From the category archives:

fruit recipes

Blueberry Crumb Bars + An anniversary giveaway!

September 20, 2010

Blueberry Crumb Bars

I’m going a little nutty over blueberries. And for once, I’m not simply ogling at recipes I see online and then letting out a sigh because I can’t have any. Instead, I’m going to town bookmarking blueberry recipes (if you have any, please share!) and of course, enjoying snacking on the berries with tonnes of vanilla yoghurt.

I stocked up on my share of blueberries over the weekend and decided on making some blueberry crumb bars. Now although the berries are available by the truckloads at the supermarket, they don’t come at a very pocket-friendly price, so I’ve to make sure to use the blueberries like a frugal Indian girl. Add to that the pressure of delivering no-fail recipes from the Purple Foodie Kitchen (phew!). The best part about the recipe? It’s easy! You don’t have to fuss over rolling out the dough. Instead, you just press the crumbly dough into the pan.

I set out to make blueberry crumb bars using the sweet tart dough from Tartine and a cup of blueberries with a little bit of vanilla sugar. The same tart dough was used as a crumb topping to give the most delicious crumb bar there is.  No really, it is. You’ve got to try it to believe it. When you bite into a piece of the blueberry crumb bar, the buttery crumbs on the top melt in your mouth. Next, the tart berries in their unctuous syrup tickle your tongue (thank goodness for vanilla sugar). And finally the crust shatters, delicately into your mouth. Pair this with a good heaping of vanilla yoghurt, and your heart will start singing. Just as I write this post, I’ve had three slices already.

Blueberry Crumb Bars

Okay, so in other news, The Purple Foodie turns 3 this week! Geez, I can’t believe it’s been that long. Three whole years! To celebrate the milestone, I’m giving away this gorgeous silk handmade clutch from one of my favourite ethnic stores. I got one for me, and one for you. Boys, don’t be disheartened, I’ve got more stuff coming up through the week (spices! books!). Plus you know, you could give this to your other half – trust me, she’ll love it!

  • Just leave a comment and let me know what you’d like to see more of on The Purple Foodie or what makes you come back to the blog, and consider yourself entered for the giveaway.
  • I’ll be shipping worldwide, so everyone’s welcome to enter!
  • For an additional entry, tweet about the giveaway (you could either come back here and let me know or mark me on the tweet @purplefoodie or #purplefoodie)
  • The giveaway is open until 30th September, 2010.

Handmade Silk Clutch

Blueberry Crumb Bars

Yield: 8 wedges from a 8 inch tart pan

For the base as well as crumb topping
Inspired from Tartine (USA | UK | India)

100g icing sugar
250g flour
150g / 3/4th cup butter
1 egg

Filling:
1cup / 200g blueberries
2 tbsp vanilla sugar

Equipment: 8 inch tart pan, pastry cutter

  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C.
  2. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour and sugar. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the butter and egg. Dough will be crumbly. Pat most of dough into the prepared pan (1/3rd inch thick).
  3. In another bowl, stir together the blueberries and the vanilla sugar. Sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust, making sure to leave some space around the periphery. Crumble the remaining dough over the berry layer. In case you’re left with additional dough (I was) you can freeze it for up to three weeks, or use it as a simple cookie dough.
  4. Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. Cool completely before slicing into wedges. Yep, the hardest part is the wait.

{ 93 comments }

Pink Cherry Frozen Yoghurt

June 15, 2010

Red Cherries

Cherries are in season! And I couldn’t be happier because this gives me a reason to bring my pitter out (see mom, I do use my stuff) and start making cherry desserts when I’m not chomping on them as a midnight snack.

I have been thinking of all sorts of cherry desserts – cherry granita, cherry crumb cake and of course the famous cherry dessert – clafoutis. To start off, I made myself a favourite: frozen yoghurt. It was pink (!) and smooth, and creamy, with gorgeous bumps of cherry pieces to bite into. I could only imagine how sweet it might smell with a little rosewater added to it.

Now when you’re pitting cherries, it’s important that you dunk them into a bowl with sugar, to coat the exposed layer of the cherry. Pitted cherries brown pretty fast, and though you can’t tell in cakes and pies, you can most certainly notice the brown tinge in a frozen yoghurt.

