Passion Fruit Tart

The weather can have an effect on baking. I guess that is why some of the best and tastiest recipes are made in the wintertime. The only damage I can think of that the cold will do is maybe cause something to seize up more quickly than needed, such as when you are making fudge or candy. The heat and humidity, however, are more difficult opponents in the kitchen. These evil offspring of nature's seasons, unfortunately, sometimes make their home in Texas.

So when they come to stay in the summer, I have to start crossing things off my baking list. The first thing to eliminate is meringue. Now, this particular tart recipe calls for a topping of meringue, so I opted to do the stabilized whipped cream for the topping. Also, like all recipes you find on the net, this one had suggestions and comments. The one I took note of was that the passion fruit flavor was very subtle, so I increased the amount used in the recipe. Even though the end result was very tangy, the whipped cream topping worked to tone it down. The toasted bits of coconut on top was another suggestion that I implemented, that added some more texture to the dessert.

I used a standard shortcrust pastry recipe to make this 9-9 1/2 inch tart. The filling has to chill for at least 8 hours, so plan on this time if you decide to make this tart. The recipe below only represents the filling and topping with some tweaks. I have included a link back to the original recipe if you are looking for the additional instructions and ingredients for a pastry shell as well as meringue topping.

Passion Fruit Tart
adapted from Epicurious 

Ingredients
1 fully baked 9- 9 1/2 tart shell
1 cup thawed passion fruit puree
1 tbs cornstarch
3/4 cup plus 2 tbs sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup or 1 stick of unsalted butter (cubed)
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut (toasted)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
3 tbs whipped cream stabilizer

Fill the bowl of a stand mixer (with the whisk attachment) with the eggs and sugar and whisk until blended. Then sift the cornstarch into the mixture, add salt, and whisk again. Set aside.

Place a saucepan over medium heat and fill with the passion fruit. Remove from heat once it reaches a simmer stage and prior to boiling. Set aside and then go back to the egg mixture and turn the mixer up to medium. As the egg mixture is whisked, pour a slow, small stream of the hot passion fruit into egg batter. Continue whisking and slowly pouring until saucepan is empty.

Then take the bowl out of the mixer stand and pour liquid back into the saucepan. Place over medium heat and let cook, whisking constantly. As it cooks, add a few butter cubes and continue to whisk. Once cubes are melted and blended, repeat the process until all butter cubes are melted and incorporated into the mixture. The batter will need to be cooked and whisked until it reaches the consistency of pudding. This should take about 6-8 minutes. Watch the heat, filling is to come to a boil but is to be removed from heat at that time.

Once the filling is the right consistency, pour into a sieve placed over a heat proof bowl. Push filling through sieve. Once sieve is empty and bowl is full, cover the surface of the filling with waxed paper. Chill the mixture for at least 8 hours. You also can chill it overnight.

After chilling time is up, beat whipped cream until soft peaks form and then add the stabilizer and beat until thick and fluffy.  Remove passion fruit curd from the refrigerator and fill the tart with the curd. Spread out with a spatula until tart shell is evenly filled. Smooth out the top. Then top with the stabilized whipped cream and sprinkle the toasted coconut over the surface.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.
                                     **LAST YEAR: Chocolate Babka** 

Rum Raisin Almond Tart

The other day I had a craving for Rum Raisin ice cream.  I am not a big fan of raisins but for some reason I really like the ice cream.  Off I went to the store to get some to squelch the craving. Nowhere to be found, so I asked around.  No one had ever heard of the stuff.  You would have thought I was asking for a piece of the moon with sprinkles on top!

Now I had to head back home, still carrying the same craving as I had started with.  Well, that just would not do.  So I went about looking for recipes and landed on this particular one.  It was not ice cream, but it sure did get rid of the craving.  Also, it had just enough raisins to add some flavor but not be overwhelming.

To me, the recipe is really something unique.  It is almost like a almond pie but with an occasional pop of flavor from the rum soaked raisins.  Also, the sweet pastry dough could just as well be sugar cookie batter.  The recipe does have a few components. Yet once those are made, the dessert comes together quickly and easily. The first component does require that this recipe should be started the night before to serve the next day.

