Elderflower fritters Recipe

Bring the sunshine and the scent of summer in your kitchen with these elderflower fritters which are lightly fried elderflowers in a pancake batter like, they are golden, crunchy and a delicious dessert with a difference, they are a real treat and a delightful seasonal delicacy.

The culinary use of elderflower has been revolutionized in the past few years, but in the whole of Slovenia, including the Slovenian coast where I come from, elderflower fritters are a dish that is very old and traditional.

Those of you that have been reading my posts on this blog for a while, will know that I come from a family of very passionate foragers, and so there should be no surprise that this fragrant flower ends up on a plate. My maternal grandmother, stara mama Iva, would make them when we were little.

We children got away with eating just that, with a glass of milk, and skipping altogether a main evening meal, which is quite a common practice in neighbouring Austria.

If you are not too familiar with the elderflower, please go and read my page with the recipe for elderflower cordial where I explain a bit more in detail where, when, and how to pick this edible, fragrant, and sweet flower.

What can be better than going on a walk on a sunny day and bring home a free meal...try these elderflower fritters, you will be hooked, and will have another reason to look forward to a following spring/summer.

Ingredients

Serves 4-6 as a dessert (2-3 heads per person)

• about 10-14 elderflower heads with their stems

• 100g all purpose (plain) flour

• 1egg

• 70ml milk

• 70ml very cold sparkling water

• sea salt, a pinch

• 2 tsp caster sugar, optional

• oil for frying (neutral tasting, I used sunflower oil)

• icing sugar or vanilla icing sugar, for dusting

Method

Prepare elderflower heads by cutting the stems with the scissors but leaving at least 5cm of stem for easy handling (in other words enough stem to hold them by). Very gently shake any insects and dirt off your flower heads, but do not be tempted to wash the flower heads as you will loose the flavour.

In a mixing bowl, using a hand whisk, whisk the egg, add milk, sea salt and sugar, if using, and mix until well combined.

Add the flour gradually and whisk until smooth with no lumps, then add sparkling water which will help lighten the batter, set aside an leave it to rest for about 30 minutes.

Heat about 5cm of oil a pan (big enough to accommodate the largest elderflower head) until hot (180C on a temperature probe). You will know the oil is ready when a drop of batter bubbles immediately and turns golden in about 5 seconds.

Holding the elderflower by their stems, dip each elderflower head into the batter, so they are coated all over, gently shake off excess batter.

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Drop the flowers into the pan with hot oil (flower side down) and fry for about 30 seconds. Fry one flower at a time.

They should be lightly golden in colour and not too brown.

Remove with a slotted spoon and dry on kitchen paper.

Dust generously with icing sugar, serve and eat while still warm and crunchy.

Delicious also drizzled with honey, accompanied with vanilla ice cream, lemon sorbet or fresh strawberries, cherries or other seasonal fresh fruit of your choice.

Just a thought

Elderflower fritters ideally should not be made well in advance as the batter, which should be crisp, will become soft.

Wine suggestion

Friuli Colli Orientali Traminer Aromatico DOC 2021-Zorzettig

Austrian style Curd Cheesecake Recipe

This Austrian style Curd Cheesecake is a sweet dessert, delicious in its simplicity, consisting of one main layer mixture of curd cheese or ricotta, flavoured with sugar, lemon zest, vanilla extract, eggs and the raisins that have been luxuriously soaked in dark rum.

This cake is quite moist, therefore refreshing and perfect for any occasion, it is very easy to make and a great recipe to keep in the repertoire for cakes that require minimum effort but deliver maximum satisfaction.

In Slovenia, where I come from, curd cheese, in Slovenian called skuta (also referred to as farmer's cheese or baker's cheese) has always been a very popular and commonly used ingredient in baking.

For this recipe, you can easily replace curd cheese for ricotta, which is what I used to do when I first arrived in England, and struggled to find curd cheese, but it is now available these days in most bigger supermarkets or Polish food stores.

Curd cheese

My mother and my maternal grandmother would make this cake very often, this is proper home made rustic baking, and I am sharing here this nostalgic and special family recipe.

Give it a go and try this wonderful cake, but please do remember, despite the temptation, it is really important to completely cool down the cake before cutting it into slices.

Ingredients

Serves 10

• 120g butter, softened

• 200g caster sugar

• 4 eggs, separated

• 1kg curd cheese or ricotta

• 100g semolina

• 3 Tsp vanilla bean extract or seeds of one vanilla pod

• finely grated lemon zest of 2 unwaxed lemons

• 120g raisins or sultanas

• 4 Tbsp dark rum or lukewarm water (for soaking the raisins)

• icing sugar for dusting

Curd Cheese

Method

Place the raisins in a small bowl, pour dark rum or lukewarm water over them and let them soak and plump up for about 30 min.

Preheat the oven to 200C static or equivalent. Lightly grease a 23cm springform tin or loose-bottomed tin and line the base with baking parchment.

Put the softened butter and sugar in a large bowl and mix well. Beat together until light and creamy.

