Lara Havlik .com

My Pastry Trinity (part trois)

Lastly are my favorite, tarts. This was actually the last recipe I developed, being to scared for years to bake a tart. The pressure was too much! What if the pastry was tough or worse yet soggy! I baked plenty or tarts at cheffing school, but that was different; both pastry and filling were always half butter! I was passionate about tarts and pies, just fearful of making a mess. Especially because I wanted fruit filled delights. Cherry tart, apple pie or rhubarb custard crumble pie. 

The secret I discovered, was two different pastries. One for the bottom; more substantial so it could stand up to serious blind baking and less fatty because it was the main crust. However, blind baking always leaves the edges crispy unless you get all fussy with tin foil. The bottom always rises and the middle takes longer to cook, unless you fluff around with baking beans. This was all very well for a once in a while sort of tart, for special occasions (or passing a pastry exam). 

What I wanted was an everyday, easy, no-need-to-blind-bake pastry. Just at the end of my wits, thinking myself loosing it, I came across a hot water pastry in a ‘witchcraft’ cooking book. Hocus Pocus to the rescue! The pastry worked fantastically, dried out and ‘cooked’ as it cooled, required no rolling or even greasing and flouring and it worked just as well when I halved the fat and sugar. However, although tasty enough, I wanted something flakey and delicate for the top crust. 

Whilst working at a rather fantastic restaurant, as apprentice to the Pastry Chef, the answer hit me in the face. Almost literally, because we accidentally made too much short crust and I had to think fast about another use before I got pounded with the rather heavy blob of fridge-hard dough. 

Working intimately with said pastry over the next few days, I came to appreciate its delicacies. I fell in love. Deciding that despite the high butter content of the crust, the texture and flakiness was well worth it. Besides, anything can be tweaked, once you understand what makes it what it is. 

So there I had it, my sturdy, no-fuss main crust and a delicate upper crust. And here they are. 

Hot Water Pastry 

300 grams flour, spelt or wholemeal ideally

70-100 grams butter/oil

150 mls water

50 grams sugar

I use this recipe for a 22cm/9” glass quiche dish with enough pastry left over for the top. This is what I used before I got my upper crust. So now I make two tarts. 

I like the dish despite it not being a traditional pie or tart pan. Use what you are comfortable with. Find a perfectly sized tin for your needs and then note on the recipe. You may find you are able to line two or even three moulds and freeze or also bake them. Make the recipe your own by tweaking once you get a hang of it. 

Have everything weighed and measured out. Put the water, butter and sugar into a heavy based saucepan large enough to then add all the flour. 

Depending on how decedent you are feeling, use 70mls/grams to 100mills/grams of your chosen fat (french/danish style butter, olive or other oil, coconut butter).

Heat the water mixture until just bubbling, take of the heat and slowly pour in the flour stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon. You may not need to add all of the flour, once it comes together as a glossy, firm ball stop. 

Note: this pastry needs to be worked with before it cools, don’t rush but do be ready to line your pre greased tart tin.

Simply press the pastry into the tin to form an even layer, or roll out as you would normal pastry on a floured bench. Allow to cool in the tin before you add your filling. Thus it has been ‘blind baked’ because the flour has been partially cooked in the hot water and ‘carry over cooked’ as it cools. 

Now for the upper crust.

Orange short crust or flakey pastry

125 grams Lescure* butter, diced

75 grams golden organic icing sugar

zest of one unwaxed orange, long strips

1 large free range egg yolk**

1 tablespoon honey or orange liquor/juice

250 grams flour of choice***

Either: Cream the butter, add the sugar, zest, yolk, honey and flour. Form into round, flat disks then wrap and chill. For a Shortcrust.

OR: Sift the flour and icing sugar together, then with finger tips work in the butter, honey (if using) and orange zest until you have crumbs. Then carefully with a wooden spoon bring it all together with the yolk and liquor/juice or water if needed. Form into disks, wrap and chill as Flakey pastry.

