Raspberry Pistachio Mini Pavlovas

The first time I came across a pavlova was when I used to bake for a team of account people in my advertising agency days. It was my teammate's birthday and she was Australian so said her favorite dessert was the pavlova. Upon researching what a pavlova is, I learned that they are these amazingly delicious AND gluten free desserts that are egg white meringues topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit. I feel in love with them because they're pretty easy to play with once you get the ratios down for add-ins and then the toppings are endless! 

I love making really big ones for dinner parties or group occasions. You can also make mini/individual sized ones depending on how many people you're feeding or save the pavlova base and enjoy over 3-4 days! 

The only catch is once you assemble these desserts, they're quite delicate so will need to eat it right away. This won't be hard since once you take one bite, it will be difficult to resist. The incredible part about eating these desserts is they actually make you feel LIGHTER. It doesn't get better than that! 

For this recipe I went with pistachio and pomegranates because I love the colorfulness of this combo. It's so perfect for the holidays and delicious together!  You will need a mixer for this recipe and patience. These meringues bake off on a low temperature for about an hour, sometimes longer depending on your oven. You also don't want to make these in big batches unless your oven and mixer can withstand the capacity. 

Raspberry Pistachio Mini Pavlovas
Yields 5-6 individual 3.5" pavlovas. 

Pavlova Ingredients: 

  • 90g egg whites, room temp 
  • 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 150g white granulated sugar 
  • 1/2 teaspoon white wine vinegar 
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 2 cups raw, unsalted pistachios (the greener the better) 
  • 25g white chocolate, chopped 

Whipped Cream:

  • 2 cups whipping cream 
  • 1/4 cup créme fraché (optional)  
  • 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted

Toppings:

  • Fresh seeds 1 large pomegranate 
  • Extra finely ground pistachios 
  • Honey 

Pavlova Base: 

1. Preheat oven to 355 F. On a piece of parchment paper, trace 3 or 3.5 inch circles spaced at least 2 inches apart with a pencil. Should be able to fit 4-5 of them comfortably on each baking sheet. I like to use cookie cutters or a smaller biscuit cutter as a stencil. Feel free to make them smaller if desired but limit to 2 sheets in the oven. 

2. Chop white chocolate into small pieces and set aside. Make sure they’re small enough to fit through your piping tip. Add your pistachio nuts into a food processor and process until fine. Careful not to go too far with the nuts as you do not want pistachio paste. Set aside chocolate and ground pistachio. 

3. Place room temp egg whites and cream of tartar in a stand mixer bowl with a whisk attachment. Whisk until soft peaks form. Slowly add sugar one tablespoon at a time until fully incorporated and continue to beat until the egg whites become stiff and glossy. Don’t over beat the egg whites or they will separate. When you can hold the mixture upside down without it falling out, it’s done.

4. Add white wine vinegar, cornstarch, chopped white chocolate and ground pistachio. Using a large spatula, fold in ingredients very slowly and carefully. Don’t over mix or you will deflate the egg whites.

5. Using a little pavlova mixture, apply on the corners of the parchment paper (same side you drew on, then flip over parchment paper so it’s pencil side down on a baking sheet.

6. Add mixture into a piping bag fitted with a large open star tip. Pipe into the circles and clean it up with an offset spatula. Make sure you are FILLING them completely when swirling. Don't want any air gaps in any of the shells. 

7.  Place piped pavlovas into oven on the middle racks, then immediate drop the temperature to 285F. Bake for 1hr to 1hr to 1hr 15 minutes until the outside of the shells are firm/dry. The way to tell when the Pavlova is done cooking is when it looks crisp at the edges. The tops will be dry but if you press on the underside it’ll give a little since the centers are still soft and squishy. If you tap them lightly they should also sound a little hollow.

8. Place the pavlova back in the oven and leave the door slightly ajar so the pavlovas can cool slowly to room temp in the oven. (Should take another 35 minutes) If you remove from a hot oven you run the risk of your shells deflating. Shells last up to 4 days in an air-tight container. 

9. When ready to eat, prepare your whipped cream. Add heavy cream, créme fraché, vanilla extract and sifted powder sugar into a chilled mixer bowl. If you're not using créme fraché, you'll still have lovely whipped cream but it's not as shelf stable in my opinion. 

10. Using a whisk attachment, whip on medium until you reach a soft peak. I like to mix the rest of my whipped cream by hand with a hand whisk so I can control the exact stiffness of the cream. You want a soft billowing whip but still firm enough to old it's shape and toppings without weeping. 

