Apricot Tart

I have to say, the apricots I saw at the grocery store looked much larger than normal. They were so soft and very ripe... they were practically begging me to buy them. I gave in and thought they'd look absolutely beautiful in a tart. I haven't done much baking and blogging lately, which I feel terrible about, because of my busy schedule with my college internship and the project for it; I'm hoping this tart will help me get back into the swing of things. I believe an important part of food blogging is about quality not quantity, so let's hope this post lives up to that! 


I've learned so much from my internship at Scratch Baked Goods, and have found that I really enjoy observing and learning about the pastry aspect of the bakery. How combinations of flour, butter, and water can help create wonderful, light and crispy puff pastry is beyond me. But, I still love learning about it as well as learning about the rest of the bakery. The American Patisserie inspired bakery is filled with pastries, artisan breads, cakes, and other French inspired baked goods with added American flare, all made daily from scratch. It is the perfect place for me to learn everything about both French inspired pastries and artisan breads! 


So, my time at Scratch helped inspire me with this apricot tart. I've seen one made there before and since then I couldn't get the beautiful circular design of the apricots out of my head. I researched two parts of the tart online, the puff pastry recipe and the frangipane recipe and adapted them together to create this great summer tart. 


Here is the recipe: 


Puff Pastry recipe from Cooking.com:

• 4 C all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 C cold butter (1 pound)
• 1 1/4 C cold ice water

1. In a large mixing bowl stir together flour and salt. Cut the cold butter into 1/2-inch-thick slices (not cubes). Add the butter slices to the flour mixture; toss till butter slices are coated with the flour mixture and are separated. Pour ice water over the flour mixture. Using a spoon, quickly mix (butter will remain in large pieces and flour will not be completely moistened).
2. Turn out dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead dough 10 times by pressing and pushing dough together to form a rough-looking ball. Shape dough into a rectangle (dough still will have some dry-looking areas). Make the corners as square as possible. Slightly flatten dough.
3. Working on a well-floured surface, roll the dough into an 18x15-inch rectangle. Fold crosswise into thirds to form a 15x6-inch rectangle. Give dough a quarter turn, then fold crosswise into thirds to form a 5x6-inch rectangle and to create 9 layers. Repeat the rolling, folding, turning, and folding process once more, forming a 5x4-inch rectangle. Wrap dough with plastic wrap. Chill for 20 minutes. Repeat the rolling and folding process 2 more times. Before using, chill dough for 20 minutes more. 

Frangipane (Almond Cream) recipe adapted from Joy of Baking:

• 1/2 C chopped blanched or natural almonds (or almond meal)
• 1 tbl all-purpose flour
• 1/4 C granulated sugar
• 3 tbl unsalted butter
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp salt

1. In your food processor, place the almonds, sugar, and flour. Process until finely ground. Then add the rest of the ingredients and process until you have a smooth paste. Transfer to a small bowl, cover and refrigerate.

Assembling the Tart:

• About 1 pound of ripe apricots, pitted and quartered 
• Any fruit glaze you may want to add after baking

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Once the puff dough has finished chilling, roll it out keeping a circular shape and place in your 12 inch tart pan. Trim off any overhanging edges. Fork the bottom of the dough and place parchment paper on the bottom surface. Add dry beans while baking to help the shell keep its shape. Bake at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes, after remove the beans and evenly apply the frangipane to the entire bottom surface of the tart. 
2. Now apply the quartered apricots in a circular pattern starting on the outside edge. You will create about 3 circles of apricots, depending on the size of the fruit. Place the tart back in the oven for about 10-15 more minutes. 
3. Let the tart cool for a bit and add a glaze if you wish. Serve warm!

xo, A

Peach Custard Tart with Raspberry Cherry Jam

 {my mom's cookbook that her grandmother gave her for Christmas}

The first tart I made was from Julia Child's cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I had received Volume I right before Christmas and decided to make a pear and almond custard tart. It was a delicious dessert for Christmas Eve dinner!


Just a couple days ago I started to read Julia Child: A Life by Laura Shapiro. I'm only about 25 pages in and it is already a great read. I've learned about first 35 years of Julia's life; right now she is married to her husband Paul and is taking cooking classes in Paris just to impress him. Who knew her cooking classes would help her to become such an iconic American cook! What a life she had, living in Paris with her husband and spending most of her time learning about the French cuisine and culture... I would love that life!


