lime tartlets

Sometimes life gets crazy and suddenly it's months since I have posted anything.

Rest assured - I am still (baking and) eating my feelings...

L I M E   S H O R T B R E A D   T A R T L E T S

 Tartlet Base

1/2C sugar

16 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

2C all purpose flour

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add vanilla, giving a quick mix. Finally add in flour and salt, mixing until smooth. Shape dough into 2 equal discs, wrapping separately in plastic. Chill for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a mini cupcake pan.

Roll out dough to 1/4-inch thick. Using a 2 1/4-inch flower cookie cutter, cut out enough shapes to use up dough. Gently press cut out dough into greased cupcake pan. Fork each throughout, transfer to the freezer for 10-15 minutes. Bake for 8-10 minutes.

Lime Filling

4 egg yolks

1C sugar

1/4C lemon juice (roughly 2 lemons)

Zest of 1 lemon

4 Tbsp butter

Meanwhile prepare lemon filling:

In a double boiler over simmering water, whisk all ingredients for 8-10 minutes. Press through a fine mesh strainer, into a small bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing to the surface of lemon curd so to avoid a skin forming. Cool to room temperature.

Fill each cup 3/4 full with lemon curd, or roughly 1/2 of a small cookie scoop. Bake for an additional 5-8 minutes. Cool to room temperature, then transfer to the refrigerator to cool until completely set.

Carefully remove tartlets from pan. Sprinkle with optional powdered sugar prior to serving. Store chilled.

xx

the best kind of tart

A little bit of sweet; 

A little bit of sour.

When life (or that lemon tree you have been dutifully watering for the past 18 months) gives you lemons -

M A K E   L E M O N   M E R I N G U E   T A R T S

Who doesn't love a tart?!

The kind of lemon tarts that give you that buttery tart base crunch;

And tangy lemon curd perfection;

Topped with sweet marshmallowey meringue caramelised just a little bit from the quick flash of a blow torch flame.

ahhhh...

T H E   T A R T   C A S E S

125g chilled unsalted butter, cut into cubes

30g caster sugar

200g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

pinch of salt

4 tablespoons chilled water

Combine dry ingrediants (flour, sugar, salt) in a bowl.

Using finger tips - gently rub butter into the dry mix until it resembles breadcrumbs.

Slowly add water, rubbing together until it forms a rough dough. 

Tip the dough out onto a floured surface and gently knead to form a smooth firm dough. 

Flatten the dough into an inch thick

Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

THEN

Roll out the dough and cut round disks to line your pre-oiled tart cases.

Bake at 180C for 10 minutes or until golden.

Allow to cool.

T H E   L E M O N   F I L L I N G

50g (1/3 cup) cornflour

125ml (1/2 cup) water

250ml (1 cup) fresh lemon juice

215g (1 cup) caster sugar

60g butter, coarsely chopped

4 egg yolks (save the whites for the meringue)

Combine the cornflour, water, lemon juice and sugar in a saucepan. 

Use a balloon whisk to stir over medium heat for 4 minutes or until the mixture boils and thickens. 

Continue to cook, stirring constantly, for a further 1 minute. 

Remove from heat. 

Whisk in butter and egg yolks. 

Transfer to a bowl. 

Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 3 hours or until cooled completely.

T H E   M E R I N G U E 

4 egg whites (left over from the Lemon Filling process)

1 cup caster sugar

Use an electric beater to beat the egg whites in a clean, dry bowl until soft peaks form. 

Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 tablespoonful at a time until the mixture is thick and glossy.

T H E   A S S E M B L E Y

(to create little tarts of delicious)

Fill cooked tart cases with cooled lemon filling.

Pipe meringue over lemon filling on each tart.

Use a kitchen blow torch to gently brown the meringue.

Let's Blow Torch These Babies

I'm not gonna lie - I love any excuse to play with fire...

But if you don't have a blow torch on hand, popping these in the oven to turn golden brown will also work a treat. 

(Not as fun.. but still delicious!)

Love At First Bite

xx

The Healing Tart

We had a family dinner last night - a casual affair to celebrate the success of my Aunty's surgery last week; plus two of my cousins were around for the weekend (a rare event since we're now all in our 20's).

Usually, I'm not huge on the 'Sunday Night Family Dinner' as I'd much prefer to have a quiet couch night after a hectic weekend; but as it was a 'special occasion' I whipped up a little dessert.

C H O C O L A T E ,   C A R A M E L   A N D   H A Z E L N U T   T A R T

Chocolate, Caramel & Hazelnut Tart

Admittedly it only looked pretty until we served it up; at which point it turned into a gooey mess of chocolatey goodness.

This tart is the beginning of my new self-imposed challenge - 

Bake something I've never baked before.

After this post about baking the same cakes, biscuits, desserts all the time, I decided to step outside my normal repertoire of recipes and try something different.

I started with this Chocolate Tart - because chocolate is always a winner.

Ingredients

150g (1 cup) plain flour

60g (1/3 cup) icing sugar mixture

30g (1/4 cup) almond meal

125g chilled unsalted butter, coarsely chopped

1 egg yolk

1 x 100g pkt ground hazelnuts

160g (1 cup, lightly packed) brown sugar

350ml pouring cream

90g unsalted butter, extra, chopped

2 x 100g pkts good-quality dark chocolate, finely chopped

Cocoa powder, to dust

How ?

