuts, sugar, cinnamon and orange zest in the bowl of a processor and pulse just a few times to chop the walnuts into smallish pieces. Don’t over process. You want small pieces but not paste. Pour into a bowl and add orange flower water. Stir to combine. Taste for flavor adjustments.

Dissolve espresso powder in Kahlua. Whip cream, sugar and coffee mixture until soft peaks form.

Fill each tartlet with walnut mixture and dollop or pipe the whipped cream on top.

Strawberry Rhubarb Napoleon

At long last, strawberries have arrived and along with them, their trusty partner, rhubarb. I love tart desserts, so strawberries and rhubarb are among my favorite combinations. There are so many fabulous desserts to concoct with these two ingredients but this time around I’m going with a very simple and quick Napoleon.

I’ve used a shortcut Sour Cream Pastry instead of the traditional mille feuilles or puff pastry because I don’t want too much butter or fat on the palate in addition to the whipped cream. I want the fruit to shine. I roast the rhubarb with sugar and vanilla until tender. I then add fresh strawberries and sandwich them with whipped cream. An easy and delicious dessert that is definitely in the mode of the first sign of a beautiful spring.


Bench notes:
- I roll the dough out on parchment paper so it can be lifted onto a baking sheet and placed in the refrigerator without stretching or tearing it. Once the dough is sufficiently chilled, it can be cut and lifted off the sheet very easily.
- This pastry dough should be eaten the same day it is baked.



Strawberry Rhubarb Napoleons
Serves 4

Sour Cream Pastry

2 C flour
2 T sugar
1/4 t salt
8 oz (1 C) of cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 yolk
2/3 C sour cream

1 egg + 1/2 t water for egg wash

Strawberry and Rhubarb Filling

1 lb fresh rhubarb
3/4 C sugar
2 t flour
1/2 vanilla bean
2 pints fresh strawberries

1 C heavy cream or crème fraîche
sugar to taste
powdered sugar for dusting

For the pastry, combine the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Add the butter and process until the butter is reduced to small pieces and the mixture resembles course cornmeal for the most part. Add sour cream and yolk and pulse just until the dough starts to come together. Be careful not to overmix. Gather the dough on a piece of plastic wrap and seal it. Chill thoroughly.

Remove the dough and let it warm at room temperature for a couple of minutes. Divide the dough in half and place on a lightly floured piece of parchment. Roll each half out to a very thin 1/8”. Using the tip of a sharp knife, score the dough into 4 1/2” x 2 1/2 “ rectangles. Chill the dough thoroughly.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Using a sharp knife, cut out the pastry rectangles, place on a parchment lined baking sheet and brush with egg wash. Bake for about 13 minutes until golden brown. Cool.

Cut the rhubarb into 1” pieces. Toss with the sugar and flour.
Place in a shallow roasting dish or pan. Scrape the vanilla seeds onto the rhubarb and add the vanilla bean.
Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes until tender, stirring once to distribute the juices. Cool.

Slice the strawberries and fold into the rhubarb. Taste and adjust for sugar.
Whip the cream to a soft peak with sugar to taste.
Dust the top of the pastry rectangles with powdered sugar.
Assemble the Napoleons using 3 pastry rectangles per serving. Layer with cream, fruit and pastry. Serve immediately.

Tarte Tropézienne

Tarte Tropézienne is not really a tart at all, but rather a disc of brioche that is sliced and filled with cream. It takes its name from Saint-Tropez on the French Riviera, where it is said to have originated in the mid 1940s and popularized in the 60s when St. Tropez became a tourist paradise.

Recipes for the filling vary considerably and include buttercream, mousseline (buttercream made from pastry cream and butter), pastry cream and cream diplomat (pastry cream lightened with whipped cream). Almost always the cream is flavored with kirsch. I’ve used a pastry cream flavored with kirsch and orange flower water and lightened with whipped cream sweetened with honey. The brioche is usually topped with pearl sugar, but I use a recipe for a crumb topping from Pierre Hermé that is easy and delicious.

Due to the abundance of butter, brioche is a very, very sticky dough. It should be made a day in advance to allow for overnight refrigeration that retards the proofing while the buttery dough firms up enough to make it easier to handle and shape. The pastry cream and crumb topping should also be made ahead and refrigerated so the Tropézienne can be assembled fairly easily the day you plan to serve it. Once the brioche is baked, fold the whipped cream into the pastry cream and assemble.

