alice’s posterous

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May 30, 2009

Strawberry tart with mascarpone.

My dad (@jfayel on Twitter) bought a huge box of strawberries so me and my mum ( @nanouk on Twitter) decided to make a strawberry tart using mascarpone as the filling.

 

My mum made the shortcrust pastry:
she mixed 150g flour, 80g soft butter, 25g caster sugar, 1 egg yolk and some cold water until she obtained a dough. She then left the dough in the fridge for an hour or so.
she rolled the dough in a pastry case and baked it (covered with dried beans) in the oven at 200 degrees for 15 minutes. The pastry was left to cool down.

I made the filling:
I separated an egg, put the yolk in a bowl with 1 tbsp caster sugar and beat for a few seconds until thoroughly mixed. I beat in 250g mascarpone until I had a custard-coloured cream. With a whisk, I beat the egg white until it stood stiff, then I folded it into the creamed mascarpone.
I then spooned the mascarpone into the  shortcrust pastry, spreading it smoothly right out to the edges. Finally I arranged the sliced strawberries on top of the mascarpone. The finished tart was kept cool before serving.

Now that's what I call family team working in action ;)

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Filed under  //   cooking   dessert   mascarpone   pie   recipe   strawberry   sweet   tart   tarte  

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April 18, 2009

Hot cross buns.

Until I came to live in England, I didn't know this tradition: during Easter, on Good Friday, hot cross buns, a type of sweet spiced bun made with currants or raisins and leavened with yeast, are eaten in remembrance of Jesus crucifixion. They have a cross marked on the top which can be done in one of a variety of ways including: pastry, flour and water mixture or even icing.

I decided to try and bake them as they looked quite appetising! So I chose an easy recipe on
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/10119/easy-hot-cross-buns
and baked them with my 3 years old son and my sister-in-law who is also French and didn't know them.
It was easy to make and delicious warmed from the oven for breakfast.
If you want to find out more about the history and superstitions about them, have a look at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Cross_Bun

And remember to share a hot cross bun with another to ensure friendship throughout the coming year, particularly if "Half for you and half for me, Between us two shall goodwill be" is said at the time!

   
Click here to download:
Hot_cross_buns..zip (4696 KB)

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Filed under  //   bread   bun   cake   easter   good friday   recipe   sweet  

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September 28, 2008

The tarte aux pommes.

Again to many apples so I decided to make a French apple pie.

  1. You lie down a sheet of puff pastry. Try to make it become as thin as you can.
  2. You spoon some apple compote over the pastry base.
  3. If you can't find any apple compote (try the baby shelf at the supermarket) then cook some peeled and cored apples with sugar and a bit of water and mash the mixture.
  4. You then add slices of apples.
  5. You could sprinkle some cinnamon on top.
  6. You bake it in the oven gas marked 180 degres until it's all puffed and golden,
  7. And there you have it: THE tarte aux pommes!

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Filed under  //   apple   dessert   pie   recipe   sweet   tarte  

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September 25, 2008

Plum Clafoutis.

I had four plums left along with two eggs on their own in the fridge so I decided to bake a "clafoutis", which basically means that you bake any fruits you have in batter.
So the recipe is easy to follow and is always a success with children:
  • 80g flour
  • 40g cornflour
  • 100g caster sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 glasses of milk
  • any fresh fruits left
  • a pinch of salt
  • butter
First you preheat the oven at 210C.
You mix all the dry ingredients.
You then add in the wet ones (eggs and milk).
You grease a oven proof dish with butter and add your fresh fruit.
You then pour over the batter and put the dish in the oven for 30 mins.
Finally, take the dish out of the oven, let the clafoutis cool down and enjoy!

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Filed under  //   cake   clafoutis   cook   cooking   dessert   fruit   recipe   sweet  

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