Step 1

Preheat oven to 200°C. Place the flour, icing sugar, almond meal and butter in the bowl of a food processor and process until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and process until the mixture just comes together. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until just smooth. Shape into a disc. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.

Step 2

Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to a 4mm-thick disc. Line a round 3.5cm-deep, 22cm (base measurement) fluted tart tin, with removable base, with pastry and trim any excess. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to chill.

Step 3

Line the pastry with non-stick baking paper. Fill with pastry weights or rice. Bake in oven for 10 minutes. Remove paper and pastry weights or rice. Bake for 6 minutes or until light golden. Set aside to cool slightly. Sprinkle with the hazelnuts.

Step 4

Place the brown sugar, 150ml of cream and extra butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until the sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 6 minutes or until the caramel thickens. Pour over the pastry base. Place in the fridge for 15 minutes to cool.

Step 5

Heat 200ml cream in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Remove from heat. Add the chocolate and stir until smooth. Pour over the caramel. Use the back of a tablespoon to smooth the surface. Place in the fridge for 1 1/2 hours to chill.

Step 6

Dust the tart with cocoa powder and cut into wedges. Serve at room temperature.

According to my Aunty - this Tart is just what the Doctor ordered...

xx

Triple Chocolate Mousse Tart

I have some serious catching up to do..

I have been baking enough to feed a small army but sadly my blogging mojo is not on the same level as my baking.

I have already mentioned my tendency to spend time in the kitchen when I am stressed/emotional. And there has been no shortage of either in the past few weeks - which has resulted in me experimenting with some new recipes; including this one - A triple chocolate mousse tart.

Triple Chocolate Mousse Tart

I seem to have diverted from standard cupcakes and I must admit that new desserts and sweets are a fun new challenge.

This tart was a popular dessert at a recent family gathering - it may have won more thumbs up than the traditional pavlova...

It was rich on it's own so I would suggest serving with a dollop of cream or vanilla bean icecream if you feel like indulging.

Here you go - 

Ingredients

Chocolate Base

• 250g plain chocolate biscuits

• 1 tablespoon plain flour

• 125g butter, melted

• cocoa powder, to serve

Chocolate ganache

• 100g dark chocolate, chopped

• 1/2 cup thickened cream

Chocolate mousse

• 200g dark chocolate, chopped

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 600ml thickened cream

Method

Grease a pan. Line base with baking paper. 

Place biscuits and flour in a processor. Process until finely chopped. 

Add butter. Process until combined. 

Press mixture evenly over base of prepared pan. 

Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Make chocolate ganache: Place chocolate and cream in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. 

Cook, stirring constantly, for 3 to 4 minutes or until smooth. 

Pour over biscuit base. 

Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until set.

Meanwhile, make chocolate mousse: Place chocolate, vanilla and half the cream in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, for 3 to 4 minutes or until smooth. 

Remove from heat. 

Cool for 15 minutes. 

Using an electric mixer, beat remaining cream until soft peaks form. 

Fold chocolate mixture into cream.

Gently pour over ganache layer.

Refrigerate overnight.

Dust with cocoa.

Serve.

xx

White Chocolate Raspberry Tarts

More Baby Shower Recipes

Today's recipe is bought to you by the letter T for Tart. 

White Chocolate Raspberry Tarts

These were soooo easy. And the end product is soooo cute.

Give them a try if you ever need to take a cute little dessert to an event. These little treats are sure to impress.

Ingredients

165g butter, softened

1/2 C icing sugar

1 + 1/2 C flour

283g white chocolate, melted & cooled

1/4 C thickened cream

227g cream cheese

How to make them ??

First, prepare the pastry.

In a small mixing bowl, cream butter and icing sugar until light & fluffy.

Gradually add flour; mix well.

Press into an ungreased tart pan.

Bake at 180 degrees for 25 minutes or until lightly browned.

Cool on a wire rack.....

For filling, in a small mixing bowl, beat melted chocolate and cream.

Add cream cheese and beat until smooth.

Spread (or pipe) into individual pastry cases.

Refridgerate for 30 minutes.

Arrange raspberries over the filling.

Serve.

xx

The Royal Soiree

The blogosphere has been abuzz with talk of the Royal Wedding on Friday.

Image courtesy of One Wed

I spent the evening watching the Royal nuptials with my very own Kate and Pippa at Miss Emma's Loft.

Appropriately adorned with Cardboard Crowns, we drank champagne and ate food fit for a King. Tasty morsels included chicken sandwiches, tuna puffs, banoffee tarts and scones with jam and cream. De-Licious.

Image courtesy of my iPhone..
Mood lighting did not equal stunning photography. Sorry

My contribution to the night was a tray of Lemon Meringue Tarts.

In my opinion - Kate's dress was stunning. I adored the bustle (which unfortunately was covered by her veil) and loved everything from the gorgeous lace detail to the length of her train.

But those flowers ? Were they really Royal Wedding-worthy ?

Image courtesy of Vogue UK

But Pippa Middleton definately stole the show. Her dress was amazing. I especially loved the row of tiny buttons trailing down her back.

Sidenote - Did you see Harry checking her out?!

Image courtesy of The Telegraph

What a beautiful day. Watching Harry and Will arrive together and Pippa helping Kate with her dress melted my heart.

xx