Orange & Yogurt Tart

This weekend we had some friends over and we had a great time making BBQ and staying outside in the garden cause this may be one of the last weekends with nice weather. Our friends are expecting this December a baby girl so we had plenty discussions about  kids and pregnancy, accompanied by our cutie pie , Thomas,  who made us laugh with all his silly faces and talking.

I really wanted to bake something nice for my friend, Cristiana, and I choose a recipe from Martha Stewart. Orange and yogurt tart with an almond crust. It's sounds really fruity and fresh.
Here is the recipe Fresh orange and yogurt tart on Martha's Stewart site. You can also find a nice video of her baking the tart.

I will also write the recipe here, cause I made some changes in my version. My only problem with this tart is that you use gelatin and it has to stay in a cool place. I took my tart out of the fridge to serve it at room temperature, but the yogurt filling started to melt and it mixed with the crust and it didn't look so pretty while served. So if you make this tart for a party take it out of the fridge just before serving.

Because I have a quite big tart pan I had to double  all the ingredients , but then I realized that it's a little bit too much so I made a small tart with blueberries. It's so good with blueberries  and I think I fancied this version  better ;)

Here is the recipe step by step along with photos :)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup raw almonds
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• Coarse salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
• 2 teaspoons powdered gelatin (from a 1/4-ounce packet)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt (2 percent)
• 1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 3 medium navel oranges

DIRECTIONS:

In a food processor, pulse almonds, granulated sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt until finely ground.

Add flour; pulse to combine.

Add butter and pulse until mixture is crumbly and holds together when squeezed.

Press crumbs in bottom and up side of an 8-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. (I used a normal ceramic pan).

Freeze 15 minutes. (To store, cover and freeze, up to 1 month.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Place tart pan on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until crust is golden brown and set, 30 to 35 minutes. 

Let cool on a wire rack 10 minutes, then remove tart ring and let cool completely. (If using a normal tart pan let cool completely in the pan)

In a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over 2 tablespoons cold water and let stand 5 minutes.

In a small saucepan, warm heavy cream over medium.

When it begins to steam, add gelatin mixture and stir until dissolved, about 1 minute.

In a medium bowl, whisk together yogurt, brown sugar, and pinch of salt.

Stir warm heavy cream mixture into yogurt mixture.

Pour filling into cooled tart shell and refrigerate until set, 2 hours (or up to 1 day).

With a sharp paring knife, slice off ends of oranges. Following curve of fruit, cut away peel, removing as much white pith as possible. Slice oranges into 1/4-inch-thick rounds and remove any seeds. Just before serving, arrange orange slices on top of tart.

My prego friend enjoing herself :D

Photos by Emi Trasnitu

Panna cotta all'arancia

This time I decided to make a refreshing, delicious  and well known dessert, Panna Cotta. First time I made it for my hubby 2 years ago for our anniversary and he loved it. Now I want to spoil him again with this easy to make and delicious dessert.

Normally, you make panna cotta in small nice shapes or cups and you have to invert them when served. I preferred to put mine in wine glasses to give it an elegant note. Presented like this, it would be the perfect dessert for a special and romantic dinner ;)

To make it more interesting I chose to flavor it with orange juice and zest. I have also decorated with orange and fresh mint. Hope you'll like. No, no, no! LOVE IT! Enjoy!

And this is the nice and easy recipe that I tried.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
• zest of 2 oranges
• 1  cup plain yogurt
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• 1 envelope unflavored gelatin
• 2 Tbsp. cold water
• orange slices and mint for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

Combine the heavy cream, sugar, orange juice in a saucepan. 
Put the orange zest into the cream mixture. Heat slowly until the sugar is dissolved, stirring all the time.

Take off the heat and set aside for a half hour.

Strain the cream into a bowl and add the yogurt, lemon juice and vanilla. Whisk thoroughly. Add a small pinch of salt, mix.

Sprinkle the gelatin into the water and let stand for about 5 minutes.
Melt the gelatin by placing the bottom of the dish in a pan of simmering water. Whisk into the panna cotta. 
Pour into 4 glasses or cups. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or better over night.
To serve, garnish with orange slices and fresh mint.

 Photos by Emi Trasnitu

Berries gallete

This is my first time making gallete :) I always preferred  to make the classic version of a tart, but this rustic version is just as nice and I decided to give it a try.

I made my gallete with all kind of berries, but because they are not in season anymore and what you find in stores are very expensive I had to use the frozen ones. But in the end everything went super delicious and I'm really pleased with the result. Actually in the mix of berries I found some wild strawberries (those small and deliciousss strawberries) and they gave to my gallete a unique flavor.

I used my favorite sweet tart dough which I think is the best. I tried a few, but I think this is a great one. It's easy to make and it stays only 30 minutes in the fridge. Ohhh... and its buttery taste is divine!

What can I say more... this gallete really fed my soul and my belly (2 and a half portions :D)

Here is the recipe :)

INGREDIENTS:

Sweet tart dough

•  1 ½ cups of all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• a pinch of salt
• 1 stick of butter (4 ounces), cut into small pieces
• 1 egg
• 2-3 tablespoons cold water

Berries filling

• 2 cups berries ( raspberries, wild strawberries, blackberries, bluerries and red currants)
•  ½ cup sugar, adjust to taste
•  1 tablespoons orange juice
•  4 tablespoons of tapioca or corn starch

DIRECTIONS:

Sweet tart dough preparation
Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor and mix.

Add the butter pieces, in batches, and pulse until mixed.

Add the egg and the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until clumps of dough start to form.

 Remove the dough from the food processor and knead it gently.

Mold the dough into a flattened thick disc, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Put the berries in a bowl, add the orange juice, sugar and tapioca or corn starch. Mix well and let rest for at least 30 minutes, stirring every once in a while. 

Preheat the oven to 400F / 200C.
On a floured sheet of wax paper, roll out the dough into a circle. Trim the edges if needed.

Put the dough on to a lightly greased tart pan.

Spread the berries mixture in the middle of pie dough (see photo).

Fold the dough over berries, overlapping at intervals (see photo).

Place it in the preheated oven.
Bake the tart between  20-35 minutes or until the crust is golden.

Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream or creme fraiche.

Photos by Emi Trasnitu