TWD: Two Tarts - Honey Almond Fig and Normandy Apple

Wow, so many tart recipes as we come down the home stretch with Tuesdays with Dorie. Does that mean folks are scared of tarts? With their sugar cookie-like shell, I've found tarts to be much easier than pie.

Anyway, this week Kayte of Grandma’s Kitchen Table chose Honey Almond Fig Tart. In addition, Nicole of Bakeologie chose Earl Grey Madeleines, which I didn't make but I'm sure were terrific.

I opted for canned peaches in my tart rather than figs, since figs are not to be found in stores right now.



I really loved how it looked with the peaches and the shiny nougaty-looking filling.


Sadly, my tart wasn't baked through in the middle, even after 40 minutes in the oven. We managed to munch around the outer circle, though. The overwhelming flavor in this tart was honey, with the peaches and almond taking a supporting role. If I were to bake this again, I might cut the honey by half, only because I'm a huge fan of peaches.

I'm also playing catchup from last week. I made both the Sour Cream Pumpkin Tart and the Normandy Apple Tart that Judy of Judy’s Gross Eats and Tracey of Tracey’s Culinary Adventures chose. As you can see, I only managed to photograph the apple tart.


This was a really tasty tart, with a homemade applesauce making up the bulk of the filling. The rosy color came from cooking the apple peels with the filling before straining them out. This was a big hit with the family.

I served the pumpkin tart at Thanksgiving and it was a bit hit too. The filling was a perfectly textured pumpkin flavor, just what you'd expect for the star of the Thanksgiving dessert table.

As a side note, I thought I'd mention that I didn't prebake any of the shells and they came out fine. I find that the edges of the shells come out too dark for my tastes if I prebake.

OK, that's it for now. The next few weeks will highlight the final recipes from Dorie Greenspan's outstanding book "Baking, From my Home to Yours". You can find the tart recipes in her book or at the recipe links above.

TWD: Cranberry Upside-Downer

Sabrina of Superfluous chose Cranberry Upside-Downer for this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe.

I've got to say this is one of the least attractive desserts I've turned out in a while. Although it looks like a peach-topped mound of goo, there really is cake under there somewhere. Honest! I don't know if I didn't bake it long enough or if it was too much butter/sugar for that size pan. Whatever! It looks like something that would come with the warning "Don't Try This at Home!".

For all of my carrying on, it actually tasted pretty good. I like the addition of the healthy dose of cinnamon to the cake. I'd like to try this again sometime with a full size recipe to see if I have better luck (I baked 1/4 recipe in a 4-inch pan). Also, I might have to give the cranberries a go when they start showing up in the local grocery stores.

On a side note, school *finally* started last week after our extra-long summer (thanks to several new schools being built over the last year and needing extra time to finish this summer). I thought this was a cute picture of my 4th grader waiting with dad to head to the bus. He looks so little!



OK, head on over to Sabrina's blog if you'd like to peek at the recipe, or check out Dorie Greenspan's book, "Baking, From my Home to Yours".

TWD: Crunchy and Custardy Peach Tart

Rachel of sweet tarte decided on Crunchy and Custardy Peach Tart for this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe.

This tart was straightforward enough... sliced peaches are layered in a tart shell and simple, sweet custard is poured over, then it's topped with a layer of struesel.

I made half of the recipe, which was perfect for two mini tart shells. I used canned peaches since the peaches available at the time I made this were hard as rocks.


This was light and tasty and perfect for the dog days of summer. I have to say that if I made it again I would cram more peaches in... I didn't really think the custard brought a lot to the party. The peaches were the star of this show.

If you'd like to see the recipes, please pick up a copy of Dorie Greenspan's book "Baking, From my Home to Yours", or stop by Rachel's blog.
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I wanted to share a few pictures from one part of our vacation a few weeks ago... our visit to Cedar Point, a fantastic amusement park that is a must for serious roller coaster fans.


The highlight of the park was the Top Thrill Dragster, a beast of a coaster that is so fast that you almost don't have time to be scared. Seriously, it shoots you down the track from zero to 120 miles an hour in 4 seconds. And tall... it's the second tallest coaster in the world at 420feet tall... the first over 400 feet and the first of this kind.

