Blueberry Lemon Puffs. Two airy, buttery, bites of heavenly blueberry and lemon bliss! Its blueberry season here in Canada and I am making the most of it!
This is a recipe I adapted from one I found in the book entitled Scrumptious by Christy Denney! Its a lovely book, filled with lots of tasty looking recipes.
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Don't you just love those painted flowers? My friend Monique painted them, and they went perfect with this. She is such a talented artist! Thank you Monique!
Christy's recipe in the book was made with raspberries, but then she talked about strawberries in the recipe intro. I wasn't sure what she meant. The photo showed raspberries.
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I didn't have any raspberries and I didn't have any strawberries for that matter, but I did have a nice big punnet of blueberries!! I rattled around in my brain for a bit and came up with these.
Little puff pastry bites of heaven with a sweet, creamy, lemony cream cheese filling, a swirl of blueberry jam and a fresh blueberry popped on top prior to baking! Once baked they are glazed with a sweet lemon glaze. What's not to love!
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If I had really had my thinking cap on I would have swirled the cream with some lemon curd, but alas I went with the blueberry jam, which tasted fabulous, but did make the cream a bit more on the purple side.
But you don't care. I know you love me anyways, and I know you will believe me when I tell you these are gorgeous!
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WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE BLUEBERRY LEMON PUFFS
Very simple store-cupboard and refrigerated ingredients. Generally speaking I usually have all of these things on hand.
- 1 sheet of all butter frozen puff pastry, thawed
- 4 ounces (115g) cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup (50g) sugar
- 1 TBS milk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
- about 2 TBS wild blueberry jam
- 16 whole blueberries
- 1 small free range egg, beaten
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To finish:
- 1/2 cup (65g) icing sugar
- 1 TBS fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
- icing sugar to dust
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I always have a few packages of all butter puff pastry in my freezer. It comes in packages which contain two sheets of puff pastry, and it is made with nothing but butter as the fat.
I am not fond of non-butter puff pastry, but if you can't get the all butter one, I guess it will do. To me it has a funny artificial after-taste. If you can get the all butter one, do get it. There is a difference.
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I also usually have a block of cream cheese in the refrigerator. I love it on bagels, and in sandwiches. It also comes in handy for things like this!
You won't need to use the whole package, or you can just buy a smaller package.
I also always have large free range eggs, and lemons. They are such a must have ingredient in my kitchen. In the UK I always kept a bowl of lemons on the counter. With it just being me now, I only keep one or two around, and I keep them in the fridge.
I also almost always have blueberries. They are so good for you! They are what's known as a super food and are filled with lovely anti-oxidents!
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HOW TO MAKE BLUEBERRY LEMON PUFFS
These only look complicated. I can promise you that they are not! Here is a photo of them ready to go into the oven.
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Its not the best photograph. I don't have a window in my kitchen and need to make do with artificial light, but I thought you would at least be able to get some idea of what they look like before they go into the oven. I hope it helps!
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Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Line a baking sheet with baking paper. Set aside.
Beat the cream cheese, vanilla, milk, sugar and lemon zest together in a bowl until well blended.
Unroll your pastry and cut it into 16 squares, placing them on the baking sheet and leaving plenty of space between each.
Place 1 tsp of the cheese filling in the center of each. Top the cheese with 1/4 tsp of blueberry jam and swirl it through with a toothpick. Top each with one blueberry.
Fold the corners of the squares up, pressing them lightly into the cheese. (They won't really stay up, but they stay up long enough to keep the filling from spread out over the baking sheet.)
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Brush the pastry with the beaten egg.
Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until puffed and golden brown.
Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes.
Whisk together all of the ingredients for the glaze until smooth. Drizzle over the warm puffs. Dust with icing sugar and serve. These are best served warm.
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I have never frozen them, but it has been my experience that anything with a cream cheese filling doesn't freeze very well. Plus the blueberries will really go to mush.
These would make a great addition to a Sunday morning brunch with the family. I guarantee there would be none left! I inhaled two of them before I could even get my camera out!
That pastry is so flakey and the lemon cheese filling is rich. The blueberry jam gives just the right touch and that blueberry on top provides a bit of tartness to cut back on the sweetness of the jam.
That lemon glaze is just the perfect finishing touch!
