Upside-down Peach Heart Cakelettes

This morning while I was taking a shower, my earring fell out of my ear and before I could pick it up, it rolled into the hole leaving me gaping. My immediate reaction (after I've realised what had happened) was that I felt like crying. It was just so hopeless. I have just witnessed my favourite earring, a golden star earring which I got when I got my ears pierced 15 years ago, roll... into a hole and get lost forever. Who knows where the pipe leads to? Sewage. Along with ALL the other junk that goes down that way. It's lost. LOST. 

After getting dressed and saving the other half of the earring, I just kept saying to myself. Look, this is a lesson for you to learn to let go. Yeah it has sentimental significance, but come on, it's only an earring. My only gold earring you mean. It's not life and death. You've still got the other half of the pair. What use is one earring, like I'm going to wear just one side of it. This is a chance for you to learn to let.... go.... Let go of attachments to material, let go of attachments to the value, your perceived value of it. Things come and go, it's life, get over it. 

Eventually after having breakfast and complaining to mum about me losing my earring (and of course me getting told off for not being careful, and why was I wearring earrings while I'm showering anyway?), I thought I started to accept the fact that that's what's happened, and this was karma's way of punishing me for whatever bad things I have done. Of course I felt a tiny bit better after breakfast, come one, sustainance fuels. But later on I decided, who was I fooling, I was sad that I lost my earring. So I complained to my brother. 

Or course, big brother being the ever caring and ever busy-body person he is, at first yelled (well, exclaimed) that why was I wearing my earrings while I'm showering?! Then he physically got up from his breakfast and ran to peer down the hole which the pipe from the bathtub leads to. Yeah, water, grass, black bits. But he suggested that I went to flush down some water down the hole incase it's still stuck somewhere in the pipe, and he held a net under the other end of the pipe and try catching the earring if it was still there. Without holding much hope, I did as I was told. And yeah, told you, no earring, it's probably lost to the abyss. So, giving up, I went back to my computer, deciding to crack on with my studies.

But big brother didn't want to give up. He scrounged for his torch, then went to shine it down the hole in the bathtub. Lo and behold, there! I can see it! Golden and it's tangled within hair. Ugh, gross, but WHAT?! It's still there?! So there a sparkle of hope was ignited, we began our mission of extracting my little wee golden earring out from the pipe. Thank god for once that there's hair down the pipe... After ages of manipulation, borrowing of neighbour's suck pump thing (don't know what you call it, but it's the thing that de-clogs pipes through suction), yelling from one end 'has it come out yet?', 'nope, all there is is water, and some scungy stuff', loads of effort of flushing water down the hole with force, periods of 'maybe we should just leave the net here and wait for it to eventually come out some day... ... it finally, finally, came! Oh wow, gold has fallen into the net! Stopppp flushing water down!! I see it I see it! 

I was actually super surprised that I retrieved my earring. What an evolution of emotions throughout that hour. And I thought, this incident taught me something really important. It's really simple. NEVER give up. If it's something worth fighting for, something worth the effort for, something that means so much, keep trying. Try and try and try until you have exhausted all means, and only then if it doesn't work, accept the fact that you have to let go. It applies to all sorts of things really. Relationships, work, a small task, a massive project. If you try hard enough, you'll begin to see that sparkle of light, of hope, which will really guide you through. If you don't try at all, hope is forever diminished. 

Now this recipe. Sometimes we just need to go out and buy a silicon heart-shaped mould. It makes our food look so much more exciting. Baking is so much about giving and sharing. I'm sure most bakers would agree that baking is a way to show that you love and care for somebody. Now with a heart-shaped mould, it really more strongly emphasises this love we're giving. It makes the food look pretty (and yay more exciting food photography too!). And if you're giving it to someone special, a little more effort goes a long way. Get your hands on some pretty boxes and vibrant craft paper and dress up the little gifts! Whoever you're giving it too will be impressed.

The cake itself is an olive oil sponge, incredibly moist, soft and flavourful.

Upside-down Peach Heart Cakelettes

Makes about 18 individual cakelettes, depending on the size of your tins

1 Peach

30g butter, melted

Raw sugar

Olive oil Sponge cake

150g wholewheat flour

1/4 tsp salt

5 eggs, separated

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

3/4 cup blended raw sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

1/2 cup dessert wine or fruit juice

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1. Slice the peach up into segments. Into the mould, spoon about 1/2 tbsp butter and sprinkle in about 1/4 tsp sugar. Lay three segments of peaches on the bottom of the mould. Set aside for later use.

