plums and raspberries slices

I have a bit of a crush on slices. I guess it could be because they make me feel as if I am not eating too much. You know how compact they are – as opposed to a fluffy slice of sponge cake for instance. Don’t take me wrong, I do like sponge cake – an awful lot. Having said that, sometimes we can embark on a guilt trip when eating one slice of sponge cake too many. When that reasonably big slice stares back at you, you might feel a bit of a glutton sometimes. Now, if we hold a little slice in our hands, to start with they are not big, so the guilt is reduced. Fair enough, after 5 pieces of a given slice I might end up feeling rather guilty anyway

In this spirit I welcomed the idea of a plum and raspberry slice. Firstly because I love baked fruits – very few are not up to the challenge. Then the idea of oats and fruit in a nice, compact slice could only be welcomed. It would be the combination of summer and a semi-healthy sweet treat. It’s the season for plums and I chose lovely British plumbs that were being sold locally. Being a big plum fan I tend to overbuy them and end up having to come up with creative ideas. The British plums are small and firm. I always look forward to them with great anticipation. Then, the idea of the raspberries. Raspberries are such fantastic berries. They are dead pretty, and full of flavour. Well, most of them anyway – I have come across a few in my lifetime which tarnish the good reputation of raspberries . The combination of flavours was perfect.

I got the recipe from J., a colleague at work.  She told me that herself and her partner were just hooked up on the slices. When I then asked for the recipe she was more than willing to share it, and I did buy the fruit on the same day. I ended up not baking it on the same day as I fell asleep before getting ready for the baking session. I then tried it the day after, in the morning. Preparing it was very simple, very few steps. The most laborious thing was the slicing of the plums. I used jumbo oats as I often buy them for my porridge. I could barely wait till the slice cooled down before I had a bit. The fruit was still piping hot and I was already half way into burning my tongue. OMG, this is a fabulous slice. Very moist in a way with all that fruit packed in. J. did not exaggerate a single bit. I’m often quite restrained when eating the baked goods I make – even though it might not look like it, but I just could not stop eating the slices. You can have yours with some yougurt on the side, or cream fraiche, or even ice cream. I never got that far. I shared some with neighbours so that I did not feel too guilty and terribly greedy, but I still kept a few more for additional indulgence.

Ingredients:

• 150g porridge oats
• 275g wholemeal flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 110g light brown sugar
• 225g butter
• 250g plums
• 200g raspberries
• 1 heaped teaspoon cinnamon

Baking tray – 25.5 x 15 cm. Buttered and lined with parchment paper

Preparation:

Pre-heat the oven – 200oC.

Cut the plums in  slices: start by cutting them in half, removing the stone. Finally cut them in thin slices and put in a bowl. Sprinkle the cinnamon on top and use your hands to mix it all. Add the raspberries to the bowl and with a spatula mix it with the plums. Put the flour, oats and salt in a bowl and set aside. Melt the butter and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir every so often until the butter and sugar are fully melted. Transfer the mixture to the bowl with the flour and oats and give it all a mix – use a wooden spoon first and then your hands. Take half the mixture and spread it evenly over the base of the tin. Be patient. It will work out. Then spread the fruit over the base. Finalize by spreading the mixture evenly over the top. Take the baking tray to the oven and bake for approximately 25-30 min. Remove it from the oven and let it cool before you start digging in – if you can help it. I dare you!

Read Full Post »

Mango and passionfruit pies

Even though I was born in north east Brazil I grew up in the north, in a town called Belém. We lived in the centre of town and the streets were mango tree lined. I do remember mango season and myself and a cousin/brother who grew up with me picking up mangos from the ground. We also had to be cautious in case we were walking down the road during mango with salt. I have to admit not remembering whether I liked the taste of it with salt or not. I did it because it was something that my friends used to do. Mango was always a great part of my fruit eating life. In the northeast where my relatives live I always used to eat some big, juicy and sweet mangos. They had such fabulous perfume. Nowadays my parents live in central Brazil and mum has mango trees in her back yard. When in season there is a lot of mango pulp that gets put in the fridge to make mango juice. I tend to go home at that time of the year and it is like paradise. Mango in the UK is all imported and unfortunately despite us being able to buy mangos they do not taste the same. However, I do succumb to temptation every so often and buy some mango. If not ripe enough I just wrap them up in a newspaper and keep them under the sink for a few days when they should be a tad riper.