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If you enjoy blueberries as much as I do, you may be interested in the following recipes. Each one is delicious in their own right.
LEMON BLUEBERRY TURNOVERS - Is there any more delicious flavour combination on the earth than the combination of lemon and blueberry?? I think not! Combine that with flaky buttery puff pastry and you have a marriage made in heaven! This is the perfect time of year to be enjoying blueberry treats! What is a turnover but a little pie, and these ones are so easy to make!
LITTLE BLUEBERRY PUDDINGS - These are very simple to make, using simple ingredients that you probably already have in your home, with perhaps the exception of some Wild Blueberry Conserve. But take heart, if you don't have any of that, you can also use lemon curd, or even orange marmalade! Beautiful served warm with pouring cream.
BLUEBERRY MUFFIN CAKE - This small batch recipe is built for the smaller family and bakes in a 9 by 4 inch loaf tin. With its streusel topping and sweet glaze, it always goes down a real treat!
Blueberry Lemon Puffs
Yield: 16 puffs
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 15 MinTotal time: 25 Min
Flaky, buttery, sweet little puffs of blueberry and creamy lemon deliciousness. Very easy to make.
Ingredients
- 1 sheet of all butter frozen puff pastry, thawed
- 4 ounces (115g) cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup (50g) sugar
- 1 TBS milk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
- about 2 TBS wild blueberry jam
- 16 whole blueberries
- 1 small free range egg, beaten
To finish:
- 1/2 cup (65g) icing sugar
- 1 TBS fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
- icing sugar to dust
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Line a baking sheet with baking paper. Set aside.
- Beat the cream cheese, vanilla, milk, sugar and lemon zest together in a bowl until well blended.
- Unroll your pastry and cut it into 16 squares, placing them on the baking sheet and leaving plenty of space between each.
- Place 1 tsp of the cheese filling in the center of each. Top the cheese with 1/4 tsp of blueberry jam and swirl it through with a toothpick. Top each with one blueberry.
- Fold the corners of the squares up, pressing them lightly into the cheese. (They won't really stay up, but they stay up long enough to keep the filling from spread out over the baking sheet.)
- Brush the pastry with the beaten egg.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until puffed and golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes.
- Whisk together all of the ingredients for the glaze until smooth. Drizzle over the warm puffs. Dust with icing sugar and serve.
Thanks so much for visiting! Do come again!
One of the secrets of a happy life is
continuous small treats!
~Iris Murdoch
Today is my Birthday! I am turning 67 today and am grateful for every moment that got me here. I think every birthday deserves a treat, a cake, a pie, something to celebrate it with!
With that in mind I have had my heart set on baking a Scandinavian Almond Cake ever since I saw my friend Noelle post a photo of one on her Facebook page the other day. It looked so delicious!
Traditionally a Scandinavian Almond Cake, or Norwegian Almond Cake as it is also known, would be baked around the holidays when people are celebrating. If a Birthday isn't cause for celebration I don't know what is and so I decided that I would bake it for mine!
One of the things on my bucket list was always to visit the Scandinavian countries while I was in the UK. I never did get there, but I think one of the best ways to visit a country is through its food. I love Swedish Meatballs and Swedish Butter Cookies that you buy in the tins at Christmas.
So today I am going to pop on a travel show, and sit down with a hot drink and a piece of this cake and go arm chair travelling. (I think I'll watch Somebody Feed Phil, the Copenhagen episode.)
Traditionally this cake would be baked in a special pan such as the one you see above. It is called a Scandinavian Almond Cake Pan. I bought mine on Amazon. I know it will come in handy for all sorts of bakes.
I love the half moon shape. I can see it done in chocolate with a chocolate glaze and slivered almonds sticking out all over like a hedgehog. Fun fun!
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I have a special weakness for foreign dessert, especially cakes, and I have to say that this is one of the most delicious almond cakes I have ever baked and eaten.
It boasts a beautiful almond flavor throughout, from that beautifully textured cake to the sweet almond glaze which gets drizzled on top. There is even more almond flavor if you choose to scatter it with toasted flaked almonds.
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Its not hard to toast almonds. A few minutes on a baking sheet in a moderate (350*F/180*C) oven does the trick perfectly. I would say five to six minutes. You don't want to burn them.
