Apple Crumble | Recipe

I've never been very organized when it comes to my recipes. Now I have a small rack in the kitchen where I keep most of them... in many pieces of paper, of different sizes, some written by me, some written by friends or family, some printed from the internet... OK, it's still not very organized (it's a mess actually!) but at least they are all in the same place! Before that, I used to lose my little papers all the time. And that was the reason why I started posting my recipes here. I got tired of always having to ask my mother or search the internet for the same recipes...over and over again. 

And the Apple Crumble was the main responsible for that. The filling part can be improvised in the spur of the moment I never bothered to write it down, and over the years I've made it in many different ways and with different fruits... But the crumble part, yeah, for that it's better to have a recipe, with proper measures and all, and that's what I kept writing down in small papers and then losing. 

So, if you want an easy dessert, that pretty much can't go wrong, and will still cause an impression, a Crumble is a safe choice.

for the crumble:

225g plain flour

115g butter (cold)

90g caster sugar

1 pinch salt

for the filling:

4 apples

2 table spoons butter

2 table spoons sugar

1 vanilla bean or vanilla sugar

ground cinnamon

Pre-heat the oven at 200.C

Mix the flour, the sugar and the salt. Add the cold butter (cut in chunks) and mix everything with your hands until it looks like bread crumbs. This will be the topping, so set it aside for now.

The basic idea for the filling is to caramelize the fruit slightly. Melt the butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the fruit (pealed and cut into chunks) to the pan and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. Sauté the apples, stirring frequently, for about 6 minutes. Sprinkle the rest of the sugar, the cinnamon and the seeds of a vanilla bean (or a 2 tea spoons of vanilla sugar) over the apples, toss the mixture gently and let it cook  for another 2 minutes. 

Put the filling on an oven proof dish (I used 3 small bowls because I did a smaller portion) and sprinkle the crumble topping over it. You don't want to make the top layer too thick or it will be difficult to spoon through it! And it's a good idea to leave some open spaces on the sides to let the caramel bubble up.

Bake in the pre-heated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until the top is golden.

Serve warm with ice-cream, whipped cream or crème-fraîche.

Notes: 

Instead of apples you can use pears...or even both.

You can add berries to the filling mixture. I've tried it with blackberries, strawberries and raspberries (not at the same time, though that might have been awesome)...basically I use what I have at home at that moment. But, if you do use the berries, add them to the other fruit after the first initial 6 minutes of cooking...because they are more gentle and we don't want them turned into mush.

photography by | life as a moodboard |

Hope you like it!

Milk Buns | Recipe

Today I'm very excited to share with you my latest culinary obsession - my little 'milk' buns (something like pain-au-lait in french, or pão-de-leite in portuguese). 

Now, making bread at home may sound like to much trouble when you can just go to the shop and get some...but trust me, these are no trouble at all and they're so, so worth it! 

The recipe is really simple and fairly quick, they taste great (especially with just butter, right out of the oven...hmmmm) and, as a bonus, your home will smell like a bakery! 

for 9 buns:

1 egg

50g butter (2 Tb spoons)

1,25dl water (1/3 cup)

1,25dl milk (1/3 cup)

25g yeast (fresh yeast)

60g sugar (5 table spoons)

500g flour (4 ½ cups)

pinch of salt

(optional: one egg yolk and sugar for the topping)

Start by dissolving the yeast in lukewarm water (about 30.C). I use water from the tap, it's perfectly fine. Then add the milk, also warm. Let that rest while you measure the other ingredients, so the yeast starts activating.

Put everything in a big bowl, including the liquids with the yeast, but leave about 1/3 of the flour out. The butter should be at room temperature (or 20 sec in the microwave if you, like me, always forget to take it out of the fridge in time). 

Mix the dough very well using the spiral attachment on your electric mixer (the one on the photo above). Add the remaining flour and mix all very well again. 

Cover the bowl with kitchen plastic film, or a clean plastic bag and a rubber band, and place it in a warm place. I normally place it next to the radiator, covered with a tea towel. Let it rest for about 30min to 1 hour. The dough should rise a lot and get full of air inside (looks kind of like an alien nest, but that's all right).

Shape the buns and place them on an oven tray covered with parchment paper. I roll them in a bit of flour to help shaping them. And they don't need to be very big, I normally make 9. Let them rest there for 30 more min. They will grow a bit more and look really pretty. 

Before putting the buns in a pre-heated oven at 225.C, you can get a nice finishing touch by brushing some egg yolk on top and then sprinkling it with sugar. I normally make half like this (because it reminds me of the buns I had when I was a child) and the other half just plain.

Bakes for 12 to 15 minutes depending on the oven.

photography by | life as a moodboard |

Pretty simple right? 

As always, if you give it a try I'd love to hear about it.

