Peach Custard Tart

Sorry I've been so absent! I'm in the middle of a big move. The family and I are relocating to Dayton, Ohio! Crazy, fun, whirlwind times right now. I'll be continuing this blog from a new kitchen in Dayton by the end of this month! Very exciting.

This tart just looked and sounded yummy. It originally called for plums, but I had peaches on hand and the combination of peaches and custard won me over.

The crust turned out nice and flaky and the custard filling was light and subtle letting the flavor of the peaches shine through.

The part of this tart I was  most excited about was the custard, but I was only able to pour in about half the custard mixture before it was full to the edges. A little disappointing. Maybe it was the pan size I used??

Overall this was a very yummy tart. Simple and satisfying. I added a pinch of nutmeg and scoop of vanilla ice cream to finish it off and that was perfect! I would suggest adding a little nutmeg on top before serving just to kick up the flavor. 

This tart was better the next day when all the flavors had time to meld. The crust stayed flaky and it was delicious for breakfast along side a hot cup of coffee!

Plum Tart

Crust

1 2/3 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

11 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces

3 tablespoons sour cream

Custard

1 1/3 cups sugar

1/3 cup flour

1/4 tsp. salt

4 large eggs

1/2 cup sour cream

7 large plums, thinly sliced (about 6 1/2 cups)

Preheat oven to 375

To prepare the crust, pulse flour, salt and butter in a food processor until crumbly. Add sour cream. Process until if forms a ball. Press the dough  into 12-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Bake for 18 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let cool for 15 minutes.

Reduce oven heat to 350

To prepare the custard, mix sugar, flour and salt. In another bowl, beat eggs and sour cream. Add the sugar mixture to the egg mixture and blend well.

Arrange sliced plums in concentric circles on the baked crust. Gently pour the custard over the plums.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until the custard is set and golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes.

Set the tart on a glass plate and gently remove the pan ring. Makes 8-12 servings.

* My Notes:

I added a splash of vanilla to the crust and custard mixture. I also added a small pinch of cinnamon to the crust. I substituted peaches for plums. 

I found it took a lot longer to bake then the 50 minutes, so watch and check the tart accordingly. You could also use greek yogurt instead of sour cream if you have that on hand. 

Strawberry Brown Sugar Tart

 Wow. Just Wow. This fresh strawberry tart is absolutely delicious!

 Look at all those shiny sweet strawberries.

 Lets not waste time. I just had to cut this bad boy up and dig in.

The crust on this tart is like a big yummy cookie. Slightly crisp and melt-in-your-mouth good. The filling is creamy and perfectly sweet and just heavenly with the layers of strawberries.

This is just a damn good tart. 'Nough said.

Strawberry Brown Sugar Tart

Ingredients

1 cup flour

1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar, divided

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 teaspoon vanilla extract, divided

1/2 cup crème fraîche

1/2 cup whipping cream

12 ounces strawberries, hulled and sliced

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°. In a food processor, whirl flour, 2 tbsp. sugar, the cornstarch, and salt until combined. Add butter and 1/2 tsp. vanilla and pulse until fine crumbs form and dough just begins to come together. Press evenly into bottom and up sides of a 9-in. round tart pan with a removable rim.

2. Bake until edges are golden, 20 to 22 minutes. Let cool on a rack, then gently push tart crust from pan rim; set on a plate.

3. In a bowl with a mixer on high speed, beat crème fraîche, cream, remaining 2 tbsp. sugar, and remaining 1/2 tsp. vanilla until thick. Spread in cooled crust. Arrange strawberries in circles on top, alternating cut sides down and up.

Make ahead: Chill, loosely covered, up to 4 hours.

I used the recipe below for the filling instead of the one called for in the recipe. I didn't have crème fraîche. Both are delicious, so use whichever one sounds best.

My Cream Filling (So Good!)

Ingredients

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, room temp.

1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Pinch of salt

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 tsp. almond and coconut extract (opt.)

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream*

Directions

In a small bowl beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form; set aside.

In a large bowl combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, salt and extracts. Beat until smooth, then fold in whipped cream.

* I used stabilized whipping cream for a thicker filling. I found this at a baking supple store.

Rustic Blackberry Tart

This is such a simple an easy dessert to throw together.

