tartelettes

Blackberry And Almond Shortcrust Tartelettes

02.06.2008 60 Comments

I am warning you this is another loaded post but having a food blog makes you part of an awesome group of people worldwide and when this community reaches out for help…I just jump because they have given me so much already.

I never thought I’d say this but I am exciting to see June. I usually love May and all the promises that Spring carries. That lighter feel in your step, the days being longer and filled of beautiful sunsets, the trees in full blooms, produce getting a new skin at the store…But as much as the first half of May was filled with joyous and sweet moments such as Marcela’s visit or my birthday, the end of May turned quickly bitter-sweet as well as full and empty at the same time. Before I forget…I am having a bad case of what B. called "Gruyere Head": the lovely apron in the first picture was a handmade gift of Holly’s mother-in-law and I have been starring at it for a couple of weeks now, unable to put it on, afraid I’d stain it…I know aprons are meant to be worn…give me some time, ok?!!

We lost a dear friend, another one got diagnosed with a very invasive form of cancer and while my uncle and aunt are here visiting, we got news that our beloved great aunt Marcelle passed away.We found comfort in just sitting there over a cup of coffee and a pastry discovering different perception on events and people. All throughout May, the “aaws” turned to “yikes” so June is a welcome sight indeed.

I know that things won’t get better just because it is a new month, but the wonderful human interactions I have had in May have given me the strength to make sense of it all. I guess getting one year older does have a purpose beside another …My heart and soul are filled to the rim and just want to explode. Since I am a big believer of paying it forward, I was thrilled when Bee of Jugalbandi asked if I wanted to put a prize for bids in the fundraiser she was organizing for Bri of Figs With Bri. As a long time reader of her blog, I have enjoyed her cooking journey and was touched by her letting us know about the hard truth behind the words. Bri, wonderful and funny Bri has cancer, breast cancer.

I can hear you " Hey, Tartelette, I thought you just said June was going to be better!"….Well they are…because one more time we can move our derrieres and help a friend, offer comfort and support and do something. I have seen throughout this month what a amazing and kick ass community food bloggers are and I know this fundraiser is going to be a success. I also know that there is nothing like food to bring people together so of course this post is not without a sweet recipe. For details on how to help Bri, read the end of this post where you will find all the info necessary.

These little blackberry tartlets with a crunch sweet short crust were a true "baume au coeur", medicine for the heart this past week. Sharing one of my favorite recipes with my aunt and uncle while talking about aunt Marcelle, my ailing grandfather and the family history, was a moment I won’t be quick to forget. Picking the blackberries together under the scorching sun, mixing the ingredients for the dough while sipping lemonade and being rewarded with tasty little bites for dessert. We sat in silence, each thinking about the last time such a thing happened and how bizarre and crazy life can turn out to be. I sure feel better after a few bites of these!

Blackberry & Almond Shortcrust Tartelettes:
Makes 6-8, depending on your tart molds.

Printable Recipe

For the tart shells:
1 stick plus 1 Tb. butter, cut in small pieces
1 1/4 cups flour
1/4 cup almonds
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 egg yolk

In a food processor, pulse all the dry ingredients. Add the butter and pulse again. Add the egg yolk and pulse until the mixture comes together in a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate while you prepare the filling.Roll between sheets of plastic wrap and cut out circles larger than your tart shells, fit the dough into the molds and cut out the excess. Prick with a fork, cover with a sheet of parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake at 350 for about 10-15 minutes. Reroll the scraps and cut into strips to use as decorative patterns once the shells are filled and prior to their last baking time. Let cool to room temperature before filling with the blackberries.

Blackberry filling:
1 pint fresh blackberries
zest and juice from one lemon
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tb. cornstarch

In a heavy saucepan, combine all the ingredients and heat over medium until the blueberries release their juices and the whole mix start to thicken, about 10 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.

Assembly:
Divide the filling among the tart shells, lay strips of the remaining dough over the tartlets. Brush with a little milk and bake another 20 minutes at 350F. Let cool completely before removing them from the tart shells.

Bri is going through the expected rounds of chemo and other treatments as well as trying other healing alternatives such as holistic methods, which are unfortunately not covered by her health insurance. We thought we’d give them a break and a little boost with their medical bills. Hence, the team organising the JUNE edition of CLICK at Jugalbandi, "Yellow for Bri" has organised a fundraiser to help Bri and her family meet her out-of-pocket medical costs for ONE YEAR.

