Summer Fruit Galette

Among the four seasons, summer has got to be my least favorite. I hate the heat and humidity that summer brings. The worst time for a pastry girl who likes to play with chocolate, laminated dough and macarons.

I often told my friends that I wouldn't mind the long cold and dry months in Chicago, because that's the best weather condition to bake! And I wasn't kidding.

The only redeeming aspect of summer, in my pastry oriented point of view is the endless stream of juicy sweet berries and stone fruits. I reconcile my dislike for summer with many bowls of sweet cherries in front of the computer in an air-conditioned room. When I muster enough courage to turn on the oven, I make many fruit tarts with the berries, peaches, apricot and nectarines.

Depending on my mood, sometime I like to leave the fruits unbaked and garnish directly onto the sweet tart shell with a little pastry cream,like these. Sometime, I like to bake the dough and fruits together, like these gorgeous galettes.

I made a few galettes last week when the temperature hadn't hit triple digits in the east coast. The abundant bounty of stone fruits at the grocery store screamed out loud to be baked that I couldn't turn a deaf ear. So I lugged as many home as OCT allowed. Along with the SUPER sweet mango and lychee, which I snack on everyday. (more on the mango and lychee next time).

Back to the galette. I made a 9-inch one for OCT's lab and a few smaller ones for us. I adapted the flaky dough recipe from one of my favorite author Ina Garten and the filling and custard idea and recipe from Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours.

I love how flaky and sturdy the dough is, which can hold a thin layer of my homemade strawberry jam, sprinkled graham cracker crumbs, various kinds of stone fruits and blueberries and a little sweet custard that was poured in when the galette was almost done.

A rustic but absolutely delectable and flexible dessert. You can use whatever stone fruits you have on hand, replace the jam with another kind of preserve and sprinkle almond flour to soak up some of the oozing fruit juice instead of graham cracker. The galette was so good that it doesn't need any adornment other than a few sprinkle of powdered sugar.

It is definitely a recipe that makes the sweltering summer heat slightly bearable.

I am planing to show OCT how to make this galette,so he can make it for us in the coming months while I hide in the air-conditioned room with bowlful of cherries. :)


Summer Fruit Galette

for the pastry
adapted from Barefoot Contessa at Home: Everyday Recipes You'll Make Over and Over Again
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced
6 tablespoons (3 ounces)ice water

Put the all purpose flour and sugar in a mixing bowl. Use a spatula to stir and make sure that they are well mixed. Add in the diced butter. Use your hand and fingers to break up the pieces of butter and at the same time, rub the butter into the dry ingredients. (you can do this in the food processor, but I find it easier to do it by hand)

Stop when the butter is the size of pea.(you will see pieces of butter in your finished dough, but that is what gives you the flakiness in the tart) Add in the ice water and gently knead to make a dough.Depending on the humidity level, you may or may not need all the water. Stop when the dough almost come together. (you will see some pieces of flour at the bottom of the bowl that refuse to be binded)

Turn the dough (including the flour at the bottom of the bowl) out onto a well-floured board. Roll it into a ball with well floured hands, and cut in half. Flatten the doughs into 2 flat disks. Wrap the disks in plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour. If you are going to use one disk,the second one can be freezed and use later.

For the filling:
adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours
jam/marmaleide (i used homemade strawberry jam)
graham cracker crumbs (or almond flour)
summer fruits of your choice (i used nectarine, peach and blueberry), sliced
vanilla custard (combine 3 tablespoons of melted butter, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, 1 egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)

Preheat the oven to 425F and line the baking sheet with parchment paper.

Take the pastry out from the cooler and roll it out on a well floured board into a 11 inch circle. Remember to turn the dough as you roll it out, so it doesn't stick to the board. Add more flour if the dough is too sticky to work with. Transfer the roll out dough onto the sheet pan.

Use a 9 inch cake pan as your guide, mark a circle in the middle of the dough. Spread a thin layer of jam in the circle, and spread the cookie crumb on top. Arrange the sliced fruits within the confine of the circle. Carefully fold the border of the pastry over the fruit, pleating it to make an edge.

Keep it in the cooler for 15 minutes so the dough has a chance to relax.

When ready to bake, brush the border of the galette with water and sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of turbinado sugar. (You can use granulated sugar too, but I like the crunch of turbinado)

Bake for 20-25 minutes until the galette turns golden and the fruits are soft. With a tablespoon, carefully pour some vanilla custard into the galette. Take care not to fill up too much until it overflow. You may not be able to use up all the mixture, but a few tablespoons will help to firm up the oozing juice from the baked fruits.