(Although I have to say there used to be a burnt almond chocolate bar that I really loved to eat. I have not seen it in years.)
This is a light and springy cake which is quite unlike most European cakes which are, generally speaking, quite a bit more dense.
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WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE SCANDINAVIAN ALMOND CAKE
Other than a special pan, you only need every day ordinary ingredients. I am also quite sure you could bake this cake in a loaf tin or a deep 9 inch round tin. Not sure on the timings however.
For the cake:
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1 large free range egg
- 1 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 2/3 cup (160ml) whole milk
- 1 1/4 cups (175g) plain all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup (120g) butter, melted
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For the icing:
- 1 1/2 cups (195g) icing sugar, sifted
- 2 to 3 TBS heavy cream
- few drops of almond extract
- flaked almonds to decorate, toasted or not
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I used Watkins pure Almond extract for my cake and large free range organic eggs. I buy my eggs at a place just around the corner from where I live. You can see the chickens running around in the yard.
They have a refrigerator on the porch of the shed with the eggs in it and an honesty tin. $5 a dozen for the most beautiful eggs with the brightest golden yellow yolks!
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I use whole full fat milk and plain all purpose flour. Robin Hood is what I always buy. I like it. My sugar is organic unbleached sugar, so it is a bit brown in color, but as you can see that doesn't show in this cake.
I use salted butter because I cannot afford to keep both salted and unsalted butter in my house. There is no salt in this recipe, but generally speaking I will cut back on the salt in a recipe a bit anyways. You do need a little bit most of the time, but not a lot.
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HOW TO MAKE SCANDINAVIAN ALMOND CAKE
This really is one of the easiest cakes to make. You can have it mixed and in the oven in about 10 minutes or so. I melt the butter in the microwave while I am mixing together everything else.
Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Spray the cake tin really well with baking/cooking/canola oil spray. Dust lightly with flour, shaking out any excess. Place onto a baking sheet.
Beat the sugar, egg, almond extract and milk together with an electric hand whisk until smooth.
Whisk together the flour and baking powder. Beat this into the liquid mixture.
Continue to beat with the electric mixer whilst drizzling in the melted butter until thoroughly incorporated. Pour into the prepared pan.
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Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool in the pan for five minutes, then tip out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the glaze, whisk the icing sugar, almond extract and cream together until smooth. You should have a mixture that makes for a drizzle. If it is too thick, add a few drops of milk.
Drizzle this over top of the cake and scatter with flaked almonds if desired. I added a few cake sprinkles because, its my birthday and sprinkles on a birthday cake are a must!!!
Cut into slices along the ring lines. Will that be one ring or two?
Note - this cake was adapted from a recipe I found here.
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I usually try to bake a delicious cake on most family birthdays. Some of my favorites are:
BUTTERMILK CHOCOLATE CAKE - My brother in law loves this delicious moist chocolate cake. Adapted from a recipe I found in a cookbook by Trish Magwood called Dish Entertains.
RASPBERRY CELEBRATION CAKE - This was a cake developed for the Queen's 60th Jubilee. It is moist and delicious and the cake I chose to bake for my birthday for many years. It is studded and filled with fresh raspberries.
VICTORIA SANDWICH CAKE - This is my all time favorite cake. Plain in looks, but fabulous flavors. Two moist layers of cake filled with sweet red jam and dusted with sugar. It is a real favorite cake for the tea table as well!
Scandinavian Almond Cake
Yield: 18 small or 9 regular
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 40 MinTotal time: 50 Min
This is one of the BEST almond cakes you could ever want to bake or eat. Its also one of the easiest! You do need a special pan, although I am quite sure you could also bake it in a deep 9 inch round cake tin
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1 large free range egg
- 1 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 2/3 cup (160ml) whole milk
- 1 1/4 cups (175g) plain all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup (120g) butter, melted
For the icing:
- 1 1/2 cups (195g) icing sugar, sifted
- 2 to 3 TBS heavy cream
- few drops of almond extract
- flaked almonds to decorate, toasted or not
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Spray the cake tin really well with baking/cooking/canola oil spray. Dust lightly with flour, shaking out any excess. Place onto a baking sheet.