Right now, realistically speaking, the closest I can get to living Julia's life is through recreating her recipes. The way she explains everything in her cookbooks both informs readers about the French culture and instructs readers of the recipe's directions. As I continue to read her biography, I will make more recipes from her cookbook that will further help me understand the French culture and the happy life she used to live.


Tarte aux Pêches
by Julia Child, Mastering the Art of French Cooking 
for 8 people 


Ingredients:

• A 10-inch fully baked pastry shell
• About 4-5 fresh peaches
• 1 1/2 to 2 C chilled creme patissiere (custard filling)

Pâte Sablée (sugar crust):

for a 9- to 10-inch shell 

• 2 C (7 oz) sifted all-purpose flour
• 3 to 7 tbl granulated sugar (the more sugar you mix in the more soft and sticky the dough will be)
• 1/8 tsp double-action baking powder
• 7 tbl fat: 5 tbl chilled butter and 2 tbl chilled vegetable shortening
• 1 egg beaten with 1 tsp water
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Combine flour, sugar, butter, vegetable shortening, and baking powder in the mixing bowl. Rub the fat and dry ingredients together rapidly with the tips of your fingers until the fat is broken into bits like the size of oatmeal flakes. 
2. Blend in the egg and vanilla, knead the dough into a ball. Place on pastry board and start kneading with the heel of your hand. Rapidly press the pastry by two-spoonfuls bits down on the board and away from you in a firm, quick smear of about 6 inches. 
3. Form into a ball, wrap in waxed paper, and chill for several hours until firm.
4. After several hours have passed, roll out the dough and carefully place into your mold. Use foil and beans to help keep the dough set in the oven. Bake the sugar crust shell in a preheated, 375 degree oven for 5 to 6 minutes. Then remove the dining, prick the bottom of the pastry with a fork in several places, and bake for 8 to 10 minutes more. Remove the shell when it has browned very lightly; you could remove the mold from the shell and let cool or keep the pastry in it's mold. 

Crème Pâtissière (custard filling):

for about 2 1/2 C

• 1 C granulated sugar
• 5 egg yolks
• 2/3 C sifted all-purpose flour
• 2 C boiling milk
• 1 tbl butter
• 1 1/2 tbl vanilla extract 

1. Gradually beat the sugar into the egg yolks and continue beating for 2-3 minutes until the mixture is pale yellow and forms "the ribbon" (lift up the hand mixer and when the mixture falls down a ribbon of custard should slowly disappear) 
2. Beat in the flour, and slowly mix in the boiling milk in a very thin stream. 
3. Pour the whole mixture into a clean saucepan and set over high heat. Stir with a wire whip - when the sauce comes to a boil it will get lumpy, but keep beating it and it will turn smooth. After the boil is reached, turn the heat to low and keep beating for 2-3 minutes. Make sure custard does not burn on the bottom! 
4. Remove from heat and beat in the butter and the vanilla extract. 
5. Let custard cool in the refrigerator until it is ready to use (place a dot of butter on top of the custard so a skin does not form)

Preparing the Tart

1. Drop the peaches in boiling water for 10-15 seconds. Peel, halve, remove pits, and slice. 
2. Spread a 1/2 inch layer of crème pâtissière in the bottom of the pastry shell. Add the sliced peaches in a circular design. 
3. I then used a pastry brush to add some Raspberry Cherry jam that I made a couple of weeks ago - it turned out to be a wonderful mixture between a topping and a glaze! 
4. Serve the tart warm or cold. 

Bon Appétit! 

xo, A

French Sugar Puffs

I came across these pretty little treats on Smitten Kitchen and knew I had to try them out. I want to slowly move towards baking only French treats and pastries, and this recipe was really easy to follow (it was adapted from David Lebovitz). David's blog, found here, is one of my absolute favorites and I visit it almost daily. I've tried many of his ice cream recipes and they are so versatile and can be adapted in many different ways!

Anyway, these delicious sugar puffs is the basic recipe for creme puffs, but you could make them with or without the creme. Either way they are delicious! It made about 20 puffs and they were a huge hit with my friends. If you make this recipe, try sprinkling pearl sugar on top before baking to add some extra sweetness! Debra's blog tells you where you can find some pearl sugar near you :)

Enjoy!
xoxo, A