Crispy Zucchini Tart

Hello everyone! 

I have here a different method of cooking zucchini and I develop it into a very simple but a very yummy tart experience. You may not believe this, but  I have used the same ingredients for the Zucchini Crunchies that I posted about 3 days ago. Same ingredients and almost the same method of preparation and it´s exactly what I used for the fillings of this tart. The only difference is....I used a Filo Pastry Dough for a crispy tart. Come and have a go on this recipe, you´ll love it!

Zucchini Tart

2 ready made Filo pastry dough

4 med zucchini, grated

1 medium onion, very finely chopped

1 cups bread crumbs

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese  or gouda cheese 

2 eggs, 1 egg yolk to brush the top of the pasry dough

1 tsp ground cummin (optional) 

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tsp pepper

2 tsps salt 

Instructions: Preheat the oven at 190°C

1.  In a bowl, grate the zucchini, add salt, carefully combined with your hands 

    and let it stand for about 20 minutes. The salt will help release the liquid 

    from the zucchini.

2. Place a clean cloth in another bowl and pour zucchini wringing out its liquid   

    until all water is squeezed-out, discard the liquid.

3. Place zucchini in a bowl, add the onions, breadcrumbs, cheddar cheese, eggs, 

   garlic powder, ground cummins (optional) and pepper. Mix well until the 

   ingredients are well blended.

5. Roll-out the 1st pastry dough, do not remove the paper lining. With a spatula, 

    spread the zucchini mixture onto the dough carefully covering it until 

   about 3 cm from each of the four sides. Roll-out the 2nd pastry dough and cut 

   4 strips at 3cm each, set aside. Cut 1 cm strips and arrange these on top of the 

   zucchini (see photo below) as grids. Place the 4 bigger strips on each side to close    edge of the tart. Prick the dough with a fork to prevent bubbling.

 

           

6. Brush the pastry dough with battered egg yolk  and place the tray in the 

   middle oven rack. Bake for about 45 minutes or until the tart becomes crispy 

  and golden brown in color. Can be served as a snack or main dish

Happy Baking!!!

Mango Tart

Note: I ´m having a hard time removing the onion part of the link, sorry guys but the blog on the onion harvest is on the post prior to this one.

A puff pastry is always available  in my fridge, whether fresh or frozen. You never know when visitors are coming instantly. I couldn´t  imagine myself kneading the dough for so long and since supermarkets are offering these pastry, I don´t think that I will ever make this myself..This ready made puff pastry is actually as excellent as in your own handmade, really!

The same as with other quick sweet or desserts to bakem I just have to try it this time with riped mangoes. and below is how I made this...

Mango Tart

Ingredients : 

1 pack filo puff pastry

400 gr Mascarpone cheese

100 grams sugar ( I used 6 tbsp stevia powder as sugar        substitute

1 ripe mango

2 tsp rind of lemon (I used organic lemon)

3 tbsp dark sugar

1 egg yolk

butter to coat the pie form

Preparation:

1.

Preheat oven to 180°C. Coat  the pie form with butter and spread the pastry onto the pie form covering all the inner surface of the form. Cut the excess pastry for later use as cake grid...

Tuck the excess dough towards the inner direction of the form folding it so that all sides become thicker than the rest of the pastry. 

Prick the middle part of the dough with a fork and bake the crust for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven of 180°C until the pastry becomes golden brown. 

Remove from oven and set aside to cool down a bit.

2. 

Peel & slice the mango thinly in elongated form 

and  spread  the pieces in an oven tray lined with baking parchment. springkle the dark sugar on top of the mango pieces and bake for about 20 minutes or until the sugar begins to caramelize and turn golden brown in color. 

Take out the caramelized mango and set aside..

3. 

Combine the Mascarpone, lemon rind and the sugar, mix  properly until well blended. Spread the mixture on the crust and place the caramelized mango on top of the mascarpone pressing the pieces a bit so the pieces settle down.

Meanwhile, cut the excess pastry into strips to be used  as tart grid and set it as topping for the tart. Brush the pastry top with the beaten egg yolk  to give a golden color during the baking process. Bake the tart for 20-30 minutes at 180°C. 

If you want the top crust lighter in shade, you can cover the top of the form with an aluminum foil , removing it 10 minutes before the end of teh baking process. 

This can be served hot or cold in your tea or coffee party...

Happy Baking!

Basil Ricotta Tart with Nectarines & Prosciutto

I´ve  been looking for a new recipe for salted Tart I wanted to bake and  came across this recipe.. It really tastes scrumptious that I made this so often. We love having this for dinner...

Adding the durum wheat makes the pastry so crispy that you would only want to eat the crust alone... try this salty sweet tart, you´ll surely like to make this more often. 

