Classic French: Fruit Tarts

 

This month’s Classic French challenge was Fruit Tarts.  I keep forgetting that I do not own a normal sized tart pan, but I do have four small individual sized tart pans.  I had never used them until the other day.  Yes, this is my 3rd CF challenge, and my 3rd first time making said challenge dish. 

Trying to decide what tart to make took a while.  I searched my cookbooks for the best recipes, and settled on a pâte sucrée, (short crust pastry), blind baked, and filled with crème patissière, (pastry cream) and topped with fresh peaches. 

This is peach time in my neck of the woods.  I love a good peach.  Early in my pregnancy with my son, I craved a good peach. The kind that you can taste the sun in it.  You know what I’m talking about.  I wanted a peach I could bite into and the juice would drip down my chin.  Soft and sweet, with just a hint of tang.  But it was January.  I could have cried.  The really sad part is that when summer finally rolled around, I was not interested in peaches anymore.  BUT right now I can get those delicious peaches at our neighborhood produce stand.  Linda’s Produce is the best place in our area to get produce.  I just walk in and pick out which fruits and vegetables look good to me and then plan meals and snacks around them.  It’s a good plan.  

Peach Tart

This recipe will make 4 small tarts or one large one.  Buy enough peaches to spread over the tart, about 1 per person, but make sure you have more, just because.  Pâte Sucrée 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1/4 cup sugar, (I used vanilla sugar) 1/4 teaspoon salt (I prefer fine sea salt) 1 stick cold unsalted butter, cubed 2 egg yolks 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1-3 teaspoons water Pulse flour, sugar and salt in a food processor.  Add the butter and pulse until the butter crumbles look like peas.  In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, vanilla and 1 teaspoon of water. Add the egg mixture to the food processor and pulse until is starts to clump.  It should not be crumbly, add a little more water until it is nice and smooth and not crumbly. Press the dough into the tart pan.  Try to keep the dough even and pretty. It’s all about the details from here on out.  Stick the pan(s) in the fridge for an hour or the freezer for 30 minutes.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Blind bake by covering the crust with foil and lightly pressing it down. Fill the crust with dried beans or rice that you don’t plan on eating at this point, (keep them around for more blind baking later.) Bake for 20 to 22 minutes.  Peel back the foil, if it doesn’t come off easily, bake for another 5 minutes and try again. Take the foil and beans off and bake the crust for another 10 minutes until golden.  Allow to cool outside of pan on a rack.  Once cool, return to pan to be filled.  Crème Patissière 2 cups whole milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 6 egg yolks 1/2 cup sugar (vanilla sugar again!) 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour In a saucepan, heat the milk to just below a boil.  In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar for a couple minutes until it is lighter in color.  Add the flour and whisk. Add the milk to the egg mixture, whisking quickly.  Keep whisking until all is smooth.  Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and heat to a boil, whisking the whole time.  If a lump appears, remove from heat and whisk until smooth.  Continue cooking and whisking until flour is cooked (a couple minutes), and everything is smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in extract.  Cover with cling wrap, pressing to the surface of the cream to keep a skin from forming. Refrigerate until completely cool and ready to use. Filling the tart 1/8 cup apricot jam teaspoon of water (or so) Peaches Blanch the peaches in boiling water for 10-30 seconds.  Remove to cold water bath.  Peel the peaches starting at the stem end and working down.  Thinly slice the peaches and set aside. In a small heat proof bowl, mix the jam and water together.  Heat for 30 second in the microwave then stir until smooth, add more water or heat for longer if needed. You want a smooth but not runny glaze. Brush the inside of the crusts with the glaze to protect it from getting soggy. Fill the crust to almost the top with the cream.  Leave room for the fruit! Arrange peach slices in a pattern to cover as much cream as possible.  Brush the tops of the peaches with the remaining glaze to make them glisten.  You can place the tart pan on top of a tin can.  Carefully pull the sides of the pan down to leave the tart hovering above.  Remove the bottom of the tart pan if you are brave, or just serve the tart as is.  The tarts can be refrigerated for a short time, but plan on eating them the day they are made.  Cream and crusts can be made ahead of time for stress free entertaining.  Always hold the tart pan from the sides and not the bottom, you don’t want to destroy the tart!

I’m also linking this to Simple And In Season.  I’ve just learned of this and look forward to getting new ideas for eating what is in season!

Green Eggs and Ham

 

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss! #greeneggsandham twitter.com/Elizabelle17/s…

— Elizabeth Cook (@Elizabelle17) March 2, 2013

 

Since Saturday was Dr. Seuss’s birthday, we celebrated at home with a little whimsy.

