Quick Classic Berry Tartlettes (TWD)

With all of the gorgeous fruit on display at my local farmers market, I was super happy that Christine of Cooking With Christine decided on Quick Classic Berry Tart for this week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe.

I definitely have a weakness for fresh fruit tarts. As I couldn't trust myself with a full-sized tart at home, I transformed this recipe into tartlettes --- I can have a little taste and then send the rest off to my hub's workplace.

The berries were abundant at the farmers market this past weekend, and I had hard time narrowing down my choices. Strawberries were definitely overflowing in the stands, but I was drawn to some beautiful golden raspberries. Golden raspberries are milder and less tart than the red variety, with a flavor that reminds me of apricots. Although they're a bit pricey (5 bucks for a small basket), these gems are worth the occasional investment.

As you can prepare the crust and pastry cream in advance, this beautiful dessert comes together super fast when it's time to serve it to your guests.

Here are my recipe notes:

Tart Dough
- The tart crust recipe yielded 21 tartlette shells.
- The little shells are made by pressing portions of dough into a mini-muffin pan. I used a shot glass to evenly press the dough up the sides of the pan.
- After freezing the dough in the pan for one hour, it is popped in a 375 degree oven for 12-14 minutes. The freezing step is critical for the shells to hold their shape while baking.

Vanilla Pastry Cream
- I used vanilla bean paste instead of vanilla extract (I love the little vanilla bean specks in the cream).
- I love Dorie Greenspan's pastry cream, but find that the amount of cornstarch makes the pastry cream a little too congealed for my personal preference. By reducing the cornstarch to 1/4 cup, I get the creamy consistency that I like.
- I had quite a bit of pastry cream leftover, as a little dollop will fill each tartlette shell. Halving the recipe will yield more than enough pastry cream. I don't mind the leftover cream - it's a perfect filling for eclairs!

Fruit Topping
- I skipped the drizzling of red currant jelly.

You don't need a fork to enjoy these tarlettes - just pick them up with your fingers and pop them in your mouth!

Buttery tart shell + creamy and slightly sweet pastry cream + sweet/tart and juicy berries = YUM!!!

If you'd like the complete recipe for this delicious and easy tart, please visit Christine's blog.

Strawberry Shortcake

In Southern California, you know it's springtime when you start to see an abundance of gorgeous strawberries popping up at the farmers markets. Gaviota, Camarosa, Chandler Seascape...so many varieties to taste, all with their own textures and flavors.

Growing up in Orange County way back when, my family lived in an area where land originally devoted to strawberry fields and orange groves were transitioning into residential tracts. During strawberry season, my mom would give me a few dollars and send me across the street to the local strawberry farm to pick up a bounty of beautiful berries for my family to enjoy.

Today, most of those strawberries fields have all but disappeared from the Orange County landscape, and I'm sad that I took for granted the opportunity to buy beautiful fruit straight from the farm. Although dwindling in number, a few strawberry farms still exist in Orange County. Mary (aka Food Librarian) has a great post about her recent visit to one.

I usually enjoy strawberries simply as is, as they are so sweet and juicy and don't really need anything else to enhance their flavor. If I do make something, I want the strawberry to be the star, like this strawberry shortcake recipe.

The base of this recipe is a simple, slightly sweet delicate scone, which can be baked and cooled a few hours in advance. The shortcakes do not rise much when baked, but it has a wonderful cakey, crumbly texture---perfect for strawberries and whipped cream!

The components of this recipe is short and sweet - shortcake, strawberries (macerated with a little sugar, balsamic vinegar), and vanilla whipped cream.

I like to mash some of the strawberries with a little sugar, as it own juices create a beautiful syrup that is soaked up by the shortcake. A few drops of a good, aged balsamic vinegar really enhances the berry flavor. If you have a pint or two of strawberries sitting on your counter and wonder what to do with them, consider trying this simple and delicious recipe!

Strawberry Shortcake

serves 4

Shortcakes

1 C AP flour

1 1/2 Tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

4 Tbsp unsalted butter - cold and cut into little cubes

3 oz heavy cream

extra cream and sanding sugar for the biscuit topping

Strawberry Mixture

1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced

2-3 Tbsp sugar, to taste

1 tsp good aged balsamic vinegar (optional)

Whipped Cream

2/3 C heavy cream

1-2 Tbsp powdered sugar

1/8 tsp vanilla extract

For the Shortcakes

- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat and set aside.

- Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and stir to mix.

- Add the butter and cut into the flour until the mixture resembles a coarse meal (I like using my fingers to do this, but you could use two forks or a pastry cutter).

- Add the cream and stir to mix until the dough comes together. Use a light hand, and don't overwork.

- Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and press together into a flat square shape, and roll out dough to 3/4 inches thick. Cut the dough into quarters, and place on the prepared baking sheet.

- Brush the tops with a little heavy cream and sprinkle with a little sanding sugar.

- Bake for 12 minutes, or until golden brown. Place on baking rack to cool.

For the Strawberry Mixture

- Mix half of the strawberries with the sugar and balsamic vinegar, mashing gently with a fork to release the fruit juices.

- Toss in the remaining strawberries and set aside for 15 minutes to macerate.