- Beat the sugar, egg, almond extract and milk together with an electric hand whisk until smooth.
- Whisk together the flour and baking powder. Beat this into the liquid mixture.
- Continue to beat with the electric mixer whilst drizzling in the melted butter until thoroughly incorporated. Pour into the prepared pan.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for five minutes, then tip out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the glaze, whisk the icing sugar, almond extract and cream together until smooth. You should have a mixture that makes for a drizzle. If it is too thick, add a few drops of milk.
- Drizzle this over top of the cake and scatter with flaked almonds if desired. Cut into slices along the ring lines. Will that be one ring or two?
Thanks so much for visiting! Do come again!
I am not one much for frying foods. I don't like the way it makes my house smell really, and I am not fond of the extra calories! When I saw this recipe for pan Fried Chicken Tacos in the Pioneer Woman's book, Food from my Frontier, I had to make it! Fried or not!
I love, Love, LOVE Mexican flavors and her photographs looked so good! I have not made a recipe of hers yet that wasn't delicious. I was sure it would be the same with these!
I decided to light a few candles and just go for it, smell or no smell, calories or not. I didn't however want 16 tacos to dispose of. I love tacos, but I could never eat that many on my own and so I small batched the recipe.
Yes, this is the small batch version to feed only two or three people. If you are looking for the full batch version, you might want to check it out here. I also tried to simplify the cooking method somewhat.
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A bit messy to make, a lot messy to eat, but I haven't met a delicious taco yet that wasn't more than a bit messy to eat. That's all a part of the fun!
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WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE PAN FRIED CHICKEN TACOS
Typical Tex Mex ingredients, which (in North America anyways) can easily be found in the Mexican section of most grocery stores.
For the filling:
- 1 tsp mild chili powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 chicken boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and cut into a small dice
- 1 (4 ounce) can of green chilies, undrained (see notes)
- 1/2 TBS flavorless oil
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You will also need
- 6 small corn tortillas
- oil for frying
To serve: (all optional)
- grated cheddar or jack cheese, or a blend of both
- finely shredded iceberg lettuce
- chopped fresh tomatoes
- finely sliced spring onions (scallions)
- sour cream
- guacamole
- Green or Red salsa
- Hot sauce (I like the green tabasco)
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Instead of the spices for the chicken you could use Taco Seasoning. In the UK, I would do this as your chili powder, even the mild, is a blow your socks off chili powder.
You can also make your own Taco seasoning very easily.
Make Your Own Taco Seasoning: Mix together 1 TBS mild chili powder, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp oregano and 1/2 tsp of onion powder, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Store in an airtight container out of the light for up to 6 months.
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One ingredient which is very difficult to find in the UK is canned Green Chilies. These are chilies that have already been roasted and canned. They come whole or chopped. For recipes like this you want the chopped, and undrained.
In the UK, you can either roast 3 or 4 (depending on their size) green jalapenos, trim, seed and chop, or you can simply trim, seed and chop 3 or 4 fresh green jalapenos and fry them in the skillet along with the chicken. Either will work well.
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True confession here, I could not find corn tortillas when I went to the shops so I used small wheat flour tortillas. They worked very well and in looking at the Pioneer Woman's photos, it looks like she also used wheat flour tortillas.
I have used corn tortillas before and they did not look like hers. They are also not pliable enough for you to be able to fold and fill without breaking, unless you fry them in hot oil first.
So I suggest you use small wheat tortillas. They work fine and crisp up very nicely.
As far as toppings go, this is entirely up to you. You choose whatever toppings you enjoy eating on tacos. This is a highly personal thing!! I sometimes like to also add black olives!
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HOW TO MAKE PAN FRIED CHICKEN TACOS
I put together my own way of doing these as I found her instructions a bit fiddly. What I did worked fine and the tacos were not greasy in any way. Neither did I burn my fingers. She made a great use of tongs. I found tongs to be a bit awkward after the initial phase and so I used a slotted spatula for flipping them over, again very carefully. Don't be in a rush or the oil might splash.
First make the filling. Heat the tablespoon of oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the chicken pieces. Sprinkle the cumin, chili powder and salt over top.
Cook, stirring for a few minutes, then add the can of chilies.
Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until most of the liquid from the chilies has evaporated. Taste and adjust seasoning as required.
