Plum Crumble with Strawberry Ice Cream

School is coming to a close, which means I have tons of work to do. Ah! I have under 3 weeks of school left, but the day after I get out of school I'm leaving to go to the Ashland Shakespeare Festival. It's one of my favorite places and the theater is wonderful. If you've never been, I recommend you go at some time in your life.





Then, just a few days after I get back from that, I'm off to Rhode Island to spend 6 weeks at the Rhode Island School of Design to study graphic design. I've never been more excited about anything in my whole life! I probably won't be baking much during those 6 weeks, so there won't be many/any new recipes. But I will try to update Pâtisserie Natalie with my graphic design work that I do in my classes, and other photography that I do.





I'm working on a baking project that I hope to show everyone at the end of the summer, but for now, enjoy this plum crumble with strawberry ice cream and the beginnings of summer!

For the strawberry ice cream, go to my Neapolitan Ice Cream Cakes.

Plum Crisp

Crumble
200 grams unsalted butter, chilled
200 grams sugar
200 grams flour
100 grams roasted almonds
1 teaspoon salt

In a food processor, combine sugar, flour, and salt. Pulse several times to mix. Add almonds and pulse twice, just to break up the nuts. Add the butter in small cubes and pulse until crumble is sandy with small chunks of butter.

Filling
3 lbs prunes
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 F. Peel prunes, then cut into slices. In a medium bowl, combine sliced prunes, sugar, spices, and lemon juice. Toss until fruit is lightly covered. Let macerate at room temperature for 30 minutes. Pour into a 8" by 8" square glass baking pan.

Pour crumble topping on top and bake for 35 minutes, or until the filling is bubbly and the crumble is golden brown, darker towards the edges of the pan. Remove from oven and let sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour before serving with homemade strawberry ice cream.

Items I used:



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Strawberry Lemonade Macarons

After many trials, I finally made some successful macarons. They're still not perfect, but they're heading in the right direction and they taste great, so I consider that a mini-success. Citrus right now is at its best, so I've been trying to use it as much as possible. When my parents had friends over, I made them meyer lemon ice cream, pistachio crumble, and a blackberry compote. Unfortunately, I didn't get to photograph it, but hopefully I well get to make it again, with some photos. For these macarons, I didn't use meyer lemons, but I'm sure they would do well with this recipe.





A little while ago, I was browsing one of my favorite blogs, Cannelle et Vanille, when I came across a recipe for raspberry macarons that used raspberry powder. I did a little research to find out that it was dehydrated raspberries crushed into a powder. The macarons sounded so good, I knew I had to make them, or at least try to. But raspberry powder is a tricky thing to find anywhere but online. I was a little defeated and kind of gave up on the idea, as I didn't really want to order anything online at that moment.

So, one day I was at Trader Joe's, just getting some groceries, when I noticed they had a selection of dehydrated fruits, like strawberries and bananas. I threw some in the basket and didn't use them for a couple months. But then, the other day, I saw them at the back of the cabinet and decided I would try out my idea. I took the dehydrated strawberries and finely chopped them, then used a bench scraper to pulverize the strawberries and I was left with a fine powder. I proceeded to make the macarons, and they turned out well. They have a nice, subtle strawberry flavor. If you happen to see any other kinds of dehydrated fruits, I suggest you try them out!

Strawberry Macarons
Adapted from Cannelle et Vanille

140 grams egg whites
3 grams egg white powder
80 grams sugar
180 grams almond flour
240 grams powdered sugar
2 grams salt
8 grams dehydrated strawberry powder
2 drops red gel food coloring

Let the egg whites come to room temperature, uncovered, overnight.

Sift together the almond flour, powdered sugar, salt, and strawberry powder.

Whip the egg whites in a stand mixer with the egg white powder until frothy, and almost to stiff peaks. Add the sugar gradually while whipping. Add the red food coloring and continue whipping to stiff peaks.

Add the dry ingredients to the meringue and fold with a spatula until a shiny meringue forms. The batter should make ribbons when the whisk attachment is pulled off the mixer.

Once you have the right consistency, place the batter in a pastry bag with a large, circular tip. Pipe small rounds onto sheetpans lined with parchment or silpat. You can use a cookie cutter or other template to draw perfect circles on the other side of the parchment paper. Let them sit at room temperature for at least 45 minutes to an hour. The top should be shiny and dry before being put in the oven.