Start adding to the sugar and butter mixture the egg yolks, one at a time, making sure the egg yolk is fully absorbed before adding the next one.

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Add grated lemon zest, curd cheese or ricotta, semolina and vanilla extract and mix well all the ingredients.

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Drain the raisins, remove excess liquid, and add them to the mixture.

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Put the egg whites in a separate large bowl, add a pinch of salt and whisk the egg whites until stiff but not dry.

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Fold very gently and lightly into the mixture.

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Turn the mixture into a prepared tin.

Bake the cake in a preheated oven for 30min on 200C then lower the temperature to 180C and bake further for another 30min. Cake should be golden in colour on the surface and firm to the touch.

If halfway through baking time the cake is browning too fast, cover the top of the cheesecake loosely with the aluminium foil, to prevent the top from becoming too brown.

When the cake is baked, turn off the oven but leave the cheesecake in the oven for about 1 hour allowing it to cool a bit.

Take the cake out of the oven and allow it to cool completely.

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Loosen the sides of the cake, using a palette knife if needed, and remove the tin.

Invert the cheesecake, then remove the base of the tin and the baking parchment.

Turn the cake back the right way up.

Dust with sifted icing sugar just before serving. This cake is very moist and the icing sugar will dissolve if you dust the cake too soon, no permanent damage though.

Wine suggestion

Montefalco Sagrantino Passito DOCG 2015 - Lungarotti

Fritole - Istrian small doughnuts Recipe

Fritole are a type of small fried doughnuts made of thick batter-like dough enriched with raisins and served warm covered in icing sugar, they are light and crunchy on the outside and soft and aromatic on the inside, they just melt in your mouth.

This sinfully delicious and fragrant little delights have a very deep connection with Christian, especially Catholic liturgical festivities like the Carnival season, the time of the year in which eating in excess, and gastronomic indulgence was allowed by the Church before the start of fasting and austerity during Lent, and ending with Easter.

In Venice, where this sweet treats are a synonym of Carnival, fritole used to be prepared and served strictly during the days of Carnival. Nowadays, they appear not only in Venice but also in the region of Veneto and north-east region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy, and Istria where fritole are also very popular and start appearing as soon as Christmas festivities are over and remain around on offer as a irresistible sweet temptation until Ash Wednesday begins the Lent season.

However, on the coastal part of Slovenian Istra, once being part of what was called, ‘The most Serene Republic of Venice,’ fritole hold a very special place on Christmas Eve and this is when my nona would make fritole as the tradition called upon her to do.

In dialect they could also be called Fritle, Fritule or miške, meaning little mice in standard Slovenian, as when you drop the batter in hot oil, there is a little trail on the end, resembling little mice.

My father adored them and everyone in the family simply loves fritole, and whoever also grew up with fritole knows this very well. I am sure they can share with me the fact that they get eaten far faster than they can ever be made! When my nona started to get ready for the frying process, the kitchen would suddenly get crowded, we would get louder, and more excited, and our eyes would sparkle with joy just waiting in anticipation for them to be finished, and ready to eat!

My nona would be carefully scooping fritole out of hot oil and they would be disappearing in front of her yes and my nona, being incredibly experienced and fast could hardly keep up with us.

My nona made fritole with raisins but like most recipes fritole have few variation where pine nuts, cinnamon and candied fruit is added to a basic batter.

We would eventually get full, our greediness would decrease, the kitchen would be less noisy and less crowded but she kept frying, ending up layering the fritole on a big plate and dusting them with sugar looking like a snowy mountain, and this vision will stay with me forever...

She would then lovingly packed them for us to take home...

I am miles away from her kitchen, and years have passed by, but when I close my eyes I get transported immediately right back there ... I can smell and feel all of it, and in the stillness of these thoughts I can fully recollect all the nostalgic flavours, and the emotions so closely tied to my family.

My nona is now 93 years old, and her hands sadly are no longer able to make fritole, and so I feel privileged to be have learned how to make them from her, and since she gave me the family recipe, I am to able to keep making them and keep this family tradition alive.

This is why for me these sweet treats hold a very special place in my heart, they are more than just another recipe, they are part of who I am, and who I have become as a person ...

I am sharing here my nona's recipe that was passed down to her by her nona, and so try to make them, and delight your family and friends.

Ingredients

Makes about 40 small doughnuts

• 400g plain flour

• 3 eggs, (room temperature) beaten

• 50g granulated sugar

• 60-70g raisins or sultanas

• 3 Tsp fast action dried yeast (also called instant yeast) or 40 g of fresh yeast

• 250ml milk, lukewarm (full fat or semi skimmed)

• 4 Tbsp of dark rum or grappa

• finely grated lemon zest of one unwaxed lemon

• sea salt, a pinch

• sunflower or corn oil for frying

• icing sugar for dusting

Method

Put the raisins in a small bowl, add warm water to completely cover and soak them for at least 20 minutes or until they plump up.

In a large bowl place the flour, beaten eggs, sugar, pinch of salt, yeast, grated lemon zest.