When ready to top your tart, roll out the pastry. Then place over the filling and pinch to join with the base crust. Use leftovers to make little leaves or miniature fruits reflecting the filling. Bake the whole tart at 160^oC/320^oF fan forced or 180^oC/356^oF in an older oven. Cook for about 20 minutes, checking after 15, until golden and crisp. 

If making whole tart cases, roll out and line buttered and floured tins then dock and chill. Bake at 160^oC/320^oF lined with weights for 10 minutes, check and bake until just starting to colour. Remove the weights and bake for 7 then 3 minutes at a time until golden and cooked.

I get enough to top two sturdy pies or to make two slightly thinner tart crusts.

*This is my favorite butter, a French imported divine treat. Use chilled coconut butter or cocoa butter if you prefer a vegan option. Even frozen olive oil may be substituted. 

**For a vegan version omit the yolk and replace with one tablespoon of fruit puree, juice or water. Omit the honey and replace with maple or the same as the yolk. Use non dairy fat (see note above)

***As usual I promote a mix of healthy flours. Having said these tarts are my rather special treat, and this is a special pastry so a lighter flour is in order. I like a mix of ‘white’ spelt, buckwheat and a little organic white wheat flour if I am in the mood. For a gluten free or healthier version use buckwheat, fine yellow and white (normal) corn flours.

To flavor the pastry differently:

Chocolate: add 1Tbs Dutch pressed cocoa and the same of grated chocolate, either keep the orange for a Jaffa flavor or omit.

Lemon: replace orange with lemon zest and use limminchello as liquid.  

Vanilla Bean: Replace orange with scraped seeds of one bean or one teaspoon vanilla bean paste (available from supermarkets).

Caramel: use dark moscadavo sugar that you grind to ‘icing’ in a blender and use blackstrap unsulfured molasses in place of honey/liquor. Keep or omit the orange zest. 

Plain: omit the orange zest and use water as the liquid. 

Spiced: Add a pinch of ground cardamon, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, dried rose petal, clove or other favored spices in a mix you like. 

Ginger: Add 1-3Tbs of finely diced crystalized ginger and omit orange zest. 

The list goes on, its up to you! I am yet to a try fresh organic rose petals and dehydrated strawberry crust. 

Now for fillings!

My favorites are fruit pies, they are all very simple and tasty. 

Aprox 1kg of fresh fruit (sliced apples, pitted cherries,

apricot halves or another ‘not too wet’ seasonal fruit)

Whole spices (cinnamon quills, star anise, cloves

scraped vanilla beans, fresh ginger slices)

A small knob of butter (or not)

A handful of evaporated cane sugar

Brandy to deglaze (a tot or two) if desired

In a hot, heavy based pan sprinkle in the sugar so it melts and caramelizes. Do not stir, swirl the pan and take on/off the heat to control the temperature. Add the whole spices, then the fruit, brandy and finally the butter. Stir gently but well so everything gets a little caramelized. Make sure you cook the fruit just enough to dry it out a little but not so that it is mushy. A high heat works best. 

This may need to be done in batches, depending on the size of your pan, it is best not to overcrowd or things get mushy. 

Let the mixture cool completely for the best result. Either take the spices out, or just warn people that if they don’t pay due attention to your food whilst eating it then they may get hurt or spice shocked when they bite into a whole star anise. Then fill your pastry base and top with your upper crust. Poke a few holes in the top and sprinkle with cinnamon if desired.

Use left over pastry to make decorations or squash into little cookies and fill an indent with jam, bake on a tray at the same time as the tart.  

Bake the whole pie at 160^oC/320^oF fan forced or 180^oC/356^oF in an older oven. Cook for about 20 minutes, checking after 15, until golden and crisp. 

Enjoy!

Rhubarb Custard Crumble!

½ Kg chopped rubarb

½ Kg apples and fresh strawberries sliced

A handful of evaporated cane sugar

A tot of brandy, limonchello or strawberry liqour

3 yolks

1Tbs corn flour

3Tbs evaporated cane juice or honey

1 cup milk (dairy, soy, almond or other)

As for the fruits above, caramelize the fruit in the sugar then deglaze with the brandy. Rhubarb is a rather wet vegetable once it starts cooking, so make sure you cook it out enough that it is not too liquidy. 