Basil Ricotta Tart

Ingredients:

For the Dough: 

75 wheat flour 

25 g durum wheat flour 

½ tsp salt 

45 g butter 

3-4 tablespoons milk 

For the Filling: 

2 Nectarines 

1 tablespoon brown sugar 

250 g ricotta 

Basil 

Salt, Pepper, Nutmeg 

8-10 Prosciutto slices

Basil leaves, red pepper 

olive oil 

Preparations: 

Preheat the oven at 200°C..

1. Place  the wholewheat flour, durum semolina wheat, salt and butter into the kitchen mixer.  Carefully add the milk-water mix by and by until the dough holds together. Flatten the dough, wrap it in a trasparent clinging plastic and let cool in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, wash the nectarines, dry with paper towel, stone, and cut into quarters.  Place the nectarines on a baking sheet and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for about 6-8 minutes until the sugar begins to caramelize so that the nectarine gets a bit of golden color. 

3. Roll out the dough and use it to line a square baking pan of about 20x20 cm.  You may also use a pie form if you prefer to use it.

Prick the dough several times with a fork, cover it with baking paper and add dried beans to bake blind the pastry. Let the pastry cool completely ready to use for filling.

5. Mix the ricotta with the finely chopped fresh basil and nutmeg. Season with salt & pepper according to your taste. Fill the cooled tart crust with the seasoned ricotta then arrange the nectarines by pressing slightly on top of the ricotta alternately with the prosciutto slices (see above photo). Garnish the tart with fresh basil leaves,  crushed red pepper and sprinkle with a bit olive oil... 

Note : The Original german recipe is from the book: Myriam's Kuchen, Tartes & Co by Myriam Zumbühl. For the puposes of translation, I added a few words for  my english readers.

an easy spinach tart....

I always have filo pastry in the fridge and I buy them readymade from our  supermarket ...it' s a versatile dough you can use for anything sweet or salty... and it´s a quick way to bake something without spending so much time in the kitchen..

One of those quick baked goodies we prefer to have at home is this

 quick & easy spinach tart and this is how I make it..

EASY SPINACH TART

Ingredients: 
1 pack filo pastry

200 grams frozen young spinach leaves, thawed and 

liquid squeezed

1 pack Mozarella around 150 grams, sliced
2 medium size tomatoes sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 medium onion, sliced thinly
1 tbsp Cream fraiche 
salt & Pepper to taste
margarine to coat the pie dish
vegetable oil for frying


Preparation:

1. roll out the filo sheet onto a pie dish that was previously coated with margarine, trim the edges with your finger so that the dough covers the whole baking dish.. bake in a preheated oven, middle rack at 200 °C for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, set aside.

*blind baking is not necessary as the middle part of the dough will 

be flattened soon as it is filled with spinach).


2. Fry the crushed garlic, add the sliced onions, sliced tomatoes, spinach, 

sauté until becomes soft, add the creme fraiche and blend well...

season with salt & pepper according to your taste.

3. Add the spinach mixture into the crust and bake at 180°C around

 15 minutes or until the cheese starts to melt... Serve hot!

Happy Baking !!!

Easy Orange Cheesecake

Today, we´re supposed to go to a quilt exhibition in Lower Austria, but then, the weather keeps on  changing so often.... a bit drizzle here, a bit dark clouds there.  And so, we were thinking on wat to do... go to the Saturday flea market?.... still unsure of the weather, we decided to stay home...

Having finished my 2nd handquilted pillowcase ,  I though that it would be  a lovely idea to bake and try a new cheesecake recipe which I haven´t baked before... and so this scrumptious cheesecake was born.  The base dough is so easy to make. Here´s how  I did it and
I´m sure you would love this one.

Easy Orange Cheesecake 

Ingredients

Dough

 180 grams Flour

60 powdered sugar ( you can use sugar substitute of 7 tbsps Stevia powder)

Salt ( dash)

125 grams butter

1 egg yolk

Cheese Fillings

 250 Curd Cheese ( look for  "Quark" as the germans call it)

1 egg and 1 egg yolk ( medium size)

60 grams sugar

1 pack Vanilla sugar

20 grams Cornflour

60 grams liquid butter ( liquify thru microwave oven)

plus: dried beans for blind baking

         2 - 3 oranges thinly sliced, rind, skin  and seeds removed

         confectioner´s sugar or powdered sugar for topping

        

  Preparation:

1. Mix together flour, powdered sugar, 1 pinch salt, cut-up  butter (cubes) and egg yolk in a bowl. Knead til  the dough becomes smooth. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

2 In a bowl combine curd cheese, egg, yolk, sugar, vanilla sugar, starch until all ingredients are well blended. Stir in butter. Mix well. Preheat oven to 190 ° C (fan 170 ° C).