Out of curiosity I did some reading about mango in Brazil and I read – hopefully I have reliable sources, that Brazil is the 9^th biggest grower of mango. India is by far number one. We have many varieties of mango in Brazil  and even though we were the first to get mango in South America, our most common variety is called Tommy Atkins which is the most popular variety in the world and constitutes 80% of our mango production. It is native to Florida in the USA. Other varieties we have are; Rosa ( pink like skin, the most consumed mango in northeast Brazil and great for juices), Bourbon (which is most common in São Paulo region, delicious but rather fibrous) and Ubá, the most popular variety in Brazil. Of all the varieties I mentioned it is the one with the greatest level of vitamin C. It is official – I have become a mango bore.

With all the mango in my life throughout these many years, I only started having it in pastry once I moved to the UK. Beforehand I would only have it fresh, sucking up all its juices, eating the skin afterwards, in juice form or ice cream. I would never mix it with any other flavours. When I came across this recipe in a review of the book The Baker by Leanne Kitchen it was hard to resist as it not only has mango in it but also passion fruit. Passion fruit, my second favourite fruit. It turned out to be a lovely surprise of a pie. The pastry is not too sweet, just right. I used the passion fruit seeds as well as the juice of the passion fruit as it adds some contrast and texture to the filling. You can make the pastry a day before and keep it in the fridge. The final product does keep well for a day or two in an airtight container – didn’t try for a longer period. However do warm it up slightly before serving it as it is just beautiful served warm. The mango has to be sweet otherwise the flavour will be rather bland in which case you might not even bother.

Ingredients for the filling:

• 60ml passion fruit juice, strained
• Seeds of the passion fruit
• 1 tablespoon cornflour
• 900g ripe mango, peeled and chopped in smallish sizes
• 80g caster sugar

Ingredients for the pastry:

• 400g plain flour, sifted
• 165g icing sugar, sifted
• 200g unsalted butter, room temperature & chopped in smallish sizes
• 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten and mixed with 2 tbsp very cold water
• Icing sugar to dust pastry

Preparing the filling:

Put the passion fruit juice and seeds plus the cornflour into a pan over medium low heat and whisk it until the mixture thickens – about 2 minutes. When thick remove it from the heat and add the chopped up mango and sugar, mixing it well to ensure that the mango gets coated with the passion fruit mixture and sugar. Reserve until time to fill in the pastry.

Preparing the pastry:

Put the flour and icing sugar in a bowl and use a whisk to give it a good mix and add some more air into the mixture. Add the chopped butter into the bowl as well, and then use your fingertips to rub the butter into the sweet mixture. Do not use the palm of your hands please. When you achieve a coarse-like consistency, make a well in the centre and add the egg yolks. Use a rubber spatula to mix the yolks into the dry ingredients until you get a ball like shape. Turn the ball onto a lightly floured surface and shape it into a flat disk. Cover it tightly with cling film and put it into the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Finalizing the tarts:

Grease your loose- based flan tin. I used small ones – 10 x 8 x 3. Roll out some of the pastry – approximately 2/3. Use baking sheet or cling film to protect the pastry from the rolling pin. Cover the base of the flan tins, trim them and then put them in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Whilst the tins are in the fridge, preheat the oven – 190oC (170oC fan assisted). Roll out the remaining pastry and cut out lids for the bases. Take the tins out, divide the filling amongst them. Add the lids, taking care to seal the tins tightly. Brush the tarts with a bit of milk or egg yolk slightly beaten up and sprinkle some icing sugar. Bake them for approximately 25 minutes. Remove them from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack still in the tins. You can serve it with a bit of cream.

Read Full Post »