Double Chocolate Strawberry Tart

Some situations simply have no shortcut. The work you put in is the result you get, and in most cases, this makes sense; I'm not going to ace a test without studying, get into college without filling out a million and one pieces of paperwork, or learn my arias without spending a few hours sitting at my piano.

But every now and then, life decides to be awesome and throw you a shortcut curve-ball just when you need it. A few weeks ago, when I was in the middle of studying for finals and having late-night rehearsals, I discovered this tart.

 The truth is, baking is deceptive. It seems so complicated, with countless steps (and steps within steps) to a recipe, but the truth is, when it comes to fairly straightforward desserts like this one, you look at the recipe and follow it. It's as simple as that - for real. I promise. You can make this dessert, even if you've never measured out a cup of sugar before in your life. No worries, I'll hold your hand.
 This crust is a breeze to throw together in a food processor; the filling can be whipped up even more quickly; and, within a few minutes, you have a tart that's picture-perfect. Not to mention ridiculously delicious.
 Enjoy!

 Double Chocolate Strawberry Tart

(adapted from Baking Bites)

1 prebaked chocolate crust (recipe below)
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
7 oz (1 container) marshmallow creme/fluff
4 oz dark chocolate, melted and cooled
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
16 oz fresh strawberries 

2 tablespoons strawberry jam (optional)

In a large mixing bowl, whip together cream cheese and marshmallow fluff until smooth and well-combined. Blend in the melted and cooled dark chocolate, followed by the vanilla extract, and mix until the filling is a uniform color.
Trim the strawberries and thinly slice.
Fill tart shell with chocolate cream, spreading it evenly, and top with a layer of fresh strawberries. If desired, mix the jam with a teaspoon or so of water, microwave it for 30 seconds to thin it out, and brush it onto the berries for a shiny finish.
The tart should be served shortly after adding sliced berries. (To make the dessert in advance, refrigerate the filled tart and add the berries right before serving.)

Chocolate Shortbread Tart Crust
1 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, cold

In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, cocoa powder, sugar and salt. Pulse to combine.
Cut butter into several pieces and add to flour mixture. Pulse until mixture is sandy and butter is well-incorporated.
Pour crumb mixture into a 9" tart pan. Press firmly up the sides and into an even layer on the bottom of the pan.
For a baked crust, bake at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes, until firm. Allow to cool completely before filling.

Plum Almond Tart

 You might have noticed I went missing for almost 2 weeks, which is unusual even for me. But I have a reason. See, I've been planning something supercalifragilisticexpialidociously fun for next week. Stay tuned....

 But meanwhile, this was made a couple of weeks back, when I could still go outside without having to worry about zipping up my boots and digging that old scarf out of the back of the closet. It used up some of our last perfectly sweet plums and was a great goodbye to summery flavors.

 It's very similar to this French Pear Tart, starting with a buttery crust, which is topped with a  creamy almond layer and crowned with the "star of the show," fresh fruit. The layer of almond cream puffs up in the oven and becomes a beautiful golden-brown that kind of makes you want to stick your face in the whole thing.

 I glazed it with a little bit of fig jam and water I boiled together, but this is really just for that bakery-style, shiny finish; a dusting of powdered sugar is just as delicious!

 This was the perfect dessert to finish off a summery meal, especially when paired with Olive Oil Ice Cream. I mean, come on - plums, frangipane, and creamy olive oil - how much classier can you get?! ;)
Enjoy!

