Happy New Year 2017

I like 2017 very much so far.
Need New Year's Resolution, still keeping my mind.
Popping up new desserts in my head,  brainstorming my new lifestyle and so on.


Our first day of 2017 started with digging easy quick Osechi and strolling Osaka castle park.
Not bad even not having my whole family together.

 

Merry Christmas 2016 -music-

Her adorable voice spreads over my body and reminds my heart every music has its beautiful soul. The piano guys also great. They are perfect for Xmas night.






A cappella is special for Xmas. It is very holy. Their voice penetrates my heart very gently all the time.






This is from NCIS New Orleans. I just found online.
Not bad like this Xmas.

Merry Christmas 2016

Lots of homemade desserrts brought me happiness this year.
Always smile even screwed when baking.
Hope I will give the smile to many people next year as much as I can .


I will find the best one 2016 with my son until the end of December.
Happy holidays☆

Winter Chocolate Tart with Frosted Berries

Chrismas is coming.
Winter baking makes me excited a lot.

I like a recutanglar tart mold even big for my family.
Frozen berries stimulate creamy and rich chocolate tart. Super yummy☆



**Winter Chocolate Tart with Frosted Berries recipe**

10*30 tart mold

<tart base >
80g butter (room temperature)
40g sugar
120g pastry flour
1 egg
10g cocoa powder
25g almond flour

<chocolate filling>
150 cream cheese (room temperature)
30g sugar
30g cocoa powder
90g sweet chocolate (melted)
2 egg yolks
1 egg white
10g granulated sugar

<for decoration>
frozen berries, powder sugar

1. Make tart dough. Knead room temperature butter in a clean bowl.
2. Add sugar into the bowl and mix well.
3. Add egg yolks into the bowl little by little and blend them well.
4. Add almond flour into the bowl and blend them well.
5. Add shifted pastry flour and cocoa powder into the bowl dividing 2 batch, and blend them.
6. Make one batch tar dough. Wrap it with plastic wrap and place it in thee fridge for at least 12 hours.
7. Spread over tart dough and place it into your tart mold with 5mm thickness.
8. Place it back to the fridge for 1 hour.
9. Make a small hole on the bottom of tart dough.
10. Bake the tart dough with tart stones on the tart base bottom in preheated oven at 180° for 15 minutes.
11. Remove tart stone and bake it 5 more minutes.
12. Cool it down completely.

13. Make chocokate filling. Knead cream cheese in a bowl, add sugar and mix them.
14. Add melted chocolate and cocoa powder into the bowl.
15. Add egg yolks and blend them well. Set aside.
16. Make meringue. Beat egg white in a clean boal until soft peak. Add granulated sugar and beat it again until hard peak.
17. Add meringue into a chocolate & cream cheese filling bowl. Blend them quietly.
18. Pour the filling into a tart base evenly.
19. Place the tart in the fridge for a couple of hours.
20. Decorate with berries and powder sugar.

Rustic Persimmon Pie

I didn't know Japanese Kaki in English. I learn today what is called. It is "Persimmon".
Japanese Kaki is found in any supermarket. I don't buy this fruit, looking good though. Just haven't had a good chance to get it before.
I am wondering whether it is easy to get Japanese kaki overseas or not.

This year I got a big box of Kaki. Once I put a piece of Kaki into my mouth, so juicy.
I love it.
Just cut into small bite, this is the best way to enjoy Kaki, but I want to make something baking with.

I also didn't know the name of  "Rustic pie" or "Rustic tart". Similar to crostata.
Juicy Kaki and rich almond cheese cream filling matches with pie crust.




**Rustic Persimmon Pie recipe**

<pie dough>
120g butter
180g all purpose flour
A pinch of salt
1 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp ice water
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp demerara sugar

<filling>
2 persimmons
a few blueberries
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp starch
100g cream cheese (room temperature)
20g almond flour

apricot jam and a few pistachio for decoration


<Make pie dough>
1. Cut butter in small pieces.
2. Mix all purpose flour, sugar, salt and butter in blender.
3. Add cold water into blender, and blend for a few seconds until moist.
4. Put together and knead dough a few times and wrap it with plastic wrap.
5. Sit pie dough in fridge for 1 hour.

<Filling>
6. Slice persimmons into 5mm size and put them into a bowl.
7. Sprinkle sugar on persimmons.
8. Sprinkle starch on persimmons. Set aside.
9. Mix cream cheese and almond flour. Set aside.

<Form pie dough>
10. On a floured surface boad, with floured roll pin, roll out pie dough into a large circle about 15cm (6 inch) in diameter. I made 2 circles with this size, but it is ok one big pie.
11. Spread out almond cream cheese on center of circle leaving 3cm (1 inch) border.
12. Put persimmon slices on almond cream cheese on center of circle, also leaving 3cm border.
13. Fold edges of the dough over fruits.
14. Lightly brush egg yolk on the dough. Sprinkle demerara sugar on the dough.

<Bake pie>
15. Bake the pie in the preheated oven at 180°C for about 35 minutes until the crust is golden and brown.
16. Cool it down, and lightly brush apricot jam on the crust and sprinkle a mince of pistachio before you serve.

Beautiful Autumn Kyoto

Beautiful season has come in Kyoto. This is Kinkakuji Temple.
Autumn red leaves layers are all around me. Not getting tired of watching it.

Every where is busy in Kyoto this season, so it is difficult to find best spot for enjoying autumn leaves without noisy people. However this is worth to visit here.

 

Happy Thanksgiving Pumpkin

What a fabulous Pumpkin cake☆
This is cutest ever.
Makes me so happy whole this week and wish best of luck for my son. He has biggest tests in his life for getting into a university from next year. I want him to try some this cake before taking tests.

Pumpkin cream and butter cream is so creamy on top. I guess whipped cream is also matched with this cake but today is special.




**Pumpkin pound cake recipe**

8 cm * 20 cm (3 inch * 8 inch) pound cake pan

<pumpkin cake>
120g pumpkin puree
80g butter
80g granulated sugar
2 eggs
20g maple syrup
80g pastry flour
50g dry fruits (dry blueberrie and cranberries this time)

<pumpkin cream>
200g pumpkin puree
20g granulated sugar
20g heavy cream
15g butter
a hint of rum

<butter cream>
2 egg whites
60g granulated sugar
110g butter

<Decoration>
some dry fruits, pumpkin seeds, nuts.

1. Make pumkin puree. Steam pumpkin, remove skin and mash it until very smoothly.
When you steam pumkin, use all pumpkin for cake (120g) and puree (200g).
2. Mix room temperature butter and sugar in a bowl.
3. Add eggs little by little into the bowl and blend them.
4. Add 120g pumpkin puree and maple syrup into the bowl. Mix them together.
5. Add shifted pastry flour and dry fruits into the bowl. Blend them lightly.
6. Bake it in the preheated oven at 180°C for 35-40 minutes.
7. Cool  down completely.

8. Make pumpkin puree. Blend all ingredients for pumpkin puree in your blender.

9. Make butter cream. Beat egg whites in a clean bowl until gets hard peak. Add granulated sugar little by little into the bowl on the way.
10. Add room temperature butter into the bowl little by little. Continue beat egg white for a while.

10. Decorate your pumpkin pound with butter cream and pumpkin cream.