Mini lemon meringue tart

I had to make a treat that reminded me of summer because the last couple of days have been filled with snow.  Usually in April Utah has a couple of snow storms, but this storm was heavy and went on for three days.  The storm was more like a winter xmas storm rather than a small spring storm.  So far in my garden I have planted garlic, onion, and potato.  All of these will be fine, I hope.  The snow was kind of heavy so my poor Garlic shoots had to deal with the snow pushing them down.  Right now it is about 38 degrees F, to cold to put my seedlings out and harden them off.

Eating this tart made me feel better and for a moment it felt like summer filled with sprinklers, cold lemonade, and fresh cut grass........

note:  I used a set of six 4 inch round tart pans, if you just want to make one large tart, use a 10" tart pan.

Sweet Tart Pastry
1 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
31/2 ounces cold unsalted butter
1 egg yolk
2-3 tsp iced water

Filling:
6 large eggs
1 1/3 cups sugar
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 3-4 lemons)
finely grated zest of 3 lemons
3/4 cup heavy cream

Italian Meringue
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
2/3 cup egg whites (about 4 eggs)

First make the pastry.  Add your flour, sugar, and butter and mix them with a pastry cutter, or food processor.  Mix until the butter is thoroughly mixed and it resembles corn meal.  Then add the egg yolk and 2 tsp of ice water.  Mix until the dough comes together.  If it isn't coming together add a little more water 1 tsp at a time.  Make sure you add just enough water to allow the dough to come together.

Shape into a ball and cover with plastic wrap.  Allow the dough to chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes.  After it has chilled take the dough out of the fridge and cut it into six even pieces.

Roll out the dough until it is slightly larger then your tart pan.......










Using your rolling pin, gently roll the dough onto it...........

.... drape it over your tart pan.............

......and then press your dough into the pan.  At the top give it a small crust so the meringue has something to grab on to.  Place them on your baking sheet and cover with plastic.  Let them sit in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Using parchment paper and beans (or pie weights) bake the tarts for about 15 minutes, or until they are slightly brown.  I have some beans that I use every time I make tarts or pie.  You can use them over and over again, just don't try to eat them later because they will not taste good.  When the tart shells are done baking turn the oven down to 300 degrees and let the tarts sit out and slightly cool while you make the custard.





For the custard, get a meduim mixing bowl and a whisk.  It is better to use a whisk because you don't want your custard to get foamy from being over beaten, you just want to mix it until it is smooth and everything is mixed evenly together.  First add the eggs and sugar.  Then add the lemon juice, lemon zest, and heavy cream.  A trick to get more juice out of your lemon is to roll the lemon on your counter top with your palm gently pressing down on it.  I used the three lemons I had used for their peel.  Three lemons almost made enough juice so I topped it off with store bought lemon juice.
Mix all together and pour it into a pitcher so it is easy to pour into the tarts.

Pour the custard into the shells and bake for about 35-40 minutes.  I set my timer to 25 minutes because I wanted to start my Italian meringue about 10 minutes before I pull the tarts out of the oven.  This is because the custard needs to be hot when your meringue is placed on the pie.  This makes the meringue less prone to shrinking or weeping.  It doesn't really effect the overall taste, just the presentation.

For the meringue beat your egg whites until they are foamy and then add the salt, and cream of tartar.

Beat this mixture on high until it forms soft peaks.  While this is mixing, put the sugar and water in a sauce pan and cook until the sugar is dissolved and the temperature is about 235 degrees F.  When the sugar is done, put your mixer on low and slowly pour in the sugar, try to avoid the wire whisk.  After the sugar has been poured in, mix on medium high until the meringue has cooled down.

When your tarts are down put the meringue on top, making sure it connects with the crust.  I piped mine on but that isn't necessary, just use a small spatula, it all depends on what you want the end product to look like.

To brown the meringue put your oven on a low broil and place the pies in the lower middle rack.  Watch them carefully because they will brown fast and you don't want them to burn!

Hazelnut chocolate tart

 

I wanted to make these because I bought a set of six little tart pans, perfect for one serving and I was dying to use them.  If you are a chocolate lover you will love this tart.  For the filling I used agave syrup which you can find in the baking section of any grocery store.  If you don't want to use agave syrup you can substitute it with corn syrup.  I got the idea for this recipe from the "Golden Book of Desserts".  The idea came from the chocolate pecan tart.  These tarts were so good but next time I may roast my hazelnuts first.

Here is what you will need:

 Pastry
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1 large egg yolk
7 tbsp cold butter
2-3 tsp iced water

 Filling
1/2 cup of coarsely chopped dark chocolate
1/4 cup butter
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2/3 cup agave syrup
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups chopped hazelnuts

First make the pastry.  In a bowl add the butter, flour, and confectioner sugar.  Mix this with a pastry cutter.  I like to start with a pastry cutter and then use my hands.