Plum Almond Tart

(adapted from Around My French Table; wording adapted from Writes 4 Food and Dorie Greenspan)

1 recipe sweet tart dough (recipe below)

About 5 sweet, ripe plums

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup almond flour (or almond meal)
2 tsp. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. cornstarch
1 large egg
2 tsp. dark rum or 1 tsp. good vanilla extract

2 tablespoons fig jam (or other light-colored jelly), mixed with 1/2 teaspoon water

In a food processor, whirl together the butter and sugar until they’re well-combined and smooth. Add the almond flour; process to blend. Add the flour and cornstarch, process, then add the egg. Process briefly until the mixture is smooth and well-combined. Add the rum or vanilla and pulse just to combine. Scrape the almond cream into a container and refrigerate until you’re ready to use it.
Cut the plums into thick slices and set on paper towels to dry for a couple of minutes.
To assemble the tart, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or piece of parchment. Spoon the almond cream into the prepared tart shell and smooth the surface. Arrange the plum slices in a circular pattern on top of the cream, leaving a tiny bit of space between them to allow the cream to rise up and turn golden brown.
Bake the tart for 50 to 60 minutes, until the crust is a rich brown color, the almond cream is shiny and golden, and a cake tester inserted in the cream comes out clean. Remove the tart to a cooling rack and let it cool before lifting it out of the pan.
 Microwave the jam and water together just until bubbling. Brush onto cooled tart (or dust tart with pastry cream).
This tart is best eaten the day it is made.

Sweet Tart Dough

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 stick plus 1 tablespoon (4 1/2 ounces) very cold (or frozen) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 large egg yolk

Put the flour, confectioners' sugar and salt in the workbowl of a food processor and pulse a couple of times to combine.  Scatter the pieces of butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the butter is cut in coarsely - you'll have pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and pea-size pieces and that's just fine.  Stir the egg, just to break it up, and add it a little at a time, pulsing after each addition.  When the egg is in, process in long pulses - about 10 seconds each - until the dough, which will look granular soon after the egg is added, forms clumps and curds.  Just before your reaches this clumpy stage, the sound of the machine working the dough will change - heads up.  Turn the dough out onto a work surface.
Very lightly and sparingly - make that very, very lightly and sparingly - knead the dough just to incorporate any dry ingredients that might have escaped mixing.
Butter a 9" tart pan and press the dough evenly along the bottom and up the sides of the pan.  Don't be stingy - you want a crust with a little heft because you want to be able to both taste and feel it.  Also, don't be too heavy-handed - you want to press the crust in so that the pieces cling to one another and knit together when baked, but you don't want to press so hard that the crust loses its crumbly shortbreadish texture.  Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes, preferably longer, before baking.  Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes, preferably longer, before baking.

To partially bake the crust: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil and fit the foil tightly against the crust.  Bake the crust for 25 minutes, then carefully remove the foil.  If the crust has puffed, press it down gently with the back of a spoon.  Bake for another 3 to 5 minutes, then transfer the crust to a cooling rack; keep it in its pan. 

TWD Rewind: Cheese and Tomato Galette

 For a while now, I've been trying to get back into Tuesdays with Dorie. It can be annoying at times, often having other people choose what I should bake this week, but ultimately I find that it makes me try new techniques and recipes that I wouldn't have attempted otherwise. So, while I try to catch up, here's an old recipe I missed a few months back!

 Sometimes, the group's chosen recipes can even turn out to be unexpected favorites. Like this galette.

 I made it expecting something kind of boring - like a classed-up pizza. It turned out to be absolutely delicious - I made the crust with white whole-wheat flour, which made it a little more substantial, and it has a lovely crunch from the cornmeal in it. The cheeses mix together really well, and pair perfectly with ripe summer tomatoes.

 It's perfect for a summery lunch or a light dinner alongside a salad, and it will definitely be made all the time!

As always, the recipe can be found in Baking with Julia, or here.
Enjoy!

TWD: Mixed Berry Galette

Although people keep talking about the beginning of fall, I am a firm believer that we are still in the warm happiness that is summer. I am leaving for the airport in an hour to go to Brazil to see family, and I am beyond exited that I get to spend an entire month there. I've spent the last couple of weeks trying to get some recipes baked up, so expect less posting than usual but still a few treats while I'm away.
This galette is the perfect summer dessert. The crumbly, sweet crust (I made mine gluten-free with gluten-free all-purpose flour and xanthan gum), the fresh berries bursting with juice, and a little drizzle of sugar and honey. That's it- no complicated custard or pastry cream, no cooking of any fruit, no overnight rests or days of preparation. Great for when you just want something that will get you in and out of the kitchen quickly, but still impress.

