Fig Galette

Lately, I have been on a dough kick. Ever since I discovered the perfect dough recipe, I had been using it as much as I can: in tarts, pies, galettes, you name it. If the directions at the bottom seem too complicated, believe me, it really isn't at all. The dough and the frangipane are so simple that they basically make themselves. And people will think that you are fancy if you throw out all of those French names and terms. It's a win-win!

Also, if you don't have a food processor...this could possibly be done in a blender. I have no idea. If anyone is brave enough to attempt it, please let me know! By the way, in case any of you were wondering, my first week of college has gone great so far! 7 classes this semester, and 4 of them are Human Nutrition classes. I already know I'm going to be super busy, but it'll be worth it.

I'm not sure what type of figs these are....I bought them from my local produce place called the Bush-N-Vine, and I suspect that they are Black Mission Figs. I think the type of fig I used in the other galette was a Turkish Fig.

You can arrange your figs any way that you would like. I arranged them differently each time I made the recipe. Don't stress too hard.

I should have left more room around the edges so that I could fold the galette over, but I forgot. As a result, a little bit of the fig juice leaked out, but it wasn't enough to affect the final product. This is an extremely unpretentious dessert, and it will forgive you if you make mistakes. And the silicone mat that I used in the recipe is so fantastic. It is a little pricey, but definitely worth the money; I can tell the difference between cookies/tarts/galettes baked on it and on parchment paper. 

I made the galette below with a different type of the fig that in the photographs above. I made two galettes because I had a lot of leftover ingredients and because the first one was so delicious! The crust is so buttery and flaky, and the sugar in the figs caused them to caramelize slightly. 

I used an icing spatula to fold the edges of the dough over; it made it so much easier.


Fig Galette
Adapted from Chez Pim


Frangipane Ingredients:

• 75g whole almonds (about 1/2 cup)
• 75g sugar, you can use half granulated sugar and half confectioner’s sugar, or just all granulated sugar (about 1/8 cup granulated plus 1/4 cup confectioner’s, or just 1/3 cup granulated)
• 75g butter at room temperature
• 1 large egg

Directions for Frangipane:

• Preheat the oven to 350F (180C).  Spread the almonds evenly on a baking sheet and place them in the oven.  Roast them for about 10 minutes, or until slightly toasted and fragrant.  Transfer to a plate and let cool to room temperature.
• Put the cooled almonds and the sugar into a food processor and process until fine.  Add the butter and the egg and pulse until well-combined.  If you don’t want to use it right away, divide the frangipane into four equal parts, wrap each tightly in plastic.  They will keep in the fridge for a couple of days, and up to a month in the freezer.

Pastry Dough Ingredients (makes two 9 inch rounds):
This dough was also used in the Nectarine Lattice Pie post!

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 5 tablespoons (or more) ice water
• Milk for crust
• 1 tbsp. sugar

Directions

• For the crust: whisk sugar, flour, and salt in a large bowl to blend. Add the butter and rub in with fingertips (or a pastry blender) until small pea-sized lumps form. Add 5 tablespoons of ice water. Mix lightly with a fork until the dough holds together when small pieces are pressed between fingertips. Add ice water by the teaspoon if too dry. Gather dough into a ball, and divide in half. Flatten each half into a disk, wrap separately in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 30 minutes. This can be made two days ahead, just make sure to let it soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.

To make a 9″ fig tart

• 1 9″ pie dough listed above
• about 10 large figs or about 15 small ones
• 1/4 the recipe of frangipane above

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 400F (200C).  Roll out your pastry dough to about 10-inch diameter – more or less won’t harm anything.  Spread about 1/4 of the quantity of frangipane on the dough, leaving about 1 inch parameter around the outer edge of the dough.  
• Quarter the figs (only halve if small) and arrange them -pointy end up will be prettier- in concentric circles to cover the frangipane.  Fold the edges in, pinching a little to make sure they stick.  If you want, you can brush the dough with eggwash and give it a good shower of sugar.  Bake for about 45-50 minutes, or until the pastry edges are golden brown.