Preheat the oven 300 degrees F. Place one sheetpan in the oven at a time and bake for 8 minutes and rotate sheetpan and bake for another 2-3 minutes.

For amazing, very specific directions, I suggest you go to Tartelette's Macaron Tutorial. It is about half way down the main page, on the right side.

Lemon Curd

1 stick butter
5 egg yolks, lightly beaten
3/4 cup lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a double broiler, melt butter completely, then remove top of double broiler from heat, but leave the water to boil.

Add lemon juice, sugar, lemon zest, and salt to melted butter and stir thoroughly. Put back over heating water, and whisk until sugar is dissolved. Add egg yolks to the mixture, and continue to whisk over medium heat until it is a custard consistency and coats the back of a wooden spoon and leaves a clean trail when a finger is dragged across. Do not let it boil.

Remove from heat and let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes, then cover surface with plastic wrap, pressing down so that a skin does not form on the top. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before using.

You will have a little left over if using this recipe for the buttercream (below).

Lemon Curd Buttercream

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup lemon curd
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar (or more for correct consistency)

Combine ingredients in a stand mixer until smooth. You may need more powdered sugar for a frosting consistency that you can pipe.

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Neapolitan Cakes

Phew! It is getting hot here. Hot for me anyways. Being a native Seattle-ite, I despise weather over 65 degrees and overcast is always a plus. But hot weather does create some good inspiration for ice cream treats. When I was really little, I would go to this outdoor pool with friends and I always wanted a neapolitan ice cream sandwich. Such a good combination: the chocolate cake/cookie(?) and the chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry ice creams. I wanted to make this a little differently, as I now despise the milky chocolate ice cream. I also wanted to make a thin flourless chocolate cake. Since the chocolate cake was so chocolatey, I decide to forgo the dark chocolate ice cream, as it seemed like overkill. These started out as cakes, but since their size seemed a little scary on their own, I made some half sized ones as well.

The chocolate cake recipe is from a past daring bakers challenge that I didn't participate in, but the recipe looked so good, I had to try it.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

16 ounces (1 pound) (454 grams) of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
½ cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons (146 grams total) of unsalted butter
5 large eggs separated

Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.

While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your sheetpan and line with parchment, then butter the parchment.

Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.
Whip the egg whites in a grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed, making sure not to overwhip, as this dries out the cake.
Beat the egg yolks together. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.

Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter. {link of folding demonstration}

Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan's bottom, and bake at 375F/190C for 8 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes on a rack. Once cool, remove the cake from the pan onto a clean work surface. Let cool for at least 1 hour. After an hour, use a circular cutter and cut as many shapes as possible from your sheet.



Strawberry Ice Cream

1 cup whole milk
6 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
2 cups hulled strawberries
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups heavy cream

Wash and hull 2 cups of strawberries. Place in a food processor until you get a smooth puree.

In a saucepan over medium heat, warm the milk until steam begins to rise from the surface.

In a heatproof bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and salt until blended. Gradually add 1/2 the hot milk, whisking constantly until fully incorporated. Transfer the mixture back to the saucepan and set over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or spatula, until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon and leaves a clear trail when a finger is drawn through it, 8 to 10 minutes; do not allow the custard to boil.

Pour the custard through a fine-mesh sieve set over a clean bowl and stir in the strawberry puree and vanilla. Nestle the bowl in a larger one filled halfway with ice and water and cool the custard to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Refrigerate until cold [at least 2 hours]

Transfer the custard to an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer the ice cream to a sheetpan lined with parchment and spread in an even, thin layer. Freeze until firm, at least 3 hours or up to 3 days, before serving. Makes about 1 quart.



Vanilla Ice Cream

Use the same instructions and ingredients above, but omit the strawberry puree. Split and scrape one vanilla bean. Put the seeds and pod into the milk when first heating. Make sure to remove the vanilla bean just before pouring into the ice cream machine. Use 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract.

Assembly

Using the same cutter as you did for the cake, cut circles from the sheets of ice cream. Place on top of each other in alternating order.
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Strawberry Rhubarb Tart & Pizzaz!