Take about 3 cups of your favorite berries (I used frozen blackberries) and toss them with 1/2 tsp almond extract, 1 tsp vanilla, 2 tablespoons tapioca (for thickening) and 1/3 cup sugar. Let this mixture sit for 15 minutes.

Just for fun, I tossed in 3 ounces of cream cheese, cubed small.

Pour the fruit mixture into the middle of a pre-made 9-in pie dough round. Fold the sides up around the fruit and pinch the folds to make sure it's sealed.

Then brush the crust with milk and sprinkle with sliced almonds. I only had almond pieces, so that's what I used. You could also use sanding sugar for sparkle and crunch. If you want some extra decadence sprinkle a few small pieces of cold butter on top of the fruit. Maybe 2 Tablespoons cut into really small cubes. 

Bake at 375 for 30 to 35 minutes. Check the almonds and crust to see how they're browning. Cover with foil the last 5 to 10 minutes if the almonds are browning too quickly!

Once cooled slightly, slice and enjoy!

I thought the addition of the cream cheese bits were really good. It mellowed out the fruit and added a nice creamy texture.


Easy Berry Tart
1 9-in dough round, unthawed (I used pillsbury)
3 cups frozen fruit
1/3 cup sugar (more if you like sweet pie)
 2 tablespoons dry tapioca
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract, optional
Sliced almonds
1 tablespoon milk


Preheat oven to 375.
Place fruit, sugar, tapioca and extract in a medium bowl. Stir and let sit for 15 minutes. Place dough round onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. Pour marinated fruit into the middle of dough and fold up sides of dough around filling. Brush top of crust with milk and sprinkle with almonds. 


Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Check crust and almonds last ten minutes of baking and cover with foil if almonds are browning too quickly.

Lemon Cream Tart

My dad had a minor procedure done on Friday, so I thought I would make him a yummy dessert. He likes anything lemon flavored, so I started with that. I settled on this creamy, lemon tart with a vanilla shortbread crust.

Flakes of lemon zest speckle the cream filling.

I topped the tart with fresh blueberries for color. Plus, blueberries just pair well with lemon.

Let's cut a slice.

This tart was really light and creamy. It was the perfect balance of lemon and sweet. This definitely doesn't have a lip-puckering tart flavor, so if that's your thing, add more lemon juice. The berries on top were a nice addition. My dad suggested slices of strawberries and kiwis which would be really delicious with the lemon cream. This dessert did the trick, he felt much better after having a slice.
Ingrdients:

1 (9 1/2) tart round, fully baked
4 large eggs

4 teaspoons grated lemon zest

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, strained (I used just slightly less than a 1/2 cup)

Pinch of salt

Opt.

Sweetened whipped cream

Berries

Prepare and fully bake a 9 1/2 inch tart round. Set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat together the egg yolks and lemon zest until mixed, about 1 minute. Add the condensed milk, lemon juice and salt, beating well after each addition. Pout into the fully baked tart shell.

Bake the tart until the filling is firm in the center, 12-14 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely until set, 1-2 hours. Cut into wedges and serve with a dollop of whipped cream, if using.

*Top with fruit just before serving, if desired.

Vanilla Custard Tart with Coconut Macaroon Crust

I've been thinking up this creation for a quite awhile. A couple years ago I made a mango tart with a coconut crust and the crust was so different and delicious, I always remembered it. Then I made a silky vanilla custard for a banana cream pie and the vanilla custard was so good on it's own, you could just eat it with a spoon. So, I wanted to combined all these amazing flavors and create a delicious custard tart.

The crust uses soft coconut macaroon cookies, pecans and butter. I chose to make my own coconut macaroons (recipe below). On top of the crust, I layered rich vanilla custard and fresh, slightly sweetened whipped cream. And to crown off the delicious filling, fresh slices of fruit!

Homemade Macaroons

The recipe below makes around 20 cookies, so you'll have plenty for the crust and some to snack on. All the cookies I had were gobbled up fast. This is a great recipe if you ever want to make plain macaroons. Yum!

Once the macaroons are baked and cooled they get shredded and mixed with chopped toasted pecans and some butter.

The crust going into the oven. I broke up the pecan pieces with my fingers, so I had big chunks in my crust. I was just too lazy to pull out the food processor.

Mmmm. The golden crust, baked and filled.

A mix of fresh cut fruit, strawberries, kiwi's, pears, nectarines, raspberries, boysenberries etc., are all tasty additions. Sliced banana's turns this into a yummy banana cream tart.