If you are a custard fan, you’ll love this pastry. Once you slice into it, you’ll find yourself with a rich buttery brioche that oozes a soft and luscious cream perfumed with the culinary riches of Saint Tropez.


Bench notes:
- This recipe for brioche makes just a tad more than needed for this pastry. You can either make additional Brioche à tête rolls in fluted tins or Brioche Nanterre in a loaf pan (bake @ 350 for about half an hour) or freeze the remainder for later use.
- The butter for brioche should be softened but not oily, pliable but not greasy.
- Be sure you do not let the brioche get too browned or it will taste bitter. Because of the butter content, it tends to brown quickly, so watch closely. You can also bake at a lower temperature of 350 degrees for a bit longer time.
- Tropézienne should be eaten fresh the same day. It can be chilled for a couple of hours to firm up the cream.
- I must confess that I’ve never made brioche by machine, but have presented those conventional instructions here. This requires a sturdy machine that can withstand a rather long process of beating to develop the dough and produce a good texture and crumb. I always make brioche by hand using the slapping method because I love the process. But it is very, very sticky dough and requires a couple of bench scrapers and a lot of patience with getting your hands dirty. It’s a fun process for anyone who likes to dive into the mixing and experience how the whole thing comes together. Good fun but extremely messy.


Tarte Tropézienne
8 to 10 servings

2 C flour
3/4 t salt
2 T sugar
1 1/2 t yeast
3 T warm milk
3 eggs
5 oz butter, softened and cut into several pieces

1 egg + 1/2 t water for egg wash

Cream Filling

1 C milk
1/4 C sugar
3 yolks
1 T cornstarch
1 T flour
1 1/2 t kirsch
1 1/2 t orange blossom water
2 oz (4 T) butter @ room temperature

3/4 C heavy cream
2 T honey

Crumb Topping
adapted from Desserts by Pierre Herme

1 generous T butter @ room temp
2 T sugar
3 T + 2 t flour

Combine the warm milk and yeast in a small bowl. Let stand for a few minutes, then stir until the yeast is completely dissolved.

Sift together the flours, sugar, and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Add the eggs and beat for 1 minute at low speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the dissolved yeast and continue beating at low speed for 5 minutes. Stop the machine, scrape dough off the hook, and beat for another 5 minutes.

Add the butter a few pieces at a time, beating for about 1 minute after each addition. Once all the butter has been added, beat for 10 minutes more.

Place the dough in a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside in a warm place until doubled in size, about 2 to 3 hours.

Deflate the dough gently. Working your way around the bowl, take the edges of the dough, lift up and gently drop inward. Either cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap or place the dough in a large plastic bag that has been very lightly oiled and refrigerate overnight. The brioche will continue to proof.

For the crumb topping, place the softened butter in a small bowl and mix the sugar in with a fork. Add the flour and mix with your hand, pinching the mixture together to form large and small crumbs. Refrigerate.

Once the dough is ready, cut 2/3 of it and place on a baking sheet pan lined with parchment. Pat it gently into a 9” circle about 3/4” tall. Let the dough rise uncovered in a warm place for about an hour.

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Gently brush the top of the brioche with egg wash and sprinkle with the streusel. Bake the brioche in the center of the oven for about 12 to 15 minutes. Start checking at 12 minutes; the brioche should be soft, puffed and golden. Remove the brioche from the oven and immediately take the brioche off the baking sheet and place onto a wire rack to cool.

For the pastry cream, whisk the sugar with the egg yolks until pale. Add the flour and cornstarch and whisk until smooth. Bring the milk to a simmer on low heat. Gradually add 1/2 of the hot milk to the sugar-yolk mixture, whisking vigorously to prevent the eggs from scrambling. Pour this mixture back into the saucepan and cook over low heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens and boils. Take off the heat and cool a bit. Add softened butter, orange water, and kirsch. Pour into a bowl and cool slightly. Press a piece of plastic wrap on the surface and refrigerate until chill thoroughly.

Whip the cream with the honey until soft peaks form. Fold half the whipped cream into the pastry cream to loosen it up. Fold in remaining cream until smooth.

To assemble, cut brioche in half horizontally. Smooth cream mixture over bottom layer, and place second layer gently on top. Serve.

Yogurt Cake with Strawberries

As luck would have it, my very first strawberry of the season was the best strawberry I’ve ever had. It came from a rancher at a local farmer's market who said his strawberries aren’t quite yet at their peak. I smiled and wondered how much better they could possibly be. That strawberry was from Rodriguez Farm in Watsonville and if my first bite is any indication, this will be one incredible season.