Gradually start adding the milk, mixing constantly until all the ingredients are well incorporated and you end up with a sticky dough that will be soft but thick resembling batter-like dough or a thick cake mix.

Adjust the dough by adding more milk if the dough is too thick, on the contrary, if you find the dough too runny add a bit more flour.

Add to the dough drained soaked raisins (squeeze out the all the excess liquid).

Cover the bowl with cling film or clean tea towel and place it in a warm place free of drafts from any open window.

Let the dough rest for at least 1 hour.

After this time the dough should rise a bit and have a bubbly surface.

Take a medium- sized deep skillet. Add the oil and heat it up over a medium heat to about 180C.

(If you do not have a thermometer, drop a cube of bread into the oil, it is ready when bread turns golden brown in 15 seconds).

Fritole are fried by dropping a small spoonfuls of dough/batter into the hot oil.

Take two tablespoons, with the first spoon scoop up the sticky dough from the bowl, with the second spoon slip off the dough from the first spoon into the hot oil.

Do not overcrowd the skillet with fritole and fry them in small batches, a few at the time, (4-6) this will obviously depend on the size of your pan. Fry them on both sides, fitole are fried in no time, about a minute on each size, so help them to flip over by using a fork or some tongs, however fritole will sometimes flip over themselves.

Whne you drop the batter/dough into a hot oil they will most probably not form perfect shaped balls but instead will leave a little trail on the end.

Fry until dark-ish brown in colour, puffed and well cooked through. I suggest you do a little test to make sure they are not raw inside. Simply open up a cooked fritola, if still gooey inside the oil is probably too hot and the heat too high.

Line a large plate with absorbent kitchen paper towels. Drain fried fritole with a slotted spoon and transfer them on a plate.

Allow the fritole to cool a bit.

Dust them with icing sugar or roll them in caster sugar.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Just a thought

Fritole are to best enjoyed served still warm, however they are still delicious at room temperature.

Fritole can be warmed up in a microwave or in the oven. My nona put a plate of fritole on the radiator.

Wine suggestion

Moscato del Veneto IGT "Dindarello"2020 - Maculan'

Potica – traditional Slovenian festive nut roll Recipe

Potica – traditional Slovenian festive nut roll Recipe

Potica is a light brioche like roll filled with rich and very tasty walnut filling, it is the most famous Slovenian dessert and the queen of festive sweet treats.

This cake is traditionally prepared and eaten around Christmas and Easter or other special and festive occasions like the weddings, Christening, family celebrations like birthdays and the birth of a new baby, but these days potica is available to buy in bakeries and supermarkets all year round.

Most loved and well-known is walnut potica, with or without raisins, but other regional sweet and savoury varieties are also very popular, where fillings are most commonly made with poppy seeds, pork crackling, cottage cheese and tarragon. They are all super delicious and recipes for potica are proudly passed from generation to generation.

The name "potica" derives from a Slovenian word “poviti” which means to roll up or to wrap and goes back as far as 16th century when it was baked in Slovenian monasteries.

In Slovenia, potica is traditionally baked in “potičnik” which is a round bundt-style baking dish made from ceramic, but it is also very commonly baked in a simple bundt cake tin, loaf tin or cake pan.

Potica, this Slovenian national treasure, has been registered as a Traditional speciality guaranteed (TSG) in the European Union since April 2001.

A slice of potica can be a great choice for breakfast, is ideal as an afternoon treat with coffee or tea, or like me, you will find any excuse, or none at all, to eat it.

I am sharing here the recipe of my nona's grandmother that made the filling for potica using a mixture of walnuts and almonds, the latter being widely available in Istria.

The mild Mediterranean climate makes almond trees a very common sight. My nona told me that the filling for potica was made with a mixture of those nuts that were most readily available, and sometimes raisins and a little bit of grated apple were also added to the nut mixture, and very rarely, a piece of a chocolate bar (not the whole bar), might be grated into the mixture, which then made the potica particularly luxurious. She reminded me that in the olden days, when she was small, (in the 30s and 40s) seasonal and home grown produce were used to create a wonderful array of dishes, shopping lists, as we know them today, just simply did not exist...

Ingredients for the dough

• 500g all purpose flour or 00 type flour

• 20g of fresh yeast or 7g fast-action dried yeast (also called instant yeast)

• 100g unsalted butter, melted

• 80g caster sugar

• 250ml lukewarm full fat or semi skimmed milk

• 2 eggs, separated (egg yolks slightly beaten, keep the whites for brushing potica just before putting in the oven)

• 1 Tbsp dark rum

• grated lemon zest of 1 unwaxed lemon

• pinch of sea salt

Ingredients for the filling

• 250g walnuts

• 250g almonds (skin on or peeled)

• 200ml single cream (can use semi skimmed or full fat milk instead)

• 100g caster sugar

• 1Tbsp dark rum

• 2Tbsp of honey (about 50g)

• 2 eggs, separated (egg yolks slightly beaten and egg whites whisked to soft peaks)

• finely grated lemon zest of 1 unwaxed lemon

• icing sugar for dusting

Method

The dough

In a fairly large bowl, sift the flour, make a little well in the centre and add instant yeast, melted butter, caster sugar, lightly beaten egg yolks, grated lemon zest, dark rum and a pinch of sea salt. Mix and combine well all the ingredients.