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've just been getting home too late to make anything interesting. No worries though, 'cause I'm back with a double dose. For a family gathering, I made strawberry rhubarb tarts accompanied by vanilla cinnamon brown sugar ice cream. Berries and rhubarb is a favorite combo for a lot of people. Not to mention, it's seasonal (right now), and not making something out of rhubarb would be a shame.
Making the tarts was a little stressful because I was also making a lemon tart with mixed berries for a fundraiser for my school. I've been experimenting with different doughs for a couple weeks, and ended up using Tartine's Sweet Tart Dough. I was having some problems with the dough sliding down the sides of my tart rings, but this dough held perfectly. I was going to use a large tart ring for the Pizzaz! tart, but I decided at the last minute to use a fluted one, not sure why. They turned out really nicely, and I took them over to the fundraiser. I was expecting the other desserts to have been made by other people associated with my school, but I was pleasantly surprised. My tart got to stand next to various desserts from Macrina Bakery, Simply Desserts, and Cupcake Royale. Some of the finest bakeries in Seattle donated desserts to the fundraiser, and I got to be a part of that. I was so excited (still am).



Lemon Tart with mixed berries:

Sweet Tart Dough
From Tartine

1 cup+ 2 tablespoons unsalted butter; room temp
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs; room temp
3 1/2 cups AP Flour

Using a stand mixer with paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugar, and salt and mix on medium speed until smooth. Mix in 1 egg. Add the remaining egg and mix until smooth. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the flour all at once and mix on low speed until incorporates.
On a lightly floured surface, divid the dough into 4 equal balls and shape each ball into a disk 1/2" thick. Wrap well in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Filling:
4 eggs; room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons lemon zest
3 tablespoons butter; room temperature/soft
2 tablespoons heavy cream

Beat the eggs until foamy. Gradually add sugar until thick and lemon colored. Add lemon juice, zest, and butter until combined. Add the heavy cream.

Assembly:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Roll out the chilled dough to 1/8" thick. Cut a circle with a 2" overhang to fit your tart ring (pan). Gently press into tart pan and remove excess from the top. Chill in freezer for 15 minutes. Once chilled, remove from freezer and use a fork to make holes in the bottom of your tart. Bake for 8 minutes. Pour filling into crust and return to oven for an addition 8-12 minutes. It's done when you shake it and the center moves just a little. Cool on a rack for at least 2 hours. Place berries on top and serve.



Strawberry Rhubarb Tartlets:

Dough:
See above.

Filling:
1 lb. fresh rhubarb; sliced 1" thick
1 pint strawberries
300 g sugar+ 3 tablespoons
600 g water
5 tablespoons of butter

To poach the rhubarb, make a simple syrup by combining 300g sugar and water in a medium saucepan. Once simmering, add the sliced rhubarb in the syrup and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from syrup and place in a bowl, set aside.
Cut strawberries into quarters and toss in 1 tablespoon of sugar. Let macerate for 15 minutes. Add the rhubarb to the strawberries. Using a sharp knife, run it through the bowl until the rhubarb and strawberries kind of mix together.
Bake in a glass/ceramic pan for 8 minutes at 350 degrees F. Leave at room temperature until serving.

Vanilla Cinnamon Brown Sugar Ice Cream

Cinnamon Ice Cream
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 egg yolks
1/2 vanilla bean; scraped
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Whisk egg yolks and brown sugar together. Heat the milk, heavy cream, cinnamon, vanilla bean seeds & pod in a saucepan to a simmer. Pour half the mixture into the egg yolks. Make sure to continue whisking, so the eggs don't cook. Pour the egg yolk/milk mixture back into the saucepan and heat until the mixture has thickened a little and coats the back of your spoon.
Pour into your ice cream maker and use manufacturer's instructions.

Vanilla Ice Cream

2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean; halved, seeds removed

Whisk ingredients together until sugar is dissolved. Place in refrigerator to let vanilla seeds infuse into the cream, for 1 hour. Place in ice cream machine and churn for the amount of time given by manufacturer. Remove from machine and place in air-tight container overnight to harden.

Mix the two ice creams together just a little. I put mine into molds, but putting the mixture into an airtight container is just fine, too.
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