Plum Crumble with Cardamom Cream

It's springtime! And you know what that means: time for asparagus, avocados, fennel, spinach, strawberries, rhubarb, plums... oh yes! I love spring fruits and vegetables. This will be the first of many posts taking advantage of the seasonal produce.

This plum crumble is a perfect balance of sweet but slightly tart and a little bit of crunch. You can make this an adults only treat by adding two tablespoons of rum to the filling ;-)

Plum Crumble with Cardamom Cream
Makes: 4 servings

Filling:
5 -6 medium plums
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp flour
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp orange juice
zest of 1 lemon
zest of 1 orange

Topping:
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/4 tsp salt

Cream:
1 cup heavy cream (or whipping cream)
1 tbsp powdered sugar
1/2 tsp cardamom

• Rinse the plums. Leaving the skin on, cut them in half, remove the pit, then cut them into a 1/2" dice.
• Toss the plums with the sugar, flour, lemon juice, orange juice, lemon zest, and orange zest.
• Transfer to either a large glass baking dish or four individual sized ramekins. If you choose to use ramekins, you can place them all on a baking sheet. This makes it easier to remove them from the oven when they're hot.
• Make the topping. In a stand mixer or with an electric hand mixer on medium, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
• Add the egg and vanilla and stir until combined.
• Add the flour, almonds, and salt. Mix until just combined. The texture will be dry and crumbly, almost like the texture of bread crumbs.
• With your hands, sprinkle the topping evenly over the plum filling.
• Bake at 350° F for 25 - 30 minutes until golden brown and bubbling.
• Allow to cool for at least 5 minutes before serving.
• Make the cardamom cream. This comes out best if you chill the bowl and beaters in the freezer for about 30 minutes first. In an ice cold bowl, whip the heavy cream on high speed until stiff peaks form, about 2 - 3 minutes. Add the powdered sugar and cardamom, mix until combined.
• Serve the cardamom cream on the warm plum crumble.

If you're egg free, either due to allergy or other dietary restriction, you can leave out the egg with out any real impact to the recipe. It just helps the topping stay together a bit better.

If you're wondering why this recipe, like many fruit recipes, calls for lemon juice and orange juice, it's because the acid helps to bring out the flavor. Think of it like salt; it makes food taste more like itself.

And for my final note, if you don't have cardamom, cinnamon will work well too. Though I really do recommend cardamom. It's absolutely delicious and you can find it at any grocery store. It is a little bit pricey (around $10 - $15) but if you need an excuse to buy it, check out my recipe for Cardamom Chocolate Lava Cakes. If that doesn't convince you, I don't know what will!

Blueberry Cheese Blintzes

In case you missed it, here's my first post about cheese blintzes which gives a little bit of background. Matt was begging me to make cheese blintzes again so I finally decided to oblige him. This time, I happened to have some dried blueberries hanging around so I decided to make blueberry cheese blintzes. The results were delicious!

Blueberry Cheese Blintzes
Makes: 8 cheese blintzes

Crepes:
2 cups milk
6 tbsp butter, plus more for cooking
3 eggs
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
pinch of salt
1 cup flour

Filling:
8 oz cream cheese (1 brick), softened
2 tbsp sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp dried blueberries

Topping:
1 egg plus 1 egg white
1/4 cup brown sugar

  

• To make the crepes, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and salt until the eggs are pale and fluffy, about two minutes. Set aside.
• Combine the milk and butter in a small sauce pan. Place over medium heat and stir constantly until the butter in melted.
• In a slow steady stream, gently pour the hot milk mixture into the eggs while whisking constantly.
• Add the cup of flour to the egg and milk mixture. Gently whisk until just combined.
• Preheat a skillet over medium-medium high heat.
• Once the pan is very hot, add a small amount of butter to the pan, then ladle in about 1/2 cup of batter. Swirl the batter around in the pan so that it spreads to all edges.
• Cook for about one minute per side until dark brown.

• Once all of the crepes are cooked, make the filling. Whip together the cream cheese and sugar in a stand mixture or in a bowl with a hand mixer on medium until light and fluffy.
• Add the egg yolk and vanilla (save the egg white for later). Mix until well combined.
• With a spatula, fold in the dried blueberries.

• Place two tablespoons of filling in each crepe, about the size of a golf ball. Spread the filling along the middle of the crepe, then fold it in half. Then fold the ends in and continue rolling up the crepe; just like you would with a burrito.
• Now whip together the egg white and another egg.
• Once all of the crepes are assembled, hold the crepe with the seam side toward you. Dip the crepe in the egg, then the brown sugar.
• Lay the crepes, seam side down (sugared side up) in a lightly greased 13" x 9" glass baking dish.
• Bake at 375° F for 25 minutes.
• Allow to cool for at least 5 minutes before serving. These are actually best served room temperature... If you can wait that long!