When cool fill the hot water crust and chill. 

Whisk the yolks with the sugar and corn flour whilst the milk is heating, pour the hot milk over the yolks. Pour this over the rhubarb base. 

Crumble a portion of the orange/lemon shortcrust over the custard, by grating a well chilled or even frozen piece with a grater directly onto it. Sprinkle a few oats and cinnamon too. 

Bake the crumble pie at 160^oC/320^oF fan forced or 180^oC/356^oF in an older oven. Cook for about 20 minutes, checking after 15, until golden and crunchy. Serve with as is, or with more custard, hot or cold. 

Next are Tarts!

These are more ‘special occasion’ delights. They are tarts, without tops and so deliberation as to the right pastry is necessary. I have made them with either and both are delicious. 

Either use the base recipe and actually blind bake in a 160^oC/320^oF oven until fully cooked. Dock the pastry, but there is no need to line. OR use the ‘upper crust’ recipe and blind baked as instructed for a whole crust. 

My Moms Milk Tart 

(an all time, old school traditional South African treat)

50 gms butter*

½ cup sugar

½ cup flour**

1 separated egg

1 ½ cup milk***

pinch of salt

vanilla and almond essence

cinnamon to dust

Melt the butter and sugar together. Add the flour then milk, stirring well. Add the salt, egg yolk and essences. Beat the egg white and fold into the milk mix.

Pour into a raw pastry case (lower crust not second baked or raw upper crust) and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Bake at 180^oC/356^oF for 25-30 mins. Remove from the oven and allow to cool fully, it will set more and you will be able to slice and enjoy.

*I have not substituted the butter. As of yet. 

**White spelt or buckwheat flour works but you need to add a touch more if using the latter.

***I use unhomogenised Jersey cow milk or unpasteurised goats milk. Using almond milk and omitting the essence works well too. I have not tried soy, oat or rice, but they should work too. 

Almond tart

1 cup almond meal

1 tablespoon bitter almond paste

3 tablespoons honey

nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, to taste

Mix the filling ingredients and press into prebaked tart shells.

Sprinkle castor sugar over the top and caramelize with a blow torch, or make hard caramel in a pan and pour over to coat. Alternatively glaze with apricot jam. 

Notes:
This dish could be made with a raw tart shell and then the whole thing would be raw food, it would only require some Rapadura sprinkled atop or Maple sugar.

One could also top the tarts with caramelized chopped almonds. With apricot, peach, berries or poached pear/apple, then jelly/jam glaze the top.

Plain they are well matched to chunky artisan or home made raspberry jam as a condiment, one could even make the centre or layer with such.

Lemon Curd Tartlets

12 yolks

8 eggs

480 grams sugar

200 grams butter

8 lemons, juiced and zested

Line muffin tins (half way up) or small tartlet tins with your chosen pastry and pre bake. As they are smaller, they will take 10 minutes at 160^oC/320^oF fan forced or 180^oC/356^oF in an older oven

Boil the lemon juice, zest and butter. Meanwhile whisk the sugar and eggs well in a large stainless steel bowl. Pour the hot juice mix over the eggs whilst whisking. Then pour the whole mix back into the pot and whisk continuously and well, on the stove, for two minutes of boiling. Refrigerate covered.

To prevent soggy pastry either line the tartlet bases with molten chocolate as a waterproof measure, or make up the tarts as close to serving as you can. 

The easiest way to line tart shells with chocolate is to place a small button or pile of grated chocolate on them when they come hot from the oven. Then as it melts, spread with a pastry brush. White chocolate tastes more neural but dark is my preference. I suspect one could use cocoa butter as it is hard at room temperature. 

Simply fill the tart cases with lemon curd, making a mound at the top. Then dust with castor/icing sugar and caramelize with a blow torch. Or fill flat and push in berries. 

