After a particular insect removal incident, (one lady bug and one spider) the bill was settled with these mini fruit tarts. They're filled with pastry cream and topped with slices of fresh fruit.
Showing posts with label dorie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dorie. Show all posts
Monday, October 11, 2010
Mini Fruit Tarts
The last time I made a dessert at my brother's request, it was to replace something he'd eaten. (Guard your food!) Well this time, it was another story entirely. See, I have one major fear. Bugs. Flies, ants, spiders, cockroaches, beetles - I am terrified. It has long been established practice in my house that upon sight of an offending creature, I scream for help. In high school, I would offer my brother $1 to kill anything that I spied late at night. These days though, I'll call his name for exterminator duty and he'll ask "What will you make me?"
After a particular insect removal incident, (one lady bug and one spider) the bill was settled with these mini fruit tarts. They're filled with pastry cream and topped with slices of fresh fruit.
After a particular insect removal incident, (one lady bug and one spider) the bill was settled with these mini fruit tarts. They're filled with pastry cream and topped with slices of fresh fruit.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
I have more summer fruit desserts to share with you soon, but let me start with a dessert that has been sitting unposted for too long, and for no good reason.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Chocolate Cream Tart
With all the fruit that's been going on around Baking and Mistaking, it's time to get back down to real business. Chocolate business. And does that mean a chocolate tart shell with a rich chocolate custard filling? Yes, it does.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Rugelach
You would think that after my miserable failure at a traditional Jewish dessert, I would be too afraid to soldier on. You would think wrong. Somehow I still took on these little crescent shaped rolls that are of Ashkenazic Jewish origin. Their name - "rugelach" means little twists or little corners in Yiddish.
The dough for these is incredibly simple - just four ingredients, one of which is salt - and comes together really quickly if you have a food processor. And then - the fillings. You can go wild. Mix, match, mismatch, mismix (is that a word?) and put whatever you want in these things.
I made two variations - one that was raspberry jam with mini chocolate chips...
...and the other cocoa, cinnamon and more chocolate chips - you could also use chopped chocolate. (If using cocoa brush the dough with a little melted butter or oil).
After the dough is rolled into a circle and sprinkled/spread/coated with the filling of your choice, the rest is pretty simple. A pizza cutter comes in handy for slicing the circle into sixteen (sort-of) equal pieces. Then comes the fun part - rolling! Try not to lose any filling.
The rolled up cookies get brushed with egg, sprinkled with sugar (there is none in the dough) and baked.
If you can wait for them to cool before eating, then I applaud you. If not, then wait at least a few minutes so you don't burn your mouth.
I'd definitely love to try these again with more variations - different jams, maybe a chocolate ganache, raisins or other dried fruits, and if I'm baking for others even some chopped nuts.
Tip of the Day: If you don't have a food processor, at least invest in a pastry cutter (I have this one) - to cut your butter (or cream cheese) into dry ingredients evenly and quickly.
Recipe: (adapted from from Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours)
Note: I used Tofutti's soy cream cheese and thought they were still great.
Dough:
4 ounces cold cream cheese
1 stick (1/2 cup) cold butter or margarine
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
Filling:
2/3 cup jam of your choice
chopped chocolate
sugar and cinnamon for sprinkling
anything else you want to add
1 egg
1 tsp cold water
2 tbsp sugar
Put flour and salt in the bowl of a a food processor, and scatter the cream cheese and butter in chunks on top. Pulse the machine six to ten times, scraping down the sides as necessary, until dough comes together.
Turn the dough out, gather it into a ball, divide it in two, and refrigerate each half in plastic wrap for at least two hours.
Working with one packet of dough at a time, on a lightly floured surface, roll out into an 11 to 12 inch circle.
Spread jam on top and sprinkle with cinnamon, sugar and any additional toppings - nuts, chocolate, raisins, etc. Use a piece of parchment or wax paper to press the filling gently into the dough.
Slice the dough into quarters, then eights, then sixteenths, taking care so the wedges are as even as possible.
Starting at the outside rim of each triangle (the base), roll each triangle up so that it becomes a little crescent. Make sure points are tucked under the cookie, and arrange on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
Repeat with the second packet of dough.
Refrigerate the rugelach for at least 30 minutes before baking.
Stir the egg and water together, and brush over the cookies. Sprinkle with sugar - coarse is preferable.