Verte Montagne Cupcakes

Time for dessert! To be honest, I'm not much of a baker. Matt is a much better baker than me. But, I figured I need to at least have some dessert recipes on my blog. So here we go!

My inspiration came from my love of Andes candies. I thought, "wouldn't that be delicious to have a cupcake stuffed with Andes?" Yes! It would! If you're one of those weirdos who don't like chocolate and mint, you should turn around and go back to where you came from. We don't take kindly to folks like you around here.

Truth be told, I'm not totally thrilled with how these came out. The Andes ended up sinking to the bottom. I may try this again and stuff the candy into the cupcake after it has been baked. I'll let you know how that goes.

Verte Montagne Cupcakes
Makes: 24 cupcakes

Cupcakes:
1 package boxed cake mix
eggs
water
vegetable or canola oil
8.5 oz package of Andes chocolate and mint candy

Frosting:
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp peppermint extract
1/4 cup heavy cream

Make the cupcakes:

• Mix the cake batter according to the directions on the package. Mine called for 3 eggs, 1 1/4 cups water, and 1/2 cup oil. Yours might be a little different. I know, I know - boxed cake mix! I told you I'm not a great baker ha!
• Unwrap the Andes candies. Then cut each in half, two at a time, making four squares.

•  Now stack the four squares.

• Now insert the stack into each cupcake sideways.

• Bake the cupcakes according to the directions. Mine took 18 minutes at 325° F. To test when the cupcakes are done, you'll need to gently tap the top of a cupcake. If it bounces right back then it's done. The toothpick test won't work with these cupcakes because the melted chocolate in the center will make it seem like they are still wet in the center. You don't want to overcook your cupcakes - that will make them dry.
• Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

Make the frosting:

• Resist the temptation to stick the butter in the microwave to soften it. I'm the biggest offender of this rule but this particular recipe really won't work out if you do it that way. You've got to just let the butter sit on the counter for about an hour to let it soften.
• Sift together the sugar, cocoa, and salt. Set aside.
• Whip the butter in a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer) on medium for about two minutes until it is light and fluffy.
• Add the sugar and cocoa mixture, mixing on slow. Mix for about one minute until it is completely combined and a dry crumbly texture.
• Add the vanilla, mint, and heavy cream.
• Mix on high speed another two minutes until the frosting is smooth and light and fluffy.
• If the frosting seems too thin, add some more sugar. If the frosting seems too thick, add some more heavy cream.
• Frost the cupcakes with an off-set spatula or with a piping bag fitted with a star tip.

Gâteau aux Fraises

I made strawberry shortcake last night. However, I decided to get a little adventurous and make a sponge cake instead of my usual drop biscuits. It turned out delicious! Although, I probably should have cut the cake recipe in half because now I have a ton of left-over sponge cake that I have no idea what I'm going to do with. What a terrible problem to have haha!

This was great as just regular old strawberry shortcake. But you could also cut the cake up into little pieces and then layer it with the strawberries and cool whip to make a trifle. If you want to make this an 'adults only' dessert, you could replace the orange juice with Grand Marnier or Triple Sec. Yum!

Gâteau aux Fraises
Makes: 6 servings

Cake:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
6 eggs, separated
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup plus 6 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt

Strawberries:
1 pint strawberries
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp orange juice

Cool whip or whipped cream

Make the cake:

• Spray a metal 13" x 9" baking sheet with a thin layer of cooking spray. Add flour to the pan and tap it around so that the flour coats all edges of the pan. Tap the pan while upside down to get rid of any excess flour. Set the pan aside.
• Sift together the flour and cornstarch. Set aside.
• Separate the egg yolks from the whites. Set the whites aside.
• In a stand mixer fitted with a whip attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the egg yolks, vanilla, and 3/4 cup sugar on high for about 3 minutes. Once the mixture is pale and fluffy, transfer it to a different mixing bowl and set aside. This is what it should look like:

• Wash the whip attachment and bowl thoroughly. This next step will not work if there is even a single speck of egg yolk left on your instruments.
• Whip together the egg yolks and salt on medium until soft peaks form. This will take about 3 minutes. First the egg whites will become frothy; then you'll slowly start the see the bubbles become extremely tiny and the egg whites will become more and more opaque. You'll also start to see lines in the egg whites trailing behind the whip. These are all signs that you're getting close to a soft peak. You'll know you have soft peaks when you dip the whip attachment into the egg whites, turn it upside down, and the mixture stays on the whip but still falls over and is not stiff, like so:

• Continue beating the egg whites and slowly add the remaining 6 tablespoons of sugar, one tablespoon at a time. You don't want to add it too quickly or you'll overwhelm the egg whites and lose all of that air you just whipped into them. Once all of the sugar is added, continue beating for about one more minute until the egg whites are glossy and stiff peaks form. You'll know you have stiff peaks when you dip the whip attachment into the egg whites, turn it upside down, and the mixture stands straight up, like so:

