Showing posts with label Tarts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tarts. Show all posts
Autumn Lunch Gathering

Autumn Lunch Gathering




Looking forward to the fall and cool weahther. This summer Japan is having it's worst heat wave in years. I'm in the kitchen baking and it is 36 degrees Celsius/98 degrees Fahrenheit outside. The air conditioner is competing with the oven and I am spending most of the day drinking iced coffee.

The food spread was for a photo shoot with Ginger magazine (Japanese only). Since the shoot will be for the October edition of the magazine, I wanted to bake something to fit the season of the magazine instead of the current hot sticky one. Thus, the pumpkins and sweet potatoes. 

For the photo shoot, myself and several guests made the sweet potato pie and then we enjoyed a light lunch together. Of course dessert included the pie and the seasonal pumpkin mousse cake. 

In the upper right corner of the photo is a savoury caked baked in a regular pound cake pan. This is a 'go to' recipe for me for light lunches. This cake is not sweet but is made with flour, eggs, olive oil and savoury items such as black olives, bacon, vegetables like zucchini, minced carrots, etc. Pair this with a hearty soup and a salad and you have the perfect lunch.

Cake Salé Recipe

150 grams flour
3 eggs
50 grams olive oil
150 grams milk
8 grams baking powder
1 teaspoon basil paste
30 black olives chopped
50 grams diced ham
50 grams cooked & chopped vegetables such as zucchini, carrots, etc.
20 grams powdered cheese such as Parmesan

1. Prepare a pound cake pan by lightly coating with butter and flour.

2. Sift the flour and baking powder together in a bowl.

3. In another bowl, mix the eggs, milk, olive oil and basil paste together with a small whisk. Add the  flour in portions and continue to mix with the whisk.

4. Lastly, add the olives, ham, vegetables and powdered cheese.

5. Pour into the mixture into the pound cake pan and bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 30 - 35 minutes. Test if completely baked by inserting a tooth pick.

6. After removing from the oven let sit in the pan for about 10 minutes and then remove it to cool completely.

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Kathy
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Autumn Sweet Potato Pie

Autumn Sweet Potato Pie



I always try to bake to match the season. To me, it doesn't make sense to to buy expensive fruits such as mangoes in January or to make chocolate desserts in the heat of the summer. If you enjoy each of the seasons and the fruits and vegetables that are available, then you can stay better in tune with the nature around you.

Sweet potatoes are easily available throughout the year in Japan, but to me they remind me of fall and winter. Many of the supermarkets in Japan have a display of sweet potatoes at the entrance of the vegetable section and they also usually have warm baked ones available for sale. The smell of warm baked sweet potatoes can hit you as you enter the store and starts your taste buds watering. On a cold evening it is hard to resist putting one in your shopping basket.

Enough about shopping and the seasons, let's get to the baking.


Pie Dough
200 grams flour
100 grams cold butter
1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
5 grams sugar

1. Sift the flour into a bowl. Cut butter into small cubes and mix with the flour using a pastry cutter (use a food processor if you have one). Butter should be well mixed with the flour.

2. Add the egg, sugar, salt & water and mix. Put dough on a smooth surface and knead gently until it is soft and well mixed.

3. Cover in plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before using.

Almond Cream 
50 grams almond powder
50 grams powdered sugar
50 grams soft butter
5 grams flour
1 egg
5 grams dark rum
1. Mix the butter and powdered sugar. Add the egg and mix. Add the almond powder, flour & rum. Mix well.

Filling
1 sweet potato (baked, peeled & sliced about 300 grams)
1/2 sweet potato thinly sliced (these pieces will be boiled)
30 grams butter
1 tablespoon brown sugar
15 grams honey
10 grams dark rum
2 egg yolks
100 grams fresh cream

 1. In a bowl, soften the butter then add the brown sugar, honey, rum & egg yolks. Mix well with a whisk.

2. Boil the sliced sweet potatoes in water (add 1 tablespoon sugar to the water) until they are soft. Do not over  boil  or they will break apart.