Best Tarte de Chocolat ever!

This is really spectacular and so very rich. I have made it many times, with both pastries. Originally the orange short crust was devised specifically for this tart recipe and then turned into the flakey for pies. 

A friend and I made this up for our chefs ‘pantry restaurant’ as the dessert and served it with strawberry and red wine sorbet (made up on the spot too). I theorized (thankfully successfully) that one could make a cream free mousse with sabayon as the base. I did not realize the stickiness component would be amplified tenfold. Terrific!

So here it is:

1 prebaked Orange shortcrust

½ cup dark chocolate, grated or small buttons

 

Sticky Sabayon Chocolate Mousse

3 large free range yolks

90 grams Rapadura (evaporated cane juice)

1 tablespoon honey

3 drops lemon juice

200 grams dark chocolate

 

Hazel Ganache

100 grams dark chocolate

50 grams butter

25 mills hazelnut oil

20 mills orange liquor

 

Candied Orange zest

1 orange zest, in long strips

1/4 cup Rapadura

When the tart shell comes hot out of the oven, sprinkle over the chocolate, allow to melt and spread evenly with a pallet knife or pastry brush or fingers. Chill the base in the fridge until the chocolate sets.

For the Mousse: Melt the chocolate over a double boiler or gently in the microwave if you are so inclined. 

While the chocolate for the mousse is melting, make the sabayon for the mousse. 

Have the yolks in a beater with whisk attached. Mix the sugar, honey and lemon juice with enough water to just moisten, it should be like wet sand. Bring to a boil, and with a candy thermometer take to 118^oC. Beat the yolks quickly and with the motor running drizzle in the sugar. Make sure you are carful, it is very hot. Drizzle down the side of the bowl making sure you do not hit the beaters, they will just throw it around. 

You may need a friend to hold the bowl if you have a separate mixer and bowl. If you are alone set it up on a slightly damp tea towel that has been made into a ring for the bowl to sit on. Have a folded tea towel on the bench to rest the hot pot on. Do not do this into a glass mixing bowl as it will crack.

Beat until cold. This is important. Put your hand on the side of the bowl, once at room temperature you (and it) are set. Stir through the molten chocolate, but make sure it is not too hot. Rather refrigerate the sabayon and wait for the chocolate to cool a little. Too cold though and it gets REALLY sticky. 

Pour the mousse into the middle of the cold tart case and then spread evenly from the centre out. Chill to set. 

For the Ganache: Melt the chocolate with the butter, whisk in the oil and liquor. Spread onto the chilled filling and set in fridge or bench before slicing and serving. 

Serve with strawberry and red wine sorbet to the side and a quenelle of cream Chantilly with crunchy candied orange zest atop the slice. 

Although it is delightful enough on its own and I have not served it with condiments since its conception. I like it for lunch with a cup’a’tea.

To candy the zest, blanch the strips thrice. Starting each time in cold fresh water, bringing to the boil and then straining to start again. Then cook until transparent in 3:1 sugar syrup with a little lemon juice added. 3:1 syrup is three parts sugar to one water. This really is easier if you do a large amount of zest at a time. You can even do a few types at once (orange, lemon, ruby grape fruit). 

Once cooked, toss in the ¼ cup sugar and dry out. Or store in the syrup and use both in other applications such as cocktails, cookies or cakes. 

Notes:
If you want to add another layer, I made a successful mousse with 200 grams of molten white chocolate mixed when coolish with 150 grams vanilla bean flecked whipped mascarpone. It looks quite attractive if you use white chocolate as the bottom coating, then the dark chocolate mousse, then the white chocolate mousse and finish with the dark ganache.

My Pastry Trinity (part deux)

Once you have a basic cookie dough down pat, the next bakery challenge is a perfect and adaptable cake batter. 