I served this at room temperature with some vanilla ice cream, sitting in our friends' backyard. It was just the thing for a warm summer evening, and was light and fresh. My crust crumbled as I was putting the galette together, which is why mine isn't as pretty as many of them, but once it was dark out, nobody noticed ;)

Thanks to Lisa of Tomato Thymes in the Kitchen and Andrea of The Kitchen Lioness for hosting this week's Tuesdays with Dorie. The recipe can be found on their blogs or in Baking with Julia.
Enjoy! <3

Gluten-Free Blueberry Lemon Cornmeal Tart

Sometimes I just really want to make a specific dessert. Last week, I saw a recipe online for a fig tart with lemon mascarpone cream and rosemary cornmeal crust, and knew I had to make it for my dad - it sounded like the kind of thing he would love. We went to the grocery store, but they had no good figs - neither did the other ones nearby! It's summer, why does nobody have figs??
We had already bought everything else for the tart, so we decided to just try a different fruit. My dad decided on blueberries, which, unlike the figs, were firm and perfectly sweet.

This tart is so delicious. It mixes so many flavors, but is not overwhelming. A cornmeal crust that resembles a cookie is flavored with rosemary and topped with an extremely simple cream. This is the first pastry cream I've made that doesn't need to be cooked - the tart flavors of lemon and mascarpone are so great together. Finally comes a layer of blueberries topped with a honey-jam glaze.
This is the perfect summery dessert for a nice dinner, and so simple to make. It can easily not be gluten-free if you don't have an allergy - just leave out the xanthan gum and substitute regular all-purpose flour for the gluten-free flour.
  Enjoy!

 
 Gluten-Free Blueberry Lemon Cornmeal Tart
(adapted from Epicurious)

Gluten-Free Cornmeal Rosemary Crust
1 1/2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal (not stone-ground)
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
4 to 5 tablespoons ice water

Lemon Mascarpone Cream
1/3 cup plain greek yogurt
1 cup mascarpone cheese (8 oz)
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated fresh lemon zest
1/8 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons raspberry jelly
1 tablespoon honey
1 pint fresh blueberries

To make crust:
Pulse together flour, cornmeal, sugar, xanthan gum, and salt in a food processor. Add butter and rosemary and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps. Drizzle evenly with 4 tablespoons ice water and pulse until just incorporated.
Gently squeeze a small handful: If it doesn't hold together, add more water, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, pulsing after each addition and continuing to test. Press dough evenly onto bottom and up sides of a 9 or 10-inch fluted tart pan (round or square). Smooth dough with fingers and trim dough edges so they are flush with the pan rim. Chill crust until firm, about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Bake crust in middle of oven until center and edges are golden, 25 to 30 minutes (don't worry if bottom of crust cracks), then cool in pan on a rack.

To prepare filling and assemble tart:
Whisk together greek yogurt, mascarpone, sugar, zest, and salt in a bowl.
Heat jelly and honey in the microwave for 1 minute, or until the jelly is melted, then cool glaze slightly.
Remove side of tart pan and spread mascarpone cream in shell. Arrange fresh blueberries decoratively over cream. Brush blueberries with honey glaze.

Raspberry Clafoutis

Sometimes you can try a dessert at a nice restaurant, and think it's so great that you would probably never be able to make it at home. We have a restaurant nearby our house that made amazing raspberry clafoutis, and we all loved it. It was like a thin, soft cake with raspberries, but it had a bit of a custard texture as well. They renovated the restaurant a while ago and stopped making the clafoutis the way it was, so this week I decided I had to try to make it myself.

