Can I just tell you – please make this. It is really extra-special in the taste department. But then, I love hazelnuts. And then I also love whipped cream (who doesn’t?). And the plum compote with the hazelnuts somehow is one of those magical pairings. Just make it.
Some of my friends – and my friend Cherrie’s friends – laugh at us – why do we need to go to cooking classes, since we both are pretty darned good home cooks? Neither of us has professional training. Neither of us really lacks for ideas. Neither of us lack cookbooks to get even more ideas. Neither of us dreads cooking. So why do we go? Well, sometimes it’s just to get us thinking outside of our own boxes.
We also go to classes because we’re close friends, and we enjoy spending time together, of course, but we always – and I mean always – learn something. You’d really think we would be past the stage where we could still learn, but yet, we do. And of course, the kitchen gadget inventors love to tweak us – about needing a new something to augment our already bulging kitchen utensil drawers.
This class was in a private home in an area near us called Nellie Gale Ranch. Seeing this house, in itself would have been a reason to go to the cooking class – I think the home (kitchen pictured above) was THE most beautiful home I’ve ever visited in my life – it was decorated in my style and every step I took, ever hallway I entered, every turn I made I’d find some new pretty thing – a niche, a decorator item, an arch, a room just exquisitely appointed. The hostess, Karen, designed the house herself – I mean everything – the architecture of it, every wall, doorway, bathroom, and she paid attention to minute detail. She also designed all the interior décor and does all of it herself. I was mightily impressed. The granite in the kitchen was honed first, then “leathered.” I’d never seen that before. Note the lights under the toe kick area. Note the windows behind the 2 cupboards on the far wall – so natural light brightens the entire room. There were 3 sinks in the kitchen, 2 of them farmstyle fronts. She has indoor table seating for 32 people (I counted) although 8 of those are in an enclosed solarium back 20 feet or so behind where I was standing taking the above photo. She has 2 laundry rooms, 5 or 6 fireplaces. Oh my, I could go on and on and on.
The class was taught by Tarla Fallgatter, who regularly teaches classes to this group Cherrie and I are in. We get together 4 times a year. And had I looked at this recipe in a magazine or even a cookbook, I might not have given it much thought. Nothing in it would have generated any kind of “wow” thoughts. I do like hazelnuts, though. But oh, was this dessert ever delicious. After eating it I concluded that it must be that hazelnuts and plums have a natural affinity – a food chemistry when they’re paired.
The shortcakes are easy enough – the only caveat there is to NOT overwork the dough. If you do, the shortcakes will get tough. Tarla pressed the dough to about an inch thickness and made very short wedges. She cut them erratically in order to get a short triangle (see photo), not a long tapered one, as she says more often than not that thin, tapered end will fall off when you pick it up to plate it. To make it easier, cut rounds with a cutter instead. And really, it makes no-never-mind what shape it’s in anyway – cut squares if you want. If you make them thinner they’ll be more crispy. If you make them thicker than an inch, they’ll be more soft. The 1-inch one was absolutely perfect.
Plums happen to be in season right now, and they just were so perfect for this – different too. Don’t we first think strawberries? If the plums you buy are not ripe/soft, you may need to cook them awhile longer – you want them to be tender (not mush, though). Add the raspberries at the last minute – otherwise they’ll completely fall apart. You’ll not even know they’re in the fruit mixture.
When I looked at the nutrition/calorie count of this, I gasped. It must be the volume of whipped cream. Perhaps you could make do with 1 cup of heavy cream – that would cut down some. But the shortcakes do need an ample amount of whipped cream – it’s more than just decoration here.
What’s GOOD: there isn’t anything about this that ISN’T good in my opinion. The hazelnuts are different in a shortcake and you definitely can taste them. Toasting them enhances their flavor so much. The plums were piquant and sweet at the same time; mixed with the whipped cream the flavor mixture in my mouth just . . . well, it was sinfully good.
What’s NOT: absolutely nothing, except the calories!
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Hazelnut Shortcakes with Plum & Raspberry Compote
Recipe By: Tarla Fallgatter, cooking instructor
Serving Size: 6
SHORTCAKES:
3/4 cup hazelnuts — toasted and skinned
1/3 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup heavy cream
4 ounces unsalted butter — cold, cut into pieces
PLUM COMPOTE:
7 whole plums — ripe, sliced 1/2 inch thick
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup fresh raspberries
TOPPING:
1 tablespoon heavy cream
2 teaspoons sugar
WHIPPED CREAM:
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup creme fraiche
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1. SHORTCAKES: Preheat oven to 350°F. Coarsely grind hazelnuts and sugar in a food processor and add with flour, salt and baking powder. Pulse in the butter and slowly pour in the cream until the dough comes together. Pulse ONLY until it holds together – stop before the dough wraps itself around the blade.
2. Roll or pat the dough 1-inch thick. Thicker will produce softer shortcakes; thinner will be more crisp. Cut into 2 1/2 inch circles, or roll into a circle and cut wedges. Circles will hold together better; because the shortcakes are so tender, the ones cut into wedges may fall apart at the tapered end. Place shortcakes on a baking sheet, brush the tops with the TOPPING mixture then sprinkle with sugar. Bake them until golden brown – about 35 minutes.
3. COMPOTE: Combine plums, sugar and lemon juice in a saute pan and cook over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the butter and cook until the sauce thickens (and the plums are cooked through). Stir in the raspberries. Allow mixture to cool to room temp.
4. WHIPPED CREAM: Whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla until it reaches soft peaks. Add creme fraiche and continue to whip until the cream is thick enough (however you prefer it).
4. Split the shortcakes in half horizontally and place the bottom of each shortcake on a plate. Cover the shortcake with some whipped cream and then spoon some of the plum compote on top. Add the shortcake top half and serve.
Per Serving: 893 Calories; 59g Fat (57.6% calories from fat); 9g Protein; 88g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 151mg Cholesterol; 454mg Sodium.
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