Chocolate Mousse Filled Cupcakes with Hot Pink Vanilla Buttercream

So, as some of y'all might know, I moved into my dorm at my new college yesterday! It wasn't so bad especially because I only live 25 minutes away, but I am still the sort to get homesick regardless, and moving in to PC when I was a freshman was EXTREMELY hard to get used to for me. I figured that at least some of the new freshman moving in to this area were probably feeling like I did last year, and cupcakes make everyone feel better, so I made some for the people in my dorm! As I type, there are only about 6 out of 24 left on the little side table I put outside my room.

I didn't meticulously plan out this recipe like I usually do my other ones, probably I did something I NEVER do...using a box mix. I am not exactly against eating boxed mixes, I am just not comfortable with the long list of ingredients that I can't understand with ridiculous names. But today I was in a hurry, so I did it anyways. It did turn out well, but I like making them from scratch better, so feel free to substitute your favorite chocolate cupcake recipe.

I don't measure out my food gel, so just dump enough in to make it pretty colored, but not enough in to dye your teeth pink. Oh, and I woke up yesterday morning at 5:00 am, moved to college, and went midnight bowling until 3:00 am, so I was really tired when I got back to my dorm last night. I was woken up 2 hours later by THE LOUDEST BANGING SOUND EVER outside my window for fifteen minutes straight. Apparently the dumpsters (all 5 of them) are right outside my dorm window AND construction is going on as well. I yelled a few choice words, and drove home to sleep. At least I live close.

This little gadget is one of the best inventions ever. It is called a cupcake corer, and you insert it and twist to take out the middle of the cupcake for fillings such as mousse, frosting, jam, etc. I used to just pipe it in through the bottom of the cupcake, but after I had the entire contents of a filled jumbo cupcake fall out on me I decided to just buy this and not take the risk.

Just put the mousse into a pastry bag fitted with a large tip, and fill the hole. I had about 3/4 cup of mousse left over, so fill it the holes as full as you can!

I fitted a pastry bag with a small star tip (next time, I would definitely use a larger tip) and piped the buttercream in a swirl pattern on top.

My cute table and sign! I plan to do this quite a bit during the school year, so be on the lookout.

Chocolate Cupcakes:

...Sadly I used a box mix for this recipe (Betty Crocker), but in my defense I was really tight on time! Substitute with your favorite chocolate cupcake recipe or use a box mix too!

Chocolate Mousse:

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions

• Whip the cream on high until it forms stiff peaks. Melt the chocolate in the microwave on 30 second intervals, stirring in between until melted. Let cool to room temperature, and fold into whipped cream. Pipe into center of cupcakes.

Vanilla Buttercream:
from Food Network

Ingredients

• 3 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 to 2 tablespoons whipping cream

Directions

• In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk, mix together sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes.
• Add vanilla and cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more cream if needed for spreading consistency.

Kara's Buttermilk Peach Cobbler

Wow, this week has been so busy. Yesterday, (when I normally would've posted this week's recipe) I was on the way to Charleston to take my best friend to college. Putting together a room with all new, pretty stuff is always fun, but the trip was still emotionally exhausting. Plus, it foreshadows my move-in date at my new school this coming Friday, and I am not looking forward for the summer to end. I left my summer job a few days ago, and am working harder than ever on getting my website up and running, and brainstorming ideas for my Etsy store. Within the next month, I will have all sorts of fun things for sale: some handmade, some vintage picks, and photography. The majority of the items will be centered around baking, cooking, and food in general. I'm really excited about the direction that I'm moving in; I just wish that I could do everything at once to get it ready faster! This week's recipe was made with a tiny peach tree that has been growing in my front yard for 5-6 years. The peaches this year were finally edible, so I decided to make something that would showcase them. Oh side note, I just discovered that my college just assigned me a new roommate......four days before I move in. And they already messed up with my supposed-to-be roommate before this with rooming. Fantastic! So they are going to get a piece of my mind at 2:00 when we both go up there. Not to rant, but I am sick of this school messing stuff up for me. Just do your job, PLEASE. Anyways, I didn't have enough milk for the original recipe, so I substituted out some baking soda and buttermilk instead, and it turned out fantastic. You could do this recipe with any sort of stone fruit, but peaches are the best!