(If using fresh yeast, slightly brake it down into smaller pieces with your fingers and place it into a small bowl. Add few tablespoons of tepid milk, ¼ Tsp of sugar, gently stir and leave for about 15-20 minutes or until gentle bubbles form on the surface).

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Transfer the mixture onto a well floured working surface and start kneading, for about ten minutes, adding a little flour at a time if the mixture is too wet and sticky.

Alternatively, use a mixer fitted with a dough hook and leave running for about 5 minutes.

The dough is ready when it ends up being really smooth and elastic. It should not stick to your hands or working surface and should leave the bowl clean if using a mixer.

Transfer the dough back into a very lightly oiled bowl and cover with cling film or clean kitchen towel.

Put the bowl in a warm room free of drafts for at least one hour and leave the dough to rest and rise, the dough should double in size.

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While the dough is resting and rising start preparing the filling.

The filling

Place walnuts and almonds in a food processor and mix to a coarse consistency.

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Transfer ground walnuts and almonds into a bowl, pour over lukewarm single cream and mix well.

Add caster sugar, dark rum, honey, 2 lightly beaten egg yolks and 2 egg whites (previously whisked to soft peaks and not too stiff) and grated lemon zest. Mix all the ingredient until very well combined and set aside.

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Flour well your working surface and rolling pin. Put your dough onto a working surface and roll it out to a more or less rectangular shape (40cmx50cm) to the thickness of about not more than 1cm.

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Take the walnut-almond mixture and spread it evenly on the rolled dough but leave some space around the edge so the filling does not come out when rolling the dough.

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Gently roll the filled dough quite tightly into a log.

Cut off or tuck well in the edges.

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Prepare the bundt pan (for the quantities in this recipe I use a 24cm round bundt cake tin).

Grease it very well with butter, make sure you reach all the nooks and crannies and coat it well with the flour. Shake the excessive flour out of the bundt tin.

If you do not have a bundt pan you can use:

1. loaf tins (cut the roll into two or three parts, depending on the size of the loaf tins you are using)

2. greased spring form cake tin (24cm for the quantity in this recipe)

3. or simply use a baking tray previously greased with butter (in this case model the log into a U shape)

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Very gently place your rolled dough (seam side down) into a bundt pan, cake tin or baking tray. Cover with a clean kitchen towel, place it in a warm, draft free room and leave to prove for the second time for 30min to 1h or until well risen (not necessarily doubling in size, just filling out nicely the tin).

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Take a toothpick and make little holes in the dough on the whole surface and brush with egg whites.

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Bake in the preheated oven at 180C static for about 50-60 minutes. Halfway through baking, tent the potica with the aluminium foil to prevent it browning too much and starting to burn.

Leave until completely cold in a tin.

To remove the potica more easily, take a little plastic knife and run it around the edges to loosen the cake.

Transfer on a serving plate, dust with icing sugar and serve.

Just a thought

Potica tastes at its best the day after has been baked.

You can store it in an airtight container for up to five days and is suitable for freezing.

Wine suggestion

Friuli Colli Orientali Picolit Cialla DOC 2008 - Ronchi di Cialla (0.5l - astuccio)

Apple Strudel with home made pastry Recipe

Apple strudel is a traditional Viennese dessert, made of very thin elastic pastry, and the filling contains sliced apples, sugar, cinnamon, raisins (soaked in dark rum), lemon zest, lemon juice and bread crumbs. This popular pastry can also be found in the rest of Austria, Bavaria, Czech Republic, Northern Italy, and in many other countries in Europe that were once part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

It is believed that strudel originated from baklava, a very famous Turkish pastry based dessert, that came to Austria with the Ottoman's Empire and through Hungarian cuisine.

Records show that Strudel was first named in 1696 and gained popularity after it was served to Empress Maria Theresia who was the ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the only women to hold the position.

In Slovenia and in coastal Istria, areas that also once belonged to Austro-Hungarian Empire, apple strudel became, and today still is, a very well known sweet treat. It has gained such a high level of popularity that it is almost considered a national dessert. During autumn and winter months, this typical and very much loved dessert would be baked on a regular basis up and down the country, with little variations, and no Sunday roast lunch could be completed without a slice of strudel, dusted, of course, with a generous amount of icing sugar. When this task was left for us children, there would be so much icing sugar on the top that you could hardly see what type of dessert was hiding underneath it. Some things just never change...this is what happens when I leave my 11 year old son with the icing sugar task!

Apple strudel in Slovenia is called Jabolčni štrudelj or Jabolčni zavitek while along the coast of Northwest Istria, where the informal Istrian dialect is also spoken, it can be referred to as Strucolo de pomi.