2. To prepare the cake, preheat your oven to 180C. 

3. Sift together flour and salt, then set aside.

4. Beat the egg whites until frothy. Add in the cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add half the sugar and beat until stiff. Set aside.

5. Beat the egg yolks, remaining half of the sugar and vanilla until pale and thick. Beat in the wine/juice and oil, pouring in a steady stream until they are well incorporated.

6. Gently fold in the flour mixture. Then fold in the egg whites in thirds. 

7. Pour the cake mixture in the moulds and bake for 10 minutes, then lower the heat to 160C and bake for another 10-15 minutes until golden. Turn off the oven and cover the cakes with an oiled baking paper and leave the cakes in the oven to cool slowly for 15 minutes. This gradual cooling prevents the cakes from collapsing. Remove from oven and allow cakes to cool in their moulds for 10 minutes before turning them out, running your knife around the edges of the mould to free them first. 

8. Cool slightly and serve, or cool completely and package nicely to be given away. 

Plum tarts

So yeah... I kinda went a bit crazy on the photographing front. Took about 50 photos of these tarts and had a hard time narrowing it down to ten to post here. But I'm sure you guys don't mind the photo spam. I mean, half the people come here probably just to get their dose of food porn right? So feast your eyes away! These tarts definitely are pretty to look at and I really do insist that you try making them so you can feast on them too. The plums loosen up in the heat and release their juices, which entangle with the sugar and butter to yield this rich, tarty, sweet filling. The tanginess of the plums work so well with the pastry. It definitely gives it that extra edge than say if it were a one note sweet fruit... boring... yeah. Although the pastry did turn out really delicate and crumbles in your hands, I think it really is a good pairing - the sharpness of the fruit with the gentle caressing crumbly case. Complimentary right? You can eat it with a spoon.

So yes, give it a go! The original recipe was for one 11-inch tart. But hmmm multiple little ones versus one large one? More is more? Yup, totally in this case. With the little ones, you get a higher pastry to fruit ratio in each bite than with one big one, which is win in my books! So go! Start baking. You have no excuses. You don't need any fancy equipment. Your hands are your mixer. If you don't have a weighing machine, rejoice! Because you don't need one. If you don't have tart cases, worry not, just use a cake tin. Or make little galettes. Or a big one, like this. If you don't have a rolling pin, worry not! Use your hands. You don't even need to use a wine bottle as substitute (which by the way did its job like a boss when my sister and I were baking with my cousin!). You don't even need a bowl to mix the ingredients in. The author of the recipe mixed her pastry straight in the tray. Ok, I think you get the point now, so here's the recipe!

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Plum tarts

Recipe adapted from Amanda Hesser

Serves 8

Pastry

3/4 cups wholewheat flour

3/4 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp blended vanilla raw sugar

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup canola or rice bran oil

2 tbsp whole milk or soy milk

Coconut essence

Filling

About 4 plums, pitted and thickly sliced

2 tbsp all purpose flour

1/2 blended vanilla raw sugar

2 tbsp butter, cold

Preheat your oven to 200C. Grease your tart cases.

To prepare the pastry, sift together the flours, salt and sugar. Sift it three times to ensure uniform distribution of salt. Alternatively, stir it with a whisk. In a separate bowl, whisk together the oils, milk and coconut essence, then pour into flour mixture and stir together with a fork until just combined. Take care not to over work. Next, transfer the pastry into the tart cases or tart pan and press onto the base and the sides with your fingers. The pastry should be about half a cm thick. 

For the filling, mix together the flour and sugar then using the tips of your fingers, rub in the butter until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. 

Line the plums on the pastry in whatever pattern you wish. Sprinkle over the butter crumb mixture. It will seem like an excessive amount of butter crumb mixture but it's ok. If you're making little tarts, I suggest putting all the tarts in a tray, then putting the tray in the oven, for easier handling. Bake for about 20-25 minutes until golden. If you're making a large tart, bake for about 35-40 minutes. Take care when you're removing the tarts from the oven as they are hot and bubbly. Rest and cool before serving. 

Serving suggestion: with a dollop of natural yoghurt. Yum!

