Marco Pierre White's Harvey's Lemon Tart ~ #CakeSliceBakers

A Lemon Tart may just be my all-time favorite dessert.  I am always searching for the perfect recipe, and that is 

why I chose it as my cake to bake for this month's #CakeSliceBakers.

Lemon Drizzle

The #CakeSliceBakers are back with their next cake from World Class Cakes by Roger Pizey. There were some great choices again this month and I am looking forward to seeing which cake my fellow bakers chose to make.

Espresso and Cream Bars

To me, one of the most enjoyable past-times is drinking a great cup of coffee.  I am extremely partial to the coffee produced by Coffees of Hawaii, and in particular their Ka'u.  I didn't really become a coffee drinker until about ten years ago.  Growing up, tea was the drink of choice in my family, and if we did have coffee it was always instant.  That is probably why I didn't like coffee back then.  My taste has definitely changed now and our coffee is always freshly ground before we brew it, and then it is timed to perfection.

Of course I love coffee desserts too - tiramisu, affogato, Kahlua brownies, coffee ice cream are all favorites.  I really wanted to create some type of bar cookie and I thought the flavors of espresso and cream would be perfect.  I did a quick search but didn't find exactly what I was looking for so I used components from a few different recipes to come up with my bars.  I used the base from a berry tart that I recently made, the cheesecake filling is from Bakerella, and the ganache topping is from the LA Times.  The combination was delicious.





Once all of the steps were complete I put the tart in the refrigerator overnight so that the ganache could harden.  After a few photos I cut it into bars.  I have already put it into containers so that my girls can take it to school tomorrow and share with their friends.  Having these in the house is just too dangerous for me - before I knew it I would have eaten way too many.

Espresso and Cream Bars

(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

Base -

• 1 cup (2 sticks), melted and cooled
• ⅔ cup sugar
• 2½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon of salt

Filling - 

• 2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 Tablespoons flour
• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
• ¼ sour cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 teaspoons espresso powder
• 2 teaspoons hot water

Ganache Topping -  

• 10 ounces premium-quality white chocolate, finely chopped 
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

Decoration -

• 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 teaspoon espresso powder
• 5 teaspoons hot water

Preparation

Base -

1. Preheat oven to 350°F
2. Grease a square tart tin that has a removable base.
3. Stir together the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl.
4. Add the flour and salt and stir to make a soft dough.
5. Press dough evenly into base and side of square tart tin with fingertips.
6. Put the tin on a baking tray and bake for 12-15 minutes, until pastry is slightly puffy.

Filling - 

1. Preheat oven to 325°F.
2. Cream the sugar, cream cheese, and flour with an electric mixer on medium until light and fluffy.
3. On medium low, add eggs one at a time, mixing well with each addition.
4. Add sour cream and vanilla and mix until just combined.
5. Mix espresso powder and hot water to dissolve, then add to cheesecake mixture, mixing well.
6. Pour on prepared crust and bake for about 40 minutes.
7. Remove and cool.

Ganache Topping -   

1. Put the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl.
2. Bring the heavy cream to a boil, then pour it over the chocolate. Working with a whisk or spatula, gently stir the chocolate and cream together.
3. When the ganache is smooth, stir in the butter.
4. Cool the ganache slightly and then pour over the top of the tart.
5. Place in the refrigerator to harden.

Decoration - 

1. Place sifted powdered sugar in a bowl.
2. Place espresso powder in a small cup and add hot water, stirring to dissolve.
3. Add espresso liquid to powdered sugar and stir until completely smooth.  Add more hot water if needed.  Do not make icing too thin.
4. Place icing mixture into a piping bag and pipe lines across the top of the tart.
5. Take a skewer or a toothpick and drag it from one end of the pan to the other. Then go to the other end of the pan and drag back the other way.  Continue doing this until you have completed the design.

Recipe inspired by Bill Granger,  Bakerella, and the LA Times.

To Try Tuesday - Bill's Berry Tart

Math never was my strong point so it is no big surprise that I missed Pi Day.  I had this great idea that I would make Bill Granger's Cherry Tart to celebrate Pi Day (even though it is, technically, a tart not a pie) but I ended up having 3.14159265 other things to do, so it became a To Try recipe instead.

I planned on using cherries but Costco did not have any and I didn't want to be stuck with a big bag of frozen cherries.  So I went with blueberries instead, using about 2 cups of whole berries to make a single layer in the tart shell.  It therefore became Bill's Berry Tart.





There is not one thing about this tart that I would change - it was amazing.  If you are looking for a easy-to-make dessert that will impress your family and friends then this is your dessert.  Cherries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, or even a mix of berries would be great in the filling.  I loved that the crust was a cinch to make and it did not have to be rolled out.  You know how the crust can shrink sometimes when you are pre-baking? Not with this one.  Also, those pie weights that you use to stop air pockets forming in the crust? Well, you will not need them for this crust. Simply make crust in less than 5 minutes, pre-bake, fill with fruit, pour custard over the top, and bake once more.  Mine baked for 35 minutes, so realistically you could have this pie ready in about an hour.  I sprinkled mine with a little powdered sugar after it cooled, but this is optional.  Ice cream or whipped cream would be a nice addition too.  Lastly, the original recipe was in metric, so if you prefer these measurements you can find the recipe here.

Bill’s Berry Tart

(Printer Friendly Version)

Ingredients

Pastry

• ½ cup (1 stick) + 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled 
• ⅓ cup sugar 
• 1¼ cups all-purpose flour 
• a pinch of salt 
• 2 tablespoons of ground almonds 

Filling 

• ⅔ cup cream 
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten 
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 
• 3 tablespoons sugar 
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 
• 16 oz cherries, halved and pitted 

 Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Grease a 9-inch round loose-bottomed tart tin. 