• Scrape the egg whites out of the mixing bowl and add them to the egg yolks that were set aside earlier. Very delicately fold the two mixtures together. If you're unfamiliar with this technique, this is what it should look like:

• Notice how I gently scrape the spatula through the middle, then around then edges. Just keep doing that over and over until the two mixtures are combined. You don't want to vigorously stir because this will destroy all of those air bubbles you worked so hard to create. The air bubbles are what are going to keep the cake light and fluffy.
• Note: Eggs can actually act as a leavening agent. In this recipe, you'll notice there's no baking powder or baking soda. That's because the eggs provide plenty of volume on their own. You'll see this in a lot of brownie recipes and other cake recipes. If you notice that your recipe is missing baking powder or baking soda, it's probably not an error; the recipe will most likely call for quite a few eggs.
• Next, add the flour and cornstarch mixture to the egg mixture in 3 additions. Fold this into the eggs just like you folded the two egg mixtures together; making sure to be very gentle.
• Pour the cake batter into the greased and floured 13"x 9" baking pan. Smooth the batter with your spatula.
• Bake at 350° F for 20 - 25 minutes until a tooth pick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cake recipe adapted from Martha Stewart's Vanilla Sponge Cake

Make the strawberries:

• While the cake is baking, make the strawberry topping.
• Rinse the strawberries, cut off the leafy tops, then thinly slice them. Place the sliced strawberries in a glass bowl.
• Add the sugar, lemon juice, and orange juice. Stir then set aside.
• Note: these are referred to as 'macerated strawberries.' Maceration refers to the technique where you soften fruit with sugar and some kind of acid. In this case, the acid comes from the lemon juice and orange juice, but balsamic vinegar also tastes great on strawberries.

Assemble the Gâteau aux Fraises:

• Cut a 2" x 2" piece of sponge cake and place in the bottom of a bowl.
• Add the strawberry topping.
• Top with cool whip or whipped cream.

Sissy's Chicken

The reason I call this Sissy's Chicken is because it's actually my sister's recipe. She made this year's Thanksgiving turkey using this spice mix and it was so good that I use it almost every time I cook bone-in chicken; whether it's a whole chicken, leg quarters, chicken breast, etc. I guarantee you'll love this flavor profile!

Sissy's Chicken
Makes: 1 whole chicken

1.5 - 2 lb whole broiler or fryer chicken
1/2 tsp kosher salt or sea salt
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp dry rubbed sage
2 tbsp olive oil

• Mix together the salt, pepper, garlic, onion, coriander, and sage.
• Remove the giblets (usually in a bag in the chest cavity) from the chicken, rinse with water, then pat dry.
• Place the chicken in a roasting pan - preferably with a rack - breast side up. If you're unsure which side is the breast side, look for the neck bone which will be on the opposite side - that side should go down in the pan.
• Brush the olive oil over the entire chicken.
• Sprinkle the spice mixture over the entire chicken.
• Move the oven rack to the bottom third of the oven.
• Roast the chicken at 325° F for 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours, depending on weight, until the internal temperature when taken at the thigh is 165° F and the juices run clear (that means the juice should not be pink, in case you were curious).
• Allow the chicken to rest at room temperature for 5 - 10 minutes before slicing. This will keep the chicken nice and juicy.

To be perfectly honest, I don't actually measure out all of the spices. I just kind of sprinkle them on individually and eye-ball it. But I figured I would give measurements in case eye-balling it makes you nervous.

Classic Cheesecake

Who doesn't love cheesecake?! I think this is one of those desserts that you can pretty much count on everyone liking. And the best part about cheesecake is that it's basically a blank canvas - albeit a delicious canvas! You can swirl in any number of flavors -  fruit, chocolate, caramel; add little goodies to the crust - nuts, chocolate chunks, oreo crumbs; and/or top it with delicious toppings - chocolate ganache, macerated berries, berry sauces, caramel sauce... mmmmm......

There's honestly nothing special about my cheesecake recipe. It's pretty much as basic as you can get. The only thing you might find different about it is the amount of sugar. My cheesecake has about half the amount of sugar you would typically find in a cheesecake recipe. The reason is because I like the delicate balance between sweet and savory. I don't want to just be overwhelmed by sweet. Plus it will help add balance if you add a bunch of sweet additions like chocolate or caramel.