MAY

photography and image by | life as a moodboard |

April

image by | life as a moodboard |

Black and White | Home Shots

A little bit of black and white around the house.

(and my birthday present shoes...life is always better with new shoes!)

photos by | life as a moodboard |

[ moss-grown ]

While I was out enjoying one of the wonderful Spring days we had this month, I couldn't help but stop and take a few photographs of these beautiful mossy tones on a very weather-worn patio.

photography | life as a moodboard |

nude tones | SNAPSHOTS

Lately, I've been very much into nude tones combined with greys, black and white. 

And I noticed, that without really planning it, part of my kitchen has become a display of ceramics and ingredients in those same tones. 

So I grabbed a few of those things and took some quick shots.

I'm thinking of framing one of them and have it in the kitchen now!

photos by | life as a moodboard |

sonhos | Portuguese RECIPE

I want to share with you the recipe for a traditional Carnival treat from Madeira island. They are called 'Sonhos', which means dreams in Portuguese. And the name is quite fitting because they are a hollow and light, deep fried dough dream! My grandmother used to make them this time of the year, and it was one of my favourite things when I was a kid. I would sit in front of a plate full of 'Sonhos', heavily drizzled with sugar cane molasses (as it is traditional on Madeira island), and the rest of the world would just stop existing until I was finished with them. And... well... apparently that hasn't changed! I made a bowl of 'Sonhos' yesterday afternoon and none lasted the night. 

It was the first time I tried making these, so I actually over fried a few until I got the oil temperature right (and yes, I ate them anyway). I got the recipe and instructions - old family recipes always come with lots of instructions - from my mother and I'll do my best to explain it all properly here. But a piece of advise before I start with the recipe per se: having a male specimen with strong arms close by might come handy. 

you will need:

a bottle of vegetable oil for deep frying (I used sunflower)

½ cup water

½ cup milk

1 table spoon butter

2 lemon peels

1 cinnamon stick

pinch of salt

1 cup flour

2 tea spoons baking powder

4 eggs

making the dough:

Mix the baking powder with the flour and reserve.

Put the water, milk, butter, cinnamon, lemon peels and salt in a medium pot on the stove. As soon as it starts boiling, move the pot away from the stove and remove the cinnamon stick and the lemon peels.

Add the flour, all at once, to the liquid and stir vigorously, with a wooden spoon, until it forms one big ball of dough. And this is when another person might be useful to help. One should hold the pot firmly, while the other stirs. Then let the dough cool down (about 10-15 min).

Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing it very well in between. And again, help is very welcomed here. The dough will no longer be like a ball but just a gooey, sticky thing. Let it rest for 30 min.

frying the dough:

The oil should be at about 160.C, but I don't have a kitchen thermometer so I had to adjust between batches. I found out that something between n.3 and n.4 on my electric stove was the ideal. The reason why you don't want it to be very hot is because the dough needs to stay in it for some time. There's a fascinating  process that needs to be completed before you can take them out. 

With a table spoon grab a bit of dough, more or less the size of a walnut. The dough will almost triple it's size while frying, so you don't need to put a lot to start with. With a quick movement of your finger (but carefully, we are talking about burning oil here!) drop the dough in the oil. You can do this 3 or 4 times, depending on the width of the pot, but keep in mind the dough will need some space to move around. I put 3 pieces at a time. 

Now the funny part - the dough will turn itself around, no need for micro-managing it, and eventually the outside will burst and dough will come out and start frying too. This should happen once or twice, and it's what will make them so light and almost empty inside. All you have to do is pay attention and remove the 'Sonhos' from the pot once this process is finished (meaning: if they start getting too dark and haven't done anything interesting for a couple of minutes). Put them on a plate covered with kitchen paper, to absorb some of the oil, before placing them in a bowl, plate or tray. And finally, just let them cool down before eating (or do as I do and risk a stomach ache...don't judge).

Like I mentioned before, I eat them with sugar cane molasses... to me that's the pinnacle of delight. But I'm not sure how easy it is to find that in other parts of the world. And also it may be one of those...ermm...acquired taste situations. So, an alternative, also typical from Madeira island, is to have them with a sugar and lemon syrup. Though personally I find that disgusting... 

photos by | life as a moodboard |

And that's it. Not all that complicated. 

I thought at least my Portuguese readers might like to give a try. 

If you do, I'd love to hear about it!

March

by | life as a moodboard |

home made | HOME SHOTS

 Staying home, on a rainy day,
with home made bread and home made jam.

photos by | life as a moodboard |

2014 CALENDAR

As promised, here is the whole printable calendar for 2014, and an idea of how to display it.

hope you like it!

photos and calendar by | life as a moodboard |

Merry Christmas!

An entire afternoon in the kitchen to make the last Christmas biscuits and these Danish Konfekt.

But all is ready now and it's time to just relax and enjoy.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year...

See you in January!

photos by me