roast the toast: membrillo tea cake

this post, dear readers, has been sitting in my draft file for 2 weeks. (sorry!) the reason being; i just came back from the desert, and before i left i made a dessert - to bring with me of course!

i made a dessert to bring to the desert.
i made a dessert to bring to the desert.
i made a dessert to bring to the desert.

i think i've wanted to say that - and mean it - since about, 2nd grade.

ah, life if good!

and so is this membrillo tea cake.

like many of you on the preserving-gardening-seasonal-eating tip, i get a bit frantic about this time of year. deep in high chatelaine mode, trying to lighten up my larder shelves in preparation for the coming season. my last bit of 2010 membrillo was a perfect fit for this tea cake, but plum paste or any fruit cheese will do just as nicely.

it's a lightly sweet desert-perfect dessert. good also in other places, like the afternoon, with tea.



membrillo tea cake
adapted from heidi's amazing new book super natural every day

2 & 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2/3 cups sugar * (i use raw)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/3 cup + 1/2 teaspoon poppy seeds (i used white)
zest of 2 lemons, grated
2 eggs (from cage-free chickens please!)
1 & 1/2 cups whole yogurt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
9 ounces membrillo (or other fruit paste) cubed
2 loaf pans approximately 9x5, buttered and lightly floured


1. preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. melt butter, let cool to slightly warmer than room temperature.



3. in a large bowl stir flour, salt, sugar, 1/3 cup poppy seeds, baking powder, lemon zest.

4. in a separate bowl whisk together eggs and yogurt. whisk in melted butter.



5. add egg mixture to dry ingredients, stir until just combined. stir in 2/3rds of the membrillo cubes, distributing evenly.

6. divide evenly into loaf pans. smooth the tops with a spatula, distribute the remaining membrillo cubes over the top and give them a dusting with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of poppy seeds.

7. bake for 10 minutes. switch the positions of the loaves and bake for 10-15 minutes more, or until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean.

be careful not too over bake, as with all yogurt cakes, this one tastes best moist.



eat warm or cooled. it's also great toasted after a couple of days. whenever i make tea cakes i always eat one now and freeze one for later. freeze no longer than one month for best quality.

*pawnote: my homemade membrillo has less sugar than is the norm. when using a very sweet membrillo or fruit paste you could take the sugar down to 1/2 cup.




roast the toast: a now and then series devoted to pumping up the jams,
and other sweet preserves. 'cause a tigress can't live on bread alone. duh!

roast the toast: rhubarb & apple butter pandowdy

perhaps you've noticed by now that i have a thing for old-fashioned fruit desserts?

yeah, i kinda do.

here's how this one came about:

the other day i was roarin' about a really great book i have to give away over here and i asked what peeps were looking forward to preserving this spring. a lot of you said rhubarb. rhubarb is something i am never in need of - when may/june comes i can practically swing from mine.

then i realized that may is around the corner and i still had three quarts of rhubarb in the freezer - yikes! i'm not down with frozen fruit from the year before when it's time for a new year's bounty to explode. so i raced into my larder and deftly pulled my super chatelaine cape over my ears and head (you did know i had one didn't you? why yes, it's specially fitted, slips right over my fur) and i got my paws on that rhubarb.

first let me tell you that a pandowdy is just an old-fashioned name for a bottomless pie. perhaps those victorian gentlewoman rendered a bit pinkish (or peckish?) at the mere thought of a loose and bottomless pie, and so...pandowdy is ever much more, well, dowdy.

armed with this imagination, i figured if i'm making a wayward crust, she's gonna need some grit.



how's this for grit?

martha is my go to gal for crust. i made this cornmeal pate brisee. and to ensure my crust rough and ready for a good time, i went a little heavier on the meal - 3/4 of a cup, and lighter on the fine stuff - 1 & 3/4 cups.

(a note about my cornmeal; it's from a local berkshire farmer, and i can't get enough of it. yours can be yellow, and not as rough cut. but try to find stoneground, and better still, local!)

follow martha's recipe and in case she wasn't 100% clear, once you get the ice cold water in the processor and the dough just barely starts to cling to itself - no more then 30 seconds please - take it out and divide it in half. here's the clincher: do not play with the dough no matter how enticing she may be. get her into two discs as quickly as possible, they don't have to be perfectly shaped. wrap them in plastic wrap, put one in the freezer for another use, and one in the fridge to use now. if you happen to have one a little bigger than the other, use that one now.

you can even make the dough a day ahead of time. if you do, take the half you are using out of the fridge 30 minutes before you want to make the pandowdy.

last thing before we get on with it: i had frozen rhubarb, i had canned ancho apple butter. you may have frozen blueberries and canned peach butter, or frozen cranberries and canned pear butter. both would be lovely combos, the pairing is up to you.




rhubarb & apple butter pandowdy

1/2 recipe cornmeal pate brisee, augmented as above
6 cups fresh or frozen rhubarb, sliced to 1 inch, thawed & drained if frozen
1/2 cup brown sugar (you can go up to 3/4 cup if you like sweet desserts, i like mine less so)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 pint apple butter (i used ancho apple butter)
pinch sea salt
deep dish 9 or 9 1/2 inch pie dish, buttered

1. preheat oven to 425 degrees. toss the cornstarch and brown sugar together, add to the rhubarb in a large bowl and stir. add apple butter and gently combine.