Classic Cheesecake
Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 1 sleeve of graham crackers)
2 tbsp sugar
6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
4 bricks of cream cheese (1 brick is 8 oz), softened
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

• Preheat oven to 325° F.
• Combine the graham crackers and the sugar.
• Brush a 9" spring-form pan with some of the melted butter.
• Mix the remaining butter into the graham cracker mixture.
• Dump the graham cracker mixture into the spring-from pan and press it down with your fingers making sure that the crust reaches all of the edges but does not go up the sides.
• Bake for 15 - 18 minutes until golden brown.
• Allow crust to cool completely.


• In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or with a hand mixer, cream together the cream cheese and sugar.
• Add the eggs and vanilla. Mix until fully combined.
• Pour the filling into the cooled crust.
• Place the spring form pan into a deep roasting pan. Transfer the roasting pan to the oven, then fill with boiling water so that the spring form pan is surrounded by water. Just be sure not to get any on the cheesecake!
• This technique is called a water bath. It allows the cheesecake to cook more evenly and minimizes the risk of the dreaded crack in the middle of the cheesecake.
• Bake at 325° F for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
• Do not open the oven door! Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake in for another hour (for a total cooking time of 2 hours and 15 minutes). This will allow the cheesecake to finish cooking gently in the residual heat. This also protects from getting a crack in your cheesecake.
• Remove the cheesecake and allow to cool for 1 hour at room temperature. Then refrigerate for at least 8 hours before serving.

Remember how I said you can customize this recipe? Well, I made mini cheesecakes! Instead of a graham cracker crust, I placed a whole oreo at the bottom of each cupcake liner and then filled them with the batter.

Some of my favorite variations of cheesecake:

• Turtle - Add chopped pecans to the graham cracker crust; top the cooled cheesecake with drizzles of chocolate and caramel.
• White Chocolate Macadamia - Add chopped macadamia nuts to the graham cracker crust; pour white chocolate ganache over top of the cooled cheesecake, allow to chill for at least 1 more hour.
• White Chocolate Raspberry - Add 4 oz of melted white chocolate to the cheesecake batter; pour over graham cracker crust, then swirl in raspberry jam before baking.
• Coconut Lime - Add flaked coconut to the graham cracker crust; replace vanilla with 2 tbsp lime juice and add the zest of 1 lime to the cheesecake batter.
• Brownie Batter - Make fudge brownie mix, reserve 2/3 cup, pour the rest of the brownie batter into bottom of spring-form pan, bake for the normal recommended time, remove from oven then allow to cool; pour half of the cheesecake filling over the cooled brownie crust, mix the reserved brownie batter with the remaining half of the cheesecake filling, swirl together with the plain cheesecake filling, bake as normal.

Cheese Blintzes

Cheese blintzes are something I learned how to make when I was working as a Chef at the country club. It was a Jewish country club so we made a lot of classic Jewish and Middle Eastern recipes. I'll never forget the beef tongue sandwiches *shudder*

Anyhow, one of the (many) delicious things I learned how to make was cheese blintzes. This is one of those recipes where everyone has their own version and they vary widely. This is my version.

A cheese blintz, in case you were curious, is basically a crepe stuffed with cheesecake. Let that sink in for a minute. It is literally the most delicious thing you will ever wrap your mouth around. Ok, maybe not quite, but I'm sure you will love it. Somehow, I had never made these for Matt until a couple weeks ago. Now he wants me to make them every Saturday! haha

Cheese Blintzes

For the crepe:
1 1/2 Cups flour
1/2 Tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
3 Eggs
1 1/2 Cups milk
3 Tbsp melted butter, unsalted
Extra butter for cooking

For the filling:
8 oz cream cheese (1 brick), softened
1 Egg yolk
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

For the topping:
1 egg plus 1 egg white, beaten
1/4 cup brown sugar

• Combine all of the ingredients for the crepes. Whisk out any lumps.
• Set the batter aside in the refrigerator so that it loosens up and makes a more tender crepe.
• After 1 hour, take the batter out of the refrigerator. Then preheat a pan over medium heat.
• Once the pan is hot, melt a small pat of butter in the pan, then ladle in some of the crepe batter into the center of the pan. Pick up the pan and swirl it around so that the batter spreads into a thin crepe.
• Cook for about 30 seconds to 1 minute on one side then remove from the heat. There's no need to cook it on the other side. The crepe will be so thin that the batter will be completely cooked through.
• Set the crepe aside then repeat with the remaining batter until you have 12 - 16 crepes (depending on how big you make them).


• Cream together the cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Then add the egg and vanilla.
• Spoon a small amount of the filling into each of the crepes. Roll up half way, pull in the sides, then roll up the rest of the way. Just like you would with a burrito.


• Roll each cheese blintz in the eggs, then the sugar mixture.
• Assemble in a single layer in a greased 13" x 9" glass baking dish.
• Bake at 325° F for 25 - 30 minutes.
• Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 20 - 30 minutes. The sugar coating will be extremely hot. I can't stress this enough.
• Top with fresh berries.