Fig And Raspberry Croustades Recipes

FIG AND RASPBERRY CLAFOUTIS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Arrange the fresh figs, cut side up, in a buttered 2-quart baking or gratin dish. Sprinkle the dried figs and raspberries around and on top of the fresh figs. Set aside. In a blender or food processor, combine the flour, 1 1/4 cups of the cream, the sugar, eggs, and salt. Process until well-mixed, about 30 seconds. Pour the batter over the fruit. Sprinkle the top with the sliced almonds. Bake in the middle of the oven until the top is golden and the batter is slightly firm to the touch, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer the pan to a rack and let it cool for 15 minutes. In the meantime, combine the remaining 1-cup cream with the confectioners' sugar and the vanilla, and whip until soft peaks form. Spoon the clafoutis onto individual plates, and serve with whipped cream.

FIG AND RASPBERRY CROUSTADES

Steps:

• Make the Croustades: Place dough on a lightly floured work surface; lightly flour dough. Using a rolling pin, press the dough firmly in parallel strokes close to one another. Continue pressing with rolling pin, adding a pinch of flour to dough between strokes, until dough becomes more malleable.
• Continue rolling dough back and forth without rolling over the ends (which may make ends thinner and stick to surface). Turn dough 90 degrees, and continue rolling in the other direction; roll dough, changing directions as necessary, into a 15 1/2-inch square. Carefully transfer dough to a large baking sheet and cover loosely with plastic wrap; transfer to refrigerator and chill until firm, about 15 minutes.
• Using a sharp pizza wheel, trim edges of dough and cut into nine 5-inch squares. Fold each square of dough, corner to corner, to form a triangle. Using the pizza wheel, make a cut over the fold on both sides about 1/2 inch from the edge of the triangle.
• Unfold triangles back into squares. Pierce the inner squares at 1/2-inch intervals using the tines of a fork. In a small bowl, whisk together egg and salt; brush inner squares lightly with egg mixture.
• Fold the outer corners of each square over to the opposite inside corners, one at a time.
• Using a floured fingertip, press the borders down and indent the sides of each croustade at 1/4-inch intervals with the dull side of a paring knife. Place croustades on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet; chill until firm, or cover and chill overnight.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees with a rack set in the center of the oven. Bake croustades until well risen and deep golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove croustades from baking sheet and remove some of the puff pastry layers from the center by loosening the sides of the inner squares with a fork and lifting out, also removing any unbaked dough in the process. If you would like to use the removed layers as covers for the filling, return them to baking sheets along with the croustades; return to oven until centers have cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
• Make the Creme Anglaise: In a medium saucepan, whisk together milk, cream, sugar, vanilla bean, lemon zest, and cinnamon stick; bring to a boil over low heat. Meanwhile, set a fine-mesh strainer over a medium bowl; set medium bowl in a larger bowl prepared with an ice-water bath. Whisk yolks in another medium bowl.
• Using a slotted spoon, remove vanilla bean, lemon zest, and cinnamon stick from boiling milk mixture; discard. Whisk 1/3 of the milk mixture into the bowl with egg yolks. Return remaining milk mixture to a boil and, while whisking, gradually add egg yolk mixture to saucepan. Continue whisking until mixture thickens slightly, about 15 seconds.
• Remove from heat and pour through strainer set over prepared bowl. Continue whisking mixture until it cools slightly, about 30 seconds. Let stand until completely cooled. Transfer creme anglaise to an airtight container and keep refrigerated until ready to use. This can be done up to 1 day in advance.
• Make the Fig and Raspberry Filling: Stem, peel, and chop figs, reserving 5 whole figs to finish croustades, and place them in a large bowl. Add raspberries, reserving 18 to finish croustades. Cover and set aside at room temperature. This can be done up to 1 day in advance.
• Heat jam in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally, until it comes to a boil. Let jam reduce slightly, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool for at least 15 minutes.
• Fold the cooled jam into the fig and raspberry mixture. Place croustades on individual plates. Spoon the mixture into the center of each croustade. Halve remaining figs; top each croustade with a fig half, cut side up, and reserved raspberries. Spoon some of the creme anglaise onto the plate and serve immediately.

