A very nice apple and almond pastilla recipe

Let us take you to a trip to Maghreb with this apple pastilla recipe with custard. This tasty dessert is very quick and easy to prepare. When you want a little greed, here’s the recipe for this treat.

What it takes for 4 persons

- 6 apples
- 100 gr of skinless almonds

- 10 sheets of brick pastry
- 1 tbsp. of cinnamon powder
- 200 gr of butter the juice of 1/2 lemon
- 50 gr of icing sugar
- 50 gr of caster sugar
For the custard:
- 50 gr of sugar
- 1 tbsp. of orange blossom water
- 50 cl of milk
- 5 egg yolks

Follow the next steps

- Prepare the custard: bring the milk to a boil in a large saucepan and turn off the heat. Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar into a bowl until the mixture whitens. Spread half of the hot milk over the mixture while whisking.

- Pour the mixture back into the pan containing the remaining milk and put over very low fire. Do not stop stirring with a spatula while scraping the bottom of the pan and do not boil until the cream is thick and slick the spatula. Then pour the orange blossom water to perfume. Let cool and set aside in a cool place.

- Cut the apples into wedges after peeling and removing the seeds and heart. Assemble each quarter into 3 slices.

- Heat 50 g of butter in a casserole and let fry gently for ten minutes the apples with powdered sugar, a pinch of cinnamon and lemon juice.

- Preheat oven to th6 (180°C)

- Melt the remaining butter.

- Brush each side of the 10 sheets of brick pastry with butter, after taking off the paper. Cook them for 2 minutes in the oven with their paper (depending on the size of the oven, there will be several batches). Gently peel off the paper as it comes out of the oven.

- In a frying pan, cook the crushed almonds and let cool.

- Dressing the pastilla: in a dish, superimpose 2 sheets of brick pastry, spread a layer of apple with cinnamon and sprinkle with almonds (leave a little for topping). Repeat until all ingredients are finished. Then sprinkle the top of the pastilla with icing sugar, almonds and cinnamon and serve immediately with custard.

Tip: prepare the apples in advance to avoid wasting time when arranging the pastilla.

A delicious honey and chocolate madeleines recipe

The taste of honey and chocolate madeleines makes us fall back into our childhood. With this recipe offered by Delices and Gourmandises, you can prepare this delight on your own. Find out how to easily and quickly bake this greed, ideal for a good breakfast and tasty at tea time.

Here are the ingredients for honey and chocolate madeleines for 4 persons

- 150 gr of flour
- 150 gr of butter
- 3 tbsp. of bitter cocoa powder
- 3 eggs
- 125 gr of caster sugar
- 2 tbsp. of liquid honey
- 3 tbsp. of milk
- 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
- 1 tbsp. of liquid vanilla
- 1 pinch of salt

The steps to follow for the preparation of your madeleines

- A microwave or a small saucepan is suitable to melt the butter. Do this 2 hours in advance.

- Beat the eggs with the sugar for 2 minutes in the bowl of your blender.

- Then add the milk and beat again. Now, take the melted butter and add it to the bowl. Finally, add the sifted flour and yeast. Mix everything until you get a smooth paste.

- Divide the dough in two. Add honey and vanilla to one half and the cocoa to the other half. Cover both doughs with plastic wrap. Let them cool for at least 2 hours.

- After that, preheat your oven to 220°C. Alternate the two doughs until half-filling silicone madeleine molds. Place them in the oven and after 5 minutes, lower the oven temperature to 180°C. Add 5 minutes cooking time or more frequired. The madeleines must be golden brown and form a hump. However, do not cook too much to make sure to get soft madeleines.

- Before unmolding your madeleines, wait another 5 minutes.

Some advices offered by Delices and Gourmandises on how to choose a red wine

Red wines can be paired with variety of dishes but you must choose the right bottle if you want the perfect meal. Delices and Gourmandises will show you how to combine your red wines and your food perfectly.

Red wines pair great with most main dishes

Meats are most of the time the principal component used to prepare main dishes. That is the main reason why people often serve meat based dishes with red wines.

- Full-bodied red wines and wines that are high in tannins such as a Côte-du-Rhône Domaine de Lascamp, Bordeaux Château Haut Gravelier or a Languedoc Merlot-Les Estampilles pair perfectly with grilled meat and other red game meat.

- Simmered red meats are best to combine with wines like the Languedoc La Caresse Merlot.

- Poultries like quails, ducks and geese are best to consume with red wines like Pays du Gard wines and Côte-du-Rhône rouge AOP.

- Light red wines such as a Bordeaux Château Fontana or a X de Béliard pair well with veal.

- For chicken and pork which are both white meat, it is best to use fine red wines with tannin content such as the AOC Minervois rouge Domaine du Bosc Rochet.

Red wines, cheeses, and desserts

Most Bordeaux wines pair well with blue vein cheeses. If possible, it is better to just choose wines with fruity aromas like a good Château Grand Jean or a Gewurztraminer Moulin de Dusenbach.

Red fruity wines with light tannin content are also good to enjoy with pies made with red fruits and chocolate cakes.

Delices and Gourmandises has plenty of great quality wines with assorted prices for you to choose from. We will ship your order to you in a timely manner.

Delices and Gourmandises Dauphiné shortbread cake recipe

We all know the potato gratin that makes the fame of the Dauphiné terroir, but we less know about the Dauphiné shortbread cake. The one proposed by Delices and Gourmandises is a shortbread cake filled with blueberry jelly that you can also prepare home with this recipe.

What you need for preparing the Delices and Gourmandises Dauphiné shortbread cake are:

The Dauphiné shortbread cake of Delices and Gourmandises is made of a sanded down paste filled with blueberry jelly. These are the ingredients needed:

- 250gr wheat flour
- 60gr icing sugar
- 125gr softened concentrated butter
- 2 eggs
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 jar of 200gr blueberry jelly or jam

You can vary the recipe using other fruit jam or jelly you like.

How to prepare and cook your cake?

First, make the sanded down paste. Pour the flour in a bowl and add the sugar and the baking powder. Cut the butter in dices and mix with the flour with your hands while crumbling the mixture with your fingers until it has a sandy consistency, slightly granulated. Beat the eggs and add them to the dough, mix well and form a ball with it. Add some wheat to avoid the dough to turn sticky. Roll it in a plastic film and put it in the bottom of the fridge for an hour. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

When the hour is passed, get the dough out of the fridge, lower it and divide it in two parts. Put the first half in a pie dish and pour the jelly or the jam over it. Cover with the over half of dough and close your cake well for the filling not to go out during the cooking. Put into the oven until it has a beautiful golden color. Check the cooking by putting a knife into it; your cake is ready when the knife out of it perfectly dry. Serve your cake lukewarm or cold with hot or cold beverage.