Dessert - by Scarlett W

From soufflé to parfait, you'll find my personal selection of yummy dessert recipes here and more!! So for home-made goodness or sweet treats around Sydney, be sure to check here - oh, and bon appétit!! Scarlett :)

Tarts - Dessert

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Date and Almond Tart

January 10th 2007 13:31

Date and Almond Tart

About Date

Dates have been a staple food of the Middle East for thousands of years. It is believed to have originated around the Persian Gulf, and has been cultivated in ancient times from Mesopotamia to prehistoric Egypt, possibly as early as 6000 BC. There is archeological evidence of cultivation in eastern Arabia in 4000 BC.

In later times, Arabs spread dates around northern Africa and into Spain, and dates were introduced into California by Spaniards in 1765, around Mission San Ignacio.
Fresh dates make an unusual but delicious filling for a tart. The influences here are French and middle Eastern – a true Mediterranean fusion!

INGREDIENTS
Serves 6

For the pastry
175 gm / 1½ cups plain flour
75 gm / 6 tablespoons butter
1 egg

For the filling
90 gm / scant ½ cup butter
90 gm / 7 tablespoons caster sugar
1 egg, beaten
90 gm / scant 1 cup ground almonds
30 ml / 2 tablespoons plain flour
30 ml / 2 tablespoons orange flower water
12-13 fresh dates, halved and stoned
60 ml / 4 tablespoons apricot jam

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Place a baking sheet in the oven. Sift the flour into a bowl, add the butter and work with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg and a tablespoon of cold water, then work to a smooth dough.

2. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and use to line a 20cm / 8in tart tin. Prick the base with a fork, then chill until needed.

3. To make the filling, cream the butter and sugar until light, then beat in the egg. Stir in the ground almonds, flour and 15ml / 1 tablespoon of the orange flower water, mixing well.

4. Spread the mixture evenly over the base of the pastry case. Arrange the dates, cut side down, on the almond mixture. Bake on the hot baking sheet for 10-15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 180 degrees Celsius. Bake for a further 15-20 minutes until light golden and set.

5. Transfer the tart to a rack to cool. Gently heat the apricot jam, then press through a sieve. Add the remaining orange flower water.

6. Brush the tart with the jam an serve at room temperature.

**From “A Taste of the Mediterranean” and “Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia” **

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Tarte Tatin

January 3rd 2007 03:43

Tarte Tatin

About Tarte Tatin

Tarte Tatin (tart tah-TAN) - A famous French upside-down apple tart (actually a sweet upside-down cake) made by covering the bottom of a shallow baking dish with butter and sugar, then apples and finally a pastry crust. While baking the sugar and butter create a delicious caramel that becomes the topping when the tart is inverted onto a serving plate. There is one rule for eating Tarte Tatin, which is scrupulously observed. It must be served warm, so the cream melts on contact. To the French, a room temperature Tarte Tatin isn't worth the pan it was baked in.
The points to note in making tarte tatin are:
1) the apples – you need a firm eating apple that will not easily fall apart.
2) the making of the caramel, it needs to be done over a medium heat, taking your time to allow the butter, sugar and apple juices to reach a nice toffee colour before topping the dish with the puff pastry and baking it.

The story about Tarte Tatin
Traditional says that tarte tatin was first created by accident at the Hotel Tatin in Lamotte-Beuvron, France in 1889. The hotel was run by two sisters, Stéphanie Tatin and Caroline Tatin. There are conflicting stories concerning the tart’s origin, but the predominant one is that Stéphanie Tatin, who did most of the cooking, was overworked one day. She started to make a traditional apple pie but left the apples cooking in butter and sugar for too long. Smelling the burning, she tried to rescue the dish by putting the pastry base on top of the pan of apples, quickly finishing the cooking by putting the whole pan in the oven. After turning out the upside down tart, she was surprised to find how much the hotel quests appreciated the dessert.
The Tarte became a signature dish at the Hotel Tatin and the recipe spread through the Sologne region. Its lasting fame is probably due to the restaurateur Louis Vaudable, who tasted the tart on a visit to Sologne and made the dessert a permanent fixture on the menu at his restaurant Maxim’s of Paris.
In North America, tarte Tatin is typically made with Golden Delicious apples, which are typically not preferred for American-style apple pie. Tarte Tatin can also be made with pears, peaches, other fruit, or vegetables, such as onion. **From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia**

INGREDIENTS
Serves 6

250 gm ready-made puff pastry
75 gm softened butter
175 gm caster sugar
750 gm (about 5) large firm dessert apples, such as Cox’s
vanilla ice cream or crème fraîche, to serve

For the vanilla ice cream (Serves 4)
2 vanilla pods
500 ml full-cream milk
6 egg yolks
200 gm caster sugar
50o ml single or double cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. To prepare the Vanilla Ice Cream, slit open 2 vanilla pods and scrape out the seeds with the tip of a knife. Put 500 ml full-cream milk, the vanilla pods and seeds into a non-stick pan and bring to the boil, then remove from heat and set aside for 30 minutes to infuse the milk with the flavour of the vanilla.

2. Put 6 egg yolks and 200 gm caster sugar into a large bowl and, using an electric hand-held whisk, whisk for 3 minutes until pale and moussey.

3. Bring the milk back to the boil, strain onto the egg yolk mixture and mix until well combined. Return to the pan and cook over a low heat, stirring, for 3-4 minutes until the mixture lightly coats the back of a wooden spoon, but do not let the mixture boil or it will curdle. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly, then stir in 500 ml single or double cream and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Chill until cold.

4. Pour the chilled mixture into a shallow container and freeze until almost but not quite firm. Then scrape the mixture either into a bowl or a food processor and beat until smooth, then return it to the container and freeze once more.

5. Repeat this process 2-3 times, until the mixture is very smooth, then leave until frozen. Use as required.

6. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and cut out a 26-cm disc, slightly larger than the top of a 20-cm tarte tatin dish or reliably non-stick cast-iron frying pan. Transfer to a baking sheet and chill for at least 20 minutes.

7. Spread the butter over the base of the tarte tatin dish or frying pan, and sprinkle over the sugar in a thick, even layer.

8. Peel, core and halve the apples, trimming them very slightly if necessary to fit but keeping their nicely rounded shape, and then tightly pack them, rounded-side down, on top of the sugar. Place the tarte tatin dish or frying pan over a medium heat and cook for 20-25 minutes, gently shaking the pan now and then, until the butter and sugar have amalgamated with the apple juices to produce a rich toffee-coloured sauce and the apples are just tender. At first the caramel will be pale and liquid from the juices from the apples, but as you keep on cooking the juices will evaporate and the butter and sugar will become darker and thicker. Just take care that the butter and sugar are not allowed to burn.

9. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius. Lift the pastry on top of the apples and tuck the edges down inside the pan. Prick the pastry 5 or 6 times with the tip of a small, sharp knife, transfer to the oven and bake for 25 minutes until the pastry is puffed up, crisp and golden.

10. Remove the tart from the oven and leave it to rest for 5 minutes. Then run a knife round the edge of the tart and invert it onto a round, flat serving plate.

11. Serve warm, cut into wedges, with crème fraîche or vanilla ice cream.

Tips:

1. Crème fraîche or vanilla ice cream make the perfect ccompaniments. One of the best puddings in the world.

2. If you do not have a heavy ovenproof tin / pan, use a deep, straight-sided frying pan. If the handle is not oven-proof, wrap well in several layers of strong foil to protect from the heat.

**From “Rick Stein’s French Odyssey”**

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Posted By: Scarlett - Category: Tarts

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