Yellow is the colour of hope. Through the work of the LiveStrong Foundation, it has also come to signify the fight against cancer. The entries can be viewed HERE. The deadline for entries is June 30, 2008. The fundraiser will extend until July 15, 2008. We appeal to our fellow bloggers and readers to help us achieve this. Bri deserves a chance to explore all options, even if her insurance company thinks otherwise. There’s a raffle with exciting prizes on offer.

After viewing the list, you may make your donation HERE or at the Chip-In button on any participating site. Your donation can be made securely goes directly to Bri’s account. This month’s photo contest also has some prizes. Details HERE. You can support this campaign by donating to the fundraiser, by participating in CLICK: the photo event, and by publicising this campaign.

Sweet Melissa Lemon Blueberry Buttermilk Pie & Winners

18.03.2008 38 Comments

Not only does Melissa Murphy’s latest book satisfies my cravings for bakery sweets but it also fulfills my love for all things citrusy. I wish I could show you how good her Lemon Squares are but I am afraid I only have the crumbs on our plates to show for it as they were devoured faster than I could take a picture. I had to hide the Lemon Blueberry Tartlets pictured to avoid the same "problem" (eating is never a problem in our neighborhood). I bookmarked the original recipe Lemon Blueberry Pie the first time I flipped through the book for plenty of delicious reasons: it had lemon, buttermilk, blueberries (the freezer is stock full of them) and I could make minis for a dinner party. They lasted for about 5 minutes and then our guests asked to come back next week for another try-out from the book (Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Torte anyone?)

Before I give you the recipe, I know you are awaiting to read if your name got pick to receive one of the 5 copies the publishers were giving away and this is great news for the winners. Thank you all for your participation, I know Melissa must be thrilled about it! I have got even more good news for the 250-ish of you who showed up for the event….keep on reading…..

I need the following people to send me their mailing address at mytartelette(@)gmail(dot)com so we can get the books on their way to ya’ll’s kitchen!
Congratulations to:
– Steph from Stephanie’s Kitchen
– The Coffee Snob from Eat and Be Happy
– Merav from A Tasteful Journey
– Kevin from Closet Cooking
– Ginny from Just Get Floury

The good news? Ariela from Baking and Books is also holding a giveaway for another 5 copies!! So…if your name did not get picked this time around, run to her blog and put your name in the hat once more! Who knows?!

Lemon Blueberry Buttermilk Pie
Reprinted with permission from The Sweet Melissa Baking Book by Melissa Murphy.

Blueberries really need to be offset by something tart to taste their best. This pie
is so delicious because the rich tang of buttermilk and fresh lemon juice shows off
plump ripe blueberries. This one is really fun and easy to make.

Makes one 10-inch pie (or 8 minis)

For The Pie:

1 prebaked 10-inch piecrust made from All-Butter Pie Dough (1/2 of the recipe below)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch, sifted
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

For The Blueberry Topping:

1/4 cup apricot preserves
1 tablespoon water
1 1/2 dry pints fresh blueberries, picked through, stems discarded

All Butter Pie Dough:

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 Tb sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup very cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
6-8 Tb ice water

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar baking powder and salt. Add the butter pieces, tossing with your figers to coat them with the flour. Using a pastry blender, cut the butter ito the flour util it is the size of large peas. Sprinkle 6 Tb of the water over the mixture and toss with a fork. The dough whould hold together when you squeeze it in your hand. If it is too dry, add the rest of the water.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Pat it together in one piece. Divide the dough into 2 equal parts, flatten each into a disk and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before rolling. When ready to use, roll it out and fit a pie pan with the dough, prick with a fork. Cover with parchment paper and fill with beans or pastry weights. Bake at 350F for 20 minutes or so.

Position a rack in the center of your oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, butter, eggs, vanilla, buttermilk, zest, and lemon juice until smooth. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the prebaked pie shell.
Place the pie plate on the prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 40 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the custard is set. Remove to a wire rack to cool to room temperature before topping with the blueberries.

