Pineapple tarts

My father in law loves a pineapple tart so I thought it would be fun to make some for his birthday this year.

The recipe I used was from Baking With Granny. (As a side note, I had no idea pineapple tarts were a Scottish thing either!) Unsurprisingly mine are not as polished and photogenic as Amy's tarts. One could say my mine resembled certain lady body parts. . .

Perky!

Admittedly I was in a rush assembling my tarts but even with more time I don't believe mine would ever look that neat!

In terms of the baking the pastry was an absolute pain in the arse to work with, crumbling as soon as I looked at it never mind handle it. Every pastry case broke as I pressed them into the bun tins and needed squashing/patching back together. The dough felt more like a crumbly shortbread than a pastry. I had very low expectations for any of the cases holding together or even coming out of the tin successfully but I was thankfully proven wrong. They may have been a pain to make but they were so buttery and short, perfectly complementing the jam, soft cream and icing topping.

The "quick" pineapple jam was also a tasty success and for a change I managed to not overwhip cream for the filling!

Despite their somewhat rustic appearance I was delighted with my pineapple tarts. They were very tasty and I'm already thinking of other jam or curd combinations I could try. As a lover of all things lemon flavoured I think lemon curd would be a good shout. 

Another consideration would be to reduce or entirely omit the icing sugar in the cream. It's lovely as is but I don't think it's particularly necessary when there's already sweet jam and icing in the bake, other than sweetened cream mimics the "mock cream" used in the shop bought pineapple tarts.

Well worth a try, but be prepared to get frustrated with crumbly pastry.

Betty's rhubarb - a crumble and a tart

Dare I say it, but I think I can almost see a glimpse of light at the end of the house renovating tunnel. The demolishing stage felt neverending, but things are finally going back in. Plumbing  is underway, the rewiring is nearly finished and new insulation and plasterboard are going up. Plasterboard automatically makes the space look cleaner and brighter which is exciting.

There have been a few "oh my god, WHAT?!" discoveries and eyebrow raising moments in my six months of house-ownership, but thankfully they have been manageable and fixable without too much cost rather than devastating.

One of the more pleasant discoveries was finding rhubarb growing in the overgrown garden. I didn't expect to find anything edible growing there so it felt like a real treat. Thanks, Betty!

*Betty was the elderly lady who owned the house before me. We found a *lot* of her stockings tied round bits of trees when we were excavating the garden a couple of weeks ago. An elderly neighbour also told me she used to keep clothes in her microwave?! She sounds like quite a character!

As there wasn't a huge amount of rhubarb to use I baked a crumble and bulked it out with two eating apples. I also added a sprinkling of ginger and cinnamon since they pair well with rhubarb. The resulting crumble was incredibly tasty although perhaps a touch on the sweet side. I guessed the sugar quantity and underestimated how much sweetness the eating apples would add to the filling.

Lovely red filling! 

A few weeks ago I trimmed off more rhubarb with the intentions of making another crumble, but my Mum suggested a tart instead. After a raid of the fruit bowl I ended up making an apple, nectarine and rhubarb frangipane tart.

It was a very spur-of-the-moment decision to make a tart, so I used a roll of shop-bought shortcrust pastry from the freezer rather than make my own. Some may frown, but I am absolutely ok with the occasional baking shortcut, particularly when it comes to pastry... and custard powder. I have no shame.

Speaking of custard powder, this tart tasted even better the following day served with custard. Custard made from powder *and* shop bought pastry in one photo/pudding. Told you, no shame.

I definitely felt I achieved a better balance with the sweetness in this tart. I also liked the more fragrant, summery addition of vanilla and nectarine compared to my more autumnal flavoured crumble. My only disappointment with this tart was that it could have done with a few more minutes in the oven as I think there was a slightly underbaked bit of frangipane right next to the fruit layer. At least my pastry wasn't soggy. No soggy bottoms here!