First, since I couldn’t find our copy of Green Eggs and Ham, I had Brian show this to the kids while I made brunch. 

I used an obscene amount of green food coloring to produce our green eggs and ham.  Anything for the kids, right?  So, to make green eggs is kind of obvious.  Drip the food coloring into the scrambled egg yolk mixture before cooking.  For the ham, I melted a little butter in the pan and then added the food coloring.  Mix it up then add the ham, stirring around till the ham is nice and green.  I used deli sliced ham, but I would so much have rather used some spiral cut ham.  I can honestly tell Sam-I-Am that I do not like THAT kind of green ham.  Sorry, it’s the truth.  I don’t like fried baloney either, that’s just the way it is folks.

 

Sophie was hilarious. She saw the green eggs and ham and freaked out!  She told me she did NOT like green eggs and ham.  She was not going to eat it.  I asked her some of the questions from the book, (in a box? with a fox?)  If I remember correctly, there were even tears.  But eventually, she did try it.  And she liked it.  She ate it all, (even though it was probably cold by then.)  Liam did too, but without the drama.

Celebrate Read Across America every year to promote reading and celebrate the life of Theodore Geisel.  But don’t wait until March 2nd to enjoy some Seussical fun!  See my board on Pinterest where I will continue to add great Seuss ideas, (feel free to link to your favorites in the comments below.)

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

One Year Olds ROCK!!

 

Last Saturday we celebrated my nephew’s first birthday. 

My nephew, Logan, ROCKS!!

I made the cupcakes for the party.  They were so good they made you wanna smash your guitar. 

To make the really cool, almost tie-died icing, just fill your decorator’s bag with two colors of icing, keeping them separated, each color taking up half the bag.  Pipe your swirls as usual.

Decorating for the party was fun.  Among the decorations were microwaved CDs. 

Here’s a random YouTube video that shows how:

When you party like a Rock Star, you usually end up destroying things.

Every Rocker needs some cool shades right?

The cupcakes were a smash…in the face.  “What was that for, Mom?”

Logan had his first real taste of sugar.  He ate almost the whole cupcake. 

Has everyone made these by now?  If not, what’s taking you so long?  These are THE BEST CUPCAKES EVER!!!

I couldn’t leave without showing you my cute little one year old.  Liam is learning to use a spoon and is so proud of himself.

A Hoppin’ Party

 

This post has been a long time coming.  It is the final post for Liam’s first birthday party.  I thought this day would never come!  You’re probably sick of seeing little froggies by now, but there’s still a little cuteness left.  But just in case you can’t get enough, I’ve added a few reminders of what I’ve already shown you. Just click on the links to view the original posts.

The Invitations

 

The Decorations:

Lily Pads

 

Decorating with Frames

 

Decorating with Albums

 

The Meal: Baked Spaghetti, Fettuccini Alfredeaux, Bread and Salad

 

The Dessert Table

First of all, that’s a lot of cupcakes!

I already had the two cupcake holders, but I needed something to hold the rest of them and add height and a focal point for the table.  I pulled out all my glass/crystal cake stands and fiddled with them until I came up with this tower of breakables.  The tiny cake stand up top came from Hobby Lobby and I love it!

The cupcakes are my favorite cupcakes topped with frogs made from candy melts.

To the left we had Tiny Crispy Rice Squares, Oreo Truffles and small frogs and L’s made with more candy melts.  Hours of fun, those candy melts were!

On the right were more Crispy Rice Squares (this time dipped in vanilla bark), green mints and Gummi Frogs!

So, it was time for the Birthday Boy to dive into the cake.  We sang “Happy Birthday.”  And this happened…

  I guess he didn’t know what was going on. Everyone was looking at him and singing.  Scary!

The cake, by the way, was made by stacking 3 small cakes I baked in ramekins.  I used a flat piping tip (the other side of a basket weave tip) and made vertical lines.  They were a little wavy and had the look of water.  Some little swirls decorated the top.

Again, I used candy melts to make a large frog on a wooden skewer.  He was so adorable!

Bluebeard got mad again toward the end.  I blame it on the sugar high.

Thanks for enduring all these posts.  But a bigger thank you goes to everyone who helped celebrate my baby’s birthday.

 

A Hoppin’ Party: Oreo Truffles

 

I didn’t mean to, but I’ve had a nice little break from blogging.  I kept saying, I’ll write that post tomorrow.  And then I would forget and say, I’ll write that post tomorrow.  Now it’s a few tomorrows later, and here I am again.  I’ve a couple more posts about Liam’s birthday party to share with you.  Today’s is Oreo Truffles.