Strudel made with apples is by far the most popular but in the North Adriatic two variations of strudel have been created and are also very well liked, strudel filled with ricotta cheese filling and strudel with cherries.

In my family we all knew when it was weekend, as apple strudel, this warming autumnal pudding, would be in the oven, and the aromas of apples and cinnamon would travel around the house. This dessert is not just part of my childhood but part of my adulthood as well. It has been the most frequently baked dessert by my mum and even today my friends and family cannot get enough of it. Now that I live abroad it is even more special, and it really does take me right back home to my childhood, and my mum's kitchen.

Apple strudel is traditionally served warm, dusted with regular icing sugar or vanilla floured icing sugar, and when accompanied with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream or vanilla sauce, this rustic pudding soon turns into a complete and very elegant dessert.

This recipe for apple strudel is made with home made pastry, however you can still indulge yourself and cut corners a bit by using a store bought ready made puff pastry, in which case only half the amount of apple filling is enough

Apples can be sliced or coarsely grated and lightly toasted walnuts can replace pine kernels.

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In this recipe I will indicate which apples are appropriate to use for apple strudel, however, I have never used specific type of apples and that is simply because I always bake apple strudel when apples are in season and abundant in nature. Apples would be generously given from neighbours and friends with fruit orchards or apple trees in their gardens, I just make sure I taste them and pick a mixture of sweet and tart apples.

Ingredients

Serves 10-12

Dough

• 250g all purpose flour or bread flour

• 1 egg, lightly beaten

• 3 Tbsp neutral tasting vegetable oil (I used sunflower oil)

• 2 Tbsp white wine vinegar or lemon juice

• sea salt, a pinch

• 50ml-60ml lukewarm water, or as needed

Apple Filling

• 1kg apples, peeled, cored, quartered and sliced (sweet-tart apples like MacIntosh and Gala in combination) Bramley

• 1 unwaxed lemon, grated zest and juice (grate lemon zest first and then squeeze the lemon juice, trying to do it the other way round might prove a tricky task)

• 1 Tsp ground cinnamon

• 30g pine nut kernels, slightly toasted (can use walnuts)

• 50g raisins or sultanas

• 3 Tbsp dark rum or lukewarm water (for soaking the raisins)

• 60g dry fine breadcrumbs

• 20g unsalted butter plus extra for brushing

• 80g caster sugar

• icing sugar for dusting

Method

To make the dough

Place the flour in a big mixing bowl and make a well.

In a separate, smaller bowl, mix slightly beaten egg, oil, vinegar or lemon juice, (the acidity will help to relax gluten in the flour making the dough more stretchy) a pinch of sea salt and lukewarm water. Pour the mixture into a flour well.

With the fork, stir the mixture with the flour until well combined. Add a little bit of flour at a time, until the dough comes nicely together, then work the dough with your hands.

Transfer the dough on a lightly floured working surface and knead the dough for about 10 minutes or until nice and smooth.

After this time, the dough should be moist and elastic and not sticky. Add a little more flour if the dough is too sticky to knead.

In order to further encourage the development of the gluten, resulting in a very elastic dough, slam the dough onto the working surface a few times.

Shape the dough into a smooth ball and place it in a clean bowl, previously brushed with oil.

Cover the bowl with cling film and let the dough rest for about 1 hour at room temperature.

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To make the filling

In a small pan, place pine nuts and toast them on a medium-low heat for a few minutes until golden-light brown in colour. Remove from the heat, cool and set aside.

In another pan melt the butter over medium-low heat. When the butter is melted add breadcrumbs, toast them, stirring constantly until golden-brown in colour. Remove from the heat, cool and set aside.

In a small bowl, place raisins or sultanas, add dark rum (traditionally used) or lukewarm water. Leave them to soak and plump up for at least 15 minutes, or until you need them.

Peel, core, quarter and slice the apples. Place sliced apples in a bowl, pour lemon juice over them, toss and mix well. The lemon juice will prevent apples from oxygenating and turning brown.

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Add lemon zest, roasted pine nuts, breadcrumbs mixture, soaked raisins or sultanas (squeeze out excess rum or water), sugar and cinnamon. Mix well to incorporate all the ingredients.

Preheat the oven to 200C static or equivalent.

Place the dough on a clean and lightly floured table cloth. Flour the rolling pin and start rolling out the dough. While rolling, to prevent sticking, flour the dough and the surface every now and then.

When the dough reaches about 20 cm in diameter pick it up and keep stretching it. The best way to do so is to use the back of your hands and in particular the knuckles but make sure you remove any sharp jewellery first.

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When the dough becomes difficult to handle as it becomes bigger and thinner, place it on a lightly floured tablecloth.

With your hands (tip of the fingers) keep stretching gently the dough on the tablecloth to paper thin consistency, from the inside to the outside working your way round the sheet of dough.

Keep stretching until the sheet of dough starts to look almost translucent and you will be able to see a pattern of your tablecloth through it.

You should end up with a thin sheet of dough stretched more or less into a rectangular shape with a diameter of approximately 40 cm which will fit into a standard 40 cm baking tray.