11. Top fully cooled pavlova base with a hefty dollop of vanilla whipped cream. Sprinkle on fresh pomegranate seeds, pistachio grounds and a touch of honey on each pavlova to your liking. Serve and consume immediately upon assembling. 

 

 

Whole Grain Sonora Buttermilk Fig Scones

If you follow me on Instagram, you'll know that I recently finished organizing the 2017 Gourmandise Grain Conference in Santa Monica a couple weeks ago. Through that experience, I was invigorated to get on the whole grain train and develop a recipe that I can use time and time again to help spread the word of how AMAZING whole grain baked goods are! 

I'm not an expert baker whatsoever but I love experimenting! If you have been baking for a few years or even a beginner, start getting into whole grains if they are accessible to you! Consider getting flour from local LA miller Nan Kohler who owns Grist & Toll or contact the Tehachapi Grain Project and any number of other California farmers who are growing their own heritage heirloom grains. More often than not, the flour ingredient is seen as a white canvas when you're baking and I learned how to infuse flavors with the additional elements like fruit, infused creams or chocolate. BUT the game changer is when your flour complements your other flavors... almost like how a glass of wine can bring out amazing depth to the steak you're eating. 

I came up with these whole grain scones because baking with whole grains doesn't have to be scary! It can actually result in the most delicious scones ever. So I've been told. ;) Keep in mind you will need to let your dough rest a bit more than traditional flour and the main difference is in hydration. Try this out with your whole grain flour and let me know what you think! My recipe featured a beautiful Sonora whole grain flour from Tehachapi Grain Project. 

Whole Grain Sonora Buttermilk Fig Scones
Yields 12 scones

Ingredients: 

  • 2 cups fresh black mission figs, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
  • 680 grams whole grain sonora flour 
  • 100 grams granulated sugar 
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 
  • 350 grams unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes (slightly more than 3 sticks) 
  • 2 cups buttermilk  (or 2 cups whole milk with 1 tablespoon lemon juice) 
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest

Scone wash: 

  • 1/4 cup of heavy cream 
  • 1 pinch of salt 
  • More sugar for dusting 

1. Prepare the figs by dicing them into 1/2 inch pieces. I cut mine in half, then quarters, then sliced each quarter into 2-3 pieces depending on how big they were. Lay all the diced fruit on a piece of parchment paper on a single layer and stick them into the freezer. Want the fruit to be frozen so they don't get smashed when you mix them into the dough later. 

2. Prepare another sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside. This will eventually hold your cut scones. In a large mixing bowl, add your flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, lemon zest and salt. Whisk together to incorporate your dries. 

3. Add butter to your flour mixture and start to cut your butter chunks into the flour. I like to do this method with my fingers so I can control the size of the butter chunks. Alternate between tossing everything together then press the butter and flour together. Work quickly and stop pressing the butter into the flour when they become pea sized. The mixture should look mealy and chunky. 

4.  Add half of the buttermilk amount and toss around in the flour to incorporate. Remove frozen figs from the freezer and add into the flour butter mixture, then add the rest of the buttermilk. Continue to mix with a spoon or your hands (if you don't care about getting messy). If the mixture feels too dry and not holding together, add another tablespoon of buttermilk. 

5. Lightly dust your tabletop with flour and dump out the dough on your surface. This is where you want to be careful with NOT overworking your dough or you'll end up with tough scones.

6. We're now going to incorporate some folds into your dough. Two folds to be exact. Pat down your dough to a rectangle that is about an inch thick. Fold the dough rectangle in half on top of itself and using the heel of your palm, press the dough down back into a rectangle that is an inch thick. Repeat the fold on the opposite end and press down with your palms until the dough is about 2 inches thick. Keep in mind you'll want the shape of the final dough to be a long rectangle so work toward that as you're incorporating your folds. 

7. Using a large kitchen knife, cut triangles out of your long rectangle and transfer on to your lined sheet pan. Cover in plastic wrap and freeze overnight or at least 2 hours. 

8. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400F. Make your scone cream wash by adding a pinch of salt to your heavy cream. 

9. Add scones to a new parchment lined sheet pan and brush only the TOPS with your heavy cream and sprinkle with more granulated sugar. 

10. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the scones are lightly browned on top and develop a darker crispy bottom. 

