Another Summer treat ! Apricot and Almond Tart...

I was in Heaven the other day! My local grocery store (Henry's in North Park for San Diegans) had apricots for sale. Not the hard as a rock kind. No, no, they were soft and ripe, as they should be. And placed in such a tiny display, one would hardly notice. But my eyes are trained ! You see, I grew up in Apricot country, with an apricot jam factory next door. My summer diet consisted of cherries in June & July, apricots in July & August, right off the trees. August & September we could smell the apricot jam in the making. Sweet sweet smell to fall asleep to...Aaaah the memories...

I've been enjoying Henry's apricots for several weeks now. Sweet, soft, sometimes juicy, they are a great snack. Of course, my brain turned into "tarte mode" :) One thing one has to worry about with baking with apricots is the bitterness of the fruit, especially if they are not ripe. One way to remedy that problem is to use leftover apricots that have been sitting so long nobody wants them. You are going to cook them, so who cares ?!! Another way is to pair them with a sweet concoction. Personally I like to marry apricots with almonds, especially almond paste which is very sweet with an underlying bitterness.

Below is my recipe for an apricot/almond tart that I made this week. Interestingly, it tasted more like apricot after a day in the fridge, as if the apricot juices diffused. You won't taste much of the almond unless you add almond flavoring to the selfmade almond paste.

Ingredients:

• Dough: 8 oz flour, 1/2 cup almond flour, 4 oz butter, 1 egg, pinch of salt


• Almond paste: 1/2 cup almond flour, 1/4 cup sugar, 2 oz butter, 1 yolk, vanilla flavor


• Cream: 1/4 cup sugar, 2 eggs, 2 tablespon marsala, 3/4 cup half and half


• 6-7 apricots

Directions:

1. Prepare the dough as instructed in my second post (with extra almond flour) and place it in the tart pan


2. To make the almond paste, mix the sugar, the almond flour, melted butter, yolk and a little bit of vanilla flavor until it is homogeneous. It should be a bit hard to mix so use a wooden spoon to apply a mashing motion. Place the paste in a thin layer at the bottom of the uncooked crust. Don't be afraid to use your fingers!


3. Place the apricot halves on top, the outside facing up.


4. To prepare the cream, mix the eggs, the sugar, and the marsala, then add the half and half. Mix well and pour on top of the apricots.


5. Bake everything at 370F for 1.5 hour.

Enjoy !

Small Indulgence - Lemon Mini Tarts

Summer is lemon season, at least in San Diego. Everyone is giving away lemons and limes. It's a great time for that dear little sweet tooth of mine, because lemon tart ("tarte au citron" as my mom says) is one of my favorite dessert. Or I shoud say it is in the top 100 :)

I normally make one big tart with generous slices and meringue on top, but i have been itching to use that silicone minitart mold I found at Tuesday Mornings for $5 ! Obviously I had to adapt my "tarte" skills to the small bite size the mold has to offer. After experimenting a bit, I found that it is easier to precook the crust using the mold, let it cool down then transfer them to a rack and fill them up with the lemon-flavored cream, before placing the rack in the oven for another round of baking.

The result is deli-hmmmm-cious ! And they are so small you don't feel guilty at all ! Not until after the third one :)

Alright, here is how I did it.

Ingredients:

• for the dough: 8 oz flour, 4 oz butter, a pinch of salt, 1 egg, vanilla flavoring, and 1/4 cup almond flour
• for the cream: 1 egg, 1 yolk, 2 oz sugar, 1 tablespoon flour, 1/2 cup half and half, 1 lemon

Directions:

1. Prepare the dough as instructed in the "basic crust recipe" post. I added the almond flour for a flakier dough.
2. Make a little ball of dough for each well in your mold. You've got to experiment with how many you need for a well, as each mold can be different in size. With the proportions given, I can make 14 mini tarts.
3. Press and mold each ball into a tart crust. Poke each with a fork at the bottom to let air escape during baking.
4. Bake at 350F for 15 min and let them cool down.
5. Prepare the cream by beating the egg, the yolk, the sugar, and the flour then add the half and half, the lemon zeste and its juice. You should get a creamy consistency.
6. In my case I place a little bit of cherry jam at the bottom of each crust for extra flavoring, but you dont have to. Add the lemon cream to each crust. (Another option I like is to add melted chocolate and let it seize before adding the lemon cream).
7. Bake at 350F for 30 min.
8. Once it's cooled you can drizzle some confection sugar on top for presentation.