If you notice that the edges are still a bit thick, stretch them further very gently or cut them off. If you leave the edged thick, when rolling the strudel, they will form quite a thick layer at the very centre of the strudel risking to remain slightly underbaked.

Place and spoon evenly the apple mixture over one half of the dough sheet leaving about 2-3cm to the edge.

Fold in the side ends of the sheet to prevent filling coming out during rolling. Using the tablecloth to help you, roll the dough all the way and place the rolled strudel very gently on a baking tray previously lined with baking parchment, seam side down.

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Brush it with a bit of melted butter.

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Bake on the middle shelf for 40 45 min.

Apple Strudel is ready when the crust turns nice and golden.

Take it out of the oven, let it cool. Dust it with icing sugar, cut into slices and serve it on its own or with vanilla ice cream or cream.

Just a thought

You can make the strudel dough ahead and keep it refrigerated for up to two days. Before using the dough take it out of the fridge allowing it to come to a room temperature.

Wine suggestion

Alto Adige Gewürztraminer DOC Vendemmia Tardiva "Roen" 2019 - Cantina Tramin (0.375l)

Plum Dumplings Recipe

This is a great dish for Autumn that originated in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It is made with potato gnocchi dough in which you stuff the plums, simmer them in water, and then coat them with breadcrumbs, sugar and cinnamon mixture.

These rustic plum dumplings will become a real treat in the family since they are super delicious and easy to make! This dish is traditionally offered as a dessert, however, it is very common as a main course for lunch or dinner.

Plum dumplings are very well known and common throughout the countries that were once part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This dish is therefore very popular in Eastern and Central Europe as well as in Trieste and the province of Trieste in Italy.

This historical influence made plum dumplings a very appreciated meal in Slovenia, and is referred to in Slovenian as češpljevi cmoki or slivovi cmoki (češplje and slive meaning plums and cmoki meaning dumplings). They are widely available to buy frozen in bags in the supermarkets, but nothing is comparable to making them at home with this simple recipe.

This dish is very familiar to me, I grew up with it, and it was prepared frequently in the late summer and early autumn when plums are in peak season, in abundance, and with the right level of sugar and sweetness in them.

In Slovenia, where I come from, plum trees are very common to have in the back garden or in a near by orchard and the sight of these beautiful, humble, bluish purple colour fruits, almost like jewels hanging from the branches, is simply heart warming. Plums are popular to use not only for plum dumplings but also for other desserts like bake trays, tarts, jams, and compotes.

Damsons plums, being oval and small, therefore easy to handle, are the preferred and most frequently used type of plums for this recipe. Other types of plums work very well too and fresh apricots are also used frequently to make the dumplings.

If you decide to offer plum dumplings as a dessert, I would suggest to serve 2, if you decide to prepare them as a main meal then 3 or 4 depending on the size.

Ingredients

Serves 6- 8 (you will get about 16 dumplings)

Ingredients for the plum dumplings

• 16 fresh plums, Damsons plums and prune plums most commonly used, you can use other variety (plums should be sweet, ripe and fairly firm to the touch, avoid overripe with soft pulp as it gets quite difficult and messy to pit them). You can use fresh apricots instead.

• 1kg floury, yellow-fleshed potatoes, e.g. King Edward, Maris Piper, (avoid new potatoes). I use red skin potatoes.

• 300g all purpose flour (plus extra for flouring the board and working surface)

• 1 egg, slightly beaten

• sea salt, a pinch

Ingredients for the breadcrumb coating

The ingredients stated here are to coat all the dumplings, if you wish to half the quantity of dumplings half the ingredients for the breadcrumb coating

• 100g unsalted butter

• 5 Tbsp natural dry breadcrumbs

• 5 Tbsp caster sugar

• 1 Tsp cinnamon

Method

Start this recipe by making a basic potato gnocchi dough. (For more details refer to my full step by step recipe for Potato gnocchi dough)

Wash the potatoes, with the skin on, under cold running water.

Place the potatoes in a saucepan or a pot, cover with cold water and bring to boil. After the water has come to a boil, cook for about 20 minutes or until tender. Cooking time will obviously vary depending on the size of the potatoes you are using.

Don't pierce them during cooking and don't overcook them allowing the skin to burst as they will absorb too much water, alternatively you can steam them.

Remove from the pot, drain them in a colander and let them cool enough to handle, then remove the skin. If the potatoes are still quite warm to handle, the best way to remove the skin is to stick the fork though the potato and peel it using a knife.

Put the flour on a working surface, add salt and mix with the fork.

Make a well in the middle and pass the potatoes through a potato ricer while still warm as they become stickier when cooler. Allow riced potatoes to cool for few minutes and then add the egg.

With your fingers work the flour into the potato and egg, bringing the dough together, until it becomes a soft, pliable dough and do not overwork it. If the dough is too sticky, wet and soft add a bit more flour. Make sure your working surface is always well floured.

When the dough is the right consistency it should not stick to your fingers.

Shape the potato dough into a log.