For me, cake needs to be a meal. It needs to have all the components of a healthy and substantial feed. So my cakes are usually iced or chipped, have a fruit or vegetable base and I tend to call them ‘breads’ due to my mothers influence. For example: banana bread was my favorite ‘cake’ when I was a tot. Where other moms would make a sweet, iced banana cake, mine would make a raisin or dark chocolate chipped loaf of banana bread with half the sugar and fat her trusted old school recipe stated. We would eat it un-iced, but spread with butter or peanut butter. 

So influenced by my lovely mom I cook healthy cakes as a daily treat. There being only two residents in my house, I slice and freeze ¾ of any cake I bake. Then take out slices as desired and pack them into tuppawares; spread with butter whilst still frozen, or unbuttered and intended to be had toasted and dipped into tea. It was the love of my life whom taught me to toast slices of cake!

Just a few more quick notes before we get all floury, I have based my ‘base’ recipe on the old school pound cake. However, I use a mix of flours which often contains or consists exclusively of nut flours. As they have more fat content than super-refined white wheat cake flour this skews the one pound of three components. So the fat has been halved. Additionally, good quality flour has a sweetness all of its own, so less sugar is needed. As for the eggs, they can be partially or even fully substituted with fruit puree. 

One more note, this is a big cake. You will need big mixing bowls and a big cake tin. The cake batter can be separated out and baked as layers to be assembled with jam or icing later though. 

So here it is, my version of a 3 pound cake. 

1 pound/450 grams flour, chestnut, almond, hazel, macadamia, spelt, Egyptian gold, yellow corn/polenta, or other flours

7 eggs* separated (or aprox 1 pound/450g before cracking)

½ pound/225g dried cane juice/agave syrup/honey/maple

½ pound/225 mills nut/olive/coconut oil, cocoa/dairy butter

1 vanilla bean scraped/2tbs vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325°F/160°C.

Cream the fat/oil with half the sugar and all the vanilla. Add the egg yolks one at a time and beating with each addition. Add the flour/s by sieving in and mix to combine. 

Beat the whites with clean beaters, in a clean, oil free bowl**. Fold the whites, a third at a time, into the yolk and flour mix.  

Pour the completed batter into a greased and floured cake pan and bake for 1 to 1½ hours. Check after the first hour and cover/turn down the heat, if necessary. The cake should be cracked on top and golden brown, a toothpick inserted into the middle should come out clean. 

Cool on a rack, in the tin, for five minutes. Then loosen the sides with a fork and gently remove and allow to cool fully out of the rack. 

*I get my eggs from farmers markets or small local shops whom get them straight from the farm, so the size is ‘approximately’ 70 eggs. This means they are about 70 grams each. The best way to measure eggs is to actually weigh them. Especially when mine vary so greatly. 

To replace all the eggs, and make an egg-free or vegan version of the cake. Use an egg replacer, a tbsp of chickpea/corn flour mixed with 1tbsp warm water per egg, 50g of blended tofu per egg or half a mashed banana per egg. These will give a more neutral taste. For a flavor boost, use 50g pureed apricot, mango, peach, apple, pear, raspberry or another soft fruit per egg. Also add 1tbs of baking powder to the dry ingredients and try using up to one third fine corn flour as the flour component. 

**The best way to clean a bowl for egg white beating is in hot soapy water, dry well and then rub a slice of lemon over the interior surface, the beaters and your hands, before you separate the whites into the bowl. The lemon ‘cuts’ through any residual oils which may inhibit fluffy, stiff peaks. 

Notes: this recipe can be baked as a single cake, or as cupcakes/muffins/cakelets. My moms favorite trick is to half fill muffin tins and then push a chunk of fresh banana into each and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. They have to be eaten hot from the oven and all that day or the banana goes funny (or at least so I am told, they have never lasted long enough to disprove this wisdom). 

Variations:

To make Banana Bread use 2 large bandanas mashed in with the egg yolks. But reduce the amount of eggs to three. I also add the zest of an orange, a teaspoon of cinnamon, a pinch of nutmeg and always keep the vanilla. I also like to add currants and/or small chocolate chips.