Pictures don't do justice to how tall it is. It is *massive*. You can see the dark blue train on the right side of the hill going up... it looks small but it probably seats 20 people.


Check out the "POV" or "point of view" video. In the aeriel view at the beginning you can see it towers over everything else in the park.



I know, I need to stop gushing. It was just so thrilling to go that FAST.

Here's a view from the gondola ride looking to the back half of the park. One thing about this park, it is long and skinny so you'll put in some serious miles. Gym shoes are a must!


The Power Tower has two sides that shoot you up and two sides that drop you down from the top. My opinion... the side that launches you up = fun. There's a moment at the top where you feel like you're floating. The side that drops you down = scary as hell! If you've ever had a dream (make that nightmare) where you're falling... yea, this is it. In real life.



If you've been there, you probably know the Raptor, it's my favorite ride anywhere... but the Maxair is my new close second. At the top all you see is your feet and blue sky. Awesome!



I could go on, but I'll stop here. I highly recommend a trip to northern Ohio if you like roller coasters. My kids love it!

TWD: Brioche Plum Tart

It's Tuesday again and you know what that means. A whole mess of bakers will be showing off another recipe from Dorie Greenspan's book, "Baking, From my Home to Yours" today.

Denise of Chez Us picked Brioche Plum Tart for this week's Tuesday's with Dorie recipe. Thanks, Denise!

This was a fairly simple treat. A brioche base is pressed into a tart pan and topped with lightly sweetened fruit. We were supposed to use plum slices, but I opted to use a combination of peach and plum.


I thought this recipe had potential, but I have to admit that I didn't exactly love it as-is. I thought the bread layer was a tad thick for the amount of fruit. If I were to try this again, I might bake it in a larger pan, or reduce the amount of brioche dough.


Hey, it gets high points for looks, though, huh?


If you'd like to give this a try yourself, please stop by Denise's site or better yet, pick up a copy of the book. See you next week!

TWD: Honey-Peach Ice Cream

Hey everyone! We just got back from vacation. As soon as school ended, we jetted down to Texas for my sister's wedding and a little sight-seeing. I've got a wee little wedding cake to share and some trip pics, but I'll post them later in the week.

Right now, we've got some Tuesday's with Dorie to talk about. Tommi of Brown Interior selected Honey-Peach Ice Cream for this week's recipe. Thanks, Tommi!


Based on the discussion on the TWD forum, I opted to steep my peaches, er, nectarines, in my hot milk/cream mixture. I wanted the fruit flavor to really shine through.


It looks a little gunky, I know, but a quick pass through the strainer and all was well.

I cooked all of the nectarines, and also pureed the whole batch because I, like apparently lots of other folks, don't like chunks of icy fruit in my ice cream (too ouchy on the teeth.) There were still a few small pieces.


And how was it?

Good! ...nice and fruity tasting. I couldn't really detect the honey flavor, though. I'm looking forward to trying it with some perfectly ripe, tasty peaches (the selection of peaches at the store this week was not good).

OK, that's all folks! Thanks for stopping by and if you'd like to see the recipe, please stop by Tommi's site above, or check out Dorie Greenspan's book, "Baking, From my Home to Yours".

P is for Peach

"Peach pie", that is.

This month's "You Want Pies with That?" assignment was to bake a literary-inspired pie and was chosen by Mary of The Food Librarian (what other theme could a librarian possibly chose?). I was all over this as I love, love, LOVE to read.

A bag of frozen peaches has been calling out to me every time I open the freezer, so I knew I wanted to bake a peach pie. It was just a matter of whether to chose the book "James and the Giant Peach" (one of my childhood favorites), or the alphabet inspired murder mystery series by Sue Grafton. Her first book is "A is for Alibi" and she's now up to "T is for Trespass". In the end, I went with Ms. Grafton's books... they take me back to the time when my second baby was born and I sat on my rear-end for pretty much the first three months of his life, reading her entire series and holding my sweet little munchkin while he alternately ate and slept. (I also read Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta series during that time.)

So anyway... it's too late to appeal to Ms. Grafton to name her "P" book, "P is for Peach", but I'm running with the theme anyway.

P is also for "polka dots".