Apple, rhubarb and strawberry galette

These past few days we've been fortunate enough to be graced by the sun's glorious rays. It's as if the sun is teasing us, like an ice cream man handing out free samples of the delicious treat that won't be out until a few months later. But all the kids are happy and all the adults feel like kids again. Nobody's complaining (except about the seemingly eternal wait) and we're all making the most of it. But I'm afraid I've been feeling to indulgent, almost tricking myself to believe that it is the summer holidays again. I even picked up a book that's been on my bedside since March, neglected due to other more pressing matters. I realised, leisure reading is such a luxury. But I should do more of it. Take a breath in between the articles over articles that my head's been swimming in. I should make it a point to read every night before bed, even if it is just one page. 

I took a stroll at the park two days ago. The sun glaring down in between the scattered curtain of clouds traveling by. Only then did I realise spring has truly arrived at our doorstep. The flowers are so beautiful, red and yellow and white and blue and all the colours in between, shamelessly exhibiting themselves in this breathtaking gallery, fishing for compliments and praises. All these efflorescence that I know not the name of. They're here to shine and I gladly give them my attention. 

There's truly something in the air in spring. Something promising. Something exciting. Something sweet. Something that makes me want to spring up from my chair, hop out from the cave that's been my home for the wintering months. It's like fireflies that have been hibernating awaking one by one, and all flying in a circle around me, then guiding me towards the door, towards the warmth. Haha I don't even know if fireflies hibernate, or if they fly towards the light. It seems more possible that they fly in the opposite direction of light. But you know what I mean I'm sure, these magic dusts in the air, playfully pulling me. 

These first four days of mid-semester break, I've allowed myself to be pulled. How wonderful it was, to spend the half a day plonked on a park bench feeding myself the most tart lemon tarts ever (recipe coming soon!). How wonderful it was to be plonked a park bench without freezing to death! How soul nurturing it was to spend the day stirring the pot of pumpkin soup; to be caressed by the rice flour in my palms as I transferred it into a second pot that is filled with grated turnips; to sing along my sister the songs of Little Mermaid and be transported instantly ten, fifteen years back; and to fold the sides of a pastry origami containing ruby jewels of juicy sweet fruits. 

I suppose I should share this pastry plate of red gem with you! It was the first time I baked with rhubarb and what made it more special was that these stunning stalks were from my own garden! Ok, I admit, I didn't plant it, I wasn't the one that nurtured it, and I only knew about it when my mum told me to make something from it, but still! But oh, it's got such a lovely tang. It is true. You food people know it. It does go beautifully with strawberries and apple. And of course I added a squeeze plus more of lemon juice to it! (I seem to be adding lemon juice and zest to everything these days!) I devoured this glorious galette with some Greek yoghurt and it was delicious. Here's the recipe :)

[Apple, rhubarb and strawberry galette]

Pastry
80g butter
45g raw sugar, blended
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla essence
zest of 1 lemon
165g unbleached all purpose flour
pinch of salt 
1 to 1 1/2 tbsp cold water 

Filling
8 little stalks of rhubarb, chopped 
2 medium apples, diced
a handful of strawberries 
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 tbsp raw sugar
1 tsp golden syrup 
1 tbsp cornstarch 

1. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. 
2. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and beat until well mixed. 
3. Add the lemon zest and mix well. 
4. Add the flour and salt and beat on lowest speed until it begins to come together. 
5. Add in the water and continue beating gently until the dough comes together. Jude Blereau said the dough should be 'firm but not hard, soft but not moist'. 
6. Form into a ball and flatten. 
7. Chill in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. 

8. Preheat oven to 200C. Line a baking tray.
9. Roll out dough into a disc about 3mm thick. Place on a baking tray.
10. Combine all ingredients for the filling. 
11. Pile filling onto the middle of the disc. Fold the sides of the pastry up. Take care not to fold the pastry over itself as this will make the pastry too thick and it will not cook properly. 
12. Sprinkle the pastry with raw sugar.
13. Bake for about 15 minutes. Then turn down the temperature to 180C and bake for a further 30 minutes. Make sure to keep an eye on it and if the pastry is browning too quickly, reduce the temperature of your oven. 
14. Serve, with a generous dollop of Greek yoghurt. 

Recipe adapted from Wholefood Baking by Jude Blereau (So in love with this book!!)