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From the side of a coffee can great ideas come forth. This browney recipe got its inspiration from the side of the coffee can for some French Roast under the Pavillions house label. Silly them, all I need is proportions and am good to go.
Molten Fudgey Coffee Brownie
Make sure your pan is well lined as this is an extremely runny batter. It also is heavy enough if you don't use a sturdy pan you will have bendy problems. I used a pyrex pan as the carry over heat will keep the brownie a bit warmer longer than a metal pan.
Toss the iodized salt once and for all. Sea salt has a wonderful flavor without a nasty metallic after taste. I did so years ago and am glad I did. The last year or so has been experimenting and tasting different salts. The all are salty but some do a much better job of brining out the natural sweetness and depth of flavor in your food than others.
As I mentioned a few posts back I made another run to Surfas in Culver City and I was amply rewarded with toys for my kitchen. Among them a real tart pan in genuine stainless steel complete with removable bottom for a grand total of $9.15 for the deluxe 10" model. Such a deal when you compare it to what those guys in the mall charge.Preheat oven to 375.
Roll out pastry dough to fit into the tart pan. Place pan on baking sheet.
Put pears, flour, sugar in bowl. Zest one half of lemon and add to bowl. Squeeze in the lemon juice to the bowl. Toss and let stand 5 minutes. Arrange pears in the prepared tart pan. Sprinkle any remaining walnuts over the fruit.
For the topping, in a food processor, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Pulse several times until fine crumbs form. Crumble lightly over the fruit.
Bake 30-35 minutes until lightly golden brown. Serve warm.
The hardest part is filling in the center then using a few pieces cut to fit into the bigger gaps along the outside edge. Not hard but it helped to pay attention in puzzle making class in kindergarden.
See...pulsed just until it was fine crumbs and still clumpy. Over processing the topping you get an unusable dough.
Quite tasty treat for the evening...now onto filling experiments.
Some will argue, mostly the French, that the Apple Pie that we love so well was invented by them. They call theirs "Tart Tatin" and is quite tasty...sort of an apple upside down pie where the apples are bathed in rich caramel. Interesting, but I was looking for one I could do individually to break in the nifty mini souffle (like a tall ramekin) I had picked up at Surfas earlier in the month.Preheat oven to 425F. Butter and put 6 (about 1 C capacity each) Ramekins and put aside.
Heat a large non-stick skillet, add butter, brown sugar and water. Heat over medium heat until butter melts and it begins to bubble and thicken into a light syrup. About 4-5 minutes.
Peel and core the apples, cutting into even wedges. (A handy-dandy apple corer with the cutting blades make fast work with this chore). Add to hot sugar syrup and cook 3 minutes, stirring often until all apple slices are coated and starting to soften. Sprinkle on spices, toss to mix and coat.
Roll out the dough, cut 6 circles the size of the ramekin. Poke holes in the dough to allow steam to escape.
Lay apples on their sides dividing between the ramekins. Divide syrup evenly over the apples. Place one dough round in each dish, lightly pressing the edges against the sides.
Place ramekin's on baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes until tops are golden brown and some caramel is bubbling up around edges.
Cool 5 minutes on wire rack. Run a knive around the inside of the crust to loosen. Place dessert plate over the ramekin and invert. Serve with ice cream.
Laying the apples isn't hard just a bit time consuming as the traditional Tart Tatin in France is them closely packed. Since I wanted to stay true to the concept I followed through that way.
I did simple little fork pricks for the steam vents. The traditional Tart Tatin is done in a 9 inch or so pie plate with the pastry tucked over and under the apples along the edges. I took the easy route and did it more like a pot-pie as my fat fingers just don't have the dexterity to tuck all those little edges under. Doesn't affect the flavor or appearance so it worked for me. Knock yourself out if you want to be traditional.
Here's one, probably not the best example as the syrup kind of ran up and over the dough. This one I didn't serve right away...a reserve for breakfast but you get the idea of what the baked variety looks like.
I opted for Granny Smith apples over some of the others as it keeps it shape well and has a natural tartness that would not become overly sweet when baked in a rich caramel. Sweet is great, but keeping some apple tartness is good too.
The big surprise of the night was that Paul brought along some ice cream not knowing what I had up my sleeve. He brought the Mashti Malone Ginger Rose Water ice cream. Hmmm...I knew apple and ginger would good food paring. What I didn't expect was that it would be the best freaking ice cream I have had in ages. How it pared with the tart tatin was unbelievable. Both standing on their own in each bite yet playing together really well on the way through. Much better than the Vanilla Bean ice cream was planning would have worked. Thanks Paul!
I swear that Stupid Easy Fudge I blogged a bit ago makes fudge making so easy...all you have to do is worry about the flavorings and you are good to go. None of that messy cooking and boiling, just quick zap in the trusty MO and you are done.