To make the pastry:

1. Stir together the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl.
2. Add the flour and salt and stir to make a soft dough.
3. Press dough evenly into base and side of tart tin with fingertips.
4. Put the tin on a baking tray and bake for 12-15 mins, until pastry is slightly puffy.
5. Remove from oven and sprinkle almond meal over base.

To make filling:

1. Whisk together cream, eggs, vanilla, sugar. 
2. Add flour and whisk until well mixed.
3. Arrange cherries over pastry base and pour cream filling over cherries.
4. Bake for 40-50 minutes until filling is firm.
5. Leave to cool and serve with cream or ice-cream.

Serves 8-10.  Original recipe appears in Holiday by Bill Granger.

To Try Tuesday - Portuguese Custard Tarts

I found this recipe for Portuguese Custard Tarts courtesy of the Cooking Channel and Bill Granger.  For those who might not have heard of Bill, he is a very popular Australian self-taught "cook", who was quoted in Food & Wine magazine as saying "I learned how to cook in a domestic kitchen which keeps my food simple and instinctual".   I just love his easy going manner and simple approach to food.  He has eight cookbooks, including his latest, Bill's Basics.  It is no big surprise that I own them all.

Pressing plastic wrap on the surface prevents a skin forming on the custard

Bill's recipe originally calls for puff pastry but I still have quite a few pie crusts left over from Thanksgiving and Christmas.  What can I say, Sam's Club was selling rolled and read-to-use Pillsbury pie crusts in bulk so I stocked up on a bargain.  I decided that two of these crusts would make a good replacement for the puff pastry.  I also wanted to make mini tarts because they are a nice little mouthful, and also because they are so darn cute.  I simply used a fluted biscuit cutter and gently pressed the cut out pastry into a mini muffin tin.  I had enough dough to make 48 mini tarts, although I only had enough custard to fill 30 empty tart shells, so I filled the remaining ones with jam.

My only complaint about these tarts is that the custard is very sweet. Next time I make them I will definitely cut the sugar in half.  I really don't think I will miss it as they are quite rich to begin with. About 12 disappeared before I had even finished taking these photos.  I was surprised because my husband is back in training mode so he is usually very disciplined about eating sweets, but I guess these were hard to resist.

Portuguese Custard Tarts

(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• 3 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup superfine sugar (I used regular)
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2/3 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 refrigerated pie crusts, thawed 
• nutmeg for sprinkling, if desired

Directions

1. Place the egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch into a saucepan and whisk them together. 
2. Gradually beat in the cream and milk until smooth. 
3. Place the pan over medium heat, and stirring constantly, cook until the mixture thickens and comes to a boil. 
4. Switch off the heat, and stir in the vanilla extract. 
5. Transfer the custard to a bowl, cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming, and leave out to cool. 
6. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease 2 x 24 count mini muffin pans. 
7. Lay the pie crusts on a lightly floured board and, using a biscuit cutter, cut rounds from them.  Gather the left-over pastry scraps and re-roll, cutting more rounds as needed.
8. Press one round into each mini muffin hole. 
9. Spoon the cooled custard into the pastry cases, sprinkle with nutmeg if desired, and bake until the pastry and custards are golden, about 20 to 25 minutes. 
10. Leave the tarts in the pan for 5 minutes, and then remove and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Recipe adapted from Bill Granger and the Cooking Channel.

Pie Day becomes Tart Day

Today,  January 23, is National Pie Day. It was created by the American Pie Council. The American Pie Celebration began in 1986 to commemorate Crisco's 75th anniversary of "serving foods to families everywhere." I had every intention of baking a mile-high pie today.  My time management skills were severely lacking today so a pie became a simple tart.

Once I realized that the pie was a no-go I quickly thawed out a couple of sheets of puff pastry.  I don't know why Pepperidge Farm doesn't package their pastry sheets in flat package because it is a total pain to unfold them, and they are always getting stuck together.  Out came the rolling pin and I quickly repaired the damage.  To make the little tarts I simply used a circle cutter and made 6 circles out of each sheet.  I placed then on a Silpat so that they would be not stick to the pan.


I then layered apples over the top in a circular pattern.  I decided to use a spice that I picked up in Australia called Mixed Spice.  It is a blend of cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg.  After sprinkling a little of the spice on each tart I put them in the oven for about 20 minutes.  The pastry puffs up and cooks to golden brown, and the apples soften slightly.  Once they came out of the oven I heated up a little marmalade in the microwave and brushed it over the top as a glaze.  You could also use apricot or pineapple preserves with similar results.


This is such a quick and easy dessert to make.  Little effort and big reward.  I topped it off with a scoop of Salted Caramel Ice Cream and we were all very happy campers.

Spiced Apple Tarts

(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• 1 box of puff pastry (containing 2 sheets), thawed
• 2 apples, peeled and quartered, and cut in thin slices
• 2 teaspoons mixed spice (or cinnamon)
• 2 tablespoons orange marmalade

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Cut puff pastry sheets into 12 circles and place on baking sheets.
3. Layer apples on pastry in a circular pattern.
4. Sprinkle the tops of the tarts with a small amount of spice.
5. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, until pastry is golden and apples are tender.
6. Place marmalade in a bowl and heat for 20 seconds in the microwave.
7. Brush marmalade over the tops of the apple tarts.
8. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.