Wednesday, September 19, 2018

Pear Clafoutis (Flaugnarde)



Adapted from Cooking Light's Comice Pear Clafoutis

Ingredients
Salted butter for the dish
2 firm-ripe Comice pears (1 lb. total), peeled, cored, and sliced lengthwise about 1/3 in. thick
1 c. whole milk
2 large eggs
4 egg whites, or 1/3 c.
1/4 c. sugar
1 1/2 t. vanilla extract
1 t. orange zest or 1/6 t. orange extract
1/8 t. nutmeg, preferably freshly grated
1/4 t. kosher salt
1/4 c. flour
1/4 c. whey protein powder
Powdered sugar, optional for garnish

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°. Butter a shallow 3-qt. glass baking dish (9"x9") and arrange pears in an attractive pattern over the bottom. (Fruit will rise to the top as batter is poured in.)

Put milk, eggs, granulated sugar, vanilla, orange zest or extract, nutmeg, salt, and flour (in this order) in a blender and whirl until very smooth and frothy, 1 minute. Pour batter over pears.

Bake until clafoutis is well browned and a little puffed, about 50 minutes.

Let clafoutis cool on a rack about 15 minutes. Serve warm, sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Nutrition Facts
Servings 4.0
Amount Per Serving     1/4 dish
calories 227
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 5 g 7 %
Saturated Fat 2 g 10 %
Monounsaturated Fat 1 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 100 mg 33 %
Sodium 305 mg 13 %
Potassium 218 mg 6 %
Total Carbohydrate 26 g 9 %
Dietary Fiber 2 g 7 %
Sugars 22 g
Protein 14 g 28 %
Vitamin A 4 %
Vitamin C 5 %
Calcium 12 %
Iron 3 %

Monday, September 3, 2018

Blueberry-Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake


Adapted from Eating Well's Blueberry-Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake

Ingredients
Cake
3/4 c. granulated sugar
5 T. unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 large eggs, at room temperature (see Tip)
1/4 c. part-skim ricotta cheese
2 T. lemon zest, or 1.5 t. powdered lemon zest
2 T. lemon juice
1 t. vanilla extract
1.5 c. unbleached heritage-grain flour
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
2 c. fresh blueberries
Additional flour for dusting the berries

Icing
2 T. packed confectioners’ sugar
1.5 t. lemon juice
1/8 t. lemon extract
1/8 t. powdered lemon zest

Directions
Preheat oven to 325°F.

Butter a 9-by-5" glass loaf pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Beat sugar and butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until creamy.

Beat in eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated.

Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low and beat in ricotta, lemon zest, 2 T. lemon juice, and vanilla until just combined.

Sift flour, baking soda, and salt together on top. With the mixer on low speed, beat until almost combined.

Toss the blueberries with enough flour to coat and gently fold into the batter.  (This should minimize extra wetness and the tendency to make the cake blue.)

Transfer to the prepared pan. Bake the cake until starting to brown around the edges and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour.  (1:50 with foil covering the browned tops for the last 50 minutes, probably because I didn't flour the blueberries, and I used frozen.)

Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Run a knife around the edge to loosen the cake, then invert it onto the rack. Carefully turn it right-side up. Let cool completely.

In a small bowl, add sifted confectioners' sugar and zest, then whisk in lemon juice and extract until smooth. Brush the glaze on the cake.

Make Ahead Tip: Wrap cooled cake airtight and store at room temperature for up to 1 day; glaze shortly before serving.

Room-temperature eggs make cakes fluffier. Here's a quick trick—place them (in the shell) in a bowl of lukewarm water for about 5 minutes.

• Needs more lemon in the cake!  Try this recipe next time.

Nutrition Facts