I went to Food and Wine for the recipe, figuring that they were probably a good a source as any. This is a super simple recipe and is quick for a last-minute dessert. I did adapt this to make it gluten-free, but I think the flour affected the texture and made it a bit too custardy. It was delicious anyway, but I recommend trying it the regular way if you can. I also used slightly less raspberries than listed below, because they were about to overflow in my pie dish! Enjoy! <3

Raspberry Clafoutis
(from Food and Wine)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
Salt
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 pints raspberries (3 cups)
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter a 9-inch gratin dish.
In a bowl, whisk the flour, sugar and a pinch of salt. Whisk in the eggs, butter and lemon zest until smooth. Add the milk and whisk until light and very smooth, about 3 minutes. Pour the batter into the gratin dish and top with the raspberries.
Bake for about 30 minutes, until the clafoutis is set and golden. Let cool slightly. Dust with confectioners' sugar, cut into wedges and serve.

TWD: Chocolate Truffle Tartlets

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was chosen by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon, Spike of Spike Bakes, Jaime of Good Eats and Sweet Treats, and Jessica of Cookbookhabit.
Oh, these tarts. My apologies for not posting on time, but I have a real excuse - I was in the Dominican Republic! It was a great vacation with my family and my best friend. Obviously I couldn't bake at a resort, but not wanting to fall behind already, I figured I would make this when we got back. I decided to do it yesterday, thinking it wouldn't take too long.
Here's the thing. It's not very complicated. None of the steps take lots of time, but there are a lot of steps. There are chilling times, baking times, lots of things to chop and beat, etc, etc. It took a while. Luckily I was able to get them done by 7, and my mom and I ate these along with pão de queijo for our own little Oscars party :)
Look, they're good. I'm not going to deny that. Hey, this is Julia Child we're talking about! But are they that good? To be worth another afternoon making them? I don't think so. I'm happy I made them, but I probably won't do it again. The crust is interesting to make, but it ended up being quite crumbly and dry (although, in all fairness, I made it gluten-free for my mom, which may have affected the texture). The filling was good but resembled a simple flourless chocolate cake, although I did love the idea of chocolate chunks in it. The biscotti didn't stay very crunchy (although again, this could be due to the gluten-free cookies I used), but was yummy. Overall, a good one-time recipe.

I know other people loved it, so if you want to try it for yourself you can find the recipe on any of the hosts' blogs.
*To make it gluten-free, substitute the flour for all-purpose gluten-free flour (or a mix of various flours if you know how to do that), add 1/4 tsp. xanthan gum, and substitute some sort of gluten-free cookie for the biscotti (I used these).
Enjoy!

Dorie's Tarte Noir

Sorry I've been gone! Soo busy with school and trying to find time to be with friends. Oh well! A while ago I made Dorie's Tarte Noir, which was AMAZING. I made it gluten-free for my mommy! It was really easy to do - I just substituted the flour in the crust for all-purpose gluten-free flour, and added a little xanthan gum. I couldn't tell that it was different from the original recipe at all.
The ganache is very rich, but so good. My mom was happy with it, and she insisted on being the food stylist and photographer for the picture :)
Enjoy!

Dorie's Summer Fruit Galette

Back in March, my mom had some general pain, and couldn't find the source of it. She had had tests for lots of different diseases, all of which had come back negative. After lots of tests, she discovered that she has Celiac disease, which means she can't eat anything containing gluten (wheat, barley, or rye). This really isn't all that difficult to deal with, especially when cooking at home, but the problem is cross-contamination. It turns out that in restaurants, everything has flour! Because of the disease, if her food even touches flour, it is "contaminated" and she can't eat it.
My mom loves sweets, and there are places that make gluten-free desserts, but they are often not that great, and you risk cross-contamination. I had been reading Celiac Teen, another teen food blog I find really interesting, written by Lauren, who is 18, about her dealing with Celiac disease. I saw that it was possible to make something really delicious without any gluten, and not crumbly and bland like the store-bought gluten-free desserts often are. I did a little research and decided to give it a try.
I decided that I wanted to make Dorie's Summer Fruit Galette, because it wasn't a cake or cookies, where the texture is so important, but the only gluten-containing part of it is the crust. Since then, I've used the recipes I always use with certain substitutions, but since it was my first time baking without gluten, I went on to King Arthur flour's website and found this recipe for pie crust. I bought their gluten-free flour mix (I don't trust myself to mix the flours myself yet), and the crust came together easily. I couldn't find "instant clearjel", so I didn't use it. The one difference I noticed in making the crust was how difficult it was to roll out - it was crumbly and dry, making it really hard to shape in to a pretty galette...

