Nuts about nuts tart

This weekend, sun was out, my mum and dad came from Japan to visit us... So, we all got together for BBQ:) As usual, Andy was in charge of the grill and I did the pastry.

Although our oven got broken half way through my bread making, I managed to prepare buns and rolls... phew...

For dessert, I made Nuts about nuts tart. As the name says..., Not only is the sweet pastry filled with rich almond cream, but also it has a nice thick layer of caramelised mix nuts. Yes.., this is indeed a nuts heaven! Ooh, yum yum yum :D

The topping was a little bit hard but nice and crunchy like a peanut brittle. It can be made as its own and served with tea or coffee.

Ingredients:

Sweet pastry 1 (see my Lemon meringue tart)

Filling

Crème fraiche 25g

Sugar 100g

Almond powder 100g

Egg 1

Vanilla extract 1tsp

Topping

Mix nuts (roasted) 200g

Sugar 150g

Corn syrup 90g

Butter 45g

1. Prepare the sweet pastry. Follow Lemon Meringe Tart recipe 1-5.

2.Preheat the oven to 180ºc. Make the filling. Combine all the ingredients for the filling and mix well.

3. Pour the filling mixture into the tart case. Bake for 40 minutes.

4. Once the tart is cooled, make the topping. Combine sugar, corn syrup and butter in a sauce pan. Place the pan on a low heat until all the ingredients are melted.

5. Add mix nuts into 4. Stir until it is lightly coloured.

6. Quickly put the topping on the cooled tart and spread evenly.

7. Cool in the fridge until the topping is set.

Nutty ice cream

I was given 杏仁霜 (Almond paste powder)  at work on the other day. Because that's the main ingredient for 杏仁豆腐(Almond pudding), one of my favourite Chinese dessert, I was so excited to make one at home.

However, I thought... "Making almond pudding is so predictable... I want to try something bit more creative and innovative with it..." Then, I saw the bright sun. Baking hot. People were lying in the park... Summer is definitely here! That means ICE CREAM!

Done! Before I knew I was in the kitchen, preparing the ice cream mixture. It was an experimental recipe but I sort of knew it would work... (That might be because the mixture was custard based... and custard ice cream always taste gorgeous!) While I was making it, I decided to make it extra nutty along with the almond powder, so added a good handful of roasted mix nuts :D

I've served my lovely nutty ice cream in these beautiful shot glasses I found on the other day. They are so summery, are they not? I love the whole presentation thing with cakes and desserts too! Oh, and of course...., the taste... It's really really nutty and creamy... This is what I call Summer...

Ingredients:

Almond paste powder 3 tbsp

Double cream 220ml

Sugar 80g

Egg 2

Mix nuts handful

1. Combine cream and sugar in a pot. Keep stirring and bring it to boil.

2. Stir in almond paste powder.

3. Take the pot off the heat. Stir in beaten eggs. Keep stirring to keep eggs from scrambling.

4. Put the pot back on a medium heat. Cook it until it's creamy and shiny.

5. Pour the mixture in a container. Cool it down.

6. Roast the mix nuts. Fold them in 5.

7. Freeze until it's set.

Nutty cookie

Peanut butter is one of my many food addictions. Time to time I treat myself with a jar of crunchy peanut butter and a spoon to tuck straight in to the jar...

Yesterday, Andy said..."I fancy cookies this Saturday..." and immediately my baking brain switched on and thinking "Oh, there is some peanut butter left in the fridge and we've got that nice almond butter..., hummm that will work nicely..."

So... this morning, I quite literally rushed into the kitchen to try out my nutty cookie. As soon as I started the prep, rich nutty aroma woke me up.  Since it's very easy to make, the cookies were ready by breakfast time. There was no way that I can wait until afternoon tea time, so I had them with my morning tea. YES, morning tea with my delicate nutty cookies... What a lovely way to start a day!

Ingredients:

Peanut butter 50g

Butter 50g

Flour 100g

Sugar 50g

Egg 1

Baking powder 1/2 tsp

Almond butter 1 tbsp

1. Cream peanut butter, butter, almond butter together.

2. Add sugar into 1 and mix well.

3. Add egg into 2 and mix well.

4. Fold in flour and baking powder into 3.

5. Wrap the dough in a cling film and rest it in the fridge for 30 minutes.

6. Preheat the oven to 180º. Cut the dough in shapes you like.

7. Bake for 18 minutes in the preheated oven.

Potica

Since I haven't done a yeast baking for a little whole, I thought I should give it a go with this Slovene nut roll, Potica.

Making potica is a great fun, but also a little time consuming, so be prepared:)
Normally, when I make bread, I love the time I wait for the dough to rise. I sometimes even sit there and just watch them to get bigger and bigger... However, with potica I didn't have time for that. I've got to prepare the nut filling! Crush, crush crush the walnuts.. and mix and mix... By the time I finished with the filling, the dough was looking..., good...:)... a quick finger test... yes, perfect!
Spread the lovely walnut filling, roll it up and bosch in the oven...

Out of the oven, Potica was smelling really good... humm, nice texture too. Oh and, I can see the nut roll inside! And most importantly, the taste was... gorgeous... sweet nut filling and rich buttery pastry filled my mouth with a pure pleasure after a long preparation.

To see the recipe, visit The World of Sweets Recipes, Slovenia.

Ma'amoul

This nuts filled cookie-like pastry is a popular treat at festive times in Lebanon and some other Middle Eastern countries. The authentic recipe uses a special wooden mould to shape the dough. Unfortunately, I didn't have the mould not anything similar that I could use, so this time I shaped the cookies with my hands.

To be honest, it was bit tricky as my hands are quite small, and the dough was quite crumbly. All in all, I managed to shape them ok, and most importantly, they tasted pretty awesome. It is like a chewy shortbread. A rich flavour of nuts and orange filled my mouth nicely.... yum..:)

To see the recipe, visit The World of Sweets Recipes, Lebanon.