A Mother's Day Brunch
It has been a gorgeous start to spring on Maui, the violet blossomed jacarandas are in bloom and my garden is taking off. I was thrilled to find a lilac starter at my local garden store too (hard to find these types of unique plants on Maui!) The sweet scent transports me back to my mother’s garden at home. Isn’t it the loveliest smell? It’s amazing how just one scent can mentally teleport you to a different time and place.
My mother was here recently and this menu for Mother’s Day is inspired by some of her favorites. Quiche is a fantastic and trusty dish for a springtime feast, especially with the tender greens of the season. Rather than using a standard pastry crust, thinly sliced potatoes layered in a fan like fashion is a beautiful and delicious alternative. I think the queen bee in your life will truly love it! It looks rather like a crown does it not?
Cherries are one of my mother’s favorites and she has a huge cherry tree in her garden at home. She brought me a jar of fresh cherry jam she had made when she came to visit, which was a real treat. I thought a cherry Bakewell tart would be perfect for her jam and celebrate her love of cherries. It is quite simple to make and the glazed, sugary cherries look like ruby gems. A little sprinkling of edible flowers is darling on top too!
While she was here, we discovered at a local French bakery these buttery honey buns that we couldn’t get enough of with our morning coffee. I attempted to recreate the recipe with the help of Saveur’s basic croissant dough recipe. I think they turned out spectacularly despite the rather involved process of preparing the dough. They surely aren’t something you can whip up at a moment’s notice, but if you do think ahead and have the dough ready by the weekend, you can bake them right up come Sunday morning (or whenever you choose.) They truly are worth it I promise you! Bon courage!
I hope these recipes give you some inspiration to celebrate and appreciate your mother - just add some gorgeous spring sunshine, blue skies, and blooms. Happy Mother’s Day!
Potato & Leek Quiche
extra virgin olive oil
2 russet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced into 1/8” slices (roughly 2” in diameter, you can trim them if they are too large)
10 eggs
2 tablespoons crème fraîche
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
3 strips organic uncured smoked bacon, diced
1 leek, green stalked trimmed, white portion thinly sliced and roughly chopped, reserve 1 tablespoon
1/2 cup goat cheese crumbles
1 heaping handful baby spinach, roughly chopped and stems trimmed
3 tablespoons garlic chives, minced
Preheat the oven to 375 F degrees and gather a 9” pie dish.
Add the potato slices to a bowl and lightly drizzle them with olive oil until they are evenly coated. Season with a good pinch of kosher salt.
Line the pie dish with the thin potato slices, around the sides and the bottom. The slices around the sides should slightly overlap.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, crème fraîche, salt, black pepper, and 2 tablespoons of chives until slightly frothy. Set aside for now.
In a small cast iron skillet, add the bacon over medium heat and cook until the fat begins to render. Add the leeks and continue to sauté until the leeks are slightly translucent, about 3 minutes. Season with a pinch of salt. Remove from the heat.
Begin to assemble the quiche by adding the leeks and bacon to the base of the pie dish, spreading it evenly over the potato base layer.
Sprinkle over crumbles of goat cheese over the leeks and bacon.
Add the spinach, lightly tearing it.
Whisk the eggs once more and then pour them over the spinach.
Sprinkle on the remaining tablespoons of chives and chopped leeks.
Season with a few cracks black pepper.
Bake for 35-40 minutes until the center is just set. It is is browning too quickly, tent it with aluminum foil.
Allow it to rest for 20 minutes before serving. It also is delicious served cold.
Spring Cherry Bakewell Tart
For the crust:
1/4 cup (28 g) roasted unsalted pistachios
1 1/2 cup (180 g) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (28 g) powdered sugar
pinch of salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened and cut into chunks
1 egg yolk (save the whites)
1/4 cup (59 ml) ice water, plus a few tablespoons more if needed
For the filing:
1 1/4 cup (120 g) almond flour
1/4 cup (30 g) all-purpose flour
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup (50 g) granulated white sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 egg
reserved egg white
1 tablespoon pure almond extract
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
4-5 tablespoons cherry jam
1 heaping cup pitted and halved cherries (bing or rainier)
1/2 lemon
1/4 cup (17 g) slivered almonds
powdered sugar for dusting
edible flowers for garnish
To make the pastry, add the pistachios to a food processor and blitz for 2-3 minutes until they are finely ground.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground pistachios, flour, powdered sugar, and salt.
Add the butter pieces into the dry mixture and cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or your hands until it resembles coarse pea size crumbs.