3.Roll out dough on a floured surface until the dough reaches the size of the tart

     form you are using. Place the dough and tuck it on a tart form, you may use a round form or  a square and add a parchment or baking paper on top of it, add the dried beans and blind bake the pastry ( prebaking of the pastry so it won´t make bubbles).

4.  Bake the pastry in  the oven  for around 15 minutes. Remove baking paper and bake pastry for 3-4 minutes more. Remove and allow to cool slightly

4. Peel  the oranges and remove the white skin. Cut the oranges thinly. Remove any existing seeds.

5. Add the cheese filling in the pre-baked pastry and on top of it,  spread the orange slices as toppings and  bake cake in the oven for about 35 minutes. If desired, sprinkle cheesecake with icing sugar. Can be served hot and cold.

I hope you try this easy one .

Enjoy whatever you´re doing!

HAPPY BAKING! 

  

Rucola Tomato Pie

 

 

 

 

 

One of the best things ever invented in baking is the ready made phyllo or the puff pastry. They are so versatile to use and  a blessing in one´s kitchen. You don´t have to spend so much time making this dough to achieve flaky and crispy layers.

 

I always see to it that I have this ready in the fridge, so anytime when some visitors come up, I can always produce something quick and tasteful.

 

 

 

 

For this recipe, I used rucola leaves... it has a mild taste which I prefer more than the fresh spinach...

 

 

 

Ingredients :

 

1 readymade puff pastry ( approx 270-275 gms ) for
   a 24 cm pie form

250 g Ricotta ( fresh italian White cheese)
200 g Rucola leaves
3 eggs, 2 cloves crushed garlic
3 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced ( reserve about 4-5 slices for
topping)
3 spring onions cut into small pieces
salt & pepper

cooking oil to sautée the leaves

butter to coat the pie form

 

 

Instructions: 

1. Preheat the oven at 180°C. Coat the pie form with butter, roll out the pastry, remove the paper (set aside for later use), place the pastry onto the form slightly pressing it so that it covers the form completely. Tuck the pastry edges towards the inner side just like in a pizza crust (see Image nr. 1)....

Place the pastry paper or parchment on top of the pastry, then add dried beans to bake blind the pastry for 10 minutes under 180°C.

Remove the paper and the beans and bake 5 minutes more to get a brown crust all over. Set aside for later filling.

 

 

 

 

3. In a pan with 1 tbsp butter, slightly fry the rucola leaves until they get limpy and loose its liquid, put in a colander to squesze out more liquid.... set aside.

In the same pan, add 1 tbsp cooking oil & fry the crushed garlic, 2 sliced tomatoes and the cut spring onions til done, about 2 minutes.... set aside.

 

 

4. Fill the puffed pastry with half of the egg-Ricotta mixture. Arrange the Rucola and tomatoes on top of it and add 1/4 of the of the egg mixture. Then, top with the reserved sliced tomatoes. Pour the rest of the egg mixture and bake at 175°C for about 20 minutes.... for crispy edges, bake more for 5 minutes at 175°C..

Can be served warm or cold, goes well with white wine.

Note: If the puff pastry tends to become too dark during the baking process, cover the pie with an aluminum foil, remove cover 5 minutes before the baking time ends.

 

Have a nice time baking!!

 

Thank you for reading my blog.... am wishing you a Happy Weekend!!!

 

Til next,

 

Mercy

 

 

 

Berry Pudding Cake - No Sugar Added

 

 

 

No Sugar - Berry Pudding Cake

 

This is a variation of a delicious recipe that I stumbled upon while visiting Better Homes & Gardens´s site at  http://www.bhg.com/recipe/berry-pudding-cakes/?socsrc=bhgpin052912    today afternoon... so easy and quick to make.

 

The original recipe has sugar, but I used Stevia in powder form to save calories.

I omitted the sugar because I added melted chocolate for the toppings. Chocolate bars are one of my weaknesses, so if I would have used sugar, then  calories would have been much more.

  

 

Here´s BGH´s  orignal recipe of the scrumptious Berry Pudding Cake...

 



Ingredients

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar   ( I used Stevia instead of sugar with a Ratio of 1:1 )
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Dash salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 cups fresh berries (such as raspberries, blueberries, and/or sliced strawberries)
• 2 teaspoons powdered sugar (optional)
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly coat six 6-ounce individual quiche dishes with nonstick cooking spray. Arrange in a 15x10x1-inch baking pan; set aside. In a medium bowl, combine eggs, granulated sugar, vanilla, and salt; whisk until light and frothy. Whisk in milk until combined. Add flour and baking powder; whisk until smooth.