Oh, I know it's hideous. But it was so good. I used nectarines as the summer fruit, and their tartness went really well with the sweetness of the custard.
The crust? It was great. I honestly couldn't tell the difference from a regular "gluten-ous" crust, and neither could my happy mommy. So if you know anyone with Celiac disease, or have it yourself, don't be afraid of baking. Just do some research, try out some recipes, and be sure to keep the kitchen free of contamination (the one thing that can be annoying, especially when you do bake with flour as well).
We all loved this, and I'm not afraid to try baking without gluten anymore. Enjoy!

TWD Rewind: Chocolate Cream Tart

Easter lunch. I'm making dessert. Better be good, right? Well, why not trust Dorie? Again. Oooh, there's a big list of rewinds to still do! Okay, I'll make the Creamiest Lime Cream Meringue Pie and the Chocolate Cream Tart. Chocolate, citrus, meringue, whipped cream... something for everyone, right? Right. Okay, why not spread it out over a few days? Day one: The crust.
This was a really quick and easy crust. It's very similar to the usual tart dough, only it has cocoa powder. Whir some ingredients together in the food processor, pat the dough into the pan, and stick it in the freezer. Half an hour later, into the oven it goes. Another half hour later, onto a cooling rack. All done!
Day two: The pastry cream.
Again, the usual deal. Sugar, egg yolks, cornstarch... temper with the milk... put in the rest of the milk... stir in melted chocolate (I used bittersweet).... stir in some butter. Stick it in the fridge.
Day 3: The whipped cream.
ONCE AGAIN, no big deal. Whip some cream. Add some sugar and vanilla. Great.
Now, time for assembly. Spread the pastry cream in the tart shell. Spread the whipped cream on top. Finally, some chocolate shavings (to this day, I cannot manage to make curls).
Easter morning we put the tart on a plate and got in the car to go to a friend's house. That was probably the most stressful car ride of my life. The plate was on my lap, and I stupidly didn't put anything under the tart to keep it from sliding, so the crust cracked in a few places. But it got there looking fine.
Time for dessert. At this point, I was nervous. I had tasted along the way, but didn't know how it would come together. Luckily, it was great! The crust was great, and so was the whipped cream. My only complaint was the pastry cream - I would have liked it to be a bit sweeter, so next time I'll use semi-sweet instead of bittersweet chocolate. But the people who love dark chocolate said it was great.
Basically what I'm saying is that if you ever need an impressive yet simple dessert, try out this tart. You can find the recipe here or in the book. Enjoy!

TWD: Soft Chocolate Raspberry Tart

Sweet tart dough... almonds... chocolate... raspberry... yum. Soft Chocolate Raspberry tart was this week's recipe, chosen by Rachelle from Mommy? I'm Hungry! This was a great pick! It is an easy tart to make, and so yummy. It starts off with a sweet tart dough with nuts (I used almonds). Dorie says to fully bake the crust, but I thought if I did that and then baked it with the filling it would burn, so I only baked it for about 15 minutes. It turned out this wasn't quite enough time, because the crust was very light, but it cooked through and was fine. After you bake the crust, you sprinkle on a cup of fresh raspberries. Then comes the chocolate filling, which is very close to a ganache. You are supposed to use a mixture of milk and bittersweet chocolates, but I used all semisweet and liked it. After baking the whole tart for 30 minutes and letting it cool, you're ready to eat! I ate it plain (no whipped cream) and thought it was yummy. I can't say that I will definitely make this one again, because it wasn't my favorite tart, but it was good and I don't regret making it! If you want to try it for yourself, you can buy the book or find the recipe here. Enjoy!

