Old-fashioned sweet shortcrust pastry

Fotografia: David Loftus

"This pastry is perfect for making apple and other sweet pies. Even if you've never made pastry before, as long as you stick to the correct measurements for the ingredients and you follow the method exactly, you'll be laughing. The one place where you can experiment is with flavouring. If you don't fancy using lemon zest, try another dry ingredient like orange zest instead. Or a pinch of cinnamon, nutmeg or cocoa powder. Vanilla seeds are great too. Just remember to be subtle and don't go overboard with any of these flavours! Try to be confident and bring the pastry together as quickly as you can – don't knead it too much or the heat from your hands will melt the butter. A good tip is to hold your hands under cold running water beforehand to make them as cold as possible. That way you'll end up with a delicate, flaky pastry every time.

Nutritional Information - Amount per serving:

• Calories 515kcal
• Carbs 56.9g
• Sugar 13.6g
• Fat 27.9g
• Saturates 16.8g
• Protein 8.3g

Ingredients

• 500 g organic plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 100 g icing sugar, sifted
• 250 g good-quality butter, cut into small cubes
• zest of 1 lemon
• 2 large free-range eggs, beaten
• 1 splash milk

Method

Sieve the flour from a height on to a clean work surface and sieve the icing sugar over the top. Using your hands, work the cubes of butter into the flour and sugar by rubbing your thumbs against your fingers until you end up with a fine, crumbly mixture. This is the point where you can spike the mixture with interesting flavours, so mix in your lemon zest.

Add the eggs and milk to the mixture and gently work it together till you have a ball of dough. Flour it lightly. Don't work the pastry too much at this stage or it will become elastic and chewy, not crumbly and short. Flour your work surface and place the dough on top. Pat it into a flat round, flour it lightly, wrap it in clingfilm and put it into the fridge to rest for at least half an hour".

Fonte e imagem: http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/eggs-recipes/old-fashioned-sweet-shortcrust-pastry?prev=1

Blackberry & apple pie

Fotografia: David Loftus

"This is the best apple pie in the world. You can't go wrong with Bramley cooking apples, delicious blackberries and stem ginger. The cooking time can depend on how freshly picked the apples are, so the best thing is to cook them until they're softened first. And I don't know if you've noticed this, but blackberries in shops never seem to taste of anything these days unless they've just been picked from a local grower – so do try to get fresh ones if you can, or pick your own straight from the bush!

Nutritional Information - Amount per serving:

• Calories 668kcal
• Carbs 79.0g
• Sugar 35.5g
• Fat 33.9g
• Saturates 20.2g
• Protein 9.6g

Ingredients

• 1 old-fashioned sweet shortcrust pastry recipe
• 50 g butter, plus extra for greasing
• 100 g golden caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
• 2 large Bramley apples, cored, peeled and each cut into 16 wedges
• 4 Cox apples, cored, peeled and each cut into 8 wedges
• 1 heaped tablespoon chopped stem ginger in syrup
• 150 g blackberries
• 1 large free-range egg, beaten
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Method

First, make your pastry dough, wrap it in cling film and rest it in the fridge for at least half an hour. Then preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Put the butter and sugar into a saucepan and, when the butter has melted, add the apples, stem ginger and a tablespoon of the ginger syrup. Slowly cook for 15 minutes with a lid on, then add the blackberries, stir and cook for 5 more minutes with the lid off.

Meanwhile, remove your pastry from the fridge. Dust your work surface with flour, cut the pastry in half and, using a floured rolling pin, roll one of the pieces out until it's just under 1cm thick. (Rolling the dough between two layers of greaseproof paper will also stop it sticking to your rolling pin.) Butter a shallow 26cm pie dish and line with the pastry, trimming off any excess round the edges using a sharp knife.

Tip the cooled apples and blackberries into a sieve, reserving all the juices, then put the fruit into the lined pie dish so you have a mound in the middle. Spoon over half the reserved juices. Brush the edge of the pastry with beaten egg. Roll out the second piece of pastry, just as you did the first, and lay it over the top of the pie. Trim the edges as before and crimp them together with your fingers. Brush the top of the pie with the rest of the beaten egg, sprinkle generously with sugar and the cinnamon, and make a couple of slashes in the top of the pastry.

Place the pie on a baking tray and then put it directly on the bottom of the preheated oven for 55 to 60 minutes, until golden brown and crisp. To serve, slice the pie into portions and serve with a generous dollop of custard".

Fonte e imagem: http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/fruit-recipes/blackberry-and-apple-pie

Livro de Receitas: SOBREMESAS SAZONAIS

 

Livro de sobremesas sazonais, em inglês.

Para descarregar carregue sobre a ligação: http://www.eatingwell.com/sites/default/files/uploads/pdf/SeasonalDesserts.pdf