Bake for another 10-15 minutes until the custard has set.

Let cool on a cooling rack. Dust with powdered sugar when ready to serve.

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Summer fruit tarts

I love H Mart. The clean and spacious grocery store always have something exotic and intriguing for the adventurous to try. It is where I stock up on korean bulgogi sauce, kimchi, rice, Pocky and asian greens. It is also the place where I can get fresh berries for as little as a dollar a punnet.

As we were planning to go for another fruit picking in the next few days,I really shouldn't be buying any fruits from the store. But my logic flew out of the window when seeing other customers surrounded a pile of neatly arranged berries with the board so big you can see it from miles away- "Raspberry 8oz- $0.99". Not  too far away from it, the blueberries and blackberries were selling for the same price. I put one punnet of each kind in my basket and  thought I was pretty good with self restraint. :)

Once home, I rolled out some sweet tart dough and showed OCT how to make pastry cream. He was constantly bugging me to teach him something so he could brag in front of his colleagues.

Less is more when dealing with fruits that are in season. So I made fruit tarts. Buttery sweet tart dough with a layer of luscious vanilla pastry cream. Topped that with lots of fruits. I made a big tart for a friend and some individual tarts for us. The mini tarts were so small that we each ate two.

Some kiwi and mangoes found their ways into my grocery basket without me realised, so I made a few tarts with them too. ;)

Summer Fruit Tarts

sweet tart dough:
adapted from Desserts by Pierre Herme

2.5 sticks (10 ounces, 285g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1.5 cups (150g) confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 cup (lightly packed)(3 1/4 ounces, 100g) finely ground almond powder or finely ground blanched almond
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanlla bean pulp or pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
3.5 cups (490g) all purpose flour

Place the butter in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on low speed until creamy. Add the sugar, almond powder, salt, vanilla, and eggs and still working on low speed, beat to blend the ingredients, scraping down the paddle and the sides of the bowl as needed. The dough may loo cuddled- that's all right. With the machine on low, add the flour in three or four additions and mix only until the mixture comes together to form a soft, moist dough- a matter of seconds. Don't overdo it.

Gather the dough into a ball and divide it into 3 or 4 pieces: 3 pieces for 10 inch (26cm) tarts, 4 for 9 inch (24cm) tarts. Or, press the dough into one big disk and cut off as much as you need at the time that you need it. gently press the dough into disks and wrap them in plastic. Allow the dough to rest in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or up to 2 days , before rolling and baking. Alternatively, the dough can be freeze for up to 1 month.

For each tart, place a buttered tart ring on a parchment lined baking sheet and keep close at hand. Work with one piece of dough at a time, keep the remaining dough in the refrigerator.

To roll and bake the tart shells:
Working on a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to a thickness of between 1/16 and 1/8 inch (2 and 4 cm), lifting the dough often and making certain that the work surface and the dough are amply floured at all times. (a well floured area makes rolling this rich dough easier) Roll the dough up around your rolling pin and unroll it onto the tart ring. Fit the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the ring, then run your rolling pin across the top of the ring to cut off the excess. If the dough cracks or splits as you work, don't worry- patch the cracks with scraps and just certain not to stretch the dough that's in the pan. Prick the dough all over with fork and chill it for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 350F (180C) and fit a circle of parchment paper or foil into the crust and fill with dried beans or rice. ( i usually skip this step after resting my rolled out dough in the fridge for about 1 hour).

Bake the crust for 18-20 minutes, just until it is very lightly coloured. If the crust needs to be fully baked, remove the parchment and beans and bake the crust for another 3 to 5 minutes, or until golden. Transfer the crust to a rack to cool.

Vanilla pastry cream:

1 cup milk
1 plump, moist vanilla vean, split lengthwise and scraped
3 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
1/6 cup cornstarch, sifted. (1/2 of a 1/3 cup.Eyeball it using the 1/3 cup)
1.5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

To make the pastry cream:
Bring milk and vanilla bean( pulp and pod) to a boil in a small saucepan. Cover the pan, remove from heat and let the liquid be infused with scent of vanilla, for 10 minutes.

Fill a large bowl with ice cubes and set aside a small bowl that can hold the finished cream and be placed in this ice bath. Allow set aside a fine-meshed strainer.