Bake on 350 F for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from from the trays and place on a cooling rack to cool.
The dough for these is incredibly simple - just four ingredients, one of which is salt - and comes together really quickly if you have a food processor. And then - the fillings. You can go wild. Mix, match, mismatch, mismix (is that a word?) and put whatever you want in these things.I made two variations - one that was raspberry jam with mini chocolate chips...
...and the other cocoa, cinnamon and more chocolate chips - you could also use chopped chocolate. (If using cocoa brush the dough with a little melted butter or oil).
After the dough is rolled into a circle and sprinkled/spread/coated with the filling of your choice, the rest is pretty simple. A pizza cutter comes in handy for slicing the circle into sixteen (sort-of) equal pieces. Then comes the fun part - rolling! Try not to lose any filling.
The rolled up cookies get brushed with egg, sprinkled with sugar (there is none in the dough) and baked.
If you can wait for them to cool before eating, then I applaud you. If not, then wait at least a few minutes so you don't burn your mouth.
I'd definitely love to try these again with more variations - different jams, maybe a chocolate ganache, raisins or other dried fruits, and if I'm baking for others even some chopped nuts.Tip of the Day: If you don't have a food processor, at least invest in a pastry cutter (I have this one) - to cut your butter (or cream cheese) into dry ingredients evenly and quickly.
Recipe: (adapted from from Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours)
Note: I used Tofutti's soy cream cheese and thought they were still great.
Dough:
4 ounces cold cream cheese
1 stick (1/2 cup) cold butter or margarine
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
Filling:
2/3 cup jam of your choice
chopped chocolate
sugar and cinnamon for sprinkling
anything else you want to add
1 egg
1 tsp cold water
2 tbsp sugar
Put flour and salt in the bowl of a a food processor, and scatter the cream cheese and butter in chunks on top. Pulse the machine six to ten times, scraping down the sides as necessary, until dough comes together.
Turn the dough out, gather it into a ball, divide it in two, and refrigerate each half in plastic wrap for at least two hours.
Working with one packet of dough at a time, on a lightly floured surface, roll out into an 11 to 12 inch circle.
Spread jam on top and sprinkle with cinnamon, sugar and any additional toppings - nuts, chocolate, raisins, etc. Use a piece of parchment or wax paper to press the filling gently into the dough.
Slice the dough into quarters, then eights, then sixteenths, taking care so the wedges are as even as possible.
Starting at the outside rim of each triangle (the base), roll each triangle up so that it becomes a little crescent. Make sure points are tucked under the cookie, and arrange on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
Repeat with the second packet of dough.
Refrigerate the rugelach for at least 30 minutes before baking.
Stir the egg and water together, and brush over the cookies. Sprinkle with sugar - coarse is preferable.
Bake on 350 F for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from from the trays and place on a cooling rack to cool.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Apples and Tarts
I know, I've been neglecting you, and I can't promise it won't happen again. My life right now is a whirlwind of finals and moving boxes and carpet samples and storage spaces and paint strips and graduation portraits.
But there's always time for dessert, right?
Well there was time on my mom's birthday, where the complete failure of the babke was mitigated only by the simple deliciousness of this apple tart. One of the things I love most about tarts - of which I've been on a sort of kick lately - is the complete ease of the dough. After you make it, just press it in to the bottom of the pan - no rolling, no measuring, no ripping holes.
OK so maybe you can kind of see my fingerprints, but that's all going to be covered up with this incredible filling soon. And unbelievably simple too. Starts with sliced up apples, which I hopelessly attempted to arrange in some attractive design.
After failing at that, I simple poured on top the mixture of cream, sugar, eggs and vanilla and baked. Voila.
Much easier than a babke.
Tip of the Day: Freezing the tart dough before baking ensures you don't need to use weights in the pan when baking it empty - known as baking "blind."
Recipe: (from Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours)
Alsatian Apple Tart
Note: I used Rich's Whip topping in place of the heavy cream and it worked out fine. You could probably also sub milk/soy milk if you desire (though it might not be as rich).
Tart Dough:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick plus 1 tablespoon (9 tbsps) frozen butter or margarine
1 egg yolk
Filling:
1 pound apples - about 3 medium apples (I used Golden Delicious)
3/4 cup heavy cream
6 tablespoons sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
3/4 tsp vanilla
Put the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine.
Scatter pieces of the butter over it and pulse until it is cut in and small pieces of dough form.