On the whole though, as a spontaneous bake I was pretty pleased with my effort. It's also the first tart I've made in quite a few years. (Holy moly, last time was in 2012 if I don't count mini tarts I made in 2014. Seriously?!) Next time I'll have to be more organised and make my own pastry.

Rhubarb and apple crumble 
I recommend reducing the sugar quantity if you prefer a sharp rhubarb flavour.

fruit filling: 15oz (425g) red rhubarb, chopped into 1 inch chunks
3oz (85g)  caster sugar
2 eating apples, cored and chopped into similar sized chunks
sprinkling of ground cinnamon and ginger

crumble:
4oz (115g) butter (I use slightly salted)
6oz (175g) plain flour
2oz (55g) porridge oats
3oz (85g) soft brown sugar

Preheat oven to 190C/ Fan 170C/ Gas 5 and grease a pie dish with butter. Chop up the fruit for the filling and put into a saucepan along with the sugar and spices. Gently simmer on the hob for a few minutes until soft, but not pulpy. Pour the mixture into the pie dish.

For the crumble topping, rub together the butter and flour in a mixing bowl then mix in the porridge oats and sugar. Spoon the mixture on top of the fruit filling in the dish. Bake for 30 - 40 mins. Serve warm with custard or ice cream. Or both if you're feeling decadent!


Rhubarb, nectarine and apple frangipane tart.

fruit filling:
7oz (200g) rhubarb, chopped into 1 inch chunks
3 nectarines, chopped into similar sized chunks
2 eating apples, cored and chopped into similar sized chunks
a sprinkling of cinnamon (under 1/4tsp)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

one pack of ready roll shortcrust pastry (or make more own)

frangipane topping:
4oz (115g) caster sugar
4oz (115g) softened butter
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
4oz (115g) ground almonds
1oz (28g) plain flour
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
a handful on flaked almonds for the topping

Requires an 8 inch (20cm) tart/flan tin.

If you're making your own shortcrust pastry, prepare that first. If you're using shop-bought, roll it out big enough to cover the base and sides of the tin. Press it into the tin (using a left over scrap of pastry to push it into the grooves/sides of the tin) and prick the base with a fork. Cover with tin foil and weigh down with baking beans to stop the pastry from puffing up in the oven. I also leave the edges hanging over the tin and trim them back after the tart comes out the oven. 

Bake for 15 minutes in a preheated oven at 200C/Fan 180C/Gas 6, until you can see the pastry turning golden, then remove the foil and beans and put back in the oven for a further 2 minutes to help dry the pastry out. 

Whilst your pastry case is in the oven make the fruit filling. Chop all the fruit in similar sized chunks and put into a large saucepan along with the cinnamon and vanilla. Gently simmer on the hob for a few minutes until everything has softened. Leave to cool whilst you make the frangipane topping.

Turn the oven temperature down to 180C/Fan 160/Gas 4. For the frangipane, beat together the sugar and butter with a mixer for a few minutes until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition. Add in the ground almonds, flour and vanilla extract and mix until everything is fully combined.

Pour the cooled fruit filling in the base of the tart case, followed by the frangipane mixture, which may need a bit of coaxing over the fruit filling with a palette knife as it's a stiffer mixture. Make sure the frangipane fully covers the fruit filling. Sprinkle a handful of flaked almonds over the top. 

Bake in the oven for at around 35 minutes until golden on top and the frangipane is firm to touch. (I forgot to write down how long it was in the oven for, but it was definitely over 30 minutes so keep an eye on it after half an hour),  Serve warm, but not hot, or completely cool. Both are delicious. Cream, ice-cream or custard make lovely accompaniments.

the almost doomed mini mincemeat frangipane tarts

a.k.a. why it's not a good idea to bake using an electric oven during a thunder and lightning storm.

There has been a lot of annoying power blips this week due to thunder and lightning. I *just* got a tray of these tarts out the oven before lightning suddenly struck again and knocked off the power for a minute. Thank goodness it didn't strike 5-10 minutes earlier.