To Make The Blueberry Topping

In a small heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the apricot preserves and the water until melted. Strain through a fine-meshed strainer into a medium bowl. Add the blueberries and, using a rubber spatula, stir gently to coat. Pile the blueberries on top of the pie.
Serve the pie chilled or at room temperature. It keeps tightly wrapped in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Strawberry Lime Tartelettes And A New Boyfriend

20.02.2008 55 Comments

Remember a while back when I was going to give Pierre Herme some rest because I was all busy with another man? Well, meet my new boyfriend Christophe Michalak. Edible wouldn’t you say? Well, like a new boyfriend he is giving me "du fil a retordre"… Yep, he is giving me a hard time. Not that he is playing the three day rule without any phone call, but rather the three time recipe rule I have in the kitchen. You know the kind of boyfriend I am talking about. He looks good, presents well, he is popular, funny. You are attracted by a certain mysterious quality. The first date leaves you confident that there could be something there and subsequent ones leave you with a strange feeling, you don’t know "sur quel pied danser" (which foot to dance with). By the third date you are either giving up on the guy or you are pestered enough that you want to "break the code", get inside his head one more time because he is too darn genius for you to give up. Well, Christophe you make it very hard for me to like you!

Basically, when I pick up a new cookbook and try something from it, if it tastes yuck or fails after three times, I dump it or send it back. His marshmallow recipe left me confused just like after a first date…I was happy to try an egg white based recipe but decided after the first fiasco to stick to my trusted one. Don’t believe me? You should have a conversation with my mother when I handed her the KA bowl and beaters all glued with hot sugar syrup, egg whites and gelatin. Puzzled again when I tried his almond dough recipe which calls for one egg, then in the directions it reads "add the eggs"…"Hey honey! I have my glasses over my nose right?", then the pictures show what looks like a few egg yolks…Hmmm "Hey Michel, did you really proof-read your book?". I was starting to wonder if I was suffering from pastry amnesia.

Yes you look mysterious, mischievious and cute but Christophe your recipe and the book writing has me completely frustrated and mad…at you! I get that you are the World Champion of Pastry, I get that you are in charge of a prestigious pastry kitchen and I can understand the ego boost of publishing your favorite and gorgeously executed and photographed recipes. Oh yes, the book is a true feast for the eyes, however it is not written for the novice baker. You have to constantly read between the lines and think three step ahead…not a problem I am used to it…with recipes that are chemistry coherent.

I foresee a love and hate relationship with Christophe…not the cozy and fuzzy feelings that Pierre Herme or Richard Leach bring me when I settle on the couch with their creations. I love the concept of the book: one master recipe -5 variations. I fell in love with his tartelettes concept and was really excited to get going: his crust base is a 2 part almond short dough filled with frangipane (almond cream), after that the variations can be created. With experience you can read between the lines, but I hate that others might have difficulty doing so…and that would still be ok if the writing -recipes-pictures of step by step were all coherent. I don’t always bake from cookbooks, but new approaches, new methods, new chefs, not to mention pretty pictures always give me inspiration to make a recipe my own according to my palate and the practicality of a home kitchen.

In that regard, I am sure you won’t mind that I have reworked the recipe that inspired these Strawberry Lime Tartelettes. For example, instead of a pistachio paste in the whipped cream, I made a simple lime curd. Although you can’t tell from the pictures but half the tarts had the strawberries rest on a small pool of lime curd while the others on strawberry jam (pictures). While both versions were excellent, they were also very different. The recipe called for mascarpone which I kept but you could easily substitute cream cheese, ricotta cheese or a fresh young goat cheese. The recipe is on the format of the ones I am fond of: multi-step, yes, but which allow you to make the elements over a couple of days, at your own leisure and assembled at the last minute for maximum freshness. Very nice option when you are making 40 like I did, but also when you have guests over for dinner as fresh is always best with berries. Stay tuned for further installments of my nights with Christophe!

We love them so much that I am sending them off to Rachel who is hosting this month Sugar High Friday – Pie That Evoke Your Dreams (and for a good cause: read at the end of this post)These Strawberry Lime Tartelettes evoked dreams of spring, fuzzy cuddles on the couch and beautiful easy going relationships…like strawberries and lime.

Strawberry Lime Tartelettes.
Makes 8

Tartelettes Elements:
Almond Short Dough
Almond Cream
Lime Curd Whipped Cream
2-3 cups fresh hulled strawberries, cut in half
3/4 cup strawberry jam

For the Almond Short Dough:
190 gr. flour
20 gr. cornstarch (makes for a lighter crumb)
90 gr. powdered sugar
130 gr. butter
35 gr. almond powder
pinch of salt
1 egg

Special equipment: 8 pastry rounds 3 inches in diameter and 1 inch tall (available here)

Sift the flour with the cornstarch, powdered sugar. Add the almond powder and cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or your fingertips until you get small coarse crumbs. Add the egg and the salt. Mix with your hands until just combined. Roll into a ball onto a plastic sheet, cover with another plastic sheet and flatten to a smal disk. Refrigerate one hour or overnight. You can do the whole thing in a food processor. When the dough is nice and cold, roll it out on a lightly floured board or in between the sheets of plastic. You will need half the amount of dough to make the tartelettes. The other half can be kept in the fridge for up to 5 days or frozen, well wrapped for up to 3 months.
Cut out rounds with a 3 inch pastry ring. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 350F for 8-10 minutes. Let cool.