3. Add the 300 grams sweet potato to #1. You can use a food processor to mix together or a fork. Slowly, add the cream. To remove the lumps, you can  put the mixture through a sieve. 

4. Roll the dough to fit the tart pan and cut off any extra. Fill the bottom with sweet potato filling the cover with almond cream (do not add too much). Arrange the sliced sweet potatoes on top in a nice circle pattern.

5. Bake at 170 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes then reduce to 160 degrees and bake for 40 minutes until browned. 

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Kathy
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Summery Peach Galette

Summery Peach Galette

Here is an easy recipe to help you use all of the summer peaches you love.

This tart is baked together with a buttery crust on the bottom and  peaches with an almond cream on top.

This tart takes a short 30 minutes to to bake so dessert will be ready in no time at all.
Recipe

3 peaches (blanch them in hot water to remove the fuzz on the skin)

Crust (Pate brisee)
100 grams flour
50 grams butter (cold)
1/2 egg
1 teaspoon water
pinch of salt
3 grams of sugar

1. Measure the flour into a bowl.Cut the butter into small cubes and mix into the flour mixture using a pastry cutter. (You can also use a food processor for making the pie crust). Lastly, mix in the egg, water, salt and sugar.
2. Lightly knead together on a flat board to blend all the ingredients well. Flatten into a large circle and cover in plastic wrap. Put in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before using. This dough becomes soft quickly so you should work with it quickly.

Almond Cream
50 grams almond powder
50 grams powdered sugar
50 grams soft butter
5 grams flour
1 egg

1. Mix the butter and powdered sugar. Add the egg and mix. Add the almond powder and flour. Mix well.

Making the tart:
1. Roll out the dough to about  a 20 cm circle. Spread the almond cream within the circle but leave about 1 cm around the edge. Place sliced peaches on top of the cream in a nice decoration then fold the edge of the crust inside of the circle. Brush with egg.
2. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for about 25 - 30 minutes. 



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Kathy
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Creamy Chocolate Tart

Creamy Chocolate Tart


 
Top the tart with your favorite nuts
I really like this recipe since the  tart has a deep chocolate flavor and a creamy texture. I've topped it with walnuts but pecans would match very well also.
I usually make chocolate recipes in the winter when the weather is cold since chocolate is much easier to handle in cooler temperatures. I provide a recipe for a crust below, however, if you need to save time you can buy a frozen pie crust. I am not promising that taste will be the same though ;)

The recipe below fits a 18 cm pie tart.

Pie Dough
175 grams flour
90 grams cold butter
25 grams almond flour
70 grams powdered sugar
pinch of salt
35 grams egg
1. Sift the flour, powdered sugar, almond powder and salt together in a bowl.
2. Cut the butter into small cubes and mix into the flour mixture using a pastry cutter. (You can also use a food processor for making the pie crust). Lastly, mix in the egg.
3. Lightly knead together on a flat board to blend all the ingredients well. Flatten into a large circle and cover in plastic wrap. Put in the refrigerator for about 1 hour before using. This dough becomes soft quickly so you should work with it quickly.
4. Roll out the dough on a flat board to and fit over the tart ring. Cut off the excess dough with a knife. Neatly fit the dough inside of the ring. Cover with baking paper and fill with baking beans.
5. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes then remove the beans and baking paper and bake for another 7 minutes. Remove from the oven.
Cover the dough with baking paper and baking beans
before baking
Chocolate Filling
200 grams fresh cream
225 grams dark chocolate
30 grams brown sugar
3 eggs (room temperature)
3 tablespoons flour (sifted)
1. In a bowl, put the chocolate over a pot of simmering hot water and melt. Remove from the heat when melted.
2. Put the cream into a saucepan and heat until lightly boiling.
3. Add the cream in portions to the melted chocolate and mix together with a small whisk. Stir gently so the chocolate does not separate.
4. Next add the eggs in portions to the chocolate and mix together using the whisk. Lastly, add the sifted flour in portions.
5. Pour the chocolate filling into the baked pie crust and top with nuts. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven & cool before serving.


I used a rectangle tart pan for this one
Nice design
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Kathy
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