Eton Mess Tart

As soon as strawberries come into season in the UK, I’m ALL OVER THEM. It’s usually starting to get warm outside (although as I’m writing this my view is of a very grey sky), so a strawberry-heavy dessert like Eton mess is my idea of heaven. I have such strong memories of having it at primary school, served unglamorously in plastic cups, when we would have our annual ‘sports day’. It was effectively the last day of school so even though there was sports involved (gross), the fact that it was almost summer holidays made the day filled with so much excitement. Now, Eton mess isn’t the most beautiful dessert ever – strawberries, raspberries and crushed meringues folded into whipped cream will never look stunning. It was apparently borne out of someone dropping a meringue on the floor, it shattering, and them deciding to serve it anyway so you get the idea. But if you take those flavours and add them to a different dessert you can get a beautiful result. There are so many variations on Eton mess you could make by taking those basic flavours to make something else delicious. Here I made an Eton mess tart, using […]

The post Eton Mess Tart appeared first on Izy Hossack – Top With Cinnamon.

Eton mess tart with strawberries, raspberries and torched meringue

As soon as strawberries come into season in the UK, I’m ALL OVER THEM. It’s usually starting to get warm outside (although as I’m writing this my view is of a very grey sky), so a strawberry-heavy dessert like Eton mess is my idea of heaven.

A slice of Eton mess tart on a pink scalloped plate

I have such strong memories of having it at primary school, served unglamorously in plastic cups, when we would have our annual ‘sports day’. It was effectively the last day of school so even though there was sports involved (gross), the fact that it was almost summer holidays made the day filled with so much excitement.

Now, Eton mess isn’t the most beautiful dessert ever – strawberries, raspberries and crushed meringues folded into whipped cream will never look stunning. It was apparently borne out of someone dropping a meringue on the floor, it shattering, and them deciding to serve it anyway so you get the idea. But if you take those flavours and add them to a different dessert you can get a beautiful result. There are so many variations on Eton mess you could make by taking those basic flavours to make something else delicious.

Multiple slices of eton mess tart on pink plates

Here I made an Eton mess tart, using an enriched pastry which I rolled out ‘galette style’ so you don’t need a fluted tart tin to make it. The pastry is baked alone so it gets crisp and flaky. It’s then topped with whipped cream, berries and blobs of meringue ‘frosting’ which are torched.

The enriched pastry uses up the egg yolks that would be leftover from making the meringue so you don’t have random yolks sitting around in the fridge. But why even add eggs to pastry? The yolks help bind it together and, because of the fat content, keep it tender by preventing some gluten formation in the dough. You also get that slight yellow tinge to the pastry which can make it look even more appealing.

If you’re more up for a standard Eton mess recipe, I also did one for Food52 a while ago which you can check out here. Otherwise, I hope you enjoy this tart recipe!

Eton Mess Tart

Eton Mess Tart

Yield: serves 8-10
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Additional Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 55 minutes

Ingredients

Pastry:

  • 240g (2 cups) plain white flour (all-purpose flour)
  • 90g (3/4 cup) wholemeal (whole wheat) pastry flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 200g (7 ounces) unsalted butter, cold, cubed
  • 2 egg yolks (save the whites)
  • 100-125ml (6-8 tablespoons) cold water

Meringue:

  • 2 egg whites
  • 100g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar

Toppings:

  • 150ml (2/3 cup) double cream (heavy cream)
  • 125ml (1/2 cup) plain yogurt
  • 2 tbsp icing sugar (powdered sugar)
  • 200g (7 ounces) strawberries
  • 100g (3.5 ounces) raspberries

Instructions

Make the pastry:

  1. Place both the flours and salt into a large bowl. Add the cold butter and toss to coat the cubes in flour. Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour until you have a mostly sandy/breadcrumb texture with some pea-sized lumps of butter remaining. (You can also do this by pulsing the same ingredients in a food processor)
  2. Add the egg yolks and about half of the water. Start to bring it together with your fingertips, gently kneading. Drizzle in more water as needed, a tablespoon at a time, until the dough starts to stick together and feels slightly moist but not sticky.
  3. Smush the dough together into one big ball with your hands then flatten it into a disk shape. Place in a resealable sandwich bag and chill for 1 hour so it can rest.