For the Almond Cream:
100 gr. butter softened
100 gr. sugar
100 gr. almond powder
2 eggs
5 cl heavy cream

Place the butter, sugar, almond powder and the eggs in a large bowl and whisk until smooth (can also be done in a food processor). Add the cream but stir in it instead of whisking so as not to emulsify it or it will rise while baking. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
Place 8 baked rounds of dough in 8 pastry rings, divide the cream evenly among the rings and bake 20 minutes at 350F. Let cool.

For the Lime Curd Whipped Cream:
grated zest of 1 lime
1/2 cup strained lime juice
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
200 gr. mascarpone, softened
2000 gr. (20cl)heavy cream

Combine the zest, sugar, juice in a saucepan, and bring to a simmer. In a small bowl, beat the egg until light. Beat some of the lime mixture into the eggs to temper. Scrape the mixture back into the saucepan and cook stirring constantly until it thickens up, about 5 minutes. Remove the curd from the heat, let cool completely.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, mix together the mascarpone and cooled lime curd until incorporated, add the heavy cream and whisk until firm and medium stiff peaks form.

To assemble the tartelettes:
Divide the jam evenly over the bottom of each tart crust, arrange the strawberry halves decoratively on top.With a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip, pipe the whipped cream in the middle and decorate with grated lime zest if desired.

Printable version of the recipe here.

Check Rachel’s site for the round up on the 29th. In the meantime, if this sounds delicious, make a contribution to a non-profit helping to transform the world of food through pie- Pie Ranch. Please specify "Pie Ranch/Green Oaks Fund” in the "Designation" field of the online donation form (Pie Ranch is fiscally sponsored by the Rudolph Steiner Foundation) here.

Lemon Meringue Pie

28.01.2008 135 Comments

Or in my case Lemon Meringue Tartelettes…yep, can’t escape that nickname but to my defense Jen from The Canadian Baker and hostess for this month Daring Bakers' challenge had given us the option to make several tartelettes instead of one large pie. Be prepared to bathe in deliciously tart lemon curd and come out all sticky of meringue as 450 Daring Bakers got all sticky gooey once more just for you….and to overcome their fears, baking issues or just to have some fun!

Although this was not my first lemon meringue pie, it was fun to use someone else’s recipe for crust and curd and compare them with the ones I constantly use. No big challenge but I was so tired the day I made it that I really did not pay close attention and followed the recipe blindly. Hint to those DB who have to use violent threats to themselves to follow a recipe to a "t"…do it when you can barely stand on your feet from exhaustion, physical or mental. Mine was mental so I went ahead and dove in.

The crust turned out ok, not my favorite but very good. I like mine flaky with good ole Crisco. Since my mother in law gave me her recipe, I just think this is the best (and not too many worries for my arteries I use the non trans-fat one that came out a couple of years ago). This one did the trick, except that being on auto-drive that evening I added the whole measurement of cold water to the flour mixture instead of my usual a few tablespoons at a time until it comes together. Oopps…dough was wet…Wrapped it up, parked it in the fridge for an hour, with the absolutely faith (that means all digits crossed here) that the flour and butter would work their magic and tame their thirst with the extra moisture. Worked! People, never fondle your dough too much no matter how soft and shiny it is or you will pay the price of tough and too elastic a piece to work with! After that a familiar scene happened: roll the dough, cut rounds, fill tartelettes molds, cover with parchment paper, fill with dry beans, blind bake and let cool. Oven on, tired Tartelette…I almost forgot they were in when the neighbors gathering for drinks started to wonder what I was baking! I had forgotten we had planned a game of Scrabble.

