this is just to say .....

whenever I take a plum from the fridge, I always think of this poem .....

Niki's lemon fromage

I have this in my recipe book as Jenny's lemon fromage but I think a lot of the best recipes doing the rounds in Zim were from Niki originally.  Although it is called a fromage it doesn't have any cheese in it - it is actually based on a traditional Danish dessert called Citronfromage made from farm fresh cream and eggs.  I love this description on when to eat it that I found on a Danish food blog :

"Citronfromage is a classic Danish dessert, a familiar old friend to all Danes. It can of be served any time of the year but I associate it with long summer days when the sun sets late in the evening. The mousse is a beautiful pale yellow color and it is filled with air making it a very light dessert. The tart lemon flavor is complimented with sweet whipped cream which gives it nice contrast. Make sure to serve the Citronfromage cold with a dollop of whipped cream and enjoy!"

Lemon fromage is really quick and easy to make and deliciously light and airy despite all the cream.   I use half lemon juice and zest and half lime.  You can serve it in a big glass bowl but I like to do individual servings in my Moroccan tea glasses.

Lemon Fromage

2 eggs

6 oz (175g) caster sugar

3 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp finely grated lemon rind

1 pint (570 ml) cream lightly beaten

1 tbsp gelatine

4 tbsp cold water

Soak the gelatine in cold water and dissolve over hot 

Beat the eggs until light and fluffy

Add sugar to eggs gradually, continue beating

Add the gelatine 

Stir in the lemon juice and most of the rind

Fold in most of the cream reserving some for topping

Place in glass bowl or individual glasses, top with cream and decorate with grated rind

Refrigerate until set (about 3 hours)

Juj's banana bread

Kate, Emma, George and Hope's favourite.  Juj always has some in the car when he picks K&E up from the airport for them to eat on the M4! 

Nigella's recipe - it's from here:

Banana Bread

100 grams sultanas
75 ml dark rum or brandy
175 grams plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
½ teaspoon salt
125 grams unsalted butter (melted)
150 grams caster sugar
2 large eggs
4 small very ripe bananas (mashed)
60 grams chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Put the sultanas and rum in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Put
the butter in a bowl and put the bowl on top of the saucepan like a lid
so the butter melts while the brandy cools. Leave the sultanas to drink
rum and get fat for at least 30 mins.

Beat together butter and sugar

Beat in the eggs one by one

Stir in the bananas, walnuts, drained sultanas and vanilla

Mix the dry ingredients in another bowl then stir them in bit by bit.

Line a loaf tin (mine is 20cm x 7cm) with greaseproof paper and put the
mix in it.

Bake 1 hour at 170ºC

peach pie

Having watched the movie 'Labor Day' recently, and because of the beautiful peaches in the shops in summer here I was inspired to make a peach pie.  This is an adapted recipe from Gourmet Traveler magazine - don't put too much sugar in with the peaches as their tartness works really well with the sweet sugar-crusted pastry.

Ingredients

Filling :

10              firm ripe peaches, cut into thick wedges

300 gm      caster sugar

1 tbsp        lemon juice

For brushing:   eggwash

For dusting:     white sugar

To serve:          thick cream

           maple syrup (optional)

   

Crème fraîche pastry :

525 gm (3½ cups)    plain flour

260 gm                     chilled unsalted butter, coarsely chopped

 70 gm                      caster sugar

150 gm                     crème fraîche (or sour cream)

Finely grated rind     of ½ lemon

2 tbsp                        almond meal

Method :

 Process the flour, butter, sugar and a pinch of salt in a food processor until fine crumbs form. Add crème fraîche, lemon rind, and 1 tbsp chilled water and pulse until dough comes together. Form one-third of pastry into a disc, form remaining pastry into another disc, wrap separately in plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled (30 minutes).

 Preheat the oven to 180C. Roll out the larger piece of pastry to a 32cm-diameter round, then line a pie tin with a 22cm-diameter base and a 28cm-diameter top. Roll out the remaining pastry to a 29cm-diameter round, cut a small hole in centre and transfer to a tray. Refrigerate both pieces of pastry to rest (30 minutes). Blind bake base until golden around the edges (10-15 minutes), remove paper and weights and continue to bake, gently pressing pastry occasionally with a clean cloth to prevent rising, until light golden (5-10 minutes), then scatter with almond meal.

 Meanwhile, combine the peaches, sugar, lemon juice and reserved vanilla bean in a bowl and stand to macerate (20 minutes). Strain the juice from peaches into a small saucepan, bring to the boil over medium-high heat and cook until reduced to a thick syrup (5-10 minutes). 

 Transfer the peach mixture to the pie dish. Brush the edges with eggwash, top with the remaining pastry, press gently to seal, then trim the edges. Brush with eggwash, scatter generously with sugar and bake until golden (25-35 minutes). 

Serve warm or at room temperature with thick cream, the peach syrup and maple syrup.