Key(-ish) Lime Tartelettes

Filling based on this recipe: https://www.marthastewart.com/342088/key-lime-tart

Crust recipe is based on the Chocolate "Porcupine" recipe by Micky Shemo: https://shemo.co.il/

When shopping for limes - I aim for shiny, smooth, thin skinned and slightly soft limes - they are juicier in my experience!

"So many egg yolks! What do I do with all the leftover egg whites?" I like to make egg-white omelettes :)

Yields: ~18-20 tartelettes

Ingredients

Crust:

• 50 grams sugar
• 1 stick unsalted butter, cold, cubed
• 1 egg (Large)
• 210 grams (1 1/2 cups) AP flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• [optional, if mixture is too dry] 1-2 tsp milk
• [optional, if mixture is too soft/wet] 1-2 tsp flour

Lime Filling:

• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
• 2/3 cup (~160 ml) freshly squeezed lime juice (4-6 limes, depending on size and juiciness)
• Zest of 1 lime (you can zest all the limes you squeezed, and use some for the filling and most of it for garnish - see below)
• 4 egg yolks (Large)
• Pinch of salt

Whipped Cream (optional):

• 1 cup (~240 ml) heavy whipping cream, cold
• 1 heaping tbsp vanilla pudding powder
• 1 heaping tbsp powdered sugar

Garnish (optional):

• Mint leaves
• Lime zest (use the limes you squeezed - make sure to wash them well!)

How to Make

1. Crust dough:
1. Using a fork, mix together the flower and baking powder until combined.
2. Process butter and sugar in a food processor until combined.
3. Add egg and 1/4 of the flour mixture, continue processing for a few seconds.
4. Add the rest of the flour mixture, continue processing until a single ball of dough is formed; do not over-process; once a dough-ball is formed - stop processing.
5. Divide the dough ball to 2 equal parts, flatten each part to a disc (about 1/2 inch thick), wrap each disc in plastic-wrap, and store them in the refrigerator until use, at least 30 min.
2. Tartelette crusts:
1. Remove dough discs from refrigerator, let them sit in room temperature for a couple of minutes.
2. Knead one of the discs for a few seconds until it's a bit softer and easier to work with.
3. On a generously-flour-dusted surface, roll the disc to a sheet about 3-4 mm thick.
4. Using a ~3 1/2 inch cookie/biscuit cutter (or small bowl), cut discs out of the dough, and place them in mini-tartelette / standard muffin pan cavities. Gently press the center of each disc to the bottom of each cavity and the circumference of each disc to the sides of each cavity. 
5. [Repeat steps 2.2 - 2.4 above with the other dough disc; if there is leftover dough - knead it and roll it again to cut a couple more discs, if desired]
6. Using a fork, puncture the bottom of each disc (to prevent air-pockets).
7. Heat oven to 340F. 
8. Wrap the pan tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil and freeze for at least 10 minutes. 
9. Remove pan from freezer, remove wrap. 
10. Immediately transfer pan to the oven, bake for ~9-10 minutes.
11. Take pan out of the oven, set aside in room temperature to cool down (keep crusts in the pan).
3.  Lime filling:
1. In a medium bowl, combine condensed milk, lime juice, lime zest, egg yolks and salt; whisk until smooth.
2. Carefully pour mixture into cooled down tartelette crusts (up to ~3/4 of the crust height)
3. Bake for ~11-13 minutes until the filling edges look opaque and set, and the centers still jiggle slightly (they will fully set while cooling down).
4. Cool completely in room temperature, then cover tightly (with plastic wrap or aluminum foil) and refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours.
5. At this point, it is recommended to transfer the tartelettes to the container in which you intend to store them, and/or the serving platter on which you intend to serve them.
4. Whipped Cream [optional]:
1. In a stand mixer with a whipping balloon attachment, whip together all whipping cream ingredients on high speed until firm. 
2. Transfer cream to a pastry bag with a large round / star tip attached.
3. Seal the bag and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes (the pudding powder will further firm up the cream, so it will pipe more "sharply").
4. Frost each tartelette with some whipped cream (not a lot - a small amount goes a long way).
5. Garnish [optional]: Sprinkle some lime zest on top of the whipped cream, and/or garnish each tartelette with a mint leaf.
6. Enjoy! Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a few days.