TWD: Toasted Coconut Custard Tart

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was chosen by Beryl of Cinemon Girl. She chose the Toasted Coconut Custard Tart. This is a pretty simple recipe, and doesn't take too long (in comparison to other tarts - obviously a quick batch of brownies is quicker). It starts off with Dorie's basic tart crust, which on its own is delicious. Then comes a rum-flavored pastry cream with lots of toasted coconut stirred in. Finally comes a rum-flavored whipped cream and some more toasted coconut (which by the way is absolutely delicious on its own). All put together it is very pretty.

I wasn't too fond of it myself, but my taste-testers loved it. If you want the recipe, you can find it here or in the book. Enjoy!

TWD Rewind: French Pear Tart

Happy snow day to everyone in the NYC area! :) Last weekend, I made this tart for a dinner. It was so simple to put together, and looked beautiful. It starts off with Dorie's simple tart dough - which I still am in love with - and its partially baked. Then comes an almond cream - put ground almonds (still have so much left over from the DB macarons), sugar, vanilla, butter, cornstarch, and probably something else I can't remember because it's late and I'm tired, into a food processor, blend it, and put it into the crust. Then comes pears. This was the fun part, because you can cut them in a way that looks a lot harder than it is. You take canned pear halves(we had the option of poaching fresh pears, but I was short on time) and thinly slice them. You put one onto a spatula and press down slightly on it, which makes it fan out. You put six of these on top of the cream (one can of pears has six halves):
and stick it in the oven, and out comes a beautiful tart. And it tastes yummy, too!

So if you want an easy, impressive recipe, you can find it here or buy the book. Enjoy!

TWD's 2nd Anniversary! Chocolate Buttermilk Birthday Cake and (Apple) Tarte Tatin!

Happy second anniversary Tuesdays with Dorie! Two years ago, Laurie posted this on her blog. She had the idea to bake her way through Baking from My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, one of the best cookbook writers of all time. Although the group has been baking for two years, I only joined this September. Even so, my oven is now set to "Dorie mode" (three racks, evenly spaced), and I have what seems like endless plastic containers of her bittersweet ganache in my fridge (is it just me, or does it seem like that same recipe is used as a part of a thousand others???). Sometimes it's calming to knead biscuit dough - other times it's stressful to figure out when I'm going to have time to make a cake with four different components. But it's always so much fun to bake, eat, and blog about that week's recipe.

For this week, the members all voted on which recipe we should make. It was a close call between the Chocolate Buttermilk Birthday Cake and the Tarte Tatin. We were allowed to choose to make either/both this week. It being the second anniversary, I thought I should make both. First up: the cake.

The batter for this one was pretty simple. Instead of buttermilk, I used my usual substitute, milk with a splash of vinegar. It worked great. The icing was a bit trickier. First you have to melt several ingredients (lots of chocolate and the secret ingredient, malt powder) over a saucepan of simmering water. This is supposed to result in a smooth, glossy mixture. Yeah, not so much for me. It came out like one glob of what looked like burnt chocolate. I was worried this would make the icing a failure, but once it was beat in with the other ingredients it was fine. What I tasted of the icing was delicious. I didn't get a chance to taste the cake itself. I heard it was good, but a bit too sweet.

