The Baker's Daughter

Chocolate hazelnut tarts

 
This is the most divine dessert I've made in quite a while.  The chocolate filling is really creamy and rich but isn't overpowering at all due to the nice crunch of the crust and the freshness of the unsweetened whipped cream.   You could add a few teaspoons of liqueur to the chocolate mixture if you wish to make this a grown up dessert;  orange liqueur, Kahlua, rum, and Frangelico would all be incredible.  The recipe for the crust was taken from the cookbook "Dessert".

Chocolate hazelnut tarts

Crust

1/2 cup hazelnuts

1/2 cup sugar

7 tbsp butter

2 egg yolks

1 cup plus 3 tbsp all-purpose flour

pinch of salt

Chocolate filling

10 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 cup whip cream (35%)

Topping

1 cup whip cream

Toasted hazelnuts

Directions

In a food processor, combine the hazelnuts and sugar.  Pulse until they are finely ground.  Transfer to a bowl and add the butter, flour, egg yolks and salt.  Mix together, form into a disk and wrap tightly in plastic wrap.  Place in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

To make the chocolate filling, finely chop the 10 oz of bittersweet chocolate and place in a heatproof bowl.  Pour the one cup of cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it reaches the point just before the boil.  Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let it sit for 5 minutes.  After 5 minutes whisk the mixture together.  Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.  

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Grease and flour 6, 3 inch tart tins.  

Press the crust into the tart tins.  Place a piece of parchment over the crust and fill with baking beans.  Bake for 15 minutes.  After 15 minutes, remove the beans and parchment and bake for a further 5 minutes.  Set aside to cool.

Using a hand or stand mixer, whip the chilled chocolate mixture on high for approximately 1 minute until it doubles in size and becomes fluffy.  (If using liquor, add now).

Whip your cream.

Remove the tart shells from the tins.  Divide the chocolate mixture between the shells and smooth with an offset spatula.  Top with a generous dollop of whip cream and a toasted hazelnut.

 
 
 

 
 

 

Brownie Tassies

 
Tassies are mini tarts with varied filling usually made with a delicious cream cheese crust.  I got the idea for these from this Canadian Living Cooks recipe.  These would be great to serve with a tea as a petite four.  I simply drizzled them with some melted chocolate but you could definitely ratchet them up a notch by topping them with a ganache and a fresh berry or two.  The crust needs to be refrigerated for about an hour so give yourself some time when making this recipe to account for that.  I've used tassie tins for this recipe but you could definitely use a mini muffin tin.  You can use other nuts in this recipe in place of the walnuts, and you could also use dried fruit such as apricots and cranberries.  You should get 24 tassies out of this recipe but that will depend on the size of your tins.

Brownie Tassies

Crust

4 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 tbsp sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

Filling

2 tbsp butter

1 1/2 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped

2 tbsp sugar

1 egg yolk

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 tsp all-purpose flour

4 tbsp walnuts, chopped

Directions

For the crust, beat the cream cheese and butter in a stand mixer or hand mixer until creamy (about 2 minutes on high).  Add the sugar, mixing well to incorporate.  Beat in the flour on low speed.  Form the dough into a ball and wrap tightly.  Chill for at least 1 hour. 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

To make the brownie filling, combine the butter and chopped chocolate in a small heavy bottomed pan.  Over low heat, stir the mixture frequently until all the chocolate has melted.  Take the mixture off the heat and whisk in the sugar.  Let the mixture cool for about 5 minutes and then whisk in the egg yolk and vanilla.  Stir in the flour and chopped walnuts.  Set aside to cool while you assemble the tassie crusts.

Grease your tassie (or mini cupcake) tins and press a tablespoon sized ball of dough into your tin.  Repeat with the remaining dough.  Your brownie mixture should be cooled enough to divide into teaspoon sized balls, which can be pressed into the cream cheese crusts.  

Place on a baking pan and bake for 18-20 minutes or until the edges of the crust are lightly browned. 

Let cool and drizzle with chocolate, top with ganache and berries or leave plain

 

 
 
 

Pies

A few of the pies I made today.  We use an old fashioned pastry recipe and fresh fruit.  Some favourite flavours include: Raspberry, Strawberry, Blueberry, Apple, Apple Cranberry, Peach, Peach Raspberry, Pecan, Mixed Fruit, Cherry, and my fav Strawberry Rhubarb.

 

 

Chocolate Mousse Tarts

It was our second wedding anniversary yesterday and I made these little sweeties for dessert.  The base is shortbread with a piece of dark chocolate hidden inside.  The white and dark chocolate mousse is hiding a full strawberry, SO delish.

Nanna's Ninety

(Yes she's really 90)

Nanna is not actually my Nanna, but my friend Margie's.  I have known Margie for around 15 years and have known Nanna for that length of time too.  Nanna is a spunky Brit who hates BBQ's so a garden tea surprise party was planned for her 90th birthday.  I was originally commissioned to make a cake but I thought that petit fours and other bite-sized treats would be classier and much more in tune with a fancy afternoon tea.  It was a great summer day (minus the psycho killer wasps) and I think Nanna had a great time with her friends and family and there wasn't one hot dog or hamburger in sight! 

I'm going to post a few pictures now and then in the next few weeks I will get around to posting some recipes for the mini cupcakes, petit fours, and lemon berry tarts.