Whisk egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan. While whisking, slowly drizzle a quarter of the hot milk into the yolks. Continue to add in the rest of the milk into the tempered yolks, whisking all the while. Remove the vanilla pod.

Place the saucepan over high heat and whisking vigorously, without stop, bring the mixture to the boil. Continue to whisk another 1-2 minutes, until you notice that the texture of th cream has thicken, and less liquidy, remove from heat. Press the cream through the sieve into the reserved small bowl. Set the bowl in the ice bath prepared earlier, and stirring frequently so that the mixture remains smooth, cool the cream to 140F, as measured on an instant read thermometer. Stir in the butter in two or three additions. Make sure that you don't add the butter in when the mixture is still hot. Or the cream would separate. Stir the cream occasionally until it is completely cool. It is ready to be used at this point or keep refrigerated, until you are ready to assemble the tart.

To assemble the tart:
After the tart shell is completely cool, put some pastry cream in the center and spread it out evenly. You can put as much or as little to your liking. Top it with lots of fruit and devour!

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Mixed Berries Frozen Yogurt

A few weeks ago I made my first batch of frozen yogurt. The inspiration comes from Molly's blackberry frozen yogurt. And I sighed thinking that we almost ended up moving to Seattle instead of Atlanta a few months ago.

And I imagine myself picking buckets after buckets of the glorious blackberries, all free of charge. In reality, that doesn't happen. I have to pay 3 dollars for the half pint of blackberries from the grocery store. Sometime, when I am lucky, it costs me about 2 dollars.

Instead of paying more than I want to make Molly's blackberry frozen yogurt, I decided to make a mixed berries variation. I combined the strawberries, blueberries and raspberries that I have freezed in earlier summer with some fresh blackberries for my batch. I didn't measure the exact proportion of each fruits, just a little of everything to make up to 1 pound. Because I like the pairing of berries and Chambord, I added a generous splash to macerate the fruits. Greek yogurt is used instead of the normal whole milk yogurt, which in my humble opinion, gives the final product a creamier texture.

We have eaten almost 75% of the frozen yogurt before I realised that I haven't told you about this fantastic recipe! Having some leftover eclair shells from last month's Daring Bakers' Challenge, I scoop some frozen yogurt into the eclair shells for this entry. I reckon they make a pretty and delicious treat after a summer meal.

Mixed Berries Frozen Yogurt
inspired by Orangette's Blackberry Frozen Yogurt

1 pound fresh or frozen mixed berries
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp Chambord
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1.5 tsp fresh lemon juice

In a medium bowl, combine the berries with sugar and Chambord, stirring until the sugar begins to dissolve. Cover, and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.

Using a blender, process the berries and the liquid that gathered in the bowl with the yogurt and lemon juice until smooth.Pass the mixture through a sieve into a medium bowl to remove the seeds. Taste the filtered mixture. You want it to be slightly sweeter than you like at this point,as freezing will dull the flavor later.

Refrigerate the mixture for at least one hour. Then freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Yield: 1 scant quart

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In Season: Blueberry Crumb Cake

Like many bakers, I draw my baking inspiration from what looks good at the market. At the moment, the limelight falls on blueberries.It is the peak season for blueberries now, and the best time to devour this antioxidant rich superfood. In Georgia, it has been a good year for the local blueberries farms. Excellent crops have been reported, unlike last year, when the Easter freeze had wiped out 86% of the georgia state's blueberries. The good crop has translated into fresh fruits with an endearing price tag to the consumers. Always a welcoming sight when prices of everything else rockets up.

The blueberries are sweet to eat out of hand, so some have found their ways into my morning bowl of granola and soy milk. Some have been dispatched to decorate a birthday cheesecake, while the rest of the cohorts are turned into this blueberry crumb cake.

The recipe I use for the crumb cake comes from one of my favorite food network host-Ina Garten. Although not a fan of the show itself, I love how simple and tasty her recipes always turn out. The blueberry crumb cake is no exception. It is fitting for a weekend brunch, or as a dessert after dinner, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side. I added in another 1/2 cup of blueberries to the recipe, following a suggestion made by a reviewer on the site.

My initial intention has been a thin slice for sampling and photo shoot before sending the rest to OCT's lab. But I like it so much that I succumb to the temptation and sneak another slice onto my plate once my first one is polished! Total lack of abstinance, as OCT would say.

Blueberry Crumb Cake
adopted from Barefoot Contessa via Food Network.com

For the streusel:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
For the cake:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature (3/4 stick)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2/3 cup sour cream
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup fresh blueberries (I used 1.5 cups)
Confectioners' sugar for sprinkling


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9-inch round baking pan.

