I think I can honestly say that we have had a very successful strawberry month, if only because our strawberry yogurt tart was made (to my knowledge) at least 8 (!) times in three different countries. As ever, thank you for the positive reviews and your stories – they are the best!
To conclude this month, here is a recipe for a Strawberry and farmers’ cheese crumble from my favorite Russian baker-blogger and photographer, Chadeyka (Irina Chadeeva). I’ve adjusted the recipe slightly to our tastes and product availability. Here in London, you are most likely to find farmers’ cheese in Eastern European shops. It resembles ricotta in taste though it is a lot crumblier in texture. For this particular recipe, you require the crumbliest, ‘dry’ kind.
For the crumble, you will need:
- 100g farmers cheese
- 25 g melted butter
- 25 g ground almonds
- 15 g white flour
- 45 g confectioner’s sugar (icing sugar)
For the filling:
- 400 g strawberries
- 1 tablespoon of kirsch or another fruity liqueur
1. Preheat oven to 200C. Prepare four baking dishes, like these vintage pyrex ones I have:
2. In a large bowl, mix flour, ground almonds and confectioners (icing) sugar. Work in the farmers’ cheese with a wooden spoon or a fork.
3. Pour in melted butter and mix carefully.
4. Wash and core the strawberries. Cut them in half and divide among the four baking dishes. Sprinkle lightly with the liqueur, if yo’d like.
5. Top with crumble mixture; add roughly chopped almonds or pistachios, whichever you prefer.
6. Bake for about 20 minutes. I agree with Irina – this tastes delicious hot or cold and kids love it!
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