This tart is tasty unadorned too with just the simple custard and whipped cream.




Vanilla Custard Tart with Coconut Macaroon Crust

Coconut Macaroon Crust
9 soft macaroon cookies, crumbled (2 cups)
1 cup ground pecans
3 T butter, softened

Mix all ingredients together. Press mixture into a 10 to 11-in fluted tart pan.
Bake at 350 until golden brown 15 to 18 minutes. Cool on wire rack

Coconut Macaroon Cookies
Ingredients
14 ounces sweetened shredded coconut
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 extra-large egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Combine the coconut, condensed milk, and vanilla in a large bowl. Whip the egg whites and salt on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until they make medium-firm peaks. Carefully fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture.

Drop the batter onto sheet pans lined with parchment paper using either a 1 3/4-inch diameter ice cream scoop, or 2 teaspoons. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Cool and serve

* Make sure you use a removable bottom tart pan. This crust can be sticky. Try lining the pan with buttered parchment paper and don;t pat it down too firmly.

Vanilla Custard
5 large egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch (4 or 5 T)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups whole milk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Prepare an ice-water bath; set aside. Make the custard: In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, granulated sugar, cornstarch, and salt. In a medium saucepan, bring milk just to a boil. Remove from heat, and whisk about 1/2 cup of hot milk into yolk mixture. Whisk yolk mixture into saucepan of hot milk. Place over medium-high heat, and bring to a gentle boil, whisking constantly. Continue to cook, whisking constantly, until thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from heat, and whisk in butter, one piece at a time, until melted. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla, and whisk until smooth. Immediately strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium bowl. Place bowl of custard in ice bath to cool, stirring occasionally.

Whipped cream topping
1 cup whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla
3 Tbs. powdered sugar, sifted

Whip cream until soft peaks form. Beat in vanilla and sugar until combine. Chill until ready to use.

Assemble Tart
Pour chilled vanilla custard into cooled coconut crust. Carefully spread whipped cream over custard. Chill until ready to serve. Top with favorite fruit, raspberries, blueberries, bananas, pear, mango, kiwi, just before serving. Sprinkle with powdered, if desired.

Mini Almond Tarts

They might not look like much, but these tarts are buttery and flaky and the almond filling is oh-so-yummy.

I enjoyed a relaxing day to myself today. My mother-in-law picked up my little girl from school and entertained her until dinner time. I've been feeling a bit off lately as my due-date nears, so it was nice to relax at home and sip some tea and bake, of course.

These almond fillled pastries were simple and quick and oh-so tasty. A quick almond dough is pressed into mini muffin tins then par-baked. While the dough is baking, a simple almond filling is cooked on the stove top then poured into each cup and sent back into the oven. A few short minutes later, yummy, sweet, almondy tarts are ready to eat.

Making these were the extent of my labors today. After these baked, I sat down on my couch with a nice, hot latte, watched Gossip Girls and nibbled on a few of these. It was perfect. If you like almond-flavored treats, these were buttery and sweet with the perfect hints of almond and vanilla throughout, plus a nice little crunch from the nuts. They're not that pretty, but they're very good.

Tart Crust
7 tbsp butter, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp vanilla

Filling
1/3 cup ground almonds
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp butter, room temperature
1 1/2 tbsp milk
2 tsp all purpose flour
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350F. Make the tart shells: In a medium mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. With the mixer on low speed, gradually beat in flour, salt and almond extract (if using) until dough is crumbly and has the texture of wet sand. Spoon evenly into 16 mini muffin cups and press the dough down to create tart-shell shapes going up the sides of the muffin cups.Bake shells for 6-7 minutes.

While shells are baking, make the almond filling: In a medium saucepan, combine almonds, sugar, butter, milk and flour. Cook over medium heat, whisking frequently, until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Set aside until shells are ready.

Remove the tart shells from the oven and use a small spoon to press an indentation into the center of each one (because the dough will puff a bit during baking). Fill each indentation with almond filling.Return tarts to oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, until shells and the edges of the filling are lightly browned.Use a knife to loosen the tarts from the edges of the muffin tin while they are still warm. Let cool in pan for 15-20 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 16 mini tarts.
Adapted from bakingbites.

Coconut Custard Tart

I saw the recipe for this tart in the new issue of Food and Wine Magazine and had to make it.