Shape and bake:

  1. Let the chilled dough warm at room temp. for a few minutes so it softens slightly. Line a large baking tray with baking paper.
  2. Dust the pastry lightly with flour and roll it out into a circle about 35cm (14 inches) in diameter. It doesn't matter if it is slightly larger than the baking tray at this point. Roll up the pastry around the rolling pin, then unroll over the lined baking sheet.
  3. Roll and tuck the outer 5cm (2 inch) border of the circle under itself to neaten the edge and create a thicker crust, a bit like a pizza! NOTE: You may need to trim the edges of the pastry before rolling up to get it to fit onto the baking tray properly.
  4. Now crimp the edge of the pastry all the way around with your fingertips (see video above for how to do it) OR use the tines of a fork to make impressions all the way around the edge.
  5. Prick the centre of the pastry all over with a fork to prevent it bubbling up when it bakes.
  6. Chill the pastry for 10-15 minutes as your oven preheats to 190 C (170 C fan / 375 F).
  7. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Keep an eye on it and use a metal spatula to press down any big air bubbles that may form as it bakes.
  8. Let the crust cool before filling.

Meringue:

  1. Combine the egg whites and sugar in a medium, heatproof bowl. Set over a pot of simmering water making sure the bottom of the bowl isn't touching the water.
  2. Stir constantly until the sugar has dissolved (the mixture shouldn’t feel gritty when you rub some between your fingertips) and registers 71 C (160 F ) on a thermometer.
  3. Remove the bowl from the pan and use electric beaters to whisk until cool, very fluffy and thickened - you should be able to lift up the beaters and form stiff peaks in the mixture which do not sink back into the meringue. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a wide plain tip (or you can dollop it with a spoon if you don't have piping bags).

Assemble:

  1. When you're ready to serve: Whip the double cream in a large bowl with a whisk until thickened. Fold in the yogurt and icing sugar.
  2. Prep the berries by removing any stalks and cutting up larger berries into slices.
  3. Spread the whipped yogurt cream over the pastry. Top with the berries. Pipe on (or spoon on) blobs of meringue all over. If you have a blowtorch you can use it to toast the meringue blobs but it's not necessary.
  4. Serve!

Notes

MAKE IT EASIER:

  • you can use ready made shortcrust pastry for this recipe if you'd like. You'll need about 350g (12 ounces) of pastry. You can go with plain or 'dessert' shortcrust..
  • If you don't want to make the meringue yourself you can buy the meringues from the shops, usually in the baking aisle. Just crumble them up and scatter over the tart.
  • Alternatively, could buy marshmallow fluff and pipe dollops of that all over the tart and torch it, instead of making meringue.

MAKE AHEAD:

This Eton mess tart is best assembled just before eating as the crust can go soggy if it sits around with the toppings on it. You can pre-bake the crust, whip the cream, prep the berries & meringue. Then when you're ready to eat, just layer it up and serve!

Have you made this recipe?
I’d love to see how it went! Tag me on instagram @izyhossack and hashtag it #topwithcinnamon so I can have a look & reshare in my stories!

eton mess tart with whipped cream, strawberries, raspberries and meringue

The post Eton Mess Tart appeared first on Izy Hossack - Top With Cinnamon.

Honey Walnut Bread

I’m a big fan of quick bread, and most often turn to pumpkin or banana when whipping up a loaf. However, I wanted another variation in my usual rotation, so I came up with this honey walnut bread. It is a delicious change of pace, and perfect for…

honey walnut bread

I’m a big fan of quick bread, and most often turn to pumpkin or banana when whipping up a loaf. However, I wanted another variation in my usual rotation, so I came up with this honey walnut bread. It is a delicious change of pace, and perfect for those in-between spring days, when citrus is fleeting and we are anxiously awaiting on berries. I’ve teamed up with California Walnuts to bring you some recipes over the past year (such as this walnut snack cake with raspberry buttercream and  these raised donuts with chocolate glaze and candied walnuts). Over 99 percent of walnuts grown in the U.S. come from California’s walnut orchards, many of which are on family owned and operated farms that have been around for generations. Walnuts are nutritious and heart-healthy*, and offer 4 grams of protein and 2 grams of fiber per ounce. Walnuts are also the only nut with a significant amount of plant based Omega 3 ALA (2.5 grams/ounce). You can check out the CA Walnuts website for more nutrition info, research, tips for cooking with walnuts, recipes. I’m excited to share more recipes with you! ********************************************************** A few things: *If you are a Minneapolis reader, I highly recommend checking out […]

The post Honey Walnut Bread appeared first on The Vanilla Bean Blog.