11. Enjoy fresh out of the oven! 

 

Nectarine Coconut Teacakes

OK, yes, it is officially fall, but I can't get the fact that you can still find delicious and amazing stone fruit at the farmer's market. Case in point, Tenerelli Orchards who sells at the Wednesday Santa Monica Farmer's Market. They seriously have the BEST nectarines right now! I always feel so lucky to live in Santa Monica where I have access to the best fruits, veggies and organic local meat. It's really so hard to not spend all our grocery money in a matter of a couple hours. :) 

This week I knew I wanted to feature these gorgeous nectarines in a lovely teacake. And what better way than little mini tea cakes?! I baked these in a 12 cup standard muffin/cupcake pan and they came out perfect! I love the size and how it gave each piece a little crunchy crust but still was light and fluffy in the middle. Also using coconut shavings and cream made it the perfect amount of coconuty-ness ( I know that's not a word). Next up I'm going to try a vegan version of this since it already uses minimal eggs and butter. 

Couple of tips... 

- Splurge for really yummy delicious organic fruit. It really does make a difference in your final product. 
- Make sure to not slice your nectarine for the bottom of the pan too thin. Some of mine ended up sticking to the bottom of the pan which is a bummer since you want these beauties to end up on the teacakes!
- Do not skimp on buttering your pan!! Seriously. This is where you need to ensure they don't stick to your pan after turning out. 
- I really love making my own vanilla sugar and this adds a little extra finesse when you see the tops of your nectarines with little vanilla bean specs. I highly recommend using vanilla sugar vs. just plain sugar. 
- Make sure you use unsweetened coconut cream. It could be too much of a sugar overload if you don't. 
- You can easily double the recipe to make 24 teacakes. 

Nectarine Coconut Teacakes
Makes 1 Dozen Teacakes

Ingredients: 

  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour 
  • 1/4 cup whole wheat flour 
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened (56 grams) 
  • 1/2 cup sugar 
  • pinch of salt 
  • 1 teaspoon orange zest (paige or navel) 
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 
  • 3/4 cup coconut cream, unsweetened 
  • 1/2 cup desiccated coconut, unsweetened 
  • 1 medium sized nectarine, sliced to be slightly thinner than 1/2 inch 
  • organic vanilla sugar or regular organic sugar (for the pan) 
  • 1-2 tablespoons of softened unsalted butter (for the pan)  

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Take your 12-cup muffin/cupcake non-stick pan and butter each of the sections throughly. Make sure to get the sides and bottoms with a nice even coating. From there, take your vanilla sugar (or regular sugar) and sprinkle the bottoms of each section. You don't need to over do it. It's just a light sprinkling to give each cake some nice caramelization.

2. Slice up your nectarine and place a few small pieces on the bottom of each section. usually about 3-4 pieces. Set aside additional slices to add on top of the cake batter. Set aside pan until ready to fill with batter. 

3. In a medium bowl, add all purpose flour, whole wheat flour and baking soda. Whisk together to incorporate. 

4. In a stand mixer bowl, add butter, sugar, salt and orange zest. Using your paddle attachment on your mixer, cream butter, sugar and other ingredients together until it's light and fluffy. Should take about 3-4 minutes. 

5. Using a spatula, scrape down the edge of the bowl. With the mixer on, add the egg and beat until fully incorporated. 

6. Switch your mixer to low. Now, alternating between mixed flours and your coconut cream, add some of your dries and then add some coconut cream, repeat until both have been fully incorporated. Turn off your mixer immediately so you don't overmix. Remove bowl from mixer and add in your shredded coconut. Fold in by hand until just incorporated. 

7. Using a cupcake scooper, distribute the batter evenly in each of the sections of the pan. It should fill a little more than 1/2 way. Smooth out the tops of the batter with an offset spatula or spoon. Then add 1-2 slices of nectarines on each cake.  

8. Pop them into the oven and bake for about 20 -25 minutes. Rotate at least once after about 14 minutes. Cakes will be done when the tops are slightly springy and golden brown on the edges. You can also try the clean toothpick test but I noticed mine still needed a few minutes even though the toothpick came out clean. 

9. Allow teacakes to rest in the pan for about 4 minutes. Then turn the cakes out on a wire rack. If not all of them come out easily then run a thin pairing knife along the edges of the few that seem to be sticking. You can also turn them out very quickly and firmly on a cutting board. 

9. Cakes can last at room temp for 4 days but can last longer in the fridge or freezer. Enjoy cakes at room temp. 

 

Grab-N-Go Granola Bars

I'm terrible at eating breakfast. :-/ I grew up with my mom always making me breakfast or something to grab on the way out the door because breakfast IS the most important meal of the day. However, when you love to sleep in as much as I do, I don't wake up till I actually have to with enough time to get ready and grab something on the way out. (Bad habit, I know.) 