I thought everyone had heard of these little sweets.  They made the rounds a few years ago and I guess they are still popular.  They should be popular because they are so very, very good.  If you like Oreos, then this will be a recipe you should try if you haven’t already.  It is so easy. 

Oreo Truffles Makes 3 dozen

Ingredients: 1 package Oreos, cubed 1 8 oz block of cream cheese White Chocolate Bark or Candy Melts Toppings-optional

In a food processor, blitz the Oreos until they are fine crumbs.  Add the cream cheese and pulse until it becomes a nice gooey mixture.  Refrigerate until nice and cold.

Roll the mixture into about 1 inch sized balls and place on waxed paper.  If the balls become mushy, return to the fridge until more stable. 

Melt half of the white chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave according to the package directions.  I find that using the double boiler works better because it keeps the chocolate warm.  Using dipping tools or a fork, dip each ball in the chocolate and allow to dry on the waxed paper.  This is the “crumb coat”. 

Once all the truffles have dried, use the rest of the chocolate and dip them once more for a more even coat.  Sprinkle the top with more crushed Oreos, Sparkling sugar crystals or Sprinkles.  Keep refrigerated before serving.

I’m not particularly good at dipping candy.  That may be because I couldn’t find my dipping tools and just used a fork.  Some of my truffles were down right ugly.  But they tasted sooooooo fantastic.  They are incredibly rich.  My favorite thing is that if you let them set out just a bit, the inside softens a little.  You bite through the solid wall of chocolate to a creamy Oreo inside. 

If you haven’t had these before, go out right now and buy the ingredients.  You must make these A.S.A.P.!

Bakerella has a nice little tutorial for those who need a visual.

Linked to Polly Want A Crafter and Get Your Craft On.

Forever Nigella: Picnic Pleasure

When I saw the theme for this month’s Forever Nigella, (host by Fuss Free Flavours), was picnic food, I was excited.  Picnics are so much fun!  Sophie really loves them too.  One time we went to the zoo, but I think Sophie was more excited about the picnic we had afterward than seeing all the animals.  Last week we were out running errands and needed a bite to eat.  We went through a drive-thru and took our food to the nearby Chickamauga Battlefield Park.  There was no playground, just a shady spot with a picnic table.  Fortunately, we had a blanket in the car to spread over the table.  We sat there and had a little impromptu picnic.  It was peaceful and we were spending time together as a family.   

I think a picnic calls for simplicity.  It’s not something you should be fretting over.  It doesn’t need to be an elaborate affair.  It wouldn’t be enjoyable if you had a lot to do in order to relax.  That being said, picnic food should be easy and quick to make.  It should also be able to stand up to travel and warm temperatures.  While looking through Nigella’s recipes, I found something that would be perfect to take on a picnic.  Marshmallow Crispy Squares (or Rice Krispy Treats as they are popularly called).  They are so easy, tasty and it just so happens that I was already planning on making some for Liam’s birthday.

Now I know that this recipe is not new to most people.  But that’s Nigella for you.  She’s just as eager to share something ordinary and comforting as she is the exotic.  There isn’t much you can do to change the basic recipe for these treats. It uses just 3 ingredients after all.  But Nigella offers a lovely way of displaying these squares by creating a gleaming mountain of candle studded squares.

(Source)

Her other idea, the one I used, was to cut these into tiny squares, perfect for a party too.

I sprinkled the pan with sparkling blue sugar crystals while it was still warm.  I loved the look of them piled high upon a cake stand. 

I dipped some of them in vanilla almond bark and sprinkled the sugar over the top.  It gave a different flavor and texture to the treats. 

You can find Nigella’s recipe here:

MARSHMALLOW CRISPY SQUARES

For those who need a translation, in this case:

45g would equal about 3 tbsps.

300g would equal about 10.5 oz.

180g would equal about 6 cups

Now go have a picnic!

Are you interested in participating in Forever Nigella?  Here are the rules:

Forever Nigella #8
Challenge: To prepare and blog any Nigella recipe that is suitable to take on a picnic.  Proper picnic food please.
Deadline: Sunday 28th August, midnight wherever you are.
Round up: By the next weekend.