Break up the egg yolk and add it a little at a time, pulsing after each addition.
Pulse until the dough forms clumps and then turn out the dough and knead to combine any dry ingredients that weren't mixed in.
Press the dough into the bottom of a 9 inch tart pan.
Freeze for 30 minutes, and then fit a greased piece of foil against the dough and bake for 25 minutes at 375 F. Let cool.
Peel, core and slice the apples. Lay them in the tart shell in overlapping concentric circles.
Whisk together the cream, sugar, egg, yolk and vanilla, and pour over the apples.
Bake the tart at 375 F for 50 to 55 minutes, or until the custard looks set. Let cool.
But there's always time for dessert, right?
Well there was time on my mom's birthday, where the complete failure of the babke was mitigated only by the simple deliciousness of this apple tart. One of the things I love most about tarts - of which I've been on a sort of kick lately - is the complete ease of the dough. After you make it, just press it in to the bottom of the pan - no rolling, no measuring, no ripping holes.
OK so maybe you can kind of see my fingerprints, but that's all going to be covered up with this incredible filling soon. And unbelievably simple too. Starts with sliced up apples, which I hopelessly attempted to arrange in some attractive design.
After failing at that, I simple poured on top the mixture of cream, sugar, eggs and vanilla and baked. Voila.
Much easier than a babke.Tip of the Day: Freezing the tart dough before baking ensures you don't need to use weights in the pan when baking it empty - known as baking "blind."
Recipe: (from Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours)
Alsatian Apple Tart
Note: I used Rich's Whip topping in place of the heavy cream and it worked out fine. You could probably also sub milk/soy milk if you desire (though it might not be as rich).
Tart Dough:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick plus 1 tablespoon (9 tbsps) frozen butter or margarine
1 egg yolk
Filling:
1 pound apples - about 3 medium apples (I used Golden Delicious)
3/4 cup heavy cream
6 tablespoons sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
3/4 tsp vanilla
Put the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine.
Scatter pieces of the butter over it and pulse until it is cut in and small pieces of dough form.
Break up the egg yolk and add it a little at a time, pulsing after each addition.
Pulse until the dough forms clumps and then turn out the dough and knead to combine any dry ingredients that weren't mixed in.
Press the dough into the bottom of a 9 inch tart pan.
Freeze for 30 minutes, and then fit a greased piece of foil against the dough and bake for 25 minutes at 375 F. Let cool.
Peel, core and slice the apples. Lay them in the tart shell in overlapping concentric circles.
Whisk together the cream, sugar, egg, yolk and vanilla, and pour over the apples.
Bake the tart at 375 F for 50 to 55 minutes, or until the custard looks set. Let cool.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart
I never seem to have much success when it comes to food and thermometers. Though nothing quite tops the shattering of the glass tip of the candy thermometer while whipping my 7 minute frosting, I still was nervous when I used a (new) thermometer to fry doughnuts, and I watched as the temperature dipped up and down throughout the process, resulting in some doughnuts that were browner than others.
I can also never get the thermometer to stand upright in whatever bowl or pot I am using - it tends to slide around and fall over, resulting in a few choice words occasionally heard in the kitchen. Another problem with the thermometer is that it is often not a one person job. Though I prefer to cook in an empty kitchen, I often find myself yelling for help as I attempt to keep the thermometer up, hold the bowl steady, whisk, read the thermometer and check the consistency of the cream. It's enough to make you break a sweat.
So when I attempted The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart (her title) from Dorie Greenspan I was nervous. And with good reason. Ultimately, with major bumps and hurdles, I got an extraordinary tart.
The recipe is actually quite simple - the tart dough comes together quickly, requires no rolling out, and easily presses into a pan.
The lemon curd filling - though made of only 5 ingredients - is where the tricky part comes in.
The instructions (below) state that the mixture must come to 180 degrees F. Additionally, the book wrote, "Getting to temperature can take as long as 10 minutes." Well, after over 15 minutes of whisking and temperature checking and knocking over the thermometer and calling for help and forgetting to whisk and almost knocking over the bowl, while only reaching about 160 F, I gave up. The mixture had thickened considerably and I assumed there was no hope for me to reach 180 F, and instead I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.