I usually cave and buy boxes of granola snack bars so I have something easy to grab and go before I run out of the house, but either those are full of sugar or I'll have to splurge for the all natural bars that don't come cheap. This week, I'm making my own bars!! 

It's pretty easy to make these and I already had all the primary ingredients at home. Mix-ins with these bars are completely up to you! Choose the type of nuts, dried fruit, chocolate, etc. that you love and mix them in! :) 

First key to this recipe is to have really plump, juicy Medjool dates. I got my dates from CostCo which were pretty fresh but you can also find these at your local farmer's market. If your dates aren't fresh, make sure to soak them in water for at least 30 minutes to rehydrate them. 

Next, toast your oats till they're nice and crunchy. I like to include honey, butter, a little brown sugar and salt with my oats. Toss them a few times in the oven to get a nice, even brown toasting on them. 

Let the toasted oats cool a bit so this is a great time to get started on the rest of your elements. Once you have all the pieces ready, place them all into a large mixing bowl and use your hands to incorporate all the elements.

Make sure you REALLY get in there so the dates and almond butter mixture gets distributed.This is the most important part because it's what will help keep the bars sticking together so don't be lazy!! Keep mixing and pressing the oats with your fingers until you can feel it sticking together. 

Press the mixture into a 8" x 8" square pan lined with parchment paper. Press together so it's all evenly distributed on the bottom. Use a piece of plastic wrap to make sure it's really firmly set. 

The last step is to chill then cut!! After 40 minutes you'll have delicious Grab-n-Go bars!! Thanks to these, I'll never skip breakfast again! :) 

Gluten Free Grab-N-Go Granola Bars 
Makes 8 x 4" Rectangle Bars

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cups rolled oats 
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed 
  • 2 large pinches of kosher salt
  • 1/8 cup clover honey 
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 1/4 cups of fresh Medjool dates 
  • 1/8 cup honey 
  • 1/4 cup almond butter 

Other Mix-Ins: 

  • 1/2 cup-3/4 cup of raw unsalted nuts (I used rough chopped Macadamia nuts) 
  • 1 cup dried golden raisins 
  • Other optional items: Flax seed, other dried fruit like cranberries, cherries, chocolate chips, etc. Note, the more you add for dries, you may need more dates/honey to stick together.  

1.  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  In a small saucepan on medium heat, add butter and honey and melt until the two are incorporated. In a medium bowl, add rolled oats, brown sugar and salt. Pour the honey butter over the oats and mix together very well so oats are properly coated.

2. Transfer the coated oats on a small rimmed baking sheet. I used a quarter sized sheet. Toast until golden brown. Stir the oats every 10 minutes to ensure they brown evenly. Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the pan when you achieve the golden brown color. 

3. While the oats are toasting, work on preparing the other elements. Add the dates into a food processor and puree until it becomes a large ball. You want this to be mushy and pureed throughly.  

4. In the same small saucepan you used before, add almond butter and honey. Place on a low heat and mix until you can stir easily with a spatula. Make sure you don't over cook this! Set aside. 

5. Place your mix-ins, slightly cooled toasted oats, almond butter mixture and pureed dates into the same medium bowl you used to mix the oats. Using your hands, mix all the elements together VERY WELL! Press the oat mixture through your fingers and keep mixing until the dates and almond butter has been throughly incorporated. This is what will allow your mixture to stick together so keep mixing until it can easily be squeezed into a ball of your hands. 

6. Line an 8" x 8" square baking pan with parchment paper. Add the mixture into the pan and press firming and evenly across the bottom of the pan. Use a piece of plastic wrap to press down the mixture evenly. I've also used the bottom of a glass or measuring cup to ensure it's pressed in. 

7. Chill in the fridge for 20 minutes or freezer for 15 minutes. Remove the parchment from the pan and cut into even bars. Wrap separately with plastic and enjoy within 5 days. 

 

Blackberry Lavender Love Pie

I've been meaning to recipe test some new hand pies for fun! I've been so busy lately with a recent apprenticeship I've taken on at the bakery down the street from me that I've lost time for recipe writing and testing! But not today!!

Today my bake shift was from 4am to 1pm so I came home and went straight for my ingredients! I know, I'll very likely crash any minute now and have to be in bed by 8:30PM in order to wake up and do it all over again. Ha! 

I had some blackberries in the freezer cause they were ripening too fast so wanted to use them up. I figured I would try some new combos since I also was drying some fresh organic lavender that I found at the farmer's market last week. It's so fun just picking up ingredients in my pantry and seeing where they can lead me! For this recipe, I felt like a small hit of vanilla extract really helps round out the tart blackberries and floral dried lavender buds. 