Vegan Sweet Potato Brownies

Fudgy, moist, and decadent vegan sweet potato brownies topped with creamy chocolate frosting and sliced almonds. No eggs, no dairy, no gluten, but definitely full of flavors.  Sweet potato is such an amazing vegetable. You can enjoy it in so many ways….

Fudgy, moist, and decadent vegan sweet potato brownies topped with creamy chocolate frosting and sliced almonds. No eggs, no dairy, no gluten, but definitely full of flavors.  Sweet potato is such an amazing vegetable. You can enjoy it in so many ways. We love them as Sweet Potato Gnocchis or in our Vegan Mac and Cheese,...

Read More

The post Vegan Sweet Potato Brownies appeared first on My Pure Plants.

Bernie, Two Months!

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Hello from Bernie’s 10th week! She is nearly 2 1/2 months old and smiles more and more each day! We have settled into the best little routine where every morning we have wiggle time, then go to the gym to stroll and listen to Unorthodox, and then come home and make a big summery salad for lunch. In the afternoon we do a fun thing like read crinkly tail tale books or swat at hanging vegetable toys before snuggles and nap time (that’s when I watch Jeopardy and read Bringing Up Bébé). Then we make dinner and Eggboy and I watch Fargo while we wait for Bernie to poop so that we can then give her a bath without worrying that she’ll poop in it (yep, learned that one the hard way haha). It’s peak maternity leave livin’ around here and we are soaking it in. Also the weather has been amazing, so we are, as Bernie puts it, “GOO!” Some highlights from this past month include:

-Our first little family picnic! On Memorial Day, we grilled sausages, potatoes, and broccolini, and drank rhubarb soda while we enjoyed the evening breeze.

-Bernie’s first out of town visitors! Jaclyn and Katie came to town and we had the best weekend ever, which included a trip to Fargo for the Antiques Roadshow (with a stop at Silver Lining Creamery after), the North Dakota Shakespeare 5K (err- we walked 3Ks of it ;), an afternoon picnic in the backyard with cookies and cookie dough (and carrots for balance), and cinnamon roll pancakes at Darcy’s.

-Cuddle time with Mrs. Moose. Bernie’s been grasping and swatting at toys and in true baby fashion she definitely prefers the super saturated weirdly colored high contrast ones. The muted rainbow lover in me is like “?? But Bernie, this hot pink neon green bumble bee clashes terribly with your navy car seat, mustard outfit, and olive pacifier…” but it’s ok, maybe one day she’ll love dusty rose like I do??

-Bernie’s first Syttende Mai, Norwegian Constitution Day! She is 5/16ths Norwegian, so we went to Sons of Norway and ate lefse, krumkake, rømmegrøt, and all of the other faves. She wore her Norwegian accessories from our friend Trude in Norway and had the best time!!

-My first Mother’s Day, it was delightful! Bernie and I worked on her cookbook and snuggled the day away. Then the following week it was my birthday and we went out to lunch wearing identical outfits and spent the rest of the day baking cookies and cake!

-Bernie talks soo much!! We have great conversations about Ooo and Ahh and Goo, I love them.

-She has gotten very tall, she has Eggboy’s legs. Hallelujah!

Ok, we’ve gotta go pick rhubarb!! Bernie’s sending some friendly hiccups in your general direction and I’m waving! Bye!

-Yeh!

Smoothie FAQ’s + a recipe

Updated post

I proudly consider myself a smoothie pro at this point in my food career. Smoothies are one of the first recipes that I really loved creating and sharing here on the blog. And then I of course spent many months creating and taste-testing smoothies and trying out new techniques and ingredients while writing my book 365 Vegan Smoothies. Seriously, if you want some in depth tips and tricks and ingredient info – basically everything about smoothies – snag a copy of that book. Oh and did I mention it has 365 recipes? You won’t get bored!

So today I wanted to update an old post. My Smoothie FAQ’s. These are all the frequently asked questions I have received over the years in regards to smoothies. And please if you have any more, send them my way and I will do my best to…

This is a summary, images and full post available on HHL website!