2. pour fruit mixture into buttered pie dish and sprinkle a pinch of salt evenly across the top.

3. roll out the chilled dough, you'll want to keep it thicker than your average pie crust, about a quarter inch. place over fruit mixture. do not worry too much about the sides, let them fall inside the dish. slice three lines across the crust 4-5 inches long and an inch or so apart. this to let off steam when she gets hot and bothered in the oven.

4. bake for 30 minutes. reduce temperature to 350 degrees, rotate and bake for 10-15 more minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling up around the sides and possibly escaping through the steam vents.

5. let cool for 45 minutes before you sink your teeth in.



the fruit butter technique is a good one for a pandowdy because the cooked down fruit fiber helps to bind things together - important with a missing bottom. also good when frozen fruit is involved as they too can get a bit loosey-goosey if left to their own devices.

and like any good pie, bottomless or no, ice cream does a pandowdy good.

...after all, that little hussy needs a cool down.

roast the toast: a now and then series devoted to pumping up the jams,
and other sweet preserves. 'cause a tigress can't live on bread alone. duh!

roast the toast: jam pudding

one of the things i love about having these two little blogs o' mine is that i get to share my secrets. i mean not all of my secrets of course.

but definitely the tasty ones.

this one is my little pilgrim trick. so easy and basic but not something we do much of in the US. big in england - at least at one time. and honestly i am not sure if it's a common cooking practice there anymore. but i love it. try it just once and you'll realize how simple it is.

plus, it's the perfect way to showcase your delicious homemade jams, and you know what i mean by that don't you?

praise! praise! i'm talking about praise...

and smiling bellies!

now tell me you don't want that.




jam pudding

6 tablespoons softened unsalted butter (plus more to butter basin and parchment)
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
rounded 1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 tablespoons whole milk
1 & 1/4 cups jam

also needed:
1 quart pudding basin
parchment paper
kitchen twine
steaming pot
tea towel

serves 4 (or 2 big servings, plus another piece for breakfast)

first let's talk about the basin. actually you can use any quart size basin that can withstand 2 hours in a bit of boiling water and swirling hot steam. but a traditional pudding basin is reasonably priced, made just for this purpose, has a lip to affix the twine, and can be used day-to-day as a mixing bowl.



before you do anything, take the pot you will use to steam it in. this is my steamer. i basically use the pasta insert and it makes steaming as easy as pie - or pudding! (i feel like a commercial here, but i might as well let you know that it's a pretty awesome small-batch canner too!)

whatever pot you're using, you want to make sure the basin is not placed directly on the bottom of the pot, so you will need some kind of steaming rack.

1. place the basin on the steaming rack inside the pot and fill the pot with water halfway up the side of the basin. do this before you do anything else so that your water level is prepared. then remove the basin from the pot.

2. cut a round out of parchment paper that is slightly smaller that the diameter of the top of your basin. butter well the entire basin and one side of the parchment round.

3. stir the flour and baking powder together in a small bowl and set aside. in a larger bowl, cream the butter and sugar using an electric mixer. mix the egg in. slowly add the dry ingredients until just mixed.

4. place the jam in the bottom of the buttered basin. spoon the batter over top. it will be a bit thick. smooth the top of the batter to even it out. place the parchment butter-side down on top.

5. begin to heat the water - medium high will do. wet your tea towel thoroughly and squeeze out any excess water. there are two ways to fasten the tea towel. you can fold it in half, tie it tightly around the rim, twist the long sides and tie together on top. like this:



or you can leave the tea towel unfolded, place it over the top, fasten with twine. and then tie the opposite ends together. done this way you'll have four points tied together rather than two and it will be more stable to lift.

but i like to live dangerously.

6. carefully place the pudding basin in the steaming pot. use these or something like them.

7. steam for 2 hours at medium heat. check every 45 minutes or so to make sure the water level has not dropped too low. add hot water when needed.

8. after 2 hours take off heat. remove pudding basin from pot, and tea towel from basin. set on wire rack to cool for 10 or so minutes. run a sharp knife around basin rim to release pudding and turn out on a plate.

jam pudding is best served warm.

but you know, cold for breakfast has it's merits too.

this, my go-to steamed jam pudding recipe is the perfect base for just about any type of homemade jam - i used plum noir here but the possibilities are endless.

you can up the recipe accordingly depending on the size of your basin. generally count one hour of steaming time per 1/2 quart.



roast the toast: a now and then series devoted to pumping up the jams,
and other sweet preserves. 'cause a tigress can't live on bread alone. duh!