step-by-step « Tags « Zoom Yummy – Crochet, Food, Photography

Lemon Tart

July 24, 2010 by zoomyummy

lemon tart recipe with step-by-step images

Well, this might be the most interesting thing I’ve ever baked.

I’d describe it as decadent, fascinating and delicious.

The combination of a mildly sweet pie crust and a rather strong lemony filling will not allow you to stay indifferent to this tart.

You’ll either love it or…you’ll love it even more.

The taste is definitely intense, but very impressive, delicious and refreshing – especially to all the lemon lovers out there.

lemon tart recipe with step-by-step images

This is what you need to prepare this yummy treat.

lemon tart recipe with step-by-step images

1. First, we are going to use the flour, butter, egg yolk and the sugar (2 tablespoons).

Place all these ingredients in a medium bowl and with your hand, first combine them and then knead until you have a nice dough ball.

But don’t you work too much at this point, dear friends – I mean, don’t overwork the dough since pie crusts don’t like it, they want to remain flaky after baking.

lemon tart recipe with step-by-step images
2. Now, place the dough ball between 2 sheets of parchment paper and roll it out into an 11 – 12 inch (28 – 30 cm) circle.

Wow, this rolling between two papers, that’s something. I definitely recommend it if you want to make you life easier.
So much easier. It’s a pleasure to work this way. No sticking to the working surface whatsoever – you can forever forget that.

lemon tart recipe with step-by-step images

3. Have ready an 8 – 9 inch (20 – 23 cm) tart pan (with removable bottom, preferably, though I didn’t use that).

Spray the pan with a little oil.

Remove the top paper from the rolled out dough and invert the dough into the pan (along with the remaining paper that will end up being on top now).

Lightly press the pastry into the bottom and up the sides of the tart pan.

lemon tart recipe with step-by-step images

4. Remove the paper…

lemon tart recipe with step-by-step images

…only to crumple it and lay it out over the pastry again. Fill the paper with pie weights or just dried beans or peas.

Pop into the oven and bake at 375 F (190 C) for about 9 minutes, then remove the paper along with the weights and bake for another 5 minutes.

Remove from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to only 300 F (150 C).

Yeah, we are blind-baking (or pre-baking) here. This process keeps the unfilled pie crust from puffing up in the oven or becoming too soggy when the tart gets filled and baked.

lemon tart recipe with step-by-step images

5. Meanwhile we can prepare the filling for our tart.

Squeeze the juice out of four small lemons.

Make sure the juice contains no seeds – we don’t want this kind of surprise in the tart. Unless we wanted that, for some reason…

lemon tart recipe with step-by-step images

6. In the bowl of you electric mixer mix the eggs with the sugar (1/2 cup – 100 grams) for about 5 minutes or until smooth, fluffy and almost white in color.

Then add the cream and the lemon juice and mix again shortly.

lemon tart recipe with step-by-step images

7. Fill the crust with the filling and bake at 300 F (150 C) for about 40 minutes or until the filling doesn’t wobble.

lemon tart recipe with step-by-step images

8. Remove from the oven and let cool on the wire rack.

lemon tart recipe with step-by-step images

9. We are going to cover the whole tart with a nice lemony and syrupy glaze.

To prepare the syrup, pour the water and sugar (1/3 cup – 70 grams) into a saucepan. Place the saucepan over medium-low heat and heat the mixture up.

Peel the remaining lemon and slice it into thin rounds. Add the lemon rounds into the saucepan and let the mixture cook for about 15 minutes, stirring every now and then.

Then pour the mixture over the tart and spread it evenly.

And that’s it.

lemon tart recipe with step-by-step images

Mmmmmm…

lemon tart recipe with step-by-step images

Yummy!

I recommend chilling the tart before serving.

Also, store it in the refrigerator.

Enjoy, dear friends.

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Strawberry Cheesecake

July 9, 2010 by zoomyummy

Someone might think that after all the cheesecakes and cheesecake pots I’ve made I’ll have enough.

But no.

Not me.

As soon as I came across this recipe I found myself being pulled towards the kitchen by some strong and strange power.

Really!

You better believe me.

The things that followed were…hm…spooky, my friends.

All I could see were my very own hands reaching for strawberries, sugar, blender…then there was a lot of noise…then flour mist covered everything…and the next thing I remember was me sitting on a chair and munching on this heavenly treat.

Things like these happen to me quite often.

Sometimes I’m scared.

What is that?

Well, that kitchen of mine – I guess there will be a movie made about its magical powers one day.

Luckily, I had my camera there with me…so now I have the evidence to show you:

These are the ingredients that gathered to create the delicious piece of art.

1. First I ground up the graham crackers until they were crumbs.

Or shall I use the instructions-giving style?

Okay.

So…

2. Pour the graham crackers into a larger bowl.
3. Add the sugar.

4. Melt the butter and add it to the bowl.

You can melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat or in a microwave, like I did.

Both ways are all-right.

5. Using a spatula or a spoon or anything you desire, combine the ingredients.

6. Now, try your best to find your 9-inch (23 cm) springform pan somewhere.
7. Press the crumbly mixture onto the bottom of the pan.

You don’t even have to spray or butter the pan before.

But you can.

You don’t need to, but you can…

But you don’t need to.

Am I being clear?

No?

So again…

You don’t even have to…

Sorry!
8. Place the pan into the fridge for about 30 minutes.

9. In a blender or food processor, combine the strawberries and cornstarch. Cover and process until smooth.

You can use fresh strawberries instead of frozen ones. In that case, add about 1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar into the blender.

10. Pour the strawberry purée into a saucepan and bring to boil.

Cook and stir for about 2 minutes.

Let cool.

Set aside 1/3 cup of the finished sauce for serving. Keep it covered in your refrigerator.