Earlier that day we went to the New York Cake Convention (which by the way was amazing!). This got me into a "decorating mood" :D . I have never been very good at piping, but I decided to try it. I was able to make the cute little.... uh... I don't know what to call them... on the side of the cake. I was so proud! I want to keep practicing my piping skills, and eventually work with fondant. Exciting!
Next up: Tarte Tatin. I decided to stick to the recipe and use apples. I had some issues with this one. First you cut up apple halves. You melt butter in an oven-proof skillet, sprinkle on some sugar, and put on the apples. You cook this until the sugar turns a "deep caramel color". This is supposed to take about fifteen minutes. I cooked it for about twenty-five, and it wasn't darkening enough, so I decided to just forget it and continue with the recipe. You put on a big round of puff pastry and stick the whole thing in the oven until it's cooked through. I think I could have cooked both the apples and the pastry more, because both were quite light in color, but the tarte was delicious. It made six slices - I ate one and then went to bed. When I woke up the next morning, there was none left. And my parents were the only ones at home with me. I guess they liked it!
Both of these are recipes that I will make again for special occasions. If you want either of the recipes, I highly recommend that you buy the book that started it all. You won't regret it! And hey, if you buy it, join Tuesdays with Dorie! Thank you so much to all of my fellow TWD members for baking along with me. I can't wait for all of 2010's recipes! Enjoy!

TWD Rewind: Parisian Apple Tartlet

Sometimes there are recipes that seem really easy. A bit too easy, it might seem. Sometimes these recipes are really good. So good that you had no idea it was possible to make such a fabulous dessert out of four ingredients. But sometimes, these recipes are really bad, and you wonder how you could have been so stupid as to even attempt to make them. But then, there are the recipes which are just okay, which tends to be the case with a recipe with just four ingredients. That's the case with these tartlets. They start off with a small round of puff pastry (I think I used one that was a bit too small, because I had to cut my apples smaller than the recipe said to). Then you put on half an apple, cut into fourths. You sprinkle on some brown sugar and butter, and you're done. Bake at 400F for 25 minutes (that was too much for mine - they took about 15-20), and consume. The brown sugar and butter dripped off of the pastry, and burned. This resulted in the bottoms of my tartlets being black and tasting burnt. The apples didn't cook all the way through, but I had to take the tartlets out of the oven because or else they would get too brown. All in all, this is a recipe that I might make if I have small scraps of puff pastry leftover from another recipe, but probably not one I'll serve at a dinner. If you want to try it out for yourself, you can buy the book or find the recipe here. Enjoy!

TWD: Rosy Poached Pear and Pistachio Tart

This week's TWD recipe was chosen by Lauren of I'll Eat You. She chose the Rosy Poached Pear and Pistachio Tart. This tart takes a while to put together, but isn't too complicated. It starts off with a fully baked tart crust. Then comes a pistachio pastry cream, which has small pieces of the nuts in it. After that comes pears poached in red wine. This gives them the red color on the outside that almost makes them look as if they haven't been peeled. Last comes the pistachios covered in a simple caramel made of sugar and water. We couldn't stop eating the candied nuts on their own. They would actually be good in little bags if you're making christmas baskets.

We couldn't stop talking about this tart. We made the sauce that's recommended, and it was well worth it. I would really recommend this recipe for a not-too-hard dessert that really impresses people. Yum! If you want the recipe, you can buy the book or find it here. Enjoy!

TWD: Chocolate-Crunched Caramel Tart

This week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe was chosen by Carla of Chocolate Moosey. She chose the Chocolate-Crunched Caramel Tart. I was really excited about making this, simply because of the picture in the book. Okay, also because you can't go wrong with caramel, chocolate and peanuts. Yum!

This was the first time that I made a tart from this book, and my first time ever making a tart (surprising, right?). The dough was easy enough to make, using the food processor. I had a seven-year-old helper in the kitchen, so she helped me press the dough into the tart pan and stir the ganache. So cute! 

The tart was very good, but extremely rich. Nobody was able to eat more than a tiny sliver, although everybody said it was great. I didn't love it myself, simply because it was so rich and because I didn't think the ganache was very sweet. All in all, not something I'll make again. Sorry Dorie! 

If you want to try for yourself, you can buy the book or find the recipe here. Also, don't forget to check out the other TWD bloggers! Enjoy!