It was really tasty, but I would recommend a couple of changes. I found that there was barely enough custard to cover the bottom of the tart shell. The custard puffs up slightly, but it's overwhelmed by all the coconut topping. I would double the custard filling and do 2 cups of coconut and 1 cup of brown sugar for the topping or even 1 3/4 cup coconut and 3/4 cup brown sugar. The three cups of coconut/brown sugar topping called for make the tart cloyingly sweet and dominate the custard.

The crust was time consuming, but turned out flaky and delicious.

With the right balance of custard and topping, this tart would be amazing. Be sure to check the coconut when the tart is in it's final baking stage, so it doesn't burn.

So, to sum things up, I would recommend this tart, but with more custard and less topping. It has a great flavor and the caramelized, crunchy coconut is really yummy.

Click here for the recipe

Mini Berry Fruit Tarts

While browsing the web, I saw a recipe for a creamy, lemon tart and I just happen to have lemons, so I gave it a try. The filling however, didn't turn out. The filling called for more than 2 1/2 sticks of butter to make it silky but, it also called for a 4 hour chilling time. My filling set up thick and solid like a stick of butter so, I decided to toss it and make individual berry fruit tarts using a package of frozen mixed berries I had. They definitely made up for the failed lemon cream.

Mixed berry filling scented with almond extract gets dotted with cold butter before heading into the oven

20 minutes later, hot and bubbly berry tarts are ready to be topped with a dollop of whipped cream and eaten.

Makes 5 to 6 mini tarts
Preheat 375'

For the filling:
2 1/2 cups frozen mixed berries
1 1/2 Tbs. instant tapioca
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 tsp almond extract (or vanilla or both)

Toss berries with sugar, tapioca and extract. Let sit 15 minutes.

For the crust:
Any 9 in. tart or pie dough will work.

Press dough into individual tart molds. Fill with berry mixture. Dot each tart with a few cold, pea-size, pieces of butter. Place tarts on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until lightly browned around edges; 18 to 25 minutes.

Top with fresh whipped cream or ice cream.

*If you make your crust from scratch, try adding a tsp. of orange zest for extra flavor.

Lemon Sabayon Tart

Two years ago I took a pastry class at Sur la Table entitled Baking Basics: Perfect Pies and Tarts. That was my first introduction to making pie and tart dough from scratch. I've made it that way ever since. We learned to make flaky pie dough, basic tart pastry and rich tart pastry; both by hand and with a food processor (I prefer the processor method). Pictured above is a Lemon Sabayon Pine Nut Tart with Honeyed Mascarpone Cream. Sounds fancy eh? It's has a lemon filling made with eggs, sugar, lemon juice and butter all beaten together over a double broiler until super thick. The sabayon is then poured into a prebaked crust and left to sit at room temperature until set. It's pretty darn good and very zippy from the 1/2 cup of lemon juice in the filling. Market Street Grill in Salt Lake has a dessert called Market Street Sabayon. Vanilla ice cream and Fresh fruit are topped with Sabayon Sauce and served in a pretty champagne goblet. On their website they give out many of their recipes, but not for the sabayon dessert. I called and spoke with the actual chef who prepares the dessert daily and he was kind enough to give me the recipe and talk me through it. Here it is:

Sabayon Sauce
4 egg yolks
1/4 c powdered sugar
1/2 c Triple Sec
1 c white wine (they use Franzia; Chablis)


Whisk together yolks and sugar in a small bowl; set aside. In a double broiler combine the Triple Sec and Chablis. Bring to a boil and let boil for 5 minutes. Very slowly whisk in half the yolk mixture until incorporated. Add the rest and whisk for 2 minutes. Continue to whisk every 2 minutes for 10-15 minutes until creamy. Serve over ice cream and fresh berries.

Coconut Custard Pie

Lemon juice and toasted coconut are combined to give this pie a unique twist and flavor. I thought about foregoing the lemon juice (lemon and coconut, hmmm?) and doing vanilla extract instead, but the lemon flavor became very subtle once baked. Toasted coconut mixed into the filling, gives it a chewy texture. This pie was simple to make and very yummy. Vanilla, almond or rum flavoring would pair well with the coconut, but if you want to try something slightly different stick with the lemon juice.

This recipe comes from the Pie and Tart book by William-Sonoma.