For a fabulous gâteau orange simply replace 3 of the eggs with two whole, large oranges, omit the fat and half the sugar. Boil the oranges in enough water to cover, for 5 minutes. Then puree whilst hot, skin and all. You will need to carefully cut them it into quarters before you put them into your blender. Add whilst blending: the halved sugar, vanilla and the 5 egg yolks. Mix in the flour then do the egg white step and proceed to bake as above.  When fully cool use the fat and sugar you omitted to make a coconut butter and orange zest icing. Slice the cake into three, icing between each layer, and all over the outside too if desired. Note, this is a wet cake. 

To make a chocolat noir delight add 50 grams cocoa to the flour and 50 grams grated dark chocolate to the wet ingredients. 

For a Jaffa cake, either add orange zest to the chocolat noir or add the cocoa and grated dark chocolate to the gâteau orange. Or for true decadence, ice the gâteau orange with a chocolate icing or the chocolat noir with the orange icing. So many ways, best to try them all!

One of my favorites is the baci version, in which you use hazelnut flour and add 50 grams of cocoa. Then ice with a hazel cream filling and coat the cake in chocolate ganache. This is decedent, and rich and damn its good. 

For a coconut lime cake use half coconut flour and half of a mild flour. You will need to add approximately 1 cup of liquid to the coconut flour as it is extremely absorbent. I like to use coconut milk, or you could use soy/almond milk or even a good quality lime cordial/drink. Also add the zest of 2 limes to the cake. Or if you want to reduce the eggs use the whole orange method and replace 3 of the eggs with 2 whole pureed limes. 

For a ‘flourless’ chocolate mud cake, add 50grams Dutch cocoa powder, 1tsp of cinnamon and one of nutmeg to the flour. Add 30 mills espresso and 30 of tokay to the wet. When the cake comes out of the oven pour over another tot or two of tokay to moisten. 

Icings: These are loose instructions, it all depends how stiff or soft you like yours. Also amounts of flavoring will vary with taste. 

Chocolate Ganache: melt two parts dark organic chocolate (200g) with one part olive/coconut oil or coconut cream (100g/mills). Allow to cool slightly before spreading. 

Chocolate Icing: Melt two parts coconut oil (200g) and beat over an ice bath with one part honey (100g) and 50g coco powder, or to taste. 

Orange Icing: Melt two parts coconut oil (200g) and beat over an ice bath with one part honey (100g) and the zest of 2 oranges. Add the scraped beans of one vanilla pod if desired. If you wish to omit the honey, use 50g evaporated cane juice and 50 mills orange juice. 

Lemon or Lime Icing: as for the orange, using the corresponding zest. 

Caramel Icing: In a hot pan dust in 200g of evaporated cane juice sugar slowly, adding more as the last portion melts. Do not stir, simply swirl the pan to mix. Take of the heat and stir in 100g of butter or 50 mills brandy/orange juice and 70g coconut/coco butter. Allow to cool and then spread. Alternatively reduce honey/maple syrup by half and then proceed to butter step. 

Hazelnut Cream: Melt three parts coconut oil (300 mills) and beat over an ice bath with a shot (or two) of Frangelico liquor and one part (100g) toasted and crushed hazelnuts and one part dried cane juice (100g). 

For a chestnut version replace crushed hazelnuts and sugar with canned candied chestnut puree.

My Pastry Trinity (part une)

I simply adore my sweet afternoon treat. In fact ask my beau about the monster lara if I don’t get my mid afternoon snack or if dinner is late… its not pretty. So I bake to combat low blood sugar lara; I bake cookies, cakes and tarts almost weekly. I make up big batches of cookie dough and freeze it, just like Betty Crocker does. I bake cakes then slice and store in fridge, freezer and pantry. Tarts I keep fresh, but pastry being easier to make in big batches I line tart tins and freeze them uncooked. Pastries tend to cook better from frozen anyway, just remember to ‘dock’ them before you freeze them. 

Docking pastry is just pricking it with a fork, or a ridiculously expensive wheely pastry docking tool. 