Updated post I proudly consider myself a smoothie pro at this point in my food career. Smoothies are one of the first recipes that I really loved creating and sharing here on the blog. And then I of course spent many months creating and taste-testing smoothies and trying out new techniques and ingredients while writing my book 365 Vegan Smoothies. Seriously, if you want some in depth tips and tricks and ingredient info - basically everything about smoothies - snag a copy of that book. Oh and did I mention it has 365 recipes? You won't get bored! So today I wanted to update an old post. My Smoothie FAQ's. These are all the frequently asked questions I have received over the years in regards to smoothies. And please if you have any more, send them my way and I will do my best to...

This is a summary, images and full post available on HHL website!

Avocado Asparagus Tartine

An excellent impromptu springtime lunch. Avocado smeared across toasted day-old slabs of sesame bread, layered with arugula and garlicky caraway asparagus + toasted pepitas.

Continue reading Avocado Asparagus Tartine on 101 Cookbooks

Lunch on Monday was pretty great, and dead simple. I smeared avocado across toasted, day-old slabs of sesame bread, and started by layering a bit of arugula on top. Added a few stalks of garlicky caraway-sprinkled asparagus beyond that, and the final touch? A few toasted pepitas. Caraway is under-utilized, and I love it’s distinctive earthiness here playing off the bright green asparagus notes.

Avocado Asparagus Tartine Recipe
When you’re buying asparagus, whether it’s thick or thin, look for vibrant, green asparagus, with structured stalks. No soft spots, or droopiness.

Avocado Asparagus Tartine Recipe
I very rarely bother peeling asparagus, but will trim the bottoms to get rid of the woody, tough base of the stalks.
Avocado Asparagus Tartine RecipeAvocado Asparagus Tartine Recipe

These little open-faced tartines took less than ten minutes to pull together, and ended up being the epitome of spring. You can also cut each one into 4 or 5 pieces, in triangles, for little party / get-together bites.

Continue reading Avocado Asparagus Tartine on 101 Cookbooks

Rhubarb Almond Bars

Last summer, I built a trio of large, self-watering cedar planters to start a deck garden. Our home is blessed with a large deck and, since the main living space overlooks the deck…

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Last summer, I built a trio of large, self-watering cedar planters to start a deck garden. Our home is blessed with a large deck and, since the main living space overlooks the deck, I wanted to give it a little more life. Although we have plenty of yard space for a garden, we also have many critters (and deer) visiting frequently so it made more sense to elevate the garden to keep the plants safe from late night nibblers.

Each planter is 2 ft. by 6 ft., which leaves plenty of room for experimentation.

My interest in gardening is relatively new, but this hobby has quickly turned me into an enthusiastic plant lady. After killing every houseplant I attempted to grow up for many years, I was astonished when my black thumb seemingly turned green after moving into our house.

Apparently the trick for a green thumb is simply having large southeast facing windows—who knew?

Unfortunately, the first attempt at gardening in the outdoor planters was not very successful. In my eagerness to grow my own vegetables, I overplanted the space and didn’t do enough research on how to individually care for each plant. In addition, because the planters are self-watering (through a process of diffusion and soil osmosis), the plants with deep root systems ended up with root rot by midsummer.

By summer’s end, the only “successful” plants were the bell peppers (which grew only one picture perfect pepper each), the green beans, and the herb garden. Everything else—the tomatoes, cabbages, cucumbers, etc.—ended up producing very little or finally completing their slow death.

While the self-watering feature was definitely a curse, I only needed to water the plants once the entire season, so my laziness is more than willing to find a way to work within these constraints.

This year I am taking the failures of the previous summer and using them to (hopefully) do better this time around. To start, I did a little more planning and left more space for the plants to expand. Only plants with shallow root systems are allowed (peppers, onions, shallots, lettuce, carrots, herbs, green beans, flowers); the plants with larger root systems have been relegated to individual, well-draining containers (tomatoes).

I have my fingers crossed for now, but it will be another month or two before I’ll be able to label it a success or failure. Stay tuned.

I have plans to do a little landscaping and put in a rhubarb plant later this summer, but it will still be a couple years before we can harvest. Until then, the farmer’s market has everything I need.

I originally planned to make a strawberry rhubarb dessert, but I didn’t get around to baking until after the strawberries were past their prime. This recipe is all the better for it, because it allows the rhubarb flavor to truly shine. Paired with an almond oatmeal crust, these rhubarb-filled bars are a new way to enjoy this spring vegetable.