Banana bread cupcakes with chocolate chips and walnuts swirl and chocolate-coffee frosting

Cupcakes recipe based on this: https://www.mako.co.il/food-cooking_magazine/oogio-net/Recipe-f1cb751be854141006.htm

You can skip the chocolate-coffee frosting and keep these as banana bread muffins, but... why would you? :)

Yields: 16-20 standard size cupcakes

Ingredients

Cupcakes mix:

• 2 eggs (Large)
• 1 cup (200 grams) sugar
• 2/3 cup (150 grams) neutral oil
• 4 bananas (the riper, the better), peeled and mashed
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• A pinch of salt
• 2 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder

Swirl mix:

• 75 grams chocolate chips
• 75 grams walnuts, roughly chopped
• 1/2 tsp (or a few good shakes of) ground cinnamon

Frosting:

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream, divided (1/2 cup should be kept very cold in the refrigerator until step 5 below)
• 2 oz semi-sweet chocolate, roughly chopped (I'm using half of Ghirardelli's Semi-Sweet Chocolate 4oz Baking Bar)
• 1 heaping tbsp vanilla pudding powder
• 1 heaping tbsp powdered sugar
• 1/2 espresso shot, cooled down

How to make

1. Frosting pre-prep:
1. Make chocolate ganache: Melt semi-sweet chocolate with 1/2 cup heavy cream over a double-boiler, or in 30-seconds bursts in the microwave (in a microwave-safe bowl), stirring in between, until ganache is smooth and glossy. 
2. Let ganache cool down in room temperature for about 30 min. 
3. Cover ganache bowl tightly (in plastic wrap or similar) and refrigerate for 60-90 minutes. 
2. Cupcakes mix (prepare while ganache is cooling):
1. Pre-heat oven to 355F.
2. In a large bowl, mix together eggs, sugar, oil, bananas, vanilla extract and salt. 
3. In a separate smaller bowl, mix together flour and baking powder. 
4. Add flower mixture to the large bowl and mix together just until combined (try to not over-mix, to prevent dense cupcakes).
3. Swirl mix: In a small bowl, mix together chocolate chips, chopped walnuts and cinnamon. 
4. Assembly and baking:
1. Line cupcake pan(s) with paper liners.
2. Into each cavity:
1. Fill ~1 tbsp of the cupcake mix - about 1/3 of the cavity height (aim to use about half of the cupcake mix total for this phase).
2. Cover the cupcake mix with ~1 tsp of the swirl mix (aim to use about half of the swirl mix total for this phase). 
3. Fill another tbsp of the cupcake mix. 
4. Cover the second layer of cupcake mix with the remainder of the swirl mix - cavity should be almost full. 
3. Bake 15-20 minutes.
4. Remove pan(s) from oven and let cool in room temperature.
5. [While cupcakes are cooling down: Another frosting pre-prep step: prepare the 1/2 espresso shot and let it cool down]
6. After the cupcakes cooled down it is recommended to transfer them to the container in which you plan to store them, or to the platter on which you plan to serve them. 
5. Frosting:
1. Place ganache, 1/2 cup cold heavy whipping cream, vanilla pudding powder, powdered sugar and espresso in a stand mixer bowl. 
2. Using the mixer's whipping balloon attachment, whip everything together until a firm frosting forms; if needed - stop the mixer mid-way and scrape the bowl bottom and sides to ensure all the frosting ingredients are getting well mixed. 
3. Transfer frosting to a pastry bag with a star tip attached, and store in the refrigerator until ready to frost (at least 30 minutes) - during this time the pudding powder will further firm up the frosting, so it will pipe more "sharply". 
4. Frost the cupcakes (not too much frosting on each cupcake - a small amount goes a long way).
6. Enjoy! Leftovers can be stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for a few days.