2. Divide berries among prepared quiche dishes. Pour batter over berries. (Batter will not cover berries completely.) Bake about 20 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Serve warm. If desired, sift powdered sugar over each serving.

                                  

 

 

 

Note:

 

I used various frozen berries such as blueberries,  blackberries, red currant and raspberries ...I thawed them beforehand placing  them in a colander to extract the liquid before putting them in the baking form. 

 

When baking was finished,  I added melted chocolate as topping:

 

To make the melted chocolate:

 

 in a pot, heat 3 tbsp milk + 50 grams of plain chocolate bar  ( 1/2 of the small bar)under low fire, mix  til the chocolate is melted and well blended.  Use spoon to add droplets onto the Pudding cake.

 

Depending on the berries you have,  eat this with a spoon as the cake is soft and juicy.

 

 For nutritional facts, please click BHG´s link given above.

  

 

Happy Baking!  

 

Rhubarb Strawberry Tart

 

 

 

There are so many articles featuring rhubarbs these days, I guess it´s because now is its season. Frankly, I haven´t really cooked or baked them... Oma, hubby´s grandma supplied us with her delicious  rhubarb jams and marmalades or even compote that she made herself.  

 

 

While food shopping, I stumbled upon them  in my supermarket and the idea of making a tart out of the stalks got me excited. I brought home a Kilo of the stalks and well, I hadn´t even started the baking part yet  and I was already nervous ´cause I was trying this for the first time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 After a few google researches on how to prepare  them, I concluded that rhubarbs can be cooked with sugar even without  adding water . I slowly cooked the

pieces for about 15 minutes til soft and done.

 

Here´s my recipe....

 

Rhubarb Strawberry Tart

 

 

Ingredients for the pastry

 

500 g all purpose Flour
30 g Sugar
a dash of salt,
200 g Butter chopped into small squares,
1 Tbsp Table Vinegar,
10 Tbsp cold water

 

 

Ingredients for the Fillings:
 

 250 grams curd cheese

2 cups sliced strawberries (cut lengthwise)

1 kg rhubarbs diced into 2 cm cubes

1 Cup + 3 tbsp fine granulated sugar 

1 pack Vanilla sugar or 1/2 tps. vanilla extract

1 tbsp corn starch

1/2 cup soft strawberry marmalade

1 medium egg
 

 Preparing the  Pastry:

 

In a container, mix all pastry ingredients as in above, knead well until dough is smooth and can be formed into a ball.

 

 Divide the dough into two, or put each in a plastic bag  and let them stand in the fridge for 2 hours....

 

 

Roll- out 1 dough onto a floured surface, using the rolling pin, flatten it  and  shape the dough according to the baking form you are using..let the flat dough cover the whole tart form. Set them aside for filling later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Preparing the Rhubarb:

 

Cut both ends of each stalk, wash rhubarbs and cut stalks into 2-3 cm pieces.

Sprinkle the  sugar all over the rhubarbs and add the vanilla extract, the corn flour, mix thoroughly with your hand until the pieces are well coated, let stand for 

30 minutes...

 

Put the rhubarb pieces in a casserole and cook slowly under low fire for about 15 minutes until  liquid comes out and  the pieces become soft and done... Be careful in stirring the pieces so that the rhubarbs do not crumble.

  

 

When rhubarbs are done, remove & place the pieces in a colander with a container underneath it to extract the excess liquid, saving the juice.

 

Extracted rhubarb juice can be added to apple juice to make a cold drink , I tried it and  I shoud say it ís very refreshing!

 

  

 
 

Place the  rhubarb in a container, carefully adding the sliced strawberries.
 Add 3 tbsps of soft strawberry marmalade. Mix carefully with a spatula until pieces are well coated with the marmalade. 

 

 

In a container, beat 1 egg,  add the curd cheese and the 3 tbsp sugar, mix thoroughly,

 

Place the egg curd mixture onto the prepared pastry form spreading it evenly on the surface. Add the rhubarb strawberry on top and scatter remaining marmalade on top of it....

 

I had a few extra slices of strawberries that I added on top of the tart before putting

on the pastry "grid" below,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Roll-out the 2nd dough , by using pizza roller/cutter, cut the pastry into strips to cover the tart top alternately like grids. Brush the grids with a battered egg white prepared beforehand to make it golden brown during the baking 

 Place the tart on the lower rack of your oven and bake in a preheated oven of 200 °C for the first 15 minutes then lower the oven heat to 180 °C and bake for more 25 minutes til the crust gets brown. and crispy

 

 

  This can be served warm or cold....

 

 

I´ve added whipped cream, strawberry and  marmalade as toppings, and this tart was a success!!!

  

  

 

 

 

ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND!!!