Rum Raisin Almond Tart
adapted from Simply Sensational Desserts

Sweet Tart Dough (actually enough for two tarts)
9 tbs butter, softened
1 3/4 cup flour
pinch of salt
1 cup plus 1 tbs powdered sugar
1 large egg

Almond Cream Filling
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup dark rum
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 cups slivered almonds
1 cup and 1 tbs butter, softened
1 egg yolk
2 large eggs
1 tbs flour

Topping
1/3 cup apricot preserves
2 tbs rum
3 tbs powdered sugar
1 tsp water

Place the raisins and 1/4 cup rum in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Let soak overnight.

The next day, start on the dough by placing sugar, flour and salt in a sifter.  Sift ingredients into a medium size bowl and set aside.  Take out a food processor and fill with the butter.  Process butter for about 20 seconds or until smooth.  Pour in the sifted ingredients and add the egg.  Process mixture again until it turns into a dough and lumps up into a ball inside the bowl.  Divide the dough in half and flatten each into a disk.  Cover in plastic wrap and place in fridge to chill for 2 hours.

During the chilling time, the filling can be prepared.  Use the food processor again, grind the almonds with 1/4 cup of sugar.  It should take about a minute to grind the almonds into fine bits. Set aside.

Fill a bowl of a stand mixer with the remaining cup of sugar and add the butter.  Beat for about one minute on high.  Pour in the ground almonds and beat for another minute on low.  Then add the egg yolk and beat for 30 seconds.  Repeat the same process for each egg.  After this, beat the mixture for 3 more minutes and scrape down sides of bowl at one minute intervals.   Lastly, sprinkle the flour on top of the batter and use a wooden spoon to fold it in.  Once all is blended, cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator until ready to use.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  After the dough has chilled, take out one disc and roll out on a floured surface. You can seal and freeze the other dough disk for future use. The rolled disk should be 1/8 inch thick and the size of a 10X20 inch rectangle. Using a 9 inch tart ring or 9 inch ring from a springform pan, place on the dough and cut around to form a circle.  Make two circles.  Place one on a baking sheet by itself.  Place the ring on the other baking sheet and put the dough circle inside the bottom.

Take the almond cream mixture from the fridge.  Then drain the raisins from the rum and fold the raisins into the almond cream batter. Spoon the mixture into the dough lined ring and smooth the top so all is even.

Place baking sheet with dough disk on top rack in oven and tart filled one on the next lower rack.  Once the dough disk has a golden brown edge, it is done baking.  This should take about 15-17 minutes.  Remove and place pan on cooling rack.  The tart round should continue to bake until tester comes out clean.  This should take 18-20 minutes.  Remove from oven and place it on a cooling rack as well.

Brush the two tablespoons of rum over the top with a pastry brush while still hot out of the oven.  Then take the apricot preserves and microwave for 20-30 seconds.  Remove and pour into a sieve placed over a small bowl.  Use the pastry brush again and brush the strained apricot over the top of the tart.

Place the plain tart round over the top.  Should it not fit correctly into the pan, shave the edges with a paring knife until it fits inside the pan on top of the tart.

Sift the powdered sugar into a small bowl and add the water, mixing until all is smooth.  In order to get the correct consistency, you may have to add additional water.  Pour glaze over the top of the tart and smooth out evenly by using the back of a spoon.  Then  place back in the oven for about 5 minutes.  This should result in an opaque center and clear edges on the top.

Cool and remove the tart ring when ready to cut and serve.
                                  **LAST YEAR: B52 Cookies***

Monticello Pride Tart

One of our famous presidents, Thomas Jefferson, had an estate in Monticello.  This estate had a South orchard that contained about 38 different varieties of peach trees.  Most of us are familiar with the story about him fleeing the estate on horseback during the war. After that he was labeled as being a coward.

In reading some more history, I found out that he had long since made a choice between the strong, corrupt politics and the more honest, smaller group of politicians.  Having chosen to be a part of the smaller group led to issues of not having a very effective army and questionable leadership skills.  On top of these issues, his estate was very costly to maintain.  Costly enough to where the financial burden was not only felt by him but also the rest of the family.  However, this financial struggle was something he willingly dealt with instead of relinquishing the estate.  In the long run, I do believe that keeping the estate was a matter of pride.