Boiling the peaches, then placing them in ice-water is the easiest way to remove the skin.

 

These peaches, probably because they were small peaches from a young tree, weren't quite as sweet as fruit from mature fruit trees, but they were still delicious.

This is my favorite and best tasting recipe on A Dessert a Week yet! This would be great served with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients

• 4 cups peeled, sliced peaches
• 1 3/4 cups sugar, divided
• 1/2 cup water
• 8 tablespoons butter
• 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
• 3/4 cup milk
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• Ground cinnamon, optional

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine the peaches, 1 cup sugar, and water in a saucepan and mix well. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat. Put the butter in a 3-quart baking dish and place in oven to melt.
• Mix remaining 1 cup sugar, flour, and milk slowly to prevent clumping. Pour mixture over melted butter. Do not stir. Spoon fruit on top, gently pouring in syrup. Sprinkle top with ground cinnamon, if using. Batter will rise to top during baking. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes.

Fresh Fig Ice Cream

This recipe is from  David Lebovitz's ice cream book called The Perfect Scoop. I would love for someone to buy me this and send it to me as a present because I recently rediscovered my Kitchen-aid ice cream maker attachment, and I am in love. It is so easy to use, and takes only 15-20 minutes! I used a digital kitchen scale to weigh out my ingredients. 

It took me around 15-25 minutes to get my figs to the jam stage. I guess it depends on how much water your figs have in them, how big they are, etc.

My ice cream was ready 15 minutes after I put it in. To store, put into a container with plastic wrap on the inside touching the surface of the ice cream (to prevent freezer burn). Enjoy! What's your favorite homemade ice cream flavor?

Fresh Fig Ice Cream

• 2 lbs fresh figs
• 1/2 cup of water 
• 1 lemon, preferably unsprayed 
• 3/4 cup of sugar 
• 1 cup of heavy cream 
• 1/2 teaspoon of freshly squeezed, lemon juice, or more to taste

Directions

• Remove the hard stem ends from the figs, then cut each fig into 8 pieces. Put the figs in a medium, nonreactive suacepan with the water, and zest the lemon directly into the saucepan. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 8-1o minutes until the figs are tender. 
• Remove the lid, add the sugar and continue to cook until it reaches a jam-like consistency. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature. Blend together with cream and lemon juice, chill in the fridge and then put in your ice cream maker per the manufacturer's instructions.

Huevos Rancheros

This has been my breakfast obsession for the past two weeks. I LOVE it, and it is so easy to make! Huevos Rancheros are basically an egg burrito/taco. I love to pile mine high with black beans, salsa, hot sauce, lime juice, and sour cream!

Spray or butter the pan, then lightly brown the tortilla on one side, then flip it over. Don't get it too brown because it'll be flipped back over later.

Sprinkle some shredded cheese on the lightly browned side, and wait a minute until it begins to melt.

Carefully break the egg over the tortilla, and try to get it in the center. I'd never noticed just how lopsided this pan was until I tried this, so I had SO MUCH TROUBLE! Still delicious though, and now I use my other perfectly flat skillet! Season the egg with salt and pepper, and wait until the egg whites begin to set. Then carefully (while praying) flip the tortilla over. Cook on other side until egg is done to your liking, then flip back over onto a plate!

My various toppings. I am so addicted to Sriracha right now, so I put it on everything.

My delicious mess! What toppings do you use?