Continue to add the yolk and ice water into the dough and roughly stir it together with a rubber spatula. It will look like a wet shaggy mess with dry bits at this point.
Now pour out the rough dough onto a lightly floured work surface and cup it with your hands into a smooth cohesive ball. You may need one or two more tablespoons of ice water to bring the dough together. Be careful not to knead or over work it, just form the dough until it comes together with the dry bits incorporated to form an even dough.
Place the dough ball right back into the mixing bowl and set it in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. The dough will be easier to handle and roll out once it's chilled a bit.
Preheat the oven to 375 F degrees and gather a circular 9” nonstick fluted tart tin.
Meanwhile begin to prepare the filling by combining in another mixing bowl, the almond flour, all-purpose flour, butter, sugar, and salt.
Whisk together the egg and reserved egg white until light and foamy. Continue to add the almond extract and lemon zest into the eggs.
Gently pour in the egg mixture to the dry ingredients, incorporating everything together into a smooth and creamy paste. Set the mix aside for now in the fridge while you begin to roll out the dough.
Remove the chilled dough from the freezer onto a lightly floured work surface.
Roll out the dough to roughly 1/4” thick circle roughly 12”-13” in diameter. With each roll, flip the circle over and lightly dust the surface and the dough with flour as it does get sticky. For a better measurement, place the tin on top of the rolled dough for an idea of how much further or less you need to roll.
Gently place the rolled dough into the tin. There may be an inch or two overhang along the edge. Before you cut away anything, be sure to press the dough very well into every crevasse and corner. I like to run my fingers along the tart rim gently pressing the dough into the fluted sides.
Gently fold any overhang over the rim of the tin. For a quick way to trim off any excess dough, roll the rolling pin over the rim on the tin. It will cleanly cut away the extra dough for a nice finish.
With any extra bits of dough, patch up any thinner areas and roll out a small ball of dough to continue to press the base of the dough into the fluted sides. Prick the base with a fork several times around.
To par bake the dough, once you’ve rolled the dough into the tin, line it with parchment paper leaving a generous overhang.
Fill the lined tin with old, dried beans or pie weights ensuring that every corner is filled.
Bake the tart case for 15 minutes and then remove it from the oven. Gently remove the beans or pie weights and parchment paper.
Spread a few tablespoons of the cherry jam evenly over the base of the tart case.
Take out the filling from the fridge and spoon it over the jam evenly with a rubber spatula.
Add the halved cherries to a small bowl with a tablespoon of sugar and juice of half a lemon. Gently stir them until they begin to release their juices.
Add the cherries over the filling, gently nestling them on top.
Continue to sprinkle the slivered almonds evenly over the tart.
Bake for 35-40 minutes until the crust is a light golden brown and when an inserted knife in the center of the filling comes out clean.
Let the tart cool 10 minutes before removing it from the tin.
Once it has completely cooled, lightly dust the top with powdered sugar and edible flowers.
Serve with fresh cherries on top, ice cream, or whipped almond cream!
Honey Buns
Basic Croissant Recipe (I use the one in Saveur)
For the syrup:
1/2 cup wildflower honey
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 pinch of kosher salt
1/4 cup minced pecans
For the filling:
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup minced pecans
Preheat the oven to 375 F degrees. Grease and line a 8” x 8” baking tin with parchment paper.
When the dough is ready to bake, dived the dough into 2 slabs. Store half of the dough in the fridge or freezer to use at a later time or double the syrup and filling if you’d like to make a dozen buns.
Prepare the syrup by adding the honey, sugar, and salt to a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring the syrup to a low boil until it begins to thicken slightly to a syrup-like consistency. Turn off the heat and set aside for now.
Roll out the dough to roughly a 24” wide x 10” rectangle. The dough should be about 1/4” thick. No need for flour, only use sparingly.
Evenly sprinkle the sugar, cinnamon, and half of the minced pecans over the entire length of the dough.
Gently roll begin to roll up the dough from one end, keeping it neat and tidy. It should roll up very smoothly.
Divide and cut the dough into 6-8 buns with a serrated knife.
Pour in half of the syrup into the base of the baking tin, spread it evenly over the base with a spoon.
Place the buns into the baking dish, side by side. It’s fine if they touch slightly, there may be extra space in the tin.
Allow the buns to rise one hour (depending how warm your kitchen is) until they are nice and puffy. They should be roughly doubled in size.
Pour the remaining syrup over the top of the buns and sprinkle over the minced pecans.
Bake the buns for 25-30 minutes until they are a rich golden color. You can tent them if needed with aluminum foil if they are browning too quickly.
Serve immediately!
