Rhubarb and Banana Crumble

Fruit mixture:
500 g rhubarb, washed and cut into small pieces
1 tbsp cane sugar
2 bananas, peeled and sliced
Freshly grated ginger (optional)

Topping:
100 g plain flour
50 g cane sugar
50 g butter

Place rhubarb and sugar in a pan with 2 tablespoons of water and simmer until soft. Add sliced bananas. Drain off excess liquid if necessary and add the grated ginger. Place mixture in ovenproof dish.

In a bowl rub together flour, sugar and butter. Place crumble mixture on top of the fruit and bake at 180C/350F for 20-30 minutes until golden brown.

Homemade Ice Cream

I am reposting an old favourite of mine this week as I have had little time for new recipes recently. When I spotted cheap local strawberries the other day, this recipe came to mind and I made it for Shabbat. It is easy, quick and lovely and requires no ice cream maker. The amount of sugar can be cut down by a third.

1 can (12 fl oz. (354 ml)) of semi-skimmed evaporated/unsweetened condensed milk
250 g / 1 cup sugar
500 g / 1 pound fruit (one of the following: strawberries, peaches, blackcurrant, mango) washed, peeled if necessary and pureed

Put the can in the fridge one or two hours before you start the recipe.
Pour the milk in a glass bowl and whisk it until it is quite foamy. Fold in the sugar and the fruit. Mix carefully.
Pour into a mold and put in the freezer for at least four hours hours.

NY Style Italian Cheesecake

I had planned to write about bullying, tax fraud and Margaret Thatcher but in the end all I have managed to do was to take a photo of a cheesecake and post a recipe. At least it ought to be more digestible than the posts that are still in limbo form in my mind!

Marc Grossman is an American expat from Manhattan; his recipe for Italian Cheesecake can be found Un goûter à New-York – a book filled with lovely recipes for cheesecake, carrot cake, pancakes… Here is a slightly adapted recipe of the Italian Cheesecake featured in the book.

Ingredients for the crust:
125gr plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
50gr ricotta
50gr butter, softened
10gr icing sugar

For the filling:
450gr ricotta
100gr caster sugar
25gr plain flour
2 eggs
1 pinch of salt
6cl lemon juice
zest of one lemon
1 pkt vanilla sugar

Preheat oven to 200°C.

Put all the ingredients for the crust in a mixing bowl and knead into a ball with your hands, place back in the bowl and refrigerate for 10 minutes. Then press the dough into a greased baking dish.

Whisk together the ingredients for the filling. Pour ricotta filling into the prepared dish.

Place cheesecake on a lower middle rack of your pre-heated oven and bake for 23 minutes. Leave to cool for at least one hour.

Serve with cherry sauce.

Pesach Post 6 – Last Minute Inspiration: Baked Apples

Ingredients per person:
1 apple
1 tbsp light brown sugar cane
1 tbsp ground almonds (coarse is best)
1 tbsp sugarfree almond butter

lemon
(salted) butter

Pre-heat oven to 200°C. Wash and core apples. Peeling is optional.

Place apples in well-greased baking dish. Sprinkle with lemon.

Mix the sugar, ground almonds and almond butter. Push the almond mixture into each apple, using up all the mixture between them. Add a few tbsp water in the dish to make some sauce.

Put the dish in the oven for 20 mins or until the apples are cooked through.

Chag Sameach!

Gluten-Free Clafoutis

11 oz / 300g rhubarb, cut in small sticks
5.5 oz / 150g raspberries (frozen are fine)
3 eggs
1.5 cup / 375ml milk
3 Tbsp crème fraîche
3/4 cup / 150g blond cane sugar + 1/4 cup / 50g for the rhubarb
1/2 cup / 60g cornstarch
4 Tbsp tapioca flour (or ordinary flour)
Vanilla sugar to sprinkle

Originally, clafoutis is a baked French dessert of black cherries arranged in a buttered dish and covered with a thick flan-like batter. However other fruit can be used. Here is a seasonal version with rhubarb and raspberries.

Place the rhubarb in a colander and sprinkle with 1/4 cup sugar. Let it rest for 1 hour so that it releases some juice.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar. Add the cornstarch and tapioca flour and mix thoroughly.

Slowly add the milk and cream, until the batter is smooth.

Arrange the fruit, rhubarb and raspberries in a greased oven dish, and pour the batter over the fruit

Cook for about 30 to 35 min at 400°F/200°C, or until golden in color. Sprinkle with vanilla sugar immediately.