But this was a dessert I made for my family and then left for the weekend, so I wasn't even around to see if it held up. I left my mother with strict instructions to only reveal to our guests that I had made it if it cut into neat slices. So I arrived home to find the remnants of the tart in the fridge, neat edges all around, and I assumed success.
I assumed wrong. Apparently when eaten Friday night the filling oozed all over the place with every slice, but by Saturday it had set completely - and even turned a darker (somewhat strange - thought not as strange as this picture appears) shade of yellow.
Either way - messy or neat - it was incredibly delicious - the lemon filling was completely addictive, and I had trouble restraining myself from eating it by the spoonful before it made it into the shell, instead contenting myself with licking the bowl clean.
Tip of the Day: Don't be afraid to recruit helpers in the kitchen when necessary (nor to kick them out when they prove unhelpful). If you must go at it alone - keep duct tape on hand to hold things in place you cannot!
Recipe: (from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan)
Note: this recipe requires hours of refrigeration and freezing time, so plan accordingly.
Filling:
1 cup sugar
zest of 3 lemons
4 eggs
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (from 4-5 lemons)
2 sticks plus 5 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
Crust:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup confectioners/icing sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick plus 1 tbsp (9 tablespoons) frozen butter or margarine
1 egg yolk
Supplies:
heatproof bowl
pot
thermometer
food processor/blender
For the filling:
Mix the sugar and zest together with your fingers until it is moist and grainy.
Add in the eggs and lemon juice and whisk until combined.
Bring a few inches of water to boil in a saucepan and set the bowl containing the mixture on top.
Whisking constantly, cook until the thermometer reads 180 degrees. It should thicken and begin to leave tracks.
As soon as it hits 180 F, remove from heat and strain into the container of the food processor or blender. Let it stand there, stirring occasionally, until it reaches 140 F, about 10 minutes.
Turn the machine on high, and as it works add the softened butter in tablespoons, about 3 or 4 at a time. Continue until all the butter is added, and then continue to blend for another 3 minutes.
Pour the finished cream into a container, cover tightly with plastic wrap (pressed against the surface) and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
For the crust:
Put the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to combine.
Scatter pieces of the frozen butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the butter is cut in.
Break up the yolk and add it a little at a time, pulsing after each addition.
After it's all in, process in long pulses - 1o seconds at a time, until dough comes together.
Turn out of the bowl and knead any uncombined ingredients - but sparingly.
Press the dough into a oiled 9-inch tart pan. Make sure to press it up the sides of the pan.
Freeze the crust for an hour.
When frozen, tightly press an oiled piece of aluminum foil on top of the tart, and bake at 375 F for 25 minutes.
Remove the foil, and bake for an additional 8 minutes until firm and golden brown.
When crust is completely cooled, and the lemon cream has been refrigerated for at least 4 hours, spoon the filling into the shell and serve.
I can also never get the thermometer to stand upright in whatever bowl or pot I am using - it tends to slide around and fall over, resulting in a few choice words occasionally heard in the kitchen. Another problem with the thermometer is that it is often not a one person job. Though I prefer to cook in an empty kitchen, I often find myself yelling for help as I attempt to keep the thermometer up, hold the bowl steady, whisk, read the thermometer and check the consistency of the cream. It's enough to make you break a sweat.
So when I attempted The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart (her title) from Dorie Greenspan I was nervous. And with good reason. Ultimately, with major bumps and hurdles, I got an extraordinary tart.
The recipe is actually quite simple - the tart dough comes together quickly, requires no rolling out, and easily presses into a pan.
The lemon curd filling - though made of only 5 ingredients - is where the tricky part comes in.
The instructions (below) state that the mixture must come to 180 degrees F. Additionally, the book wrote, "Getting to temperature can take as long as 10 minutes." Well, after over 15 minutes of whisking and temperature checking and knocking over the thermometer and calling for help and forgetting to whisk and almost knocking over the bowl, while only reaching about 160 F, I gave up. The mixture had thickened considerably and I assumed there was no hope for me to reach 180 F, and instead I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.
But this was a dessert I made for my family and then left for the weekend, so I wasn't even around to see if it held up. I left my mother with strict instructions to only reveal to our guests that I had made it if it cut into neat slices. So I arrived home to find the remnants of the tart in the fridge, neat edges all around, and I assumed success.I assumed wrong. Apparently when eaten Friday night the filling oozed all over the place with every slice, but by Saturday it had set completely - and even turned a darker (somewhat strange - thought not as strange as this picture appears) shade of yellow.