Prepare your plums by washing them and pat dry them. Then cut each plum lengthwise all the way round in order to get two halves and remove the pits.

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Flour well your working surface and divide and cut the potato dough log roughly into 16 portions.

With your hands slightly floured, flatten and shape each portion into a round circle.

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Place one half of the plum in the centre and fill it with half Tsp of sugar, then place the other half of the plum on top of it.

If your plums are quite big in size, you might want to use only one half, as you will end up with very big dumplings which are more difficult to handle and not looking particularly elegant on a serving plate.

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Wrap the dough tightly around the plums.

Seal the edges properly and tightly and shape it into a ball, roughly the size of a peach.

If the edges do not stick properly, dampen the edges with your fingers previously dipped in a bit of water, this will act a bit like a glue.

This step is quite important to prevent the dumplings from bursting and losing the juices during cooking.

Make sure you place each dumpling on a well floured surface to avoid sticking.

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It is quite crucial, when making dumplings, that you start and finish the process without interrupting for too long, as the sauce from inside the dumplings (the sugar inside the plum starts dissolving) will start leaking from the dumplings making it quite a mission to rescue them, and this is from the first hand experience!

Repeat the process until you use all the dough.

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Fill a large pot with water, add a generous pinch of salt and bring to boil.

Place gently each plum dumpling in a pot making sure they do not stick to the bottom.

Cook the plum dumplings in simmering water for about 12 minutes (not strong boiling as that can damage the dumplings).

They are fully cooked when they float on the surface.

While the plum dumplings are simmering, make the breadcrumbs sauce.

In a large pan, ideally non stick, melt gently the butter, add the breadcrumbs and toast for few minutes on a medium-low heat until slightly darker in colour.

Add sugar and cinnamon and mix until all the ingredients are well combined. Remove the pan from the heat to avoid burning the breadcrumbs mixture.

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With a slotted spoon, remove plum dumplings from the simmering water.

Transfer them and place them in a pan with breadcrumbs mixture.

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Shake the pan gently so the dumplings can roll around and get fully coated in the breadcrumbs mixture.

Place on the serving plate, dust them with a bit of extra icing sugar and serve immediately. They are best eaten hot but equally delicious at room temperature.

Just a thought

If you decide to only make half a batch of plum dumplings, you can use half of the potato dough for the plum dumplings and the other half for potato gnocchi. (see my full recipe step by step for potato gnocchi).

You can store cooked plum dumplings for up to three days in a airtight container.

If you need and desire to warm them up, putting them in a microwave is a good option as they retain the moisture.

The great thing about plum dumplings is also that they freeze very well. It is very important that you spread the uncooked dumplings in a single layer, leaving a bit of space between each dumpling, so they don't stick together, on a well floured wooden board, baking sheet, serving tray laid with baking parchment or with well floured kitchen cloth or similar.

Put the tray with the freshly made dumplings into a freezer, for at least 20- 30 minutes, and once frozen, put them into a freezing bag.

When you want to cook them just drop them frozen directly into a boiling salted water without defrosting them first, bearing in mind that the cooking time will be slightly longer, around 15 minutes. They are ready when they are floating on the surface.

Wine suggestion

Moscato Rosa delle Venezie IGT 2014 - Foffani

Kaiserschmarrn (Austrian style giant shredded pancake) recipe

My maternal grandma Iva would make this dish quite often for us children. And she would make it as a main meal for dinner with a big glass of fresh milk. Yes, having a sweet based dinner is perfectly acceptable now and again and we children just loved it.

It takes me back into my childhood as this dish would also often be freshly prepared and served in schools as a dessert. It was reassuring to learn from my two lovely nephews living in Slovenia, that this is still the case and they still “fight” in the queue for second helpings.

The name of this dish comes from the Austrian Emperor Kaiser Franz Joseph I (1830- 1916) who apparently had a bit of a sweet tooth and the dish was first prepared for him.

Kaiserscmarn is also known as emperor's mess, (Kaiser = German, meaning Emperor; Schmarrn = Austrian German, meaning mess or nonsense.

Austrian in origin, Kaiserscmarrn, is a fluffy and light giant pancake that is cooked and then shredded into bite size pieces. Raisins soaked in lukewarm water or dark rum can be added in which case you can make this dish into a dessert and serve it with seasonal fruit compote, fresh fruit or ice cream served on the side.

Quick and easy to make, and commonly dusted with icing sugar. Great option for breakfast, especially during dark and cold winter months. I regularly make it at this time. Needles to say, we all love it in the family.

Very popular in Austria, where it can be served as a main meal, especially in mountainside restaurants and taverns in the Austrian Alps, Bavaria and many parts of the former Austro- Hungarian Empire, e.g. Hungary, Slovenia and northern Croatia. In Slovenia it is simply called “šmorn” or “cesarski praženec”.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 4 eggs (separated)

• 2 Tbsp caster sugar

• pinch of sea salt

• 250ml milk

• 130g all purpose flour

• 30g raisins (optional) soaked in few Tbsp of dark rum or lukewarm water and drained

• ½ Tsp vanilla extract

• knob (1-2 Tbsp roughly) of unsalted butter or any neutral tasting oil for cooking

• icing sugar for dusting (vanilla icing sugar even better if you can get hold of it)

Method

If using raisins, start by soaking them in a lukewarm water or dark rum for at least 15min, then drain.