I wrapped up the rest of my filling and pastry and put in the fridge to finish baking tonight. I'm assuming/hoping the frangipane will be fine to use once it's back at room temperature. Just in case the rest of my batch is doomed, I quickly photographed these this afternoon in a rare glimpse of sunlight.

I knew I had to try these tarts after seeing them on Sophie's blog, the Cake Hunter last week. The only change I made was using a regular sized bun tray instead of a muffin tray just to keep my tarts cute and dainty.

My Dad in particular loved these and said they were the best mincemeat pies he's ever eaten. He even went as far as saying he'd buy all the ingredients again for me to make a second batch. High praise indeed.

If you like Christmas flavours and bakewell tarts then you're in for a real treat when you make these. They're like festive cherry bakewells! I don't know if I can go back to making mince pies without frangipane as it works so well.  These will definitely be reappearing this Christmas.

Tarte tatin

Tarte tatin and I almost didn't become friends.

I initially tried making the caramel for the base the way Mary Berry did on the Bake Off Masterclass on tv a couple of weeks ago, by boiling sugar and water. It burnt. Never try to make caramel as you're trying to make and serve your dinner. In frustration I dumped the hot pot in the sink.

Shards of caramel went EVERYWHERE.

I reverted back to the recipe in Mary Berry's Baking Bible but got confused making the caramel (again) as the demerara sugar wouldn't melt, but chucked it in the tin anyway. After chopping apples for what seemed like hours, I arranged them on top of the caramel (although I did my centre pattern the wrong way up, doh!)  and added the pastry before flinging it in the oven.

The pastry looked light golden after 20 minutes, as the recipe stated, so I turned it out.

Undercooked.

By this point I no longer cared and turned the tart back into the tin (potentially dangerous move) and baked it for another 20 minutes. Surprisingly, it turned out absolutely fine.

The reduced juices from the tart made a ridiculously tasty syrup to pour over the top. That alone would have tasted amazing with ice-cream.

The tart was sweet and sticky with a lovely tang of lemon running through it balancing the sweetness. I was relieved it tasted good although I was almost in too much of a huff to enjoy it. Does that happen to anyone else?

I actually think the flavours tasted better the following day (possibly because I was less angry?) The tart also sliced much cleaner cold.

Tarte Tatin
Recipe from Mary Berry's Baking Bible

For the pastry:
100g (4oz) self-raising flour
50g (2oz) diced butter
1 level tablespoon icing sugar
1 large egg yolk
scant tablespoon cold water

Measure the flour, butter and icing sugar into a bowl and rub in the butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and enough water to bring the mixture together to a firm but not sticky dough. Knead lightly, wrap in clingfilm and chill for about 30 minutes.

For the topping:
900g (2lb) dessert apples. (I used Pink Lady)
finely grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
75g (3oz) butter
75g (3oz) demerara sugar

Preheat the oven to 200C/Fan 180C?Gas 6. Peel (I didn't bother!), core and slice the apples and sprinkle with the lemon juice and rind (it stops the apples from browning). Measure the butter and sugar into a small pan and heat gently until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Pour into the base of a 23cm/9 in sandwich tin. Arrange a singer layer of the best apple slices in a circular pattern over the mixture. Cover with the remaining apple slices. Roll out the chilled dough onto a lightly floured surface and use to cover the apples (make it slightly bigger than your tin and tuck the edges down the sides). Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes (mine actually took 40 minutes) until the pastry is crisp and golden brown.

Tip the juices from the tin into a small pan. Turn the tart out onto a plate, with the pastry on the bottom. Boil the juices to reduce to a syrupy caramel and pour over the apples.If there is very little juice (depending on your apples) add 2 tbsp demerara sugar, dissolved in the pan with the juices and cook until syrupy. Serve warm with cream, creme fraiche, yoghurt, ice-cream, or custard.