QUICK PUFF PASTRY FOR FIG AND RASPBERRY CROUSTADES

Steps:

• Cut 1 cup (2 sticks) butter into 1/4-inch cubes. Place in an even layer on a plate and transfer to refrigerator to chill.
• Mix flour and salt together in a large bowl. Cut remaining 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter into thin slices and add to bowl. Rub in the butter, squeezing it with your fingertips, rubbing the butter and flour mixture between the palms of your hands and reaching down to the bottom of the bowl. Repeat process until flour and butter are evenly mixed; this should only take a couple of minutes and the mixture should remain cool and powdery. Alternatively, pulse flour, salt, and 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter in the bowl of a food processor until no visible pieces of butter remain; transfer to a large bowl.
• Add chilled butter cubes to bowl and, using a rubber spatula, fold them into flour mixture.
• Reserving 2 tablespoons of the cold water, pour remaining water into bowl. Using a spatula, fold water into flour mixture, scraping from the bottom of the bowl upward. If the mixture still has a lot of dry, unmoistened flour, add reserved water, 1 tablespoon at a time, repeating folding process.
• Scrape dough from bowl onto a lightly floured work surface. Lightly flour dough and, using your hands, squeeze and shape dough into a cylinder. Press down to flatten into a rectangle.
• Starting at the narrow end furthest away from you, use a rolling pin to press the dough firmly in parallel strokes close to one another. If there are sticky pieces of butter on the surface, cover with a large pinch of flour and press with the rolling pin to combine. Clean off the rolling pin as you go to make sure nothing sticks to the dough. Continue pressing with the rolling pin, working toward the narrow end closest to you.
• Press the dough once along the width; it should now be a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Flour under and on top of the dough and roll dough away and back toward you in the length and once in the width, without rolling over the ends, to make a rectangle about 18 inches long and 8 inches wide.
• Fold the two 8-inch ends in toward the middle of the rectangle, leaving a 1-inch space in the middle. Fold the bottom up to the top to form 4 layers of dough. Turn the dough so that the folded edge, which should resemble the spine on a book, is on your left.
• Repeat rolling and folding process (steps 6, 7, and 8) two more times. Wrap dough and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, and up to 3 days, before using.

RASPBERRY-FIG CROSTATA

Steps:

• In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, combine flour, sesame seeds, almonds, sugar, salt, cinnamon and lemon zest. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add 2 eggs and vanilla, and mix just until it comes together. Form into a disc, wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 2 hours until firm. (Double-wrapped, dough can be frozen up to 3 months.).
• In a saucepan, combine half the figs and half the raspberries with brown sugar, white sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Toss well. Add 1 tbsp butter. Bring to a boil and cook 2-3 minutes until thick. Transfer to a bowl and add reserved figs and raspberries. Stir gently to combine. Taste and adjust lemon or sugar if needed. Cool over ice bath until room temperature.
• Remove dough from refrigerator. Remove 1/3 of dough and return to refrigerator. Flour work bench and roll out larger piece of dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Dough will be very fragile, so keep it cold and work quickly but carefully. Transfer carefully to a 9" tart pan. Patch any holes carefully to be sure the base is solid. Press up to form sides.
• On a piece of baking parchment, roll out smaller piece of dough to 1/8" thick. Cut into 1/2" strips with pastry wheel or pizza cutter. Transfer parchment to a sheet pan and place in refrigerator 30 minutes.
• Fill tart shell with fruit mixture until level with top of shell, about 2½ cups of fruit. Beat 1 egg with water and brush over exposed edge of crust. Lay strips of dough over top in lattice formation. Brush each strip with egg wash as you lay it in place. Press down on lattice strips at edges of tart pan to press them into the edge of the tart shell and trim off excess. (Strips should form a lattice, but do not attempt to actually weave the strips - the dough is too fragile and will break.) Sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
• Place pan on foil-wrapped baking sheet (to catch bubble-overs) and bake in preheated 350°F oven 40-45 minutes until juices are bubbly and lattice is golden-brown. Cool to room temperature, remove tart shell, and serve with vanilla ice cream or lightly sweetened whipped cream.

FIG & RASPBERRY CRUMBLE CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4. Grease and line the base of a 20cm springform cake tin. Make the crumble topping by rubbing the flour and butter together with your fingertips until you have a crumbly mixture. Stir in the sugar.
• For the cake, cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the egg, a little at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Sift the flour and add the almonds and baking powder. Fold in 1 large tbsp of the flour mixture into the batter, then add the rest, alternating with the yogurt.
• Snip the stalks off the figs. Halve four of them and chop the rest. Stir the chopped figs and one-third of the raspberries into the batter, then scrape into the prepared tin. Lay the halved figs on top and sprinkle on half the remaining raspberries. Scatter on the crumble, then the rest of the raspberries, then the flaked almonds.
• Bake in the oven for 1 hr 15 mins or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean (check it after 1 hr). Leave in the tin for about 15 mins, then run a palette knife around the outside of the cake, carefully unclasp the surround, remove the base and the parchment, and slide the cake onto a serving plate. Serve with crème fraîche.