11. In a bowl of your electric mixer, beat the cream cheese with milk just until combined.

When it comes to cheesecakes, it’s important not to over beat the batter. That way you’ll prevent cracking of the cheesecake when it’s baking.

Oh, and you might have noticed that the condensed milk I was using looks a little too thin. You are right. Since I am a dreamer and a utopian I decided to bond two hardly mergeable concepts – cake and diet. For these reasons I used low-fat condensed milk. It was all right, but next time I’ll use the regular milk – that makes the cake’s structure a tad firmer.

12. Add the lemon juice.

13. Then add the eggs and beat on low just until combined.

14. Pour the cream cheese mixture over the crust.
15. Drop the strawberry mixture by 1/2 teaspoonfuls onto cream cheese layer.

16. With a knife, swirl the strawberry sauce.
17. Bake at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 55-60 minutes or until the center is almost set.

Don’t worry if the cake still wobbles in the middle a little when you shake it. For even though the center may not look fully baked, once it cools it will firm up and be the correct consistency.

18. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
19. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen. Cool 1 hour longer.

20. Refrigerate overnight and serve with the strawberry sauce you’ve set aside (if it’s gotten too thick you can dilute it with a little water).
21. Store the cake in the refrigerator and most importantly – enjoy, dear friends!

See you soon!

Most cordially,
Petra

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Orange and Vanilla Yogurt Popsicles …and GIVEAWAY

July 2, 2010 by zoomyummy

Popsicles!

Yeah!

When I was a kid I used to love popsicles.

I made my parents buy me loads and loads of them. When they started to worry about my health I used various sophisticated methods to make them do what I wanted … I screamed, kicked or told them I wouldn’t look after them when they were old. All in all, I guess I was every parent’s dream.

Now that I have grown up, the only thing that has changed in my relationship towards popsicles is that I am able to make my own ones.

And let me tell you that since I found my first popsicle mold in Ikea our freezer has been bursting with these fabulous treats.

Yum!

(The contest is closed. Thank you.)
Because I want you to experience the fun and joy that making your own popsicles brings I’ve prepared this cute summer giveaway for you.

The package that one of you can win includes four (4) popsicle molds, four (4) ice shot glass molds, two (2) ice cube trays, ten (10) fun glasses and a package of 225 colorful straws.

All this can be yours!
TO ENTER

To enter this contest, just answer the following question in the ‘Comments section’ of this post:

“What is you favorite popsicle or ice cream flavor?”
THE RULES

One entry per person, please.

Additional entries:

Twitter (follow ZoomYummy; leave a note about it in the comment section of this post),
Facebook (become a fan of ZoomYummy; leave a note about it in the comment section of this post).

(So together you can have three entries.)

Winner will be selected at random and announced on Thursday (July 8).

Good luck, everybody!
(The contest is closed. Thank you.)

And now back to the Orange and Vanilla Yogurt Popsicle.

You need only 4 ingredients!

Such a simple treat.

These are the popsicle molds I’ve used.

If you don’t own popsicle molds then you can use paper or plastic cups with popsicle sticks stuck in the middle.

1. Fill about 1/4 of the mold with the orange juice.

Please notice how I am not able to pour the juice properly while, at the same time, taking a picture.

That might be just too challenging for some of us!

The molds are filled.

2. Place the molds into the freezer for about 2 hours (we want the juice to be frozen so that it doesn’t mix with the yogurt).

3. Meanwhile, mix the yogurt, sugar and vanilla extract.

You’ll be surprised by how wonderful a flavor these three ingredients can create!

4. When the juice has frozen, fill the molds with the yogurt mixture and place them back into the freezer.

(If you use cups instead of molds then make sure to put the sticks in about an hour after placing the cups in the freezer so they stay upright.)

In my freezer these popsicles needed about 10 hours to get fully frozen.

And here we are with an addictive, tart-sweet combination of orange and vanilla.

You just have to make it!

It’s so yummy!

(This recipe makes 4 regular popsicles.)

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Garlic Cheese Bread with Olives

June 30, 2010February 17, 2014 by zoomyummy

There’s been a lot of fun in my kitchen this week.

Of course, I will show you all the creations in the upcoming posts.

Among the things that I have made or plan to make this week there’s garlic bread, cauliflower casserole, orange-vanilla popsicles, strawberry cheesecake and also a special surprise that has something to do with Friday’s GIVEAWAY.

So stay tuned!

And now back to the ‘Garlic Cheese Bread’.

Have you ever tried making your own garlic cheese bread?

Well, you definitely need to give it a try.

It’s the best thing ever!

Because it’s easy.

And it has a magical ability to make your soul happy!

And because when you make it you’ll get rewarded by a wonderful crispy piece of fragrant and flavorful heaven.

Need I say anything more?

Please, have a look at how I made this finger-licking treat…

These are the ingredients I used.

The olives and oregano are optional but if you use them you’ll be glad you’ve done so.

First, you need two loaves of French bread.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Split the loaves in half lengthwise.

3. Now peel and chop the garlic cloves finely.

4. Place the garlic into a bowl, add the olive oil…

5. … and mix.

I love garlic!

Have I told you that once I almost killed my brother-in-law with the amount of garlic I’d served him for dinner?

These are the olives I used.

You can use any kind of olives you like – I decided to go for the ones with sweet pepper inside.

Just because I liked the way they looked.

6. Slice the olives.

This is dried oregano trying to look its best for the picture.

7. Grate the cheese.

Again, use any kind you like. Edam, Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Parmesan.

Or use all of them.

See? I’m so liberal when it comes to cooking – no strict rules really. To me it’s all about having fun and about the current content of the fridge. Because that’s what’s really important, right? To empty the fridge.