For the Whipped Cream

- Whip the cream in a bowl with and electric mixer (or use a whisk if you've got strong arms!). When soft peaks form, add the sugar and vanilla and continue whipping until stiff peaks form.

Assemble the Shortcakes

- Slice each shortcake in half crosswise. For each shortcake, place the bottom half of one shortcake cut side up on a plate.

- Layer a generous spoonful of the strawberry mixture, then the whipped cream, and finish with the top half of the shortcake. You can top with more of the strawberry mixture or whipped cream, or both.

- Serve immediately and enjoy!

Strawberry Balsamic Ice Cream

I love strawberry season! In Southern California, you know that summer is just around the corner when you see gorgeous strawberries overflowing at the local farmers market...and the unbelievable fact is that you can get a half flat (6 baskets) of super sweet, juicy berries for 10 bucks. With the berries at their height of their season, there is no better way but to eat them fresh --- no embellishments needed. If the mood strikes to do something with them (besides stuffing my face), I'll make this ice cream. The strawberry is the star of this recipe, but with a little something to take this ice cream over the top:

Yes, balasamic vinegar. Using just a wee bit of high quality, aged balasamic vinegar really brightens the flavor and enhances the sweetness of the berries. Admittedly, it can be a small investment for a good balsamic vinegar (I think I paid $30 for the bottle pictured), but a little goes a long way, and it makes a huge difference in recipes like this. I'll even pour a little of this balsamic over a scoop of vanilla ice cream - believe it or not, it tastes heavenly!

Strawberry Balsamic Ice Cream

makes approx 2 qts

1 1/4 lb fresh strawberries- rinsed, hulled, and sliced

1/2 c. sugar (you can increase this to 3/4 C, depending on the level of sweetness you prefer)

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp vodka (keeps the ice cream from turning rock hard in the freezer)

1/2 c. creme fraiche (or sour cream)

1 1/2 c. heavy cream

1. Combine the strawberries with the sugar, balsamic vinegar and vodka in a large bowl. Cover and let stand at room temp for an hour or so.

2. Pour strawberry mixture into a food processor. Add the creme fraiche and heavy cream and process until just combined. I like to see chunks of fruit in my ice cream. If you prefer a smoother version, process further until smooth.

3. Chill the mixture, then freeze in an ice cream maker.

La Palette's Strawberry Tart w. Mascarpone Ice Cream (TWD)

This week’s Tuesdays With Dorie selection, La Palette’s Strawberry Tart, comes courtesy from Marie at A Year From Oak Cottage. This selection couldn’t have come at a better time, as my local farmers market is teeming with a wide array of gorgeous fruit. There were so many choices that I had a hard time deciding what to buy: gaviota strawberries or golden raspberries, blackberries or yellow peaches, blueberries or plums? Previously, my answer would have been “all of the above”. I would bring home so much fruit that my bewildered hubby would ask what mob I was planning to feed (at home it is just the two of us). Exercising some self control this time, I whittled my choices down to two: gaviota strawberries and blackberries.


I LOVED this recipe, as we had the opportunity to improvise as much as we wanted to suit individual tastes. Aside from baking the tart shell, this was an exercise of assembling the components (which left me more time to enjoy my weekend!). Here is my take on the recipe:

- Instead of using large tart pan, I went with two individual tartlette pans. I ended up making the full tart shell recipe, using half and freezing the other half.
- Blackberry and strawberry jams were used for the base.
- I didn’t bother tossing the fruit in sugar as both berries was perfectly ripe and super-sweet. I did sprinkle some blackberry liqueur on the blackberries and put a few drops of really good, aged balsamic vinegar on the strawberries (This is a DELICIOUS combination --- the balsamic really enhances the sweetness of the berries. Make sure to use a high quality, aged balsamic vinegar)
- Omitted the black pepper.
- Instead of crème fraiche/whipped cream, mascarpone ice cream stepped in to accompany the tart. This delicious ice cream is a twist on a crème fraiche version featured in David Lebovitz’s The Perfect Scoop (the recipe is below). As I have plenty of ice cream left, I need to figure out what to do with the rest of the ice cream (tiramisu bombe, ice cream sandwich, affogato, more tartlettes?). I promise to post on this later.

Overall, this is a really terrific recipe! The strawberry tart definitely took an Italian turn with the balsamic and mascarpone, and the blackberry version was a perfect balance of tart and sweet. The crunchy shortbread-like crust and juicy berries were nicely complemented by the creamy, not over-the-top sweet ice cream. This tart recipe will be making many appearances at my house this summer!

Often, the best desserts are the simplest ones, and I’m glad we didn’t overlook this delicious recipe. Dorie Greenspan highlighted this recipe last summer at Serious Eats, so if you’re interested in creating this yourself (I highly encourage you to do so), here is the link. To check out the yummy creations of my fellow bakers, check out Tuesdays With Dorie.

Mascarpone Ice Cream
Adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz
Makes 1 Quart

Ingredients
1 C whole milk
3/4 C vanilla sugar
pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks
2 C mascarpone

- Warm the milk, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then pour the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.
- Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat until it thickens. If you're using a candy thermometer, warm the mixture to 170F. Pour the custard through a strainer and stir until cool over an ice bath. Chill thoroughly in the refrigerator.
- Once cool, whisk in the mascarpone, then freeze in an ice cream maker.