creme fraiche cheesecake with fig-plum compote

hello you all - we are a tad busy over here at once upon a cakestand. when really one should pause for a minute and think of plums! the season just started and brings the first quiet thoughs of fall to the farmersmarket. - we call them "zwetschge" over here in switzerland. the funny thing about this word is, that it's also a word to call someone a silly cow.
but i love myself some zwetschge. they go well with all the wonderfully warm flavours of cinnamon - star anise or port wine. a touch of fall is in the air, the heart a tad nostalgic but happy straightaway when the wonderful plum is turned into a creme fraiche cheesecake.

i went for the healthy option - reduced the amout of fat by not using cream cheese. the result is a wonderfully soft cheesecake with a crusty bottom of whole grain biscuits & some dried figs, topped with a warm fig-plum compote. this deep aroma creates a deliciuos contrast to the deliciously creamy creme fraiche layer.
here is balm for the soul in a cake - and white & purble cake that conjures up a heavenly mood on your plate.

RECIPE CREME FRAICHE CHEESECAKE

for a 20cm round tart tin

100g butter
190g biscuits
2 dried figs (about 40g)
1,5 tbsp sugar

filling:
1 lemon, zest & juice
200g cream cheese
200g creme fraiche
100g sugar

300g fig-plum compote (see recipe below)

butter the tart tin & line with baking paper.
melt the butter. put the biscuits & dried figs in a blender and pulse until it becomes crumbly and like sand. add the melted butter, mix well and but as a base into the prepared tin. put in the freezer for 10 minutes to set.

for the filling mix lemonzest- & juice, cream cheese and sugar. then fold in the creme fraiche.
spread a layer of fig-plum compote over the frozen base, then top with the creme fraiche mixture. put in the fridge for at least 3 hours to set.

make sure to serve it when its well chilled and still cold. the cheesecake is very soft and wonderful but to make it look good on a plate, make sure its well chilled.

RECIPE FIG-PLUM COMPOTE

300g red wine
100g port wine
100g creme de cassis
100g sugar
115g beet, in big slices
750g fresh plums
250g dried figs
100g honey
a stick of cinnamon

to make the compote put red wine, port wine, creme de cassis, sugar and red beet into a pan and boil, then reduce heat and let bubble until its nicely reduced. add dried figs and let cool. roast the fresh plums with the honey in the oven at 190 °C for 30 minutes, then add to the compote. put compote in a glass roasting dish and roast in the oven at 85 °C for 20 minutes. then let cool, mix in a blender (remove cinnamon stick before that), then let rest in a preserving glass for 2-3 days in the fridge.
keeps for about 2-3 weeks in the fridge.

simple apricot tarts

summer marks the arrival of apricots! that sweet orange little fruit - a handfull of sweetness! its season only last for a few warm weeks of july or august when the fruit can be devoured at its bestest - sweetest aroma. the flavour is part honey, part almond. its flesh has notes of peach, brown sugar and orange blossom that brings an opportunity for pleasure one shouldnt miss!

oh so often that epitome of summer can be hard and sour in flavour. although apricots do soften and become juicier once picked and stored in a paper bag but they will not develop a sweet, ripe flavour. 

but even those specimens that appear beyond redemption can be saved, as the apricot is even lovelier cooked than raw. the oven seems to do the job the sun should, the heat ripening and sweetening the flesh in the time it takes to soften it. you can roast them with lime or lemon juice, spices such as cinnamon, ginger or cardamom, plus a good sprinkling of sugar, or you can cook them in sugar and wine or fruit juice, the liquid coming just halfway up the sides of the fruit. to this you can add elderflower cordial, lavender, vanilla or honey.

or you can simply turn them into a simple apricot tart.

RECIPE
adapted from diana henry

18 - 20 apricots
150g granulated sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
640g puff pastry, rolled out
2 tbsp caster sugar
3-4 tbsp apricot jam

whipped cream or creme fraiche, for serving

halve and stone the apricots. put the granulated sugar in a pan big enough to hold the apricots in a single layer, such as a sauté pan, add 350ml water and bring to the boil, stirring to help the sugar dissolve. add the vanilla. turn down to a very gentle simmer. put the apricots into the liquid and poach gently until they are only just tender. how long this takes depends on their individual ripeness. i stand with a slotted spoon and pull each one out as soon as it is ready. lay the apricots in a broad, flat bowl so they don't have to sit on top of each other.