Pink Cherry Frozen Yoghurt

Pink Cherry Frozen Yoghurt

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 lb / 450g cherries, pitted and coarsely chopped
1 lb / 450g thick yoghurt (I hung about 800g of yoghurt in a cheesecloth to give me 450g of yoghurt)
4 oz/ 11og caster sugar, or more depending on how sweet you’d like it
2 tsp vanilla extract ( almond is good too or rosewater)

Equipment: Ice cream maker

Method:

  1. In a bowl, mix the cherries, sugar and extract thoroughly and stir until all the sugar has dissolved.
  2. In a large bowl, add the yoghurt and stir in the cherry mixture.
  3. Now proceed to churn the mixture in your ice cream maker, or follow these steps to make them if you don’t have an ice cream maker.
  4. Transfer to a wide container and let it firm up in the freezer for a few hours before serving.

{ 13 comments }

Strawberry Rhubarb Tarts

June 8, 2010

strawberry rhubarb tart

Yesterday when I was at the market going through the usual vegetable section, I saw a lone pair of greenish stalks on one of the shelves. I almost didn’t pay any attention to it, thinking it was celery.  And just when I went closer to pick up the box of endamame beans placed right next to it, I did a double take. Crimson stalks? And then suddenly all the images of rhubarb I had seen on the internet flashed through my head. A little scratching on the surface gave me the tangy smell that I safely assumed to be rhubarb. I still couldn’t believe my luck, so I went over to the shop attendant and he confirmed that it was indeed rhubarb. The joy, the joy!

And just like that, the fate of the last pair of rhubarb stalks was sealed: I’d go home and make strawberry rhubarb tarts!

I read up a little on how to cook with rhubarb. Should it be peeled? Should it be precooked? What proportion of strawberries to rhubarb should I use? I tried to keep my expectations as low as I could (though it was hard) because on many an occasion I’ve just ended up tossing the stuff that has got a backing of a hundred reviews.

strawberry rhubarb tart

So anyway, I chopped up gorgeous stalks of rhubarb, one green and one pink and tossed it with half a cup of sugar (you can adjust this depending on how tart your berries are and how sweet you’d like them to be) and frozen strawberries and let it sit for about 30 minutes. This way the frozen strawberries will soften and the tart rhubarb will absorb the sugar. This mixture tends to get watery, especially when using frozen berries, so just pick the filling up with the fork so the dough doesn’t get too mushy. Also, in the end you can top the syrup with some club soda and treat yourself to a strawberry-rhubarb fizz. It’s delicious.

For the tart base, I used the Ottolenghi recipe I used for the chocolate tart I made a while ago. To kick it up a notch, I used half vanilla bean sugar and half icing sugar. The dough smelled lovelier than any other dough I’d made before and looked so pretty with the tiny specs of vanilla in it. After this was refrigerated for a bit, I rolled it out into a large rectangle of about 1/8th inch thickness. Then I cut that up into 4 equal parts and placed the filling in the middle and pinched the sides together and transferred them to the baking sheet. That’s it! No fluted tart pans. No buying multiple small pans to make individual sizes. No worrying about blind baking. And if someone has the nerve to complain about the jagged edges, tell them that’s the rustic look you were trying to achieve. Besides, I actually think this rustic look is kinda cute.

strawberry rhubarb tart

So did it meet my expectations? It sure did! Everyone at home loved it, although they weren’t really fascinated about the big rhubarb discovery (I know!). The baked tart is not too sweet, and it’s not too tart, and though it would probably be nice with some vanilla ice cream, I’d like to eat mine warm and just the way it is.  I’m so happy that we finally get rhubarb here. Now I can start saving rhubarb recipes, which earlier, I only gawked at. Have you any suggestions?

Individual strawberry rhubarb tarts
Serves: 4

Tart base:
½ recipe of the Ottolenghi tart dough recipe.

Strawberry Rhubarb Filling:
2 stalks / 200 rhubarb, sliced with the skin on
200g strawberries, quartered fresh or frozen
½ cup / 100g caster sugar

Equipment:
Pastry blender and Bench scraper

Method:

  1. In a bowl stir together all the ingredients for the filling and let it sit together for 30 minutes.
  2. Roll out the dough into a rectangle of 1/8th inch thickness and cut through the centres to get 4 rectangles.
  3. Now place the filling in the centre of these individual rectangles.
  4. Try to work quickly, so the dough doesn’t get too warm and soft, making it harder to handle. Fold the edge of the dough toward the filling and up, to create a ruffled edge. Continue around the perimeter, until all of the filling has been held by the ruffled sleeve. Slide a bench scraper or spatula under the tart and transfer it to a parchment-lined baking tray.
  5. Freeze or refrigerate this for 30 minutes, or until the dough has firmed up.
  6. Bake in a preheated oven at 170C/340F for 25-30 minutes; until the pastry is golden and the juices are bubbling.
  7. Serve warm!

