Czech Cherry and Spice Squares

 

I've been eyeing this recipe for a long time, but all the egg yolks and sourcing cherry jam put me off.  I wasn't sure they'd be worth the trouble and expense, but the recipe intrigued me, so I finally decided to make them.

I followed the recipe exactly to make 24 squares.  Here's what I used:

1 cup walnut pieces
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2½ cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground clove
pinch fine salt
1½ sticks salted butter, diced and slightly chilled
5 large egg yolks

2 tablespoons brandy

Filling
1 cup cherry jam
1/2 lemon, zest finely grated
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 egg white, for brushing

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.  Spread the nuts out on a baking sheet and bake until lightly toasted, about 8 minutes. Cool completely.  Butter a 9 x 12½ -inch baking sheet pan, then cover bottom with parchment paper. Pulse the walnuts with the sugar, in a food processor until fine and powdery, about 2 minutes. Add the flour, spices, and salt, pulsing until evenly combined. Add the butter, yolks, and brandy and pulse until mixture starts to come together. Stop mixing and pull the dough together by hand, press and roll into a thick log about 8 inches long.  Cut the log crosswise into 12 equal pieces. (If the dough is very sticky, refrigerate it until easier to work with, about 30 minutes.) Lay 8 pieces of the dough on the bottom of the pan. Press and spread the pieces together with your fingertips to cover the pan evenly.  

Stir the cherry jam, lemon zest and juice together in a bowl.  Spread mixture evenly over the surface of the dough with the back of a spoon.  Roll the remaining 4 pieces of dough out on a well-floured surface about 1/8-inch thick. Use a small decorative cutter to cut the dough into 24 pieces. Evenly place the pieces on top of the filling in 6 rows of 4. Alternatively cut the dough into long strips with a pizza wheel or knife, and place them on the filling in a lattice pattern; or cut the dough into ovals and lay them on the filling in a decorative pattern. Brush decorative layer of dough with egg white.  Bake the squares until golden brown, about 40 to 45 minutes. Cool completely in the pan on a rack. Cut with a serrated knife into 2-inch squares.

If I were to make these again, I'd use a mixer rather than the food processor once I'd pulverized the nuts.  Dry mixes never mix up well in a food processor and it completely blended the butter into the dough.  It would mean another pan to clean, but the food processor container would be easy to wash from just the nuts.  I suspect the whole thing is done in the processor for supposed ease, but I find it a hassle. 

I was hesitant to dump all the egg yolks and butter in at the same time, so it did the butter first, then the yolks one by one.  My dough ended up fully homogeneous, which I'm guessing was not the goal.  It probably should have been more like pastry dough, with bits of butter showing. I also forgot to brush the tops with egg white, so they're dull instead of shiny.  I used less than half the dough reserved for the cutouts, so I could have started with less and used larger cutters.  I made 1/4 thick cookies with the remainder, which baked up in about 10-15 minutes and burned quickly.

Tips:  Cut parchment paper large enough to come completely up the sides of the pan so the preserves don't touch the pan.  (Once baked, the preserves stick hard to the edge of the pan and pull away from the crust.)  Leave two ends of

the parchment paper to overhang the ends of the pan, then use these as handles to lift the cookies out of the pan after they've cooled and prior to cutting.  Use dry spaghetti to lay out cutting lines in order to get the decorative cutouts properly centered.  Cut on a board using a gentle sawing motion, especially on the hard edges.

Conclusion: Good, but not 5 egg yolks good.  I think these would be just as tasty with nuts and spices mixed into a shortcrust pastry dough, like what I use for lemon squares.  And they'd hold together better.  (VERY crumbly.)

Recipe:  Czech Squares via Food Network

September ABC challenge: Almond Tart and Bake-off

This promises to be an amazing dessert.  It just needs... something.  I'm not sure what that is, yet. But I'm happy to keep working on it.  Meanwhile, I made this as part of an almond tart bake-off, the other recipe being a Maid of Honour tart.

I didn't want to be trapped in the house with 6 of these things (“Danger, Will Robinson!”), so I reduced the recipe to create only one, and within that reduced the total sugar by 1 tablespoon.  It worked nicely.  Making these small batches, it helps to have a variety of miniature kitchen tools.  I mixed everything for this in a mini, 1-cup food processor.  The measuring spoons I used are tiny; the largest, the dash, is about equal to 1/4 teaspoon, or 16 drops of water. The pinch spoon equals 10 drops, and the smidgen spoon 6.  A mini whisk and mini spatula complete the collection.  I was, however, missing the mini tart pan.  What I used instead was really a 4.5-inch ceramic pie pan.  The tart wouldn't release from it, but I thought it worked well anyway, though it was a little deep for the filling.