Now you know how the name came about, so on with the explanation of this dessert!  The pastry crust is made with ground almonds which gives it a rich flavor.  In addition, the filling is unlike the standard.  Instead of being heavy with cream it only has 1/4 cup, which is much lighter.  You will also find ground almonds and almond extract in it. To offset this nutty tart, fresh sliced peaches are cooked on top of the filling.  After baking, warm peach preserves are brushed on top.

We normally go with peaches and cream, but the nutty base does compliment the flavor of the peaches.  As you take a bite, you land on the flaky nutty pastry, then the filling with a little crunch and finally, the sweet juicy peach.  As far as I am concerned peach and almond never tasted so good!

Also, before we move on, I wanted to thank a blogger for a recent award. I know I usually do two, but I think this one, due to the uniqueness, needs to stand alone.

Javelin Warrior at Cooking With Luv
He gave me the Happy Blogger award.  Javelin has a very unique blog that focuses on
promoting food bloggers..  He has such themes as "made with love Mondays" and "Tuesday Tutor".  The first is a weekly link up of recipes from various blogs.  The links have to be made from scratch recipes that are void of any artificial colors or ingredients.  The second theme is a post where he makes a recipe from a fellow blogger and interviews them as well.  We all know there are thousands of food blogs, so his themes are helping shed some limelight on some great talent that you might not have been aware of. I admire his selflessness in blogging as well as his dedication to natural nutrition.

If you have not met Javelin, you are missing the benefits of having this unique blogger in your circle, so drop in for a visit.  Now for the recipe!

Monticello Pride Tart
by flourtrader

Ingredients/ Almond Filling
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
1 3/4 cup of almond flour or meal (I ground my own)

Ingredients/Nut Pastry Crust
1/3 cup whole almonds
6 tbs butter ( cold and cubed)
1 tbs cold shortening (cold and cubed)
2 tbs water
3/4 tbs sugar
1 1/4 cups of flour
1/8 tsp salt

Ingredients/ Topping
4 peeled and sliced peaches
1/2 cup peach preserves
3 tbs water

To make the filling, whisk the egg and almond extract together.  Then, in a separate bowl, mix the sugar and almond flour together.  Take half of the almond sugar mixture and stir into the egg batter.  Add the whipping cream, mixing until well blended.  Add the rest of the almond sugar mixture and stir.  After everything is blended, place a sheet of plastic wrap on the surface of the batter and place it in the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours.

After about 2 1/2  hours of chilling time, start on the crust.  Place the nuts and sugar in a food processor and pulse several times.  The consistency should be fine once pulsed, almost flour fine.  Go through the blend and make sure there are no more large chunks of nuts.  If so remove them or chop them down with a knife.

Then add the flour and salt, pulsing in intervals until well blended.  Open the lid of the processor and toss in the butter cubes. Replace the lid and pulse about 6 times.  Open again,fluff dough with
a fork and drop in shortening cubes.  Then pulse for 6 times and then open and fluff the dough.  Lastly, add the water and pulse until the mixture forms clumps.

Empty the contents of the processor on top of a sheet of wax paper.  Form the dough into a ball and then knead a few times and flatten into a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill in fridge for 45 minutes.

Take out disk and place on lightly floured surface. Roll into a 9X12 rectangle.  Wrap the dough around the rolling pin and then unroll it over the 7X10 inch tart pan.  Press evenly into bottom of pan and up the sides. Then place pan in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. After the proper chilling time has expired, remove the tart  pan from the freezer and the filling from the refrigerator.  Uncover filling and fill tart pan, smoothing the top to insure even coverage to all corners.

Then place the peach slices in rows, either vertically or horizontally, on top of the filling.  Then place in oven and bake about 40 minutes.  When done, the cream should be set and the crust toasty. Remove and place tart on a rack.

While the tart is baking, place peach preserves and water in a small saucepan over medium high heat.  Stir and let mixture come to a simmer.  Pour mixture into a sieve placed over a heat proof bowl.  Discard any lumps left in sieve and then brush the strained preserves over the peaches.

To serve, cut tart into pieces with a sharp knife.  Tart can be served warm or at room temperature.