{ 17 comments }

Mango Lassi

June 1, 2010

Mango Lassi

After learning what a riotous combination fruits and yoghurt make together, I’ve been in love with all things fruit + yoghurt (cherry frozen yoghurt coming up!) With Alphonso mangoes aplenty, I’ve been making a lot of mango lassi through the summer and can’t seem to get enough of it.

If you can get your hands on Alphonso mangoes, you really should. Rich, pulpy and smooth as butter these mangoes are bursting with flavour. Blend it with a little sugar and yoghurt and you’ve made yourself the perfect summer drink!

Grandma says the ginger added to the lassi aids digest the mango, but I love the spicy dimension it adds to the sweet mango lassi.

Mango Lassi

Mango Lassi Recipe

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:
1 large (300g) Alphonso mango, cut into small pieces
450g / 1lb. plain yoghurt
3-4 tbsp sugar (depending on how sweet your mango)
1 tsp ground ginger
½ cup milk

Garnish:

2 tbsp chopped pistachios

Equipment: Food processor or immersion blender

Method:

  1. Put all the ingredients except the milk in food processor and blend together.
  2. Add the milk, a little by little until you reach a consistency you like. Throw in some ice cubes.
  3. Drink up!

    { 37 comments }

    Apple Cinnamon Streusel Muffins

    March 1, 2010

    Apple Cinnamon Streusel Muffins

    Last night I was craving some apple cinnamon muffins. The kind I had almost a year ago at a quaint little café in New York. It was loaded with Granny Smith apples and a whole lot of cinnamon. The gigantic muffin made for a perfect breakfast with a cup of hot chocolate. Going to bed with such sweet thoughts in my head, there was no way I’d be doing anything besides baking these when I woke up this morning.

    The genius of muffins is that they can be thrown together in about 5 minutes, without  the need of your hand or stand mixer. It’s especially perfect for those that are intimidated by the idea of baking or for those lazy mornings when you’d rather be curled up in bed with a cup of coffee.

    Apple Cinnamon Streusel Muffins

    For the recipe, I looked up Ratio (this is one book I wish I used more of!) and adapted the muffin recipe to include apple and cinnamon. I cut up the apples into chunks, leaving the skin on, just like the ones at the café. I also tossed the apples in some freshly ground cinnamon (nothing better than a Microplane to help you through this task – I sliced a layer of my skin as well, but that’s another story.)

    And you know what the best part of the muffin is? The streusel topping. The crunchy, buttery topping amplifies the taste of the muffin and after eating this, I don’t think muffins should ever be made without the streusel topping. In fact, I’m going to increase the quantity of it the next time I make muffins.

    Apple Cinnamon Streusel Muffins

    Apple Cinnamon Streusel Muffins

    Adapted from: Ratio, Michael Ruhlman
    Yield: 12 muffins

    For the streusel topping:
    4 oz / 112g butter, softened
    4 oz / 112g flour
    2 oz / 55g caster sugar
    2 oz / 55g soft brown sugar

    For the muffins:

    8 oz / 225g  flour
    4 oz / 112g brown sugar
    2 tsp baking powder
    8 oz / 225g  milk
    2 eggs
    4oz / 112g butter
    ½ tsp vanilla extract
    3 Granny Smith apple, cored and chopped into cubes
    1 ½ tsp cinnamon, divided – 1 tsp for the batter and ½ to toss the apples with.

    1. Preheat oven to 350F/175C.
    2. For the streusel topping: In a food processor or by hand, mix together the ingredients for the streusel topping until it is evenly combined. Let it rest in the fridge while you prep the muffin batter.
    3. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the dry ingredients: flour, brown sugar, baking powder and cinnamon.
    4. In a large bowl, mix together the wet ingredients thoroughly: milk, eggs, butter and vanilla extract.
    5. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and fold it in, until just incorporated.
    6. Fold in the apples(tossed with ½ tsp cinnamon).
    7. Spoon the batter into lined muffin tins.
    8. Top it with the crumble mixture.
    9. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

    { 38 comments }

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