The instructions call for "spreading" the filling.  My filling was so liquid, it would have evened out on its own.  I thought it must be too thin, so added another 2 teaspoons of almond flour to thicken it up just to the point that I would have to lightly spread it out in the crust.  (It's so easy to get the measurements off when reducing to such small proportions.)  I probably shouldn't have, as the final product was just a wee bit dry.

Here's what I used:

Crust
1/2 cup 3 teaspoons sugar (reduced from 4 teaspoons)
1/2 cup 4 teaspoons soft butter
1/4 teaspoon smidgen spoon salt
1 1/6 teaspoon vanilla extract (equals dash spoon + smidgen spoon)
1/2 1/12 teaspoon almond extract (equals pinch spoon)
1½ 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup 2 tablespoons almond flour or finely ground sliced or slivered almonds

Filling
1/4 cup 2 teaspoons soft butter
1/4 teaspoon smidgen spoon salt
1 cup 2 tablespoons sugar (reduced from 2 2/3 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1 1/6 teaspoon almond extract (equals dash spoon + smidgen spoon)
1 1/6 teaspoon vanilla extract (equals dash spoon + smidgen spoon)
3 large eggs ½ egg, about 30g
1 1/4 cups 3 1/3 tablespoons almond flour

Glaze
1 cup glazing sugar or confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons milk
raspberries, for garnish
1 ounce bittersweet chocolate
about 1 teaspoon heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 350°F.  To make the crust, beat together the sugar, butter, salt, and extracts.  Add the flours, stirring to make crumbs that cling together when squeezed.  Press the crumbs into the bottom and up the sides of six 4 1/2" mini tart pans (or a full-size tart pan; see tips, at left); prick them all over with a fork.  Freeze the crusts for 15 minutes, then bake them until they're just beginning to brown on the edges, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool while you make the filling.

To make the filling, beat together the butter, salt, sugar, flour, and extracts.  Beat in the egg, then add the almond flour, stirring just to combine. Spread the filling into the crust.  Bake the tart for 18 to 24 minutes, until the top is lightly browned. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan.

To make the glaze, gently heat the chocolate and cream together until melted and stir thoroughly.  (Adjust cream quantity until chocolate is of a dribbling consistency.)  Spoon into a plastic bag, cut off the tip, and squeeze decoratively onto tart.


Conclusion:  Delicious.  I liked this very much.  It was a little intense; but I wouldn't add ice cream, or even  whipped cream, as I think the delicate almond flavor would be lost.   Maybe a little vanilla custard would do.  A little more chocolate would have been nice, too.

Recipe:  Almond tarts via King Arthur Flour

Tofu Vegetable Quiche with Nut Crust

My posts are usually for sweet baked goods, but I needed a place to store this recipe for future use.

Tofu makes a much lighter quiche than the traditional version with eggs.  This would be good for breakfast, lunch, or a light dinner served with a crusty roll.  The sunflower seeds in the crust add a nice contrast while the roasted pepper and chipotle give a smokey flavor.

Crust
2 cups almond meal
1/4 cup flax seed meal
1 egg white
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon turmeric 
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds

Blend all the crust ingredients except the sunflower seeds in a food processor until the mixture is a fine, mealy texture and sticks together when pressed.  Add the sunflower seeds and process briefly to incorporate.  Press tightly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9.5" glass pie pan.  (It helps to use a flat plastic lid -- press in hard.  Be sure to get the corners and don't leave them too thick.) Bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes, until just starting to color.  Allow to cool until warm.

Filling
1 lb. organic, extra-firm tofu (NOT super firm; available at Trader Joe's)
1 16-ounce bag frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 14-ounce can light coconut milk (recommended:  Trader Joe's brand)
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup (packed) chopped parsley
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili flakes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
zest of 1/2 lemon
1½ teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 red bell pepper, roasted, peeled, and diced
1/8 cup green onion, thinly sliced (about 2), optional

Blend all the filling ingredients except for the bell pepper and green onion in the food processor until well mixed.  Check for seasoning and adjust according to taste.  Add the bell pepper and onion and process briefly to incorporate.  Pour into baked pie crust, smooth the top, and bake at 350F for 1 hour, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out moist but without wet filling.  Serve warm with a side of spicy kimchi.

Conclusion:  Very tasty and not heavy at all; you can have a large slice and still feel comfortable. Seasonings and vegetables can be adjusted to taste, or different nuts used for the crust.  The kimchi provides a nice spicy side to the mild tofu.