Apple and walnut pastry rolls

I decided to vary a little bit the weekend desserts/snacks (too many muffins and biscuits) so these traditional Romanian pastry rolls sounded like a good idea (and indeed they were!). They are usually filled with Turkish delight or with jam but, since we avoid sugar altogether, I filled them with apple pieces covered with ground walnuts. They are pretty easy to prepare and they make a perfect snack for the little ones.

Ingredients:
- 150g butter;
- 150g sour cream;
- 4g dry yeast;
- 230g plain flour (+/- 10g);
- 1/2 tsp vanilla powder;
- 1/2 tsp  orange zest powder (optional);
- for the filling: 1 big apple, one handful ground walnuts.
* you can choose to omit yeast and the rolls will have the texture similar to biscuits; with yeast they resemble more the puff pastry. Yeast does not affect the taste!

Method:
In a bowl mix the flour, yeast, vanilla and orange powder. Add the butter (diced) and the sour cream and mix well until you get a firm, non-sticky dough (but not hard!).
Meanwhile, peel the apple, remove and discard the core and stem and cut it in sticks (about 1 x 1 x 2 cm), then roll every piece in the ground nuts until fully covered. Set them aside.
Cover the dough with cling film and place it in the fridge for at least 30 min. Cut it in 6 pieces; form a ball out of each piece. Roll each bowl in (more or less) round shape and cut triangles out of it. Place the apple pieces on the wider part of the triangle and roll towards the narrower side (see picture below).



Place the rolled pieces on a tray lined with baking paper and bake in the preheated oven (180 degrees C) for about 25 minutes (or until golden brown).
Enjoy!

Pear and apple muffins

The story of these muffins started with some bio pears that I bought last weekend and that were already very soft (but still good) by this morning. I needed to use them for something, since they had a nice scent and I could guess they were also very sweet.  

I also had a new silicon mold, with a snowman, so I decided to make some very simple and fast muffins, that looked and smelled like winter.

Ingredients:

- 2 very ripe pears (you can use bananas as well - one big banana or 2 small ones);

- 2 eggs;

- 3 Tbsp coconut oil;

- 1/2 cup milk;

- 2 cups white flour;

- 1 tsp baking powder;

- 1 tsp cinnamon;

- 1/2 tsp. vanilla;

- 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg;

+ optional: one apple, diced or chopped walnuts.

Mix the pears, eggs, coconut oil and milk in a food processor or in a bowl, using a hand mixer. Separately, mix the flour with the spices and baking powder and then add it to the blender.  Mix until you get a smooth batter and pour it in a bowl. Add the diced apple or the walnuts and stir. 

Split the batter between the muffin molds and bake in the preheated oven, at 180 degrees Celsius,for about 35-40 de minute, until they pass the toothpick test.

Poftă bună!

Apple roses

A couple of weeks ago, I saw in the Facebook newsfeed a video from Tastemade (click here for the original) with some apple "roses" that looked really tasty and easy to prepare. I didn't bake them immediately as the original recipe was using puff pastry (and I avoid the puff pastry from the market, because it's not really baby friendly). 

Today I decided to bake the apple roses, using a baby friendly dough - a butter and walnut biscuit dough (because I love the combination of walnuts and apples). It didn't turn out as easy to handle as the classic puff pastry (the walnuts make it a bit crumbly), but I managed to shape the roses and the taste was...simply amazing :)

Ingredients:
For the dough:
- 100g butter;
- 100g banana (one small banana);
- 200g flour;
- 100g ground walnuts;
- 2 quail eggs (or one egg yolk).
Pentru umplutură:
- 2-3 apples;
- a bit of cinnamon.

* This recipe does not contain sugar. If you like more concentrated sweets, you can serve these apple roses with a teaspoon of honey on top (I admit, I ate them like this and, in my opinion, honey+walnut+apples = a divine taste!)

Mix all the ingredients for the dough and knead until you get a firm (but not excessively strong), non-sticky dough (add a bit more flour if needed). Shape it in a ball, cover with cling film and place it in the fridge for at least 1/2h.
Meanwhile, halve the apples, remove the cores then finely slice the halves. Place a pot with water on the stove, over medium fire, add the juice of half lemon and when it starts boiling reduce heat and add the apple slices. Let them simmer over low heat for 2-3 minutes then drain them in a colander.

Remove the dough from the fridge, roll it in a square sheet and cut it in 5-6 cm wide strips. Place the apple slices on the whole length of the strips, round side out and straight side in the middle part of the strip. Fold the dough so the free half of the strip covers the upper part of the apple slices. Roll the strip to form the rose shape. Place the rose in the muffin tin, lines with special paper.

Keep going until you finish the dough and the apples. If you have some extra dough, make some biscuits out of it. Bake the roses in the preheated oven, at 190 degrees Celsius, for 35-40 minutes.
Continuați până terminați aluatul și merele. Dacă vă mai rămâne aluat, puteți forma niște biscuiți. Enjoy!

Lattice crust apple pie

I have to admit. I am in love with my new tart tin and with Jamie Oliver's crust recipe (find the original here). So, yesterday I decided to make some apple pie.

For this delicious dessert you only need three main ingredients: butter, flour and apples. For a better taste you can add a fourth one, cinnamon.

Ingredients for the crust*:

- 450g white flour;

- 225g unsalted butter, cold;

- 100 ml cold water.

* I used these quantities for both the crust and the lattice crust. If you want to skip the latter, use just 300g flour and 150g butter.

Ingredients for the apple filling:

- 6-8 big apples;

- 1 tsp cinnamon (optional).

Method:
Place the flour in a bowl, add the cold butter, diced and mix with your fingertips until you get a sandy mixture. Add about 100 ml cold water (add it slowly, as you might need a little bit less or a little bit more water, depending on the flour), until you get a firm dough. Divide the dough in 2 parts, a bigger one approximately 2/3 of the total and a small one, approximately 1/3 of the total. Form two balls, cover them with cling film and leave them in the fridge for about 30 minutes

Meanwhile, peel and grate the apples. Discard the juice and cook the apples for a few minutes in a non-sticky pan, over medium heat, until they get soft. Add cinnamon or other spices, by taste. Remove from heat and let cool.


Take the bigger dough ball out of the fridge and roll it out on a flat surface (little floured) until you get a shape and a size similar to the tart tin. Place it over the tin (lightly buttered) and press with the fingers to make sure it covers the whole surface and the sides. Cut the excess dough that hangs out from the tin, using a sharp knife. Place the tin back in the fridge for 30-40 minutes. (If you can, place the tin and the dough in the freezer for 15 minutes, this will prevent the dough from rising while baking).

Remove the tart tin from the fridge, pierce it a few times with a fork (so that it wouldn't form air bubbles underneath) and place in the oven. Bake at 190 Celsius until the dough becomes golden (about 20 minutes).


Remove from the oven, let cool for a few minutes and add the apple filling.
Remove the small dough ball from the fridge, roll it out and cut it in stripes. Place them on top of the filling to form the lattice crust. Place back in the oven for 30-40 more minutes or until the top becomes golden brown.
Once completely baked, remove the tart from the oven and let it cool in the tin. When it's cooled you can remove it from the tin and place it on a platter.
Enjoy!