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This recipe for Rhubarb Almond Bars is an easy way to use and enjoy rhubarb. Almonds and oatmeal come together to form the base of the bars. Sliced raw rhubarb is added to the center (no cooking required!) before the bars are topped with the remaining crust and placed in the oven to bake. The nutty almond flavor compliments the tart rhubarb well. Cut into squares and serve warm, cold, or room temperature.

Rhubarb Almond Bars

Yields 16 servings (or 8 x 8-inch pan)

Almond Bars
6 tablespoons (100 grams) butter, room temperature
3/4 cup (150 grams) brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 cups (150 grams) old-fashioned oats
1 cup (120 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (45 grams) sliced almonds
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Rhubarb Filling
3 cups (~14 ounces or 400 grams) fresh rhubarb, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8 x 8-inch pan.

For the almond base, beat together the butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until uniform. Beat in the egg, vanilla, and almond extract, mixing until blended. Stir in the oats, flour, sliced almonds, baking soda, and salt. The batter will be slightly sticky. Using greased hands, press 2/3 of the batter into the bottom of the prepared pan. Set aside remaining batter.

For the rhubarb filling, stir together the sliced rhubarb, sugar, and cornstarch.

Spread the rhubarb filling over the top of the almond base. Crumble the remaining batter evenly on top. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until lightly browned. Allow to cool slightly in pan before serving.

Meg and Other Matters by The Pioneer Woman

Meg, Alex’s lifelong friend, got married Saturday! She’s Hyacinth’s daughter, and while it’s a little surreal that she is now a married woman, she found pretty much the perfect man for her in Stephen. It’s a beautiful thing to witness when love happens and it seems so right.     Alex was her maid of […]

Meg, Alex’s lifelong friend, got married Saturday! She’s Hyacinth’s daughter, and while it’s a little surreal that she is now a married woman, she found pretty much the perfect man for her in Stephen. It’s a beautiful thing to witness when love happens and it seems so right.

 
 
Alex was her maid of honor, and it was so fun to watch her take her job so seriously. She truly celebrated Meg and Stephen, and the joy she felt all day was palpable.

 
 
Gosh, it seems like just four years ago that these two were graduating from high school. Wait. It WAS just four years ago that these two were graduation from high school! Time is flying by way too fast.

 
 
In Pawhuska news, summer has officially begun and we’re having fun welcoming visitors from all over! This is an old truck that a friend of ours restored using old Drummond Ranch vehicles. It’s shiny and fun.

 
 
I’m having fun keeping the store stocked with fun new things along with favorites we’ve had from the beginning…and we’re working on opening a new store a few doors down later this summer.

 
 
And here’s Charlie’s! Our small but passionate-about-sweets staff is doing such a great job.

 
 
And I think the kiddos are loving it.

 
 
The adults are, too!

 
 
As for me, I am enjoying having Alex and Paige home AND am in the last days of finishing my cookbook before it goes to the printer. It’s a push not unlike childbirth, and in the end I’m looking forward to healing (ha), getting my energy back (haha), and sharing my new baby, I mean cookbook with you…and I really think you are going to enjoy it. I still to this day think of all of you when I write a cookbook, because it’s so important to me that it be useful and usable. I’ll show you the cover in a few days!

Shiitake Bacon Grilled Cheese

This Vegan Shiitake Bacon Grilled Cheese Sandwich is the ultimate savory comfort food. Whip it up in minutes and enjoy cheezy flavor and loads of mushrooms. I am always looking for delicious ways to add more mushrooms to my diet and this recipe really …

This Vegan Shiitake Bacon Grilled Cheese Sandwich is the ultimate savory comfort food. Whip it up in minutes and enjoy cheezy flavor and loads of mushrooms. I am always looking for delicious ways to add more mushrooms to my diet and this recipe really worked for me! Get the recipe...Read more »

This is a summary, images and full post available on HHL website!

Cold Watermelon Soup in Gazpacho Style

This watermelon soup is a cold, refreshing, and sweet-savory summer soup that is prepared in gazpacho style. It means blended raw without straining and serve chilled. This soup will surely cool you down on a hot summer day. In the summertime when …

This watermelon soup is a cold, refreshing, and sweet-savory summer soup that is prepared in gazpacho style. It means blended raw without straining and serve chilled. This soup will surely cool you down on a hot summer day. In the summertime when the weather is hot… by Mungo Jerry is the first song that pops up...

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The post Cold Watermelon Soup in Gazpacho Style appeared first on My Pure Plants.