Pear and apple crumble

Tags

apple, crumble, dessert, fruit, Pears

My husband loves fruit crumbles, (I am more of a chocolate dessert person myself), but I do love to make crumbles all year long and use whatever fruit is in season. At the moment we have beautiful apples and pears and so I decided to quickly whip up a little dessert.

Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 1 kg / 2 pounds ripe pears
• 1 kg / 2 pounds firm apples
• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

For the topping:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup old-fashioned oatmeal
• 240g / 1/2 pound cold butter, cut into cubes

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 180C / 360F
Mix flour, sugars, salt, oatmeal and butter together in a bowl until crumbly
Peel, core and cut the apples and pears into chunks
Combine apples, pears, orange zest, lemon zest, the 2 juices, sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg together in a separate bowl
Lightly butter an oven proof dish
Pour the fruit mixture into your dish
Sprinkle the topping evenly on top of the fruit
Bake in the preheated oven until the top is golden brown, about 40 minutes
Serve immediately with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream
Enjoy!

Peppermint Crisp Tart

Tags

dessert, fridge cake, peppermint, peppermint crisp tart, rainbow nation, South Africa

 

For many South Africans Peppermint Crisp is deeply nostalgic. Why? It’s probably got a lot to do with Peppermint Crisp tart – a lusciously creamy dessert that’s graced the table of countless South Africans over the years. Not only is it downright delicious, it’s also dead easy to make! A base of coconut-y Tennis Biscuits holds a rich and indulgent filling of whipped cream, caramel and sometimes condensed milk… topped off with crushed up pieces of a Peppermint Crisp chocolate bar. What’s not to love?

For those of you that are not South African or have never eaten one of these scrumptious and decadent desserts, fear not, you no longer have to feel deprived. Simply make your own.

The traditional recipe combines Orley Whip (similar to single cream, whips up to three times its original volume and can be stored in the fridge for up to three months) with Caramel Treat (caramelised condensed milk) and Peppermint Crisp (a chocolate bar from Nestle that features a filling of tightly packed, long and very brittle tubes of bright green mint-flavoured candy – tastes madly minty), layered with Tennis biscuits (shortbread-ish coconut-flavoured cookies).

You can substitute whipping cream for Orley Whip, American Cool Whip is a near-identical product. For caramelised condensed milk, you can use dulce du leche or you can make your own by boiling a tin of normal sweetened condensed milk or if in France, used a jar of confiture de lait. For the biscuits, any shortbready biscuit with a bit of added coconut will do but for the peppermint crisp, that you will need to buy from a shop that sells South African products.

 

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients:

 

• 200 g /  7 oz Tennis biscuits
• 125 g / 8 tablespoons butter, melted
• 250ml /1 cup cream, whipped to soft peaks
• 360 g / 12 oz tin Caramel Treat (I used 1 jar Bonne Maman confiture de lait)
• 150 g / 5oz Peppermint Crisp chocolate, roughly chopped

 

Preparation:

Place the biscuits in a food processor and whiz until reduced to fine crumbs
Add the melted butter
Blend together until the biscuits are fine and coated with butter
Press the biscuit crumbs into a springform cake tin or a pie dish (9″ / 23cm) and chill for 30 minutes
Stir 2 tablespoons whipped cream into the caramel, then spread over the biscuit crust
Spread the remaining cream over the tart
Sprinkle over the chocolate
Place in refrigerator until ready to serve
Enjoy!

 

 

Strawberries in red wine with mascarpone cream

Tags

cooking with red wine, cream, dessert, fruit, mascarpone, red wine, strawberries

Fresh strawberries do not need much dressing up but these take on another flavour dimension in this incredibly simple yet elegant French dessert.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

400 g / 3/4 lb small strawberries, hulled and halved (if large)
250 ml / 1 cup dry red wine, I used a Merlot
50 g / 1/4 cup sugar
180 ml / 3/4 cup heavy cream
120 ml / 1/2 cup mascarpone
2 vanilla beans, split, seeds scraped out and reserved
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Preparation:

Place the strawberries in a large bowl and pour the wine over them
Sprinkle in the sugar and stir
Cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours but not more than 12
Remove from refrigerator just before serving
In another bowl, whisk the cream, mascarpone, vanilla seeds and confectioners’ sugar until stiff peaks form
Spoon some cream into each bowl and top with the strawberries and wine
Enjoy!