I definitely love how these little guys came out! Make some for a loved one or just cause you love yourself! ;) Here are some more pics for the assembling process since it can get a little confusing. Enjoy! 

Roll out your dough discs to be a little bigger than what you cut them at. So they're about 1/8 inch thick. 

Apply a thick outside coating of milk on the edges of one piece. Add your filling. 

Cover and lightly seal filling into the dough discs. 

Cut into the shape of a heart then crimp the edges with a fork. 

Brush with egg wash and add sanding sugar. Voila! Into the oven they go!! :D 

Out of the oven they come with this GOLDEN boootiful glow!! 

Blackberry Lavender Love Pies
Makes 12 x heart hand pies (using a 3" cutter for the dough) 

Dough Ingredients: 

  • 2 1/2 cups (357g) of all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup of butter (225g) very cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
  • 3/4 cup of water of ice water (watch as you add it) 

Filling Ingredients:  

  • 4 cups frozen blackberries 
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest
  • 2 tablespoon dried lavender buds 
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract  
  • pinch of kosher salt 
  • 2 tablespoons corn starch, dissolved in blackberry juices 

Other: 

  • Egg wash (1 egg + 1 tablespoon milk or heavy cream) 
  • 3 tablespoons Sanding Sugar 

Make the dough: 

1. Fill a measuring 1 cup with water and drop ice cubs into it and set aside. Put cubed butter into freezer while you measure out the rest of your dries. 

2. Place 2 ½ cups flour, 1 teaspoon sugar, 2 teaspoons of salt into food processor and pulse to incorporate. Remove butter from freezer, cut into cubes and add into processor.

3. Pulse to cut the butter until mostly are sizes of peas. Start drizzling ice-cold water into the mixture slowly and pulse the processor as you add the water. You will use about 3/4 of a cup or a little under. Just be careful as you get to the end. Stop pulsing once all the water is added. Use a rubber spatula to gather the dough together.

4. Once you have large clumps and the dough can be pushed together with your hands, gather and knead the dough together into one large disc. Divide dough in half, shape them both into a disc then wrap with plastic wrap. Place into the freezer to chill quickly. 

Make the filling: 

5. In a medium saucepan, add all your ingredients EXCEPT for the cornstarch. Put on a medium high heat and cook for about 4 minutes until it's boiling. Stir occasionally. Don't want to over cook the berries or they'll all breakdown so keep an eye on them!

6. Once there is some extra liquid from the berries in the pan, take about 2 tablespoons of it out in a small bowl and add your cornstarch. Stir so that it is a thick liquid. Doing this will help avoid clumps of cornstarch in your filling. Add back into the pot and stir. Cook for about 30 seconds then remove from heat. 

7. Place filling into a separate bowl and into the fridge to cool down. Go back and stir once in a while to cool the filling down faster. If you're not in a rush, place on the counter and let it come to room temp before you put it into your fridge. 

Roll out your dough: 

8. While your filling is cooling, roll out your dough into a 1/4 inch thick. Using a 3inch biscuit cutter or glass, cut rounds out of your dough. Collect scraps and carefully re-roll them out to create more dough to cut out. I ended up with 24-26 total dough rounds. Place on a half-sheet and into the freezer to firm up before further working with them. 

Assemble your hand pies! 

9. Grab TWO dough discs and roll them out to about 1/8 of an inch thick. With a little dish of whole milk, brush the edges of one piece of dough leaving the center clean. 

10. Place about 1 1/2 Tablespoons of filling into the center of the first disc. Taking the other dough disc, place directly on top of the dough with the filling and gently press down the edges where the milk is so it seals the filling into the dough. 

11. Using a paring knife or pizza cutter, cut a heart shaped out of the little hand pie. Using a fork, crimp the edges down to further seal in the filling. Place on another parchment lined baking sheet and back into the freezer to freeze for at least 1HR to whenever you're ready to bake the pies off. 

12. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and space out 6 hand pies per sheet. 

13. When oven is heated, take your egg wash and apply a light brush of it on each hand pie. Top each brushed pie with sanding sugar. Using a pairing knife, cut two little holes for ventilation. 

14. Place into heated oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. Filling may ooze out which isn't a bad thing. :) 

15. Remove from oven and let it sit on the sheet for 3 minutes to cool. Place on a cooling rack to finish cooling. After 15 minutes you can eat and enjoy!!