Roll out the pastry and cut out 6 to 8 circles, about 11cm in diameter. lay them on baking-sheets and, using a knife, mark a border 1cm from the edge, being careful not to cut right through. put 3-4 apricot halves on each pastry circle, leaving the border uncovered. sprinkle on the caster sugar and bake for 12 minutes in an oven preheated to 220°C. give it some under heat to make sure the bottom is crisp and nicely baked.

put the jam in a pan with 1 tbsp water and heat until it has melted. brush over the surface of each tart (avoid using the chunks in the jam) then leave to set a little. serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream or creme fraiche.

tart malakoff

slowly slowly we are entering cake-kingdom. those cakes and tarts that make you gasp. not only because they look so wonderful but also because they make you slightly nervous before you even grab your spatula.

tart malakoff is such a patisserie. a sweet affair - full of light & luscious cream that embeds a generous packet of ladyfingers. the roasted almonds slices not only make it visually interesting but also give it a nice texture when those toasted almond slices crackle in your mouth while you swoon over that generous amout of whipped full fat cream.

it will only take a second until you forget how to spell the work B-I-K-I-N-I.

tart malakoff is a stunning tart that gives you a lot of freedom, while you bake it. some variations help you to evade a lack of ingredient or the extra use of seasonal fruit.

• tart malakoff is sometimes made with a base of a pate sucree and a soft sponge. if you are in a hurry, simply use a soft sponge as your base.
• as creamy as it is - the tart wins not only in flavour but also in texture when you add seasonal fruit such as apricots, plums, berries - really whatever you have and goes well with cream. simply add it to the ladyfingers while you build the tart.
• while the use of a light bavarian cream (vanillacream) is an absolute must in my opinion - the lazy bakers among you might just use whipped cream and add some vanilla seeds (and maybe a dash of sugar to sweeten the cream a bit). a nice shortcut - that still makes a great tart.

RECIPE:

for a 26 cm round tart tin

100g store bought pate sucrée (26cm round)
50g apricot jam
1 sponge cake (26 cm round), see recipe below
ca. 1 dl rum
30g icing sugar
375 ml milk
2 egg yolks
70g sugar
2 vanilla pods, seeds scraped out
1 pinch of salt
4 sheets of gelatine
550g cream
200g lady fingers
ca. 100g almonds, sliced & toasted

to garnish:
some chocolate ganache, melted
4 ladyfingers

for the sponge cake:
2 eggs
60g sugar
40g flour
20g cornstarch
30g butter, melted

start by baking the 26 cm round pate sucrée at about 200 °C for about 5 to 10 minutes until golden. then let cool on a rack.

then make the sponge cake. butter & line caketin and reduce the oven-temp to 180 °C.
beat eggs and sugar in the bowl of your kitchen aid over a bain marie until foamy. then put it back to your kitchen aid, attach the whisk and whip it until cold. sift flour and cornstarch and carefully mix it under the soft egg-sugar mixture. add melted butter & mix carefully but not too long. then bake in the middle of the oven for about 25 minutes until a metal skewer comes out clean. let cool on a wirerack.

spread apricot jam over the cooled pate sucrée, then top it with the cooled layer of sponge cake. put a cake ring around the two layers and adjust so that it fits the cakebase.
mix rum, 2 tablespoons of water and icing sugar, soak the cakebase slightly with the mixture. put rest of rum mixutre to the side.

heat milk in a pan, add eggyolks, sugar, vanilla and salt very well. add milk and heat over a bain marie until the cream starts to thicken (if this takes too long or too much nerves, do it in a pan but careful with the heat or the cream might burn). take off heat imedeately, once the cream starts to thicken.
soak the gelatine in cold water, then squeeze all the water out and add to the cream. mix well and let cool over an ice bath until the cream starts to get firm. add some rum if desired.

whip 500g of cream and add to the now cooled vanilla-cream (you might not need all of the vanilla cream. start using half of it). take 1/3 of the cream and over the tart-base. even out with a spatula. soak ladyfingers in the rum-mixutre, then lay over the cream, then add another layer of cream , another layer of soaked ladyfingers etc. also add fruit if using. finish with a layer of cream and even the surface with a spatula (here is a fabulous video how to smoothly glaze or cream a cake) - let tart rest for a day in the fridge.

before serving, remove the tart ring. whip the remaining 50g of cream, spread around the cake, then decorate the toasted almond slices.
use the rest of the cream to decorate cake with little stars. half 4 ladyfingers and dip into the melted ganache. let cool quickly on a wire rack. then decorate cake.

eat on the same day.