Farmers’ markets smell like apples. It’s impossible not to buy some when you are there. What’s more difficult is to resist the temptation of buying more apples than you actually need – happens to me all the time…

The strudel is one of my favorite ways to utilize these fruits. I stuff the strudel generously with finely chopped (never grated and squeezed) apples, kirsch-soaked raisins, crushed gingersnaps, and sugar. Some chopped toasted pecans or walnuts would be a nice addition to the filling if you are lucky and none of your family members suffer from nut allergies. I never leave all the filling juices behind, but spoon them over the apples. I like my filling succulent and caramelly, soft but yet with some texture present in the apples and not dry and gummy with barely recognizable ingredients. The sauce itself is also quite memorable. If you want you can make a sour cream sauce as well (for color contrast) and plate the strudel. But we ended up by pouring more cranberry sauce over the slices, anyway; the tiny pretty dots were not enough.

The recipe is adapted from the “Bon Appétit”.

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This recipe is from “simple and easy” category, or more precisely – “simple, easy, and delicious” :) Well, it is obviously easy if you happened to make puff pastry in advance, or decided to go with a store-bought puff pastry (in this case, make sure it’s a good quality all-butter puff pastry). I’m planning to serve these palmiers along with cranberry and orange mousse. But, it will be my next post (I apologize for the delay but I do experience some lack of time recently, as well as some flu).

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There were some phyllo dough leftovers occupying my fridge. I needed to get rid of it and that’s how these pastries were born. They are good and easy to make, and even worthy of buying a new package of phyllo. Don’t limit yourself by using exactly the same dry fruits as I did. Follow your preferences. It can be dates, figs, different nuts, whatever you prefer. If you decide to go with dates, you might want to sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds between the dough layers for adding some Middle Eastern flair. The possibilities are endless; use your imagination!

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As soon as fresh figs appear at the farm markets I start buying them greedily. It seems I can’t get enough. With their season so short I rush to cook and bake what I’ve visualized in my head before. As much as I love figs fresh and unadorned I’m eager to experiment as well. Below is one of my experiments and at the same time my entry to Meeta’s “Fruit & Chocolate” event.

I stuffed the fresh Mission figs with the chocolate marzipan balls, then wrapped into the staggered thin sheets of phyllo brushed in between with a mixture of melted butter, cocoa, star anise and cinnamon, and sprinkled with ground almonds and sugar for adding some crunch and sweetness. The baked purses were served with caramel-chocolate sauce infused with star anise and cinnamon. The sauce is versatile and wonderful. You can warm and pour it over ice cream, fruits, berries or a slice of pound cake. It makes a great topping for the same figs, but unbaked, for less complicated dessert. Cut the figs in half vertically and serve them in pretty bowls. Sprinkle some nuts (perhaps, pistachios or cashews, or any other of your choice) over the sauce and serve. Nothing is simpler but both the flavor and presentation are amazing.

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Pierre Hermé’s chocolate éclairs were the August Daring Bakers’ challenge. The rules were to follow exactly the pâte à choux recipe and make at least one of the two chocolate components from the original recipe – rather the chocolate pastry cream for filling or chocolate glaze. As for the filling, I didn’t change it drastically. I just turned it into the mocha variation by infusing milk with French-roast coffee beans flavor. It was absolutely marvelous. I used a different recipe for the chocolate glaze (to be honest, I just recycled what had left from the previous challenge (it was about time :))

As for the pâte à choux… I was surprised to see that the recipe called for an exact number of eggs (5 - no more, no less…). Usually there’s a ratio given and a baker is advised to use the eggs judgmentally. The dough consistency is of particular importance here - thick but pliable, and not at all runny. I tried to be a rules follower – I broke all 5 eggs in a measuring cup, lightly whisked them and added them to the dough gradually. I ended up with a leftover about one egg-worth. With all my due respect to the maestro, the stated baking time, as well as the oven temperature, were not sufficient for successful baking and needed some adjustments. I started at the higher temperature and even baked longer than was suggested. You can see my step-by step photos below. I posted the pictures of the just baked éclairs as well as completely cooled ones. I didn’t have any problems with deflating of the éclairs or their eggy taste.

I filled them using a Bismarck tip. It allows to pack the éclairs generously with the pastry cream and makes the eating less messy and therefore more pleasureful.

To summarize… sure the éclairs were fabulous. The filling was smooth and creamy, and very much coffee-chocolaty. My big thanks to Meeta and Tony, this month DB hosts, for choosing a wonderful dessert appreciated by everyone.

Adapted from “Chocolate Desserts” by Pierre Hermé

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