Mix until it is crumbly.  Add the egg yolk and 2 tsp of water.  Mix this using your hands.  Add more water 1 tsp at a time until you are able to pull the dough together into a nice ball.  I ended up using 4 tsp of water.  It will depend on the moisture in the air on how much water you will need.


wrap the ball in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

Take your pastry dough out of the refrigerator and cut it in half.  Roll out one half to about 1/4 inch thick.  To lift the dough roll it lightly around your rolling pin and place a pastry tin in front of it.  Gently unroll the dough over the top of the tin.  Using your fingers, push the dough down and into the sides of the tin then push your hand down over the top using the top of the tin as a cookie cutter.  Remove the excess and roll it out again.  Repeat this six times with all of your tins, then return them to the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line each tart shell with parchment paper and fill with beans, or pie weights.  Place in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until a light golden brown.

To make the filling,  put your chocolate chips in a double broiler and cook over a slightly simmering water until full melted.  Beat the butter, and brown sugar together until creamy.  Add the agave syrup and beat again until smooth.

While the mixer is on low, slowly add the egg, vanilla, and then chocolate, continue to mix until everything is incorporated.  Stir in the hazelnuts by hand.

Pour the filling into your pastry shells and cook for about 30 minutes or until set.  This tart cooks like a pecan pie, when it jiggles slightly in the middle it is done.

Allow the tarts to cool, and then remove them from there tins.  Decorate however you like.  I sprinkled powdered sugar on mine, then cut a flower out of a piece of paper.  Using the flower as a stencil I placed it on each tart and sprinkled cocoa powder on them.  You can also garnish them with melted chocolate and roasted hazelnuts.  Serve with whip cream or ice cream.

Cream puffs with vanilla and chocolate pastry cream

I mad these for my sister for her 18th bday.  Though they are a bit time consuming, they are really easy to make.  You can make the pastry cream ahead of time but I suggest making your choux pastry the day ahead because pastry always tastes better the fresher it is.  I made two different kinds and then garnished the chocolate ones with melted chocolate so I could tell the difference between the two.  The recipe below will make more than enough pastry cream, and you will probably have a little bit left over.  I think it is better to have more than less so you don't feel like you have to ration the amount of cream you are putting into these puffs.  With cream puffs, the more cream the better I say!
I got this recipe out of a book called "The Golden Book of Desserts" edited by Ann McRae.
Choux pastry
1 Cup water
1/3 cup butter
1 cup unbleached flour
2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
4 large eggs

Vanilla Pastry cream
5 large egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp corn starch
pinch of salt
2 cups milk
2 tsp vanilla

Chocolate pastry cream
5 large egg yolks
3/4 cups sugar
2 tbsp corn starch
pinch of salt
2 cups milk
2 tsp vanilla
5 oz of chocolate

First make the pastry cream.  Beat the egg yolks until the are pale and creamy.  Next add the corn starch and salt, beat until completely mixed and set aside.  In a sauce pan bring the milk to a boil on a medium heat occasionally stirring.  When the milk is boiling slowly pour it into your egg mixture and stir.  Return everything to the stove and cook on low heat continuously stirring with a wooden spoon.  If you are unable to break up the lumps that form use a whisk.  Boil for a full minute or until mixture has thickened.  Remove from the heat and add the vanilla.

When you are done place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  gently push the plastic down until it is touching the top of the cream, this will prevent a skin from forming as it cools.  To make the chocolate cream, follow every step except for add the chocolate to the milk as you are bring it to a boil.  When the milk is boiling and all of the chocolate has melted add it to your egg mixture.  Allow both creams to cool on the counter top for about half an hour.  Place in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.

For the Choux pastry, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  In a saucepan bring the water and the butter to a boil on low heat.  Make sure you don't cook it to long or on a high heat otherwise your butter will brown.  Will the butter is heating up combine the sugar, flour, and salt in a small bowl.  When your butter mixture is boiling, add the flour mixture to it stirring constantly until it comes away from the sides of the pan and starts looking like a soft dough.  Remove from heat, and let cool for five minutes.

Beat the eggs in one at a time.  When you are done the mixture will be a sticky glossy dough.

Fit your pastry bag with a plain nozzle and fill it up half way with the choux pastry.

On pastry lined baking sheets pipe walnut sized balls about about 2 inches apart.  Place in the oven   Bake for about 20- 25 minutes or until golden brown.  When done poke with a skewer or a small knife on the bottem of each puff to release steam.  Turn your oven off and leave it slightly ajar with the pastries still inside for about 15 minutes, then transfer them to a rack.  Turn the oven back on, when it is back to 350 degrees F, place your second batch in.  This is the most time consuming part!

 

Wait until your pastries are completely cool until moving on to the next part.  Fit a pastry bag with a small plain tip and fill half way with either the chocolate cream.  Using the holes you made earlier to realease steam, fill half of the puffs with the chocolate cream.  Do the same with the other half and the vanilla cream.  Garnish with powdered sugar, melted chocolate, and whipped cream.  I made these for seven people and they were gone withing a couple of minutes.  Even though we each had enough we could have eaten more.  I would say this recipe fully satisfies five people, the recipe makes forty small cream puffs so that would be eight per person.  This seems like a lot but the are so light and creamy that eight seems like a reasonable serving to me ha ha!

P.S. This was my attempt at a swan, it was a lot harder then I thought it would be!