For the streusel:

Combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl. Stir in the melted butter and then the flour. Mix well and set aside.

For the cake:

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla, lemon zest, and sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined.

Fold in the blueberries and stir with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread it out with a knife. With your fingers,crumble the topping evenly over the batter. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.

Cool completely and serve sprinkled with confectioners' sugar.

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Recipe: Lavender Chiffon Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

It has been a busy week, and before I know, Friday has rolled around! I can't believe I have let this recipe hung in the draft section for a whole week since I last posted the pictures a week ago. I hope you are just as busy,enjoying the summer, grilling, swimming or just hanging out with friends and family.

The lavender chiffon cake is inspired by the beautiful lavender bushes I saw while visiting my sister in law in Boulder. Rows after rows of lavenders dotted the beautiful town with breaktaking Rocky Mountains as its backdrop. It's a beautiful place, but I didn't try to capture its magnificient view with my camera. I decided to simply enjoy the company and leave the camera home. Boulder reminds me of Kota Kinabalu, my hometown in which it is located at the foothill of Mount Kinabalu. When I told OCT that, he said he felt the same way too.

So here's the recipe, which I have adapted from the 2 ways Espresso Chiffon Cake. It's one of my favorite chiffon cake recipes too. I have used a heaping tablespoon of dried lavender here, so its flavor is quite subtle. The cream cheese frosting provides a nice tang to the cake without being too heavy. You can also slice the cake in half, and fill it with another layer of cream cheese frosting. Because I am making the chiffon cake for our long weekend nibble, so I decided to go the light route.

I love raspberries in cake, so I sliced a piece with extra raspberries on it, to reward myself!

Lavender Chiffon Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon dried lavender
2/3 cup water
1/2 cup unflavored vegetable oil (canola or safflower)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
zest from 1 lemon
2 1/4 cups cake flour (I used all purpose flour with no problem)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, separated
7 large eggs, at room temperature, separated
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
Cream Cheese Frosting (see recipe below)
Berries for decoration

To make the lavender chiffon cake:
Cut a round of parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pan and cut out a hole in the middle to fit the center tube of the pan. This cake is baked in an ungreased pan because greasing the pan would keep the batter from rising and gripping the sides of the pan as the cake bakes.

Preheat the oven to 325F.

In a large measuring cup or medium bowl,combine the oil, water, vanilla and eggyolks. Whisk until well combined.

Over a large piece of parchment paper or bowl sift together the flour and baking powder. Add 1 cup of sugar, the dried lavender, lemon zest and salt and stir together.

Make a well in the center of the mixture by pushing the dry ingredients towards the side of the bowl. Add the oil mixture. Using a rubber spatula, stir together until thoroughly combined.

Place the egg whites in the grease free bowl of an electric mixer or in a large grease free bowl. Using the wire whip attachment or a hand held mixer, whip the egg whites on medium speed until they are frothy. Add the cream of tartar. Slowly sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and continue whipping until the egg whites hold glossy and firm but not stiff, peaks, about 5 minutes.

Fold the egg whites into the cake batter in 3 to 4 stages, blending thoroughly after each addition. Transfer the batter to the tube pan. Use the rubber spatula to smooth and even the top.

Bake for 1 hour, or until the cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.(Mine took 45-50 minutes).

Remove the pan from the oven and invert it over a cooling rack onto its feet or over a funnel or a thin necked bottle. Let the cake hanf to cook completely. Don't set the pan on a cooling rack on its base. This will cause the cake to collapse onto itself.

Don't shake the cake out of the pan before it is cool. Once the cake is cool. use a thin blade knife or flexible blade spatula to run across the outer edge and the inside tube to help release the cake from the pan. Invert the cake onto a rack, then reinvert onto a serving plate.

To make the cream cheese frosting:
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 stick ( 4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1.5 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Using a stand mixer,fitted with a paddle attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the sugar and continue to beat until the frosting is velvety smooth. Beat in the lemon juice and vanilla extract.

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4th July Cake

I wasn't going to dress up the lemon lavender chiffon cake, but the berries at the market were just too tempting!

Happy 4th July to those who celebrate the festivities!

Here's a virtual slice, from me to you. Recipe coming soon on this space, I promise!

Enjoy the long weekend y'all!

p/s: the berries motif is inspired by this post on The Kitchn.

See what I made last year on 4th July here.

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