There are:

• No rules about how often you must take part
• No rules about stuff being secret until certain dates
• No rules that everyone cook exactly the same thing
• No rules about not being able to submit to any other blog events – just check it doesn’t contravene the other guys’ rules

But there are 3 rules:
1. Blog your entry by the deadline including:
a) the current Forever Nigella badge
b) a link to this page
c) a link to the official Forever Nigella page at Maison Cupcake: http://blog.maisoncupcake.com/forever-nigella

2. So not to breach Nigella’s copyright you must NOT reproduce recipes verbatim as shown in her books. If using an original Nigella recipe, tell us which book it is from and/or where we find it online (see most likely sites below). If you’ve adapted the recipe in some way i.e. changed at least two ingredients or amended the method then it’s ok to publish the a recipe in your post but you MUST write the directions in your own words.

3. Tell us about your post by emailing me “helen AT fussfreeflavours DOT com”  and c.c. to “sarah AT maisoncupcake DOT com” with:
a) your name
b) URL of your post
c) a photo no more than 300 pixels wide.

Don’t forget to tweet your post with the hashtag #forevernigella – I will retweet all those I see!

N.B. Your entry must have been published since the announcement post. You may only submit something from your archives if you republish it as a new post.

Ice Cream Cupcake Contest 2011

 

Coffee.  It fuels the world.  There are so many ways to enjoy it.  Most people I know put creamer and sugar in it.  Some like it with absolutely nothing in it, (I don’t know how they do it.  Gag!)  I myself cannot imagine drinking coffee without sugar and loads of milk.  My favorite coffee drink is the Double Shot from Starbucks, (I’m desperate to copycat that recipe), but cappuccinos and lattes are my alternate choices.   Lately, I’ve discovered that coffee ice cream has replaced chocolate as my go to frozen treat.  So when I decided to participate in the Ice Cream Cupcake Contest this year, I knew what I had to do.

My dream Ice Cream Cupcake is a combination of chocolate cake and cappuccino ice cream.  Throw in some chocolate chips and it’s a dream come true!  When I started thinking about the perfect Cappuccino Ice Cream Cupcake, here is what I envisioned:

A Chocolate Cupcake, Topped with Cappuccino Chocolate Chip Ice Cream.  Crowned with a Dollop of Whipped Cream and Chocolate Covered Coffee Bean.

 

That’s cute and all, but I felt that if I was going with the coffee theme, it needed to be a true cupcake and be either baked or served in a coffee mug.

That’s better!  To make your own, bake your favorite chocolate cupcakes, adding a teaspoon or so of instant coffee granules to the batter.  May I suggest these cupcakes?  If you’re baking in a mug, you’ll probably have to add extra batter and baking time to the recipe. I used about 4 cupcakes worth of batter here.

Another option would be to bake the cupcakes in silicone baking cups then unwrap them and place inside your favorite mug.

I’ve topped mine with whipped cream and a chocolate coffee bean, but dusting with cinnamon or cocoa powder would also bring the café experience to these cupcakes.

Cappuccino Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Click here for the Printable Recipe at Tasty Kitchen.

Makes 1.5 Quarts

1 cup milk

1/4 cup ground coffee

1 cup sugar

3 eggs, beaten

1/8 tsp. salt

2-3 tsp. vanilla extract, depending on strength

3 cups half and half

1-4.25 oz. dark chocolate bar

In a saucepan, heat milk on medium-high heat until you see the first signs of bubbles, then remove from heat.  Stir in coffee and allow to steep for 3-4 minutes.  Strain the coffee grounds out of the milk using a fine sieve.  Slowly add the milk into the eggs, whisking constantly.  Return the mixture to the saucepan and add the sugar and salt.  Stir for 3-4 minutes over medium-high heat until the mixture thickens.  Add vanilla and 1 cup of the half and half.  Move the mixture to the refrigerator until chilled.  Meanwhile, chop the chocolate bar into small chunks and/or shards and set aside.  Once the mixture is chilled, add it, the chocolate, and the rest of the half and half to your ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.

The Contest:

The Ice Cream Cupcake Contest is host by Cupcake Project and Scoopalicious.  Judging with them are Nicole Weston from Baking Bites, Jessie Oleson from CakeSpy, and Naomi Robinson from Bakers Royale.  These three bloggers will also showcase their favorites on their own blogs

Prizes
The winner will be announced by July 1 and will receive an amazing collection of dessert cookbooks from some of our favorite authors!
From author Krystina Castella:

From authors Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough:

From Nicole Weston, author and contest judge:

From Jessie Oleson, author and contest judge (to be delivered upon book release):

From Bakerella:

From Emma Hand, creator of Snap Stories and designer of our amazing new Ice Cream Cupcake Contest logo:

Wow! I’d love to win all of those, but even if I don’t, I’ve still got my ice cream in the freezer!

Linked to Made It On Monday.

Check out this at Brewed Daily.

And here is the link to all the entries.