The secret to a myriad of fantastic baked goods is three good recipes upon which you base alterations. I have what I call my yo-yo dough (or melting moments), a basic cake batter and a simple pastry crust. Truth be told the pastry crust is actually two recipes because what works for the top does not work for the base. 

For other treats, such as when I want tollhouse cookies I take all the ingredients (a block of Lescure butter, whole packet of evaporated cane juice, bag of stoneground spelt flour and half dozen organic eggs) to my Brother and let him cook them without questioning the insane amount of fat and sugar going into them. 

I developed my yo-yo recipe due to a trio of influences. Firstly when working in a kitchen with a fantastically gourmet lemon melting moment stash in the cupboard behind my work station. Coupled with sparkly water, they would get me through the afternoon. I left the place and found myself wanting. 

At a quaint little art fair I purchased another brand of fan-absoloutely-tabulous cookies in a myriad of flavours. I spent almost $50 on cookies. A little excessive perhaps. My new job had yo-yo’s, however they were not good enough nor 'good enough for me' to justify eating. 

Being lactose intolerant didn't help and those expensive cookies may have made me a little sick. So now working in a place with inedible (to me) yo-yo’s and no way to get through the afternoon, I decided to make my own. 

And if I was going to make my own yo-yo’s, there would be NO compromise. No ‘sugar’, lots of healthy fats, lots of protein and effectively they would be a mini balanced meal. I would have my cookie, and eat it too, and maybe some cake as well. 

So here it is, my yo-yo base recipe.

100 grams Lescure fluer de sel, or other quality butter*

200 mills organic apricot kernel oil, or macadamia/almond/olive

100 mills organic honey

zest of one un-waxed lemon

1 bean vanilla, seeds scraped

2-3 organic eggs (depending on size)

100g yellow corn flour

100g spelt/buckwheat* flour

100g millet/‘white’ stoneground* flour

 

Icing

2 parts coconut oil

1 part raw organic honey, preferably white clover

vanilla bean or essence, to taste

lemon zest, if desired

For the cookie dough: Cream the butter, oil and honey. Add the flavourings (zest and vanilla bean seeds) and then the eggs one by one, beating well after each addition.

[Place the scraped bean into a jar or honey or real maple syrup, you can store rather a few in a jar and then use them in baking/cooking later. Meanwhile they don't dry out, and they flavour your honey/maple. You can even put them into a bottle of vodka/brandy and make your own vanilla essence or flavoured alcohol.]

Mix in the flours with a wooden spoon to form a stiff dough. Roll the dough into logs and wrap with plastic or place into a tub and refrigerate or freeze to rest and firm up.

When ready to bake: Remove the plastic and slice the dough into 1cm/.3” discs. Place about 3cm/1” apart on a lined oven tray. Use the tines of a fork to press the dough, both texturing the cookies and flattening them slightly. Bake at 170oC for 7-10 minutes. Cool on an oven rack.

For the icing: Melt the coconut oil and beat with the honey and flavourings, over ice if necessary to re-cool. When the cookies are completely cold; test by placing one aginst your lower lip which is very sensitive to heat. If still warm… well its been touched so must be eaten! Re-stir/beat the icing to soften and stick the cookies together with a generous serve of icing. Making sure your decorative lines are on the outside. 

Notes:
For sophisticated orange chocolat noir moment de fonte (choc orange melting moments) add 20g Dutch pressed cocoa to the dry and 20g grated dark chocolate. Add the zest of a large orange to the icing and omit all lemon zest. For extra aroma use orange blossom honey for the cookies.

For Monte Carlos, omit the lemon in cookie and icing and spread one cookie with reduced strawberry jam and the other icing, and sandwich.

*For a Vegan version substitute dairy butter for quality, organic coconut oil, palm oil, cocoa butter (highly recommended) or another oil. And replace the eggs for fruit juice or puree (lemon/orange juice or apple/pear puree)

*For a Gluten Free version use the yellow corn, buckwheat and millet flours.