I pair fresh strawberries in their simplest form with a French household staple, Yogurt Cake. This is a very versatile cake that is much lighter and not as dense as a pound cake and serves as a perfect backdrop for fresh fruit, ice cream, sorbet or your favorite dessert sauce. It’s very easy to put together and requires no extraordinary ingredients. It can be served at any meal, as a snack or taken along on a picnic. It’s absolutely perfect with tea.

I’m truly fortunate to have a few farmer’s markets to choose from in my city. I hope you can search out the best fresh strawberries and fully enjoy this very promising season.



Bench notes:
- There are several ways to change up this cake. I prefer to use a light olive oil for a little depth. You can add a 1/4 t almond extract or a tablespoon of rum or brandy or a pinch of chopped herbs. Use your imagination.
- Use full-fat yogurt. Greek yogurt is perfect for this cake.
- If you’d like a pronounced lemon flavor, make the syrup and brush it on while the cake is still warm.
- You can also bake this in a 9” x 2" round cake pan for about 35 to 40 minutes.



Yogurt Cake with Strawberries

1 C sugar
zest of 1 large lemon
1 1/2 C flour
2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
3 eggs
3/4 C full-fat yogurt
1/2 t vanilla extract
1/2 C olive oil

optional syrup:
1/3 C lemon juice
1/3 C sugar

2 pints fresh strawberries
sugar to taste
lemon juice to taste

1 C heavy cream or crème fraîche
sugar to taste

Preheat the over to 350 degrees.

Prepare an 8 1/2" x 4 1/2” loaf pan with oil and a piece of parchment paper large enough to form an overhang along the length of the pan.

Zest the lemon into the sugar. Use a fork to press the zest into the sugar and release the oils.

Whisk together the eggs, zested sugar, yogurt and vanilla.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into the egg mixture and stir. When the mixture looks fairly well blended, add the oil and stir to fully incorporate.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes.
Cool the cake for about 10 minutes and lift it gently out of the pan. Remove the parchment and let cool completely.

Syrup:
Heat the lemon juice and sugar just until dissolved. Brush on the surface of the cake.

Slice the strawberries and add sugar and lemon juice to taste. Let them sit for about half an hour to macerate.

Whip to soft peak the cream or crème fraîche with sugar to taste.

Honey Nougat Ice Cream Provençal

Nougat is a confection that found its beginnings in a whole host of Mediterranean civilizations. Each version has its own special elements based on the agriculture of the area. In France, nougat blossomed in the late 18th century with the production of almonds in the city of Montélimar in Provence. The nougat you find there today gleams with the essential ingredients of the region.

This ice cream is based on the idea of the nougat of Provence. Honey is the predominant flavor, with back notes of orange and lavender and a bite of almonds and pistachios. For me, these are some of the quintessential flavors of early spring.



Bench notes:
- Use a good quality honey, but be sure it is mild enough to allow the subtlety of the other flavors to co-mingle.
- Since lavender is also a common ingredient in bath and beauty products, make sure you purchase lavender that has been grown specifically for cooking. It may be labeled "culinary lavender" or "food grade."
- I chilled the ice cream base overnight to let the flavors bloom and harmonize.


Honey Nougat Ice Cream Provençal

2 C cream
1/4 C honey
1 t lavender
5 yolks
2 T sugar
1 C milk
1 1/2 t orange flower water
zest of half an orange
1/4 C sliced almonds, lightly toasted
3 T pistachios, coarsely chopped

Bring the cream, honey and lavender to a simmer. Take off the heat, cover and steep for about 30 minutes or until it has the desired strength, tasting along the way.

Strain and reheat the cream to a simmer. Whisk together the yolks and sugar until thoroughly blended. Add a bit of the warm cream and whisk to temper the ingredients. Add the remaining cream and whisk. Return the mixture to the stove on medium low heat. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until the custard coats the back of the spoon and a finger traced through it leaves a clean track. Strain the mixture immediately into the cup of milk. Add the orange flower water and orange zest and stir to combine. Cool. Put custard in an airtight container and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

Freeze according to your machine’s directions. Fold in the nuts, then pour the ice cream into a clean airtight container. Press a piece of plastic wrap into the surface of the ice cream, cover and place in your freezer to firm up a bit.