 

  

  

 

3 Generations of lovely ladies

 

Caramel Banana Banoffee Tart

I tried this recipe by Ben O'Donoghue ("The Best in Australia", Series One) on a rainy Sunday and that was exactly the right type of day to make it as it's quite time consuming.  The caramelization of the condensed milk takes three hours, plus another hour of cooling, so make sure you have lots of time before you attempt this recipe.  To be perfectly honest I'm not sure how I feel about this recipe as I definitely did not like the flavour of the Marscarpone cheese.  I found it overpowering and not quite right and I would use cream cheese in the future.  Marcsarpone is also about twice the price of cream cheese, which is another reason to substitute!  Also, the time it takes to caramelize the condensed milk is just ridiculous and I would definitely be tempted to buy it pre-made in the future.  The recipe is also severely lacking when it comes to direction and quantities and I've done my best to include the measurements that worked for me.

However, there were redeeming qualities, as the flavours of dark chocolate, banana and caramel is really good and the crust has a nice light crunch, which is appreciated as the other ingredients are quite rich.  I used a 7 inch tart pan and it seemed to be properly sized in regards to the filling and caramel but I could have halved the crust and still had enough.  Also, instead of folding all the condensed caramelized milk into the cheese mixture, I used half and then spread the remaining on top of the cheese mixture (you can see it in one of the pictures below) so there was a nice layer of caramel.   Make sure you keep the water above the tin of condensed milk at all times.  I'm not 100% sure what will happen if it's not submerged but it may involve explosions and third degree burns.  

Caramel Banana Banoffee Tart

Sweet Paste (crust)

335 g plain flour
235 g unsalted butter
100 g icing sugar
3 egg yolks

Filling
250 g Marscarpone Cheese
250 g Creme Fraiche
395 g (1 tin) tin condensed milk (caramelized)
70% dark chocolate (The recipe doesn't say how much to use, but you'll probably need about 2 oz )
Bananas sliced and pan fried

Sauce (quantities aren't included for some reason for this sauce but I would use about 1/4 cup of half and half cream and 1 oz of chocolate)
Single cream
70% dark chocolate

Directions

Prepare the sweet paste by rubbing the cold butter with the flour and icing sugar until a fine crumb is achieved.  Add the egg yolks and bring together.  Wrap in cling film and chill for at least two hours.

Place the tin of condensed milk into a heavy bottomed pot and cover with water and simmer for three hours.  Keep covered with water at all times, remove after three hours and allow to cool completely. 

Roll out the pastry and line individual pastry rings leaving the pastry overhanging until the baking is complete.  Blind bake (use dried beans or peas or ceramic baking pellets if you have them) until the base is golden brown (No oven temperature is suggested but I would bake at 350 degrees F).  Allow to cool, and then trim the edges.  Melt chocolate then line the inside of the pastry case with a thin layer of chocolate. 

Combine the creme fraiche and Marscarpone in a bowl.  Then fold through the condensed caramelized milk to create a ripple effect.  Deposit evenly between the tart bases.

Slice the bananas and pan fry in a little butter until golden.  Arrange then on top of each tart and drizzle with chocolate sauce. 

Individual Peach Tarts

Nothing epitomizes summer more than biting into a ripe peach and feeling the juices run down your chin.  This peach tart is so easy to make and is such a classy dessert that you can serve it both on a weeknight or for dinner guests.  I've used individual tart tins but feel free to use a 7" tart tin.  There are many variations to this recipe, you could add some raspberries or blueberries to the peaches, or you could sprinkle some chopped almonds over top as almonds and peaches are really good together.

Individual Peach Tarts

Shortbread Crust

1 cup all purpose flour

2 heaping tbsp icing sugar

1/2 cup cold butter, cubed

Filling

4 ripe peaches

Simple Syrup (optional)

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Grease four individual tart tins (3" tart tins work well but you could also use one 7" tin). 

In a medium bowl combine the flour and icing sugar.  Using your finger tips blend the butter into the flour mixture until nicely incorporated.  Press the crust into the  tart tins.

Cut the peaches in half, remove the pit and cut into 1/4" slices.  Arrange the peaches on the crust and bake for approximately 40 minutes or until the crust is lightly browned. 

To make the syrup, place the sugar and water in a small heavy bottomed pot.  Bring to a boil and continue to boil for a few minutes until the sugar is dissolved. 

Remove the tart from the pan once it is cooled and brush with the simple syrup.

Summer Tart

This is essentially a no-bake cheesecake, although you do have to bake the crust.  I really like how fresh and summery this recipe is, especially with the lemon.  You could use any fruit you like, I just happened to have strawberries around.  For this recipe use a tart pan that has a removable bottom, you can find them at most kitchen supply stores.

Summer tart

Crust

1 cup graham crumbs

½ cup ground almonds

2 tbsp sugar

1/3 cup melted butter

Filling

8 oz cream cheese, softened

6 tbsp whipping cream (35%)

3 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp lemon zest

Topping

2 cups strawberries, cut in half or quartered

1/3 cup strawberry or raspberry jam

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  In a bowl, combine the graham crumbs, ground almonds and butter.  Press into the bottom of a greased 7” tart pan.  Bake for 12-15 minutes until firm.  Let cool.

To make the filling, combine the cream cheese, whipping cream and sugar and whip using a stand mixer or a hand held mixer until light and fluffy about 2 minutes on high.  Spread onto the bottom of the cooled crust.  Top with the strawberries.  Heat the jam in a microwave for approximately 30 seconds.  Using a pastry brush, brush the tops of the strawberries. 

Refrigerate for at least 1 ½ hours.  To serve remove the tart from the pan (leaving the bottom in place) and place on a cake stand if you have one.  A sprig of mint adds a pop of colour.