Either way - messy or neat - it was incredibly delicious - the lemon filling was completely addictive, and I had trouble restraining myself from eating it by the spoonful before it made it into the shell, instead contenting myself with licking the bowl clean.
Tip of the Day: Don't be afraid to recruit helpers in the kitchen when necessary (nor to kick them out when they prove unhelpful). If you must go at it alone - keep duct tape on hand to hold things in place you cannot!Recipe: (from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan)
Note: this recipe requires hours of refrigeration and freezing time, so plan accordingly.
Filling:
1 cup sugar
zest of 3 lemons
4 eggs
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (from 4-5 lemons)
2 sticks plus 5 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
Crust:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup confectioners/icing sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick plus 1 tbsp (9 tablespoons) frozen butter or margarine
1 egg yolk
Supplies:
heatproof bowl
pot
thermometer
food processor/blender
For the filling:
Mix the sugar and zest together with your fingers until it is moist and grainy.
Add in the eggs and lemon juice and whisk until combined.
Bring a few inches of water to boil in a saucepan and set the bowl containing the mixture on top.
Whisking constantly, cook until the thermometer reads 180 degrees. It should thicken and begin to leave tracks.
As soon as it hits 180 F, remove from heat and strain into the container of the food processor or blender. Let it stand there, stirring occasionally, until it reaches 140 F, about 10 minutes.
Turn the machine on high, and as it works add the softened butter in tablespoons, about 3 or 4 at a time. Continue until all the butter is added, and then continue to blend for another 3 minutes.
Pour the finished cream into a container, cover tightly with plastic wrap (pressed against the surface) and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
For the crust:
Put the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to combine.
Scatter pieces of the frozen butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the butter is cut in.
Break up the yolk and add it a little at a time, pulsing after each addition.
After it's all in, process in long pulses - 1o seconds at a time, until dough comes together.
Turn out of the bowl and knead any uncombined ingredients - but sparingly.
Press the dough into a oiled 9-inch tart pan. Make sure to press it up the sides of the pan.
Freeze the crust for an hour.
When frozen, tightly press an oiled piece of aluminum foil on top of the tart, and bake at 375 F for 25 minutes.
Remove the foil, and bake for an additional 8 minutes until firm and golden brown.
When crust is completely cooled, and the lemon cream has been refrigerated for at least 4 hours, spoon the filling into the shell and serve.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Chipster Topped Brownies
A couple months ago I purchased by very first Dorie Greenspan cookbook. "Baking: From My Home to Yours" is an enormous tome, too heavy to cart around but too exciting to leave behind. Since I received it I've been busy trying out several things, but I haven't shared any with you yet. Allow these Chipster Topped Brownies to be the first of many.
I've actually made a similar recipe to these, but they were judged on the dry side, and never repeated. 
But these? Nobody could ever call these dry. These and rich, decadent, soft and chewy. One bite is enough for a chocolate coma, but still, you persist.
The amount of chocolate in both of the batters is truly incredible. Never again do you have to choose between brownie and blondie.
Tip of the Day: You can play around with the chocolate you use in this recipe - I stuck to semisweet, but you can use unsweetened, bittersweet, even milk chocolate chips in the top layer if you desire.
Recipe: (adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Baking: from My Home to Yours)
For the brownie layer:
9 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 sticks (8 ounces) butter or margarine
1 2/3 cups sugar
4 eggs
½ tsp salt
½ tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
For the cookie layer:
1 ¼ cups flour
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 ½ sticks (12 tablespoons) butter or magarine, softened
¾ cup packed light brown sugar
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips or chunks
Brownie layer: Melt the chocolate and butter together, stirring until melted and combined.
Beat the sugar and eggs together until pale and creamy. Add in the salt and vanilla.
On low speed, pour in the chocolate mixture, mixing until combined.
Add the flour, mix until no white streaks remain. Pour batter in to a greased and lined 9x13" pan and set aside.
Cookie dough: Beat the butter and sugars together until smooth and creamy.
Add in the egg, and then the egg yolk, beating between additions. Beat in the vanilla.
Pour in the flour, baking soda and salt and mix until just combined.
Stir in the chocolate chips. Drop the dough by spoonfuls over the brownie batter, and gently spread evenly.
Bake on 350 F for 50 to 55 minutes. Cool in the pan.
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