Notes and Tips:
1. the pastry crust is easy to work with so if your transfer of the dough to the tart is not perfect you can patch it in place.
2. To insure that the pastry holds its shape all freezing time and chilling time is required.
3. How many peaches you use is personal preference on how much fruit you want to overlap on top.
4. The texture of the filling will vary depending on which type you use-almond flour, almond meal or grinding your own.  The almond flour will give you the smoothest "mouth feel".
                                **LAST YEAR: Foggy City Meatloaf**

Almond Slices

I have been waiting on the arrival of a rectangle tart pan in order to make this.  Luckily it did arrive in time for this post, otherwise I would have gone to plan B.  Now plan B is for another time.

This tart has a buttery pastry base that is spread with raspberry jam and then filled with a almond egg white mixture and topped with sliced almonds.  The picture in the book looks quite different and I think it is because they used skinned almonds.  Skinned almonds does give the filling more of a honey color and there is distinction between the almond and the jam in appearance.  However, I just had regular almonds on hand, but I will be making the change next go around on this recipe.

Once you get the pastry dough in place, the rest of the recipe comes together quite quickly.  I do like the flavor of the almonds and this was an unusual treat.  The touch of raspberry amidst all that almondy goodness is a perfect match.  The almond filling, which the author calls cake, does not have the texture of cake, considering the ingredients but it is hard to explain.  However unexplainable the texture is, there is no issue explaining that I think it tastes delicious!

If you have a weakness for almonds, then I am sure you will enjoy this recipe.

Tomorrow I am out of town for some appointments and shopping at the specialty grocers to find some inspiration-so wish me luck!

Almond Slices
adapted from Perfect Afternoon Tea Recipe Book

Ingredients
8 oz of sweet shortcrust pastry
4 egg whites
a few drops of almond extract, I used 1/8 tsp
1 1/2 cups ground almonds
1 cup sugar
flour for dusting
powdered sugar for dusting (optional)
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup raspberry jam

Grease an 11 X 7 inch shallow or tart pan.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly dust a flat surface with flour and roll out the pastry into a rectangle, about 14 x 10.  Lower the pastry into the pan.  Then press into the sides and bottom of the pan.  Cut off the excess pastry hanging over the top of the pan so all sides are even. 

Spread the jam over the bottom of the pastry.  I warmed the jam in the microwave for about 15 seconds to make it easier to spread.

In a small bowl, beat the egg whites until they reach a stiff peak stage.  Then fold in the almond extract, ground almonds and sugar.  Pour mixture into pan and smooth the top, making sure that filling is even.  Then sprinkle with the flaked almonds.

Place pan in oven and bake until top is firm and crisp and pastry is golden.  This should take about 30-35 minutes.  Let cool completely in pan.  Once cool, prior to slicing, you can dust with powdered sugar.
                      **LAST YEAR: PBC Doodle Cookies**

Zinfandel Pear Tart/First Guest Post

I am so delighted to say that I am doing my first guest post over on Chef Dennis's blog!  It is a special priviledge as well as an honor that he extended the invitation.

I am not a bombastic person.  In other words, I am someone who wades into the water.  There are some people that just jump into things.  Some new bloggers jumped in and did everything that there was to be done in the first week (ie guest post, blog hops, etc).  Not me.

Early in my days of blogging publicly, I would panic when I would see Chef Dennis' comment on my blog.  I would think..please, please do not ask me to guest post, I am so not ready!  I knew that he would only ask once and if I said no that it would be my one and only invitation.   So time now has passed, I am not such a newbie and the invitation has arrived.  I was so ecstatic when it did arrive and then my mind started reeling about what I was going to post!

I decided to step out of the box and make something I had never tried before.  I never have made poached pears and had really not dabbled that much in pastry, so the recipe I found was definitely different-a Zinfandel Pear Tart.  I was kind of leery wondering if  I could pull it off or I would be stuck making something simple just to have something to present.  However after making and tasting the tart, I did not one, but two happy dances around the kitchen.  One for the fact that is was a success in my kitchen and the second for that fact that it was going to be for a guest post on Chef Dennis' blog!

So without anymore delay, pop on over to A Culinary Journey With Chef Dennis  to see all the details!