Now it's your turn ! Good luck !

Happy Bastille Day !

How could I resist ? :) It's only missing those sparkling sticks to be truly celebratory.

Blue, White, and Red are the three colors of the french flag, or "Bleu, Blanc, Rouge" as we say there. The colors are supposed to represent the three concepts of the French Revolution, Liberty, Equality, Brotherhood ("Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite"). As I am writing this, the Eiffel Tower has already been showered in fireworks and people are celebrating in streets and cafes.

This is a variation on the strawberry tart reported earlier. I covered only a third of the tart with strawberry halves dipped in honey. I used honey-dipped blueberries for Blue and a mixture of honey, almond powder, almond slices, and pine nuts for White. It's quite a sight !

***drool marks***

French summer dessert: "Clafouti"

Yummy dessert that can be eaten warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream ("a la mode") or cold at picnics and BBQs.

Clafouti is a traditional dessert from the Provence region where cherry orchards abound. It makes use of cherries that are getting too ripe for direct consumption. The texture is close to bread pudding with fruits in it.

While clafouti is best made from fresh cherries, other fresh fruits can be used as well, like peaches, apples, pears, or bananas, making this dessert available year-round.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 lb pitless cherries



• 1/2 cup flour



• 1/2 cup sugar



• 3 eggs



• 1/2 cup half and half



• 2 tablespoon marsala

Directions (prep. time 30 mins, bake time 50 mins):

1. Preheat the oven to 370F



2. Grease the pan and add the pitless cherries, evenly distributed at the bottom.



3. In a bowl, mix flour and sugar, then create a hole in the center in which eggs, marsala and a little bit of half and half are added



4. Whisk everything together to make a thick paste, to which the remainder of the half and half is added.



5. The resulting mixture is added to the cherries.



6. Bake at 370F for 50 minutes.



7. Let the dessert cool down before transferring it out of the baking pan.

Enjoy !

Pierre.

Fourth of July dessert !

The 4th of July is the gateway to a summer filled with week-end BBQs and family gatherings. Colors are bright, smiles are broad, mouths are full of delicious BBQ fares. Here my salute to the 4th of July: a red and blue strawberry/blueberry tart.

Ingredients:

• tart crust (see previous blog)
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 2 tablespoona marsala wine
• 3/4 cup almond flour
• 3/4 cup half and half
• 5 lady fingers biscuits
• 1 quart of strawberries
• 1 pint blueberries
• fruit jam/jelly and honey

Directions (1 hr prep time, 30 min bake time):

1. Preheat the oven to 370F.
2. Prepare the crust as described in previous post and place it in the pie pan. You will cook it with the cream. (Note: I added a vanilla flavor to the crust)
3. Blend the eggs and the sugar to a frothy mixture.
4. Mix in the flour, followed by the marsala, the almond flour, and the half and half. In the end you should get a dense cream.
5. Break the lady fingers in small pieces and place them on the crust. Add the cream and let the biscuits soak for 5 minutes. They will absorb the cream and soften during baking.
6. Bake at 370F for 30 minutes. Cool the tart down to room temperature.
7. Brush a light coat of fruit jam/jelly on top (here I used cherry jam), it will keep the fresh fruits in place. (note: I use a small paint brush dedicated to the kitchen)
8. Place the strawberries cut in halves. This is your chance to be artistic!
9. Dilute some honey with a few drops of water and brush the strawberries with the sweet liquid. It will add sweetness and shine to the fruits, always appealing :)
10. Sprinkle blueberries on top.

Voila ! A magnificent dessert that will draw praise and encores. Give it a try !