On to the curd….now I had an audience…ahahahah!!!! Most likely they will be too invested in the game to notice if I mess up! It wa the first time I used a curd recipe that involved water and which method was slightly unsual (see the recipe below). I have been spoiled by the lemon curd in Alice Medrich’s book on low fat dessert and the fantabulous full fat lemon cream from Pierre Herme. But eh! I am always willing to try something new for my lovely Daring Bakers!! Everything went smoothly and the curd turned out smooth and tart, just like I love it. I remembered the good old advice from Harold McGee not to stir the cornstarch mixture too vigorously and not to cook it passed boiling or it will reverse its thickening properties…amazing given I was completely distracted by C. challenging B. about a word during our Scrabble game. Kids……!

The meringue part….delicious. Again, of where there is fluffy sugar topping there usually is a happy Tartelette. The recipe instructed us to use the oven for that part, but my oven was crowded with pizza when that part came up so I "had" to use the blowtorch (another excuse to play with fire) and for the kids to be convinced I had magical powers!! I first played with it on the tartelettes like I had done previously on lime meringue cupcakes and then I just used a plain tip and a large star tips and did the minis with them…and they kind of looked like cupcakes after all. I think I lost at Scrabble but I took the prize for eating the most of the mini lemon meringue pies in one sitting. What can I say…I love anything with lemons!

Will I make this particular lemon meringue pie again? Actually I did a couple of times for a friend and my mother in law and everybody enjoyed it. For us? Probably, not so much for the crust but the curd was really tart…which I love, so I will make sure to serve it to people who share the same fancy. The meringue was not overly, cloyingly sweet so it will be used again for other tarts.
Be sure to check my fellow Daring Bakers' posts popping out there everywhere and thanks Jen for a yummy recipe!

Lemon Meringue Pie: recipe courtesy of Wanda’s Pie in the Sky by Wanda Beaver, 2002

Makes one 10-inch (25 cm) pie. I made four 3.5-inch ones and twelve 2-inch minis.

For the Crust:

¾ cup (180 mL) cold butter; cut into ½-inch (1.2 cm) pieces
2 cups (475 mL) all-purpose flour
¼ cup (60 mL) granulated sugar
¼ tsp (1.2 mL) salt
⅓ cup (80 mL) ice water

For the Filling:

2 cups (475 mL) water
1 cup (240 mL) granulated sugar
½ cup (120 mL) cornstarch
5 egg yolks, beaten
¼ cup (60 mL) butter
¾ cup (180 mL) fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp (15 mL) lemon zest
1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract

For the Meringue:

5 egg whites, room temperature
½ tsp (2.5 mL) cream of tartar
¼ tsp (1.2 mL) salt
½ tsp (2.5 mL) vanilla extract
¾ cup (180 mL) granulated sugar

For the Crust:

Make sure all ingredients are as cold as possible. Using a food processor or pastry cutter and a large bowl, combine the butter, flour, sugar and salt. Process or cut in until the mixture resembles coarse meal and begins to clump together. Sprinkle with water, let rest 30 seconds and then either process very briefly or cut in with about 15 strokes of the pastry cutter, just until the dough begins to stick together and come away from the sides of the bowl. Turn onto a lightly floured work surface and press together to form a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 20 minutes.
Allow the dough to warm slightly to room temperature if it is too hard to roll. On a lightly floured board (or countertop) roll the disk to a thickness of ⅛ inch (.3 cm). Cut a circle about 2 inches (5 cm) larger than the pie plate and transfer the pastry into the plate by folding it in half or by rolling it onto the rolling pin. Turn the pastry under, leaving an edge that hangs over the plate about ½ inch (1.2 cm). Flute decoratively. Chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line the crust with foil and fill with metal pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and continue baking for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden. Cool completely before filling.

For the Filling:

Bring the water to a boil in a large, heavy saucepan. Remove from the heat and let rest 5 minutes. Whisk the sugar and cornstarch together. Add the mixture gradually to the hot water, whisking until completely incorporated.
Return to the heat and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture comes to a boil. The mixture will be very thick. Add about 1 cup (240 mL) of the hot mixture to the beaten egg yolks, whisking until smooth. Whisking vigorously, add the warmed yolks to the pot and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in butter until incorporated. Add the lemon juice, zest and vanilla, stirring until combined. Pour into the prepared crust. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming on the surface, and cool to room temperature.

For the Meringue:

Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Using an electric mixer beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar, salt and vanilla extract until soft peaks form. Add the sugar gradually, beating until it forms stiff, glossy peaks. Pile onto the cooled pie, bringing the meringue all the way over to the edge of the crust to seal it completely. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden. Cool on a rack. Serve within 6 hours to avoid a soggy crust.

And remember that you have until 4pm today to get the chance to get yourself a box of canneles!