My peach pie looked so cute going into the oven (I thought)...

P is also for (slightly) "pathetic" and "pitiful".



Not so pretty coming out, huh? My sad little pie definitely falls into the "only-a-mother-could-love-it" category. I blame it on the convection oven, which I futzed around with the whole time the pie was baking.

(Gee, I wonder if I should pull out the owner's manual and read it? Nah... I think I'll flub up a few more recipes first, just for good measure, LOL.)

But you know what? It tasted awe-some! I served it at our Super Bowl party and got many, many compliments on it. I will definitely make this again.

Pathetic Pitiful Polka-dotted Peach Pie

One double 9-inch unbaked pie crust
5 cups sliced peaches (I used well-thawed frozen peaches, about 2-1/2 pounds)
3/4 C. sugar
4 to 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour (if your peaches are on the dry side, I'd go with 4 tablespoons, but if they're quite juicy, I would use more)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, sliced

This recipe comes from an old family friend that I no longer keep in touch with. All I had was the ingredient list so I had to refer to other cookbooks and basically wing it as I went.

Prepare your pie dough up to the point of rolling it out and laying the bottom crust in your buttered pan and trimming the edges. Refrigerate the crust while you prepare the filling. Roll out and refrigerate your top crust (on a flat surface such as a cutting board) if using.

Gently toss the peaches, sugar, flour, lemon juice, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes, then add the filling to the pan. Dot the top with the butter. At this point, you could top with a lattice top or a full pie crust. Seal the edges and crimp or flute as desired. Make slits in the top if using a full crust. Refrigerate the pie for at least a half hour, or stick it in the freezer if you have less time. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Place the pie on a baking sheet and place in the oven. Bake for 15 minutes.

Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 35 to 50 minutes or until juices bubble. Cover the edges with aluminum foil or a pie shield if they start over-browning. (FYI... I baked mine for more like and hour and a half total, but that have been because I was messing with my oven the whole time. As a side note, I wonder if a top crust would have kept it from being a little dry on top.)

Remove from the oven and let cool on a cooling rack.

Enjoy!

TWD: La Palette's Strawberry Tart

I have to admit, I wasn’t too pumped up about this week’s Tuesday’s with Dorie recipe, “La Palette’s Strawberry Tart”. No disrespect to Marie of “A Year in Oak Cottage”, who’s pick it was this week, it’s just not the type of dessert I usually go for. I mean, where’s the chocolate, or caramel, or chunks and gobs of something gooey, creamy, or decadently sweet? I’m guessing some folks were looking forward to a light spring dessert. But me? Naaaah. I’ll take a triple chocolate brownie with dulce de leche ice cream topped with whipped cream, toffee bits, and strawberries please (hiccup).

I decided to be a good sport and give the dessert a chance, though. Who knows…? I might fall in love with it and swear off chocolate forever. But I wanted to play around a little too. So, after a pit-stop at the local cake-decorating store, I had four mini-tart pans in hand and I set to work in the kitchen.
The first tart was a tweaked version of the La Palette Strawberry Tart… I added a layer of pastry cream and a few blueberries . Next was a peach with pastry cream tart. Veering off in another direction, I turned my third tart into a baby pecan pie. The fourth tart shell is in the freezer patiently awaiting its fate. (I’ll blog about the latter two tarts another day.)

The verdict? I love, love, LOVED them! Wow, I am forever indebted to Marie and Dorie for opening my eyes and tastebuds to this luscious treat. Seriously, it was SO good.

According to Dorie, the tart shell is closer to cookie dough than a pie dough. I liked it a lot, better than typical pie dough. We were to press the dough into the tart pan, but I thought it was easier rolling it between two pieces of wax paper. Here it is before trimming.

Here's the peach tart being readied for it's fruit topping, first with a layer of pastry cream, then a layer of jam...


Clearbrook Farms peach fruit butter is to die for, by the way!

The photo shoot came to an end when my son and his little friend came nosing around...


Little thief!


If you have a hankering to try this recipe, you can check out Dorie's post on the blog, Serious Eats.

All right, see you next week with Peppermint Cream Puff Ring. Between now and then, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Dorie's book "Baking, From My Home to Yours". You will thank me, I promise!