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Heat some oil for frying in a deep skillet, over medium high heat. I used about 1/2 cup. (120ml) You want it to be about 1/3 of an inch deep. You will know it is hot enough when you add a small piece of tortilla and it sizzles right away.
Fold a tortilla in half without breaking it. Spoon 1/6 of the chicken filling into the center. Press the tortilla as closed as you can get it. Using tongs lay it into the hot oil, pressing down on the top to keep it closed. Repeat with remaining tortillas. (You may need to do this in bunches. I did three and then three.)Have ready a triple layer of paper towels to drain the tacos on.
Cook until golden brown on the underside (30 to 45 seconds). Carefully flip over and repeat on the other side until browned and crispy. Scoop out to paper towels, allowing any excess oil to drain off. Drain on paper towels while you fry the next bunch.
While still hot, pry open the top a bit and stick some cheese on there. Serve with your other favorite taco toppings and enjoy!
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Oh boy but these were some good. I did eat two, even though I had only planned on eating one. I enjoyed them with some lettuce, sour cream, hot sauce, tomatoes, cheese and green onions.
I have always preferred soft tacos over those hard corn tortilla taco shells. I am always afraid of breaking a tooth on them! (I did break one once on a tortilla chip.) This way of having a crisp taco was right up my alley however as it wasn't hard like a corn shell! I very much enjoyed!
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If you are a fan of Tex Mex flavors and Tacos you might enjoy the following:
LIME CHIPOTLE CHICKEN FLATBREAD TACOS - A baked chicken taco in a folded corn flatbread. Simply delicious!
SHREDDED BEEF TACOS (SLOW COOKER) - Simple. Easy. Delicious. You can either cook it on high for 3 to 4 hours, or low for 6 to 8 hours. If you like beef tacos, you will adore these!
NAVAHO TACOS - Delicious, nicely spiced taco meat, served on Navaho Fry Bread with your traditional Taco toppings!
Fried Chicken Tacos for Two
Yield: 2
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 11 MinTotal time: 16 Min
One word. Wow. Easy to make. Delicious. A bit messy, but some of the more delicious things in the world are!
Ingredients
For the filling:
- 1 tsp mild chili powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 chicken boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and cut into a small dice
- 1 (4 ounce) can of green chilies, undrained (see notes)
- 1/2 TBS flavorless oil
You will also need
- 6 small corn tortillas
- oil for frying
To serve: (all optional)
- grated cheddar or jack cheese, or a blend of both
- finely shredded iceberg lettuce
- chopped fresh tomatoes
- finely sliced spring onions (scallions)
- sour cream
- guacamole
- Green or Red salsa
- Hot sauce (I like the green tabasco)
Instructions
- First make the filling. Heat the tablespoon of oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the chicken pieces. Sprinkle the cumin, chili powder and salt over top.
- Cook, stirring for a few minutes, then add the can of chilies.
- Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until most of the liquid from the chilies has evaporated. Taste and adjust seasoning as required.
- Heat some oil for frying in a deep skillet, over medium high heat. I used about 1/2 cup. (120ml) You want it to be about 1/3 of an inch deep. You will know it is hot enough when you add a small piece of tortilla and it sizzles right away.
- Fold a tortilla in half without breaking it. Spoon 1/6 of the chicken filling into the center. Press the tortilla as closed as you can get it.
- Using tongs lay it into the hot oil, pressing down on the top to keep it closed. Repeat with remaining tortillas. (You may need to do this in bunches. I did three and then three.)
- Have ready a triple layer of paper towels to drain the tacos on.
- Cook until golden brown on the underside (30 to 45 seconds). Carefully flip over and repeat on the other side until browned and crispy. Scoop out to paper towels, allowing any excess oil to drain off. Drain on paper towels while you fry the next bunch.
- While still hot, pry open the top a bit and stick some cheese on top. Serve with your other favorite taco toppings and enjoy!
Notes
If you cannot get canned green chilies (I know this is impossible in the UK, or at least it was when I was there), you can chop two to three trimmed and seeded green jalapeno peppers. Add these to the pan with the chicken and cook until softened and the chicken has browned a bit and is cooked through.
Thanks so much for visiting! Do come again!
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