Daring Bakers' June Challenge - Bakewell Tarts

I can't take credit for this month.. as ya'll know, I was pretty busy being poked, prodded and injected with radioactive materials and was afraid I'd run out of time again to finish my challenge. So my Hubbs, bless him, offered to step in and become an "unofficial" Daring Baker for the month! You just have to love him. ;) As always.. business first! The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England. Hubbs said it was pretty easy and he had no problems, other than not being able to find the almond meal (that I had left on the counter for him that morning) in the freezer. hee! Neither of us were exactly excited about this dessert from the get-go. Aside from cherry, almond flavoring is my least favorite. He's not a fan either. But we never figured we'd be keeping this in the house anyway, so that wasn't a big deal. Unfortunately, after we each took a bite from the slice I had photographed, we were sadly disappointed. The almond flavor was too overpowering for us (we even left out almond extract and used vanilla). We both liked the shortcrust but it wasn't cooked the whole way through. After re-reading the recipe together, to make sure he didn't underbake the tart, we realized that there was just too much filling and that the crust should have been blind baked before adding the red raspberry preserves and the Frangipane. That slice was pitched and the rest was taken to work the next day. There must not be any almond lovers in the group, as only one small slice was taken. The rest of the tart was pitched at the end of the week. :( My only thoughts on this challenge was that if you are not an almond lover, you won't like this dessert, obviously. Again, we liked the crust and the idea of the jam layered under the Frangipane, so the next time I feel like making a tart, I think I'll use that shortcrust recipe, blind bake it, then freeze it and layer on preserves under maybe chocolate mousse or lemon curd... You can find the recipe on both Anne-Marie's and Jasmine's blogs or on The Daring Kitchen website. Please hit the "still temporary" Daring Bakers' blogroll to see how creative our members are! You'll be amazed! :) xoxo

A Gift From a Very Special Friend and WCC No. 12!

I have been just waiting for the perfect opportunity to share with yous this: This was a completely unexpected surprise that I received in my mailbox last month, around my birthday! My dear, sweet friend, Ivonne, sent me this package of some excellent Canadian cooking magazines, two adorably printed packages of cocktail napkins and a tart (or quiche) pan! I've wanted this pan for soooooo long and she knew I wanted one and she sent me one. I didn't know what to say.. I still can't find the exact words to express how special she has made me feel and how grateful I am to her for sending such a lovely present with a special message inside the cute, glittery card. Again, Ivonne, thank you! Thank you, so much! =) And so, this perfect opportunity has arisen. The lovely Sara's WCC No. 12 - Party Foods! What better party food than a scrumptious tart, yes? There are sweet tarts and savory tarts, tarts made with mousse and tarts made with fresh berries and fruit. There are delectable tarts made of fresh veggies and tarts made of chocolate! The possibilities are endless and I think I've managed to link to most of the reasons why I've wanted a tart pan so badly! hee! With an incredible craving for asparagus this past week, I decided that I needed to find a recipe for a savory tart that featured asparagus. I searched high and low through my cookbooks to no avail and then all over the interweb until I happened upon a new site to me, Food Down Under. A pretty cool site, featuring cuisine from all over the world. Catagorized by either country or type of dish, finding tart recipes was a breeze.. finding tart recipes featuring asparagus was even easier! There were a few to choose from, but I settled upon this one. I liked the idea of a crust made from phyllo dough and the cheeses included in the ingredient list were pretty mild, so I knew the asparagus would shine through. And that it did. =) Asparagus Tart No. 182 Courtesy of Food Down Under 12 sheets phyllo pastry 2 TBS. butter 1 lb. asparagus 1/2 cup milk 1/2 cup marscarpone cheese 2 eggs 1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese 2 TBS. chives 2 TBS. parsley 1 TBS. chopped fresh tarragon 1/2 tsp salt pepper to taste 1 TBS. bread crumbs - plain or seasoned Preheat oven to 400º F. Melt the butter and lightly brush a 9 inch deep pie plate or quiche tin. Set aside. Open the phyllo pastry on a flat work surface and brush a little butter around the edges of 1 sheet, brushing a 'zigzag' of butter up and down the sheet of pastry. Place another sheet on top and butter as before. Fold these two sheets in half (so that you have a four sheet depth) then place this in the prepared tin, hanging over the edge slightly and covering part of the sides and base. Repeat with the remaining sheets of pastry, buttering and folding as before and placing in the tin until the base and sides are totally covered. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes then allow to cool. Reduce oven temperature to 350º F. Trim the asparagus so that each spear is 3 inches long then slice all the remaining offcuts of asparagus finely. Cook the asparagus spears in a pot of boiling salted water until just crisp-tender, about 4 minutes then drain well on kitchen paper. Mix together the milk, marscarpone cheese, eggs, cheese, chives, parsley, tarragon and salt in bowl then season with pepper. Add the finely sliced asparagus off-cuts and mix well. Sprinkle a tablespoon of dry breadcrumbs over the base then pour the cheese custard into the tin. Arrange the asparagus spears in a circular fashion on top of the custard, tips towards the edge and ends meeting in center. Bake until tart puffs well and the top browns, about 35 minutes. Cool slightly This tart was delicious. It was creamy and had a great crunch thanks to the crispy phyllo dough. The taste of asparagus paired beautifully with the mascarpone and parmigiano reggiano cheeses. It was very easy to make and I had it done within an hour. This tart can be served warm or at room temperature. Perfect for parties! It's quite pretty too, isn't it? :D The only thing I changed in this recipe was to roast the asparagus instead of boiling it. And the only thing I would change the next time I make the recipe is to omit the tarragon. I could do without it. Now I would like to apologize to Sara for getting this recipe in so late! She's already got the round-up posted - go check it out, the submissions are fabulous! And I'd like to once again thank my friend, Ivonne, for much more than a wonderful birthday present, but for just being my friend. =) Okay enough with the mooshiness.. I'm going to bed. :P xoxo