Put in one large bowl egg whites, a pinch of salt and half the sugar. With a hand blender whisk to soft-firm white peaks.

In another bowl, put egg yolks, add milk, other half of sugar, vanilla extract, and whisk a bit with a hand blender to combine the ingredients then start adding the flour gradually and whisk further until you obtain a nice smooth batter with no lumps.

With a spatula, very gently add half of egg whites to the egg yolk mixture and fold delicately. Then add the other half of egg whites again by folding gently. Keep the batter nice and airy.

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Take a fairly large (I used 29cm) non stick and quite deep skillet and melt a knob of butter or oil. Heat it up and pour the batter, spread it evenly with the spatula and sprinkle, if using, the raisins on top. Cover with the lid and cook for few minutes on a fairly low heat.

Uncover the lid occasionally and check that the sides are nice and golden in colour. With a spatula cut the pancake in quarters, even if the top is still a bit runny, and flip over each quarter. Most probably they will collapse a bit but this is quite normal and do not worry.

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At this stage you will take the spatula and start shredding the pancake into smaller bite size pieces and stirring them around cooking further until they are cooked.

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Transfer to the plate and dust with icing sugar.

Wine suggestion

Moscato Giallo Dolce DOC 2020 by Cantina Tramin, Alto Adige.

Rustic Fig Jam Crostata (rustic Italian style jam tart) recipe

When I was a child, desserts after the main meal were more of a weekend treat, and it is when my mum would bake.

And there is one simple dish she always baked in our household, and that is a jam tart or simply crostata as we call it in Italian. It is made using Italian style sweet shortcrust pastry that is enriched with eggs, which help make the dough even flakier, lemon zest, sugar, and baking powder. It is still very popular to bake at home and easily available in bakery shop and supermarkets.

My mum would use different fruit jams that she made using a variety of fruits in the season from our orchard or fruit given by friends or neighbours. Most commonly used type of jam to fill the crostata with would be the apricot jam. Crostata can be also filled with ricotta, Nutella, pastry cream and fresh fruit.

This year we had a brilliant year for figs and they were in abundance in my grandma's back garden. Most were eaten just picked directly from the tree, how luxurious. But there were just so many figs and since nothing gets ever wasted, we made a lot of jam!

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There is something so comforting and homely about jam crostata, with a delicate flake crust, filled with your favourite choice of jam. Simply delicious, just melts into your mouth, and most importantly, it is easy to make, and the aroma during the baking is unmistakable.

Crostata is also great for colder days, as a dessert or snack, and is commonly served for breakfast too.

Nice accompanied with cream, vanilla ice-cream or natural Greek yogurt, just to tone down a bit the sweetness of the the fig jam.

Ingredients

• 250g all purpose flour

• 105g diced butter, room temperature

• 1 egg and 1 egg yolk (slightly beaten), keep the egg white for brushing the crostata just before putting it in the oven for baking

• 50g caster sugar (optional if you use fig jam as it is quite sweet already)

• lemon zest of one small unwaxed lemon, finely grated

• 1 Tsp of liquor like grappa or rum ( I used rum)

• ¼ Tsp baking powder

• jar of fig jam or any other jam of your choice, home made or a good quality one from the food store

Method

To make the pastry, measure the flour into a large bowl and add the butter.

Using just your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Make a well in the centre of the flour, then add the sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, liquor, and baking powder. First stir gently with the fork to combine all the ingredients and for the mixture to come together.

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Gently gather the dough together with your hands and transfer it onto a floured work surface.

Gently press the dough, without kneading it, until it comes together to form a firm ball.

Press the dough into a flat disc, wrap it in cling film and refrigerate for about 30min.

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Preheat the oven to 180C static or equivalent.

Lightly flour the surface and the rolling pin. Take about 2/3 of the pastry and with the rolling pin roll it out on a surface, then roll the pastry back over the rolling pin, so it is hanging, and ease it into the 23cm loose bottom non stick flan tin.

Press the pastry shell into the side of the tin.

Allow the excess to hang over the side and roll the rolling pin over the top of the flan tin, to cut off the excess pastry.

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Spoon the jam of your choice into the pastry case.

On a lightly floured surface roll out the remaining pastry, cut it in strips with pastry wheel cutter or with the knife and decorate your tart.

If you happen to have a bit of left pastry, just take your favourite cookie cutter and make few biscuits.

Brush the pastry with a slightly beaten egg white, put it in the oven and bake for 30-40min until nice and golden in colour.

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When baked, let it cool in a tin, dust with little icing sugar and serve warm or cold.

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Wine suggestion

Verduzzo Friulano Passito DOC 2019 by La Tunella, Colli Orientali del Friuli.