Rhubarb and raspberry tarts

As my pineapple tarts were such a raging success with my in-laws last month I couldn't resist making them again with some tweaks. I love a versatile recipe and this bake offers so many flavour possibilities by swapping out the jam filling.

For this version I used some of my homemade raspberry and rhubarb jam and coloured the icing on top pink. I also reduced the icing sugar in the whipped cream to 1tbsp (instead of 3 tbsp) and felt it balanced the sweetness of the jam better. I also had more time to assemble these tarts so they're a lot neater than my first batch.

The shortbread type pastry was better to work with this time, generally less crumbly although I didn't mix it very evenly for fear of over handling it. I'll perfect it eventually. It's worth the effort as it's so deliciously buttery.

We enjoyed the tarts as part of a mother's day high tea at my in-laws' house. I thought the tarts looked so cute on my favourite Royal Winton Grimwades 3 tier cake stand. Pastel perfection! It was lovely to have an excuse to use it. Long time readers (if they're still around?) may remember it from old posts, back when I used to take time to create pretty photos for the blog. Those were the good old days.

Don't be surprised if you see yet another version of these tarts on the blog. There's a strong possibility I'll try a lemon curd version for the Man's birthday next month.

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.
 

Blueberry and almond tart

Oops, apologies for my unintentional blogging absence! I'll try to catch up on everyone's blogs soon. In the meantime, here's a blueberry tart which I baked for my parents' (32 year!) wedding anniversary two weeks ago.

I don't bake tarts often, probably because they require a little extra time faffing about with pastry, but when I do I always feel they're worth the effort. There's something a bit fancy about a tart and I thought an anniversary deserved a fancy bake.

I think it's safe to say that the tart went down very well, it barely lasted 24 hours. Those who managed to snaffle the remaining slices said it tasted even better the second day. I'm sad I missed out!

 

Apologies to the almond haters out there as the tart's filling is bursting with ground almonds! The lack of flour means it packs a rich, almond punch. My family loves almond/bakewell flavours, so we were very happy with it.

Such a pretty slice. I love how blueberries burst with flavour and colour.

I think I may have infuriated my family at this point by going "no, no, just one more photo, one more photo please!" But see, isn't it nice seeing all the slices on their plates? The occupational hazard of a food blogger...

The recipe can be found on BBC Good Food, although I made a different shortcrust pastry. I think I used the following measurements for the pastry:

 

200g plain flour

a pinch of salt

1 teaspoon of caster sugar

125g fat (I used half unsalted butter, half lard. Both chilled and diced.)

ice cold water

 

Rub the fat into the dry ingredients with your fingertips in a large bowl until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Using the end of a knife,  stir in enough ice cold water to bring the mixture together into a firm dough (if it goes too sticky just add a bit more flour). Wrap the dough in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.

 

Once chilled, roll out on a lightly floured surface into a large circle big enough to completely cover your tin. Carefully roll half of it up on a rolling pin and slide the removeable base of the tart tin underneath so that it's positioned in the centre. Unroll the pastry, then carefully fold it into the centre, on top of the tin base, then plop the base back into the tart tin and fold back the pastry to cover the sides of the tin. I've found this is the best way to avoid stretching the pastry in the tin. Make sure to press the pastry into all the nooks and crannies, and trim the edges by rolling the rolling pin across the top of the tin. Prick the base of the pastry a few times with a fork then leave to chill again in the fridge for 20 minutes.

 

Once chilled (again!) cover the tart in a layer of greaseproof paper/tin foil weighted with baking beans (to stop the pastry shrinking) and bake in a preheated oven at 190C/Gas 5 for15-20 minutes until lightly golden and just firm. Make your filling while the pastry is baking.

Cherry Bakewells

These are the other treats I baked with my friend on Friday. We were very pleased with them. They look so homely and old fashioned. Definitely the type of home bake to put on your cakestand and wheel through to your visitors on a tea trolley (damn it, I want a tea trolley!)

How unbelievably cute and dainty are they? I can't wait to make more of these. They're definitely going on my "must" bake list for an afternoon tea party.

They're relatively straight forward to make too, even though I wasn't entirely sure how much to fill each pastry case. Hopefully the next batch will be more regular.

Cherry Bakewells

Recipe from Traditional Teatime Recipes by Jane Pettigrew.

Makes 20 tart (we made 24)

To make the pastry:

450g (1lb) plain flour, sifted

pinch of salt

100g (4oz) butter, softened

100g (4oz) lard, softened (we didn't have any so we used more butter)

3-4 tbsp cold water

Mix together the flour and salt. Cut the fats into small pieces and rub into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Gradually add enough water, mixing with a fork, to give a stiff butt pliable dough. Knead lightly for a few minutes until smooth. Wrap in cling film or a plastic bag and chill for at least 15 minutes before using.

For the filling:

50g (2oz) strawberry jam (we used raspberry as we thought it was more traditional)

100g (4oz) butter, softened

100g (4oz) caster sugar

2 eggs

50g (2oz) ground almonds

50g (2oz) self raising flour, sifted

1 tsp almond essence (we skipped this as we didn't have any)

175g (6oz) icing sugar, sifted

1-2 tbsp water

20 cherries (fresh, stoned or glace)

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Grease 20 patty tins (we used bun/cupcake tins). On a floured board/surface, roll out the pastry and cut 24 circles using a 7.5cm (3in) cutter (whatever covers the base of the tin). Use to line the prepared tins and spread a little jam in the base of each. Beat together the fat and sugar, then beat in  the eggs, one at a time, adding half the ground almonds after each one. Add the flour and almond essence and stir well. Spoon the mixture into the pastry cases and bake for 20 minutes until well risen, firm and golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tins. Mix together the icing sugar and water and when the tarts are cold, spoon the icing on to the top. Decorate each with a cherry.

custard and cinnamon tart

What do you do when you have a surplus of eggs? I don't know about you, but I immediately thought about making the custard tart recipe from the Hummingbird Bakery Cake Days book. I also thought about omelettes, which we did make for lunch today, but they're not half as exciting.

I was a bit late finishing it yesterday, so it only had about three hours to set in the fridge before my brother insisted on needing his pudding. Although this is by far my best pastry effort to date (I've decided to be more forceful with it, no timid prodding, show it who's boss!) I didn't think it was quite as tasty as the Bakewell or lemon tarts I made previously. We weren't sure if it maybe needed another flavour or to be sweeter, although we all liked the custardy/cheesecake texture. All uncertainties disappeared today as we had another slice after lunch and it was so much tastier. This tart definitely benefits from being left to set overnight.

Although it was a bit faffy to make, I really enjoyed it. Sometimes it's fun to try a more challenging recipe, especially if you're a fairly unadventurous baker like me!

Custard and cinnamon tart

Recipe from Hummingbird Bakery "Cake Days"

For the pastry

100g (4oz) unsalted butter, softened. (I tend to use salted, don't think it matters much)

225g (8oz) plain flour

80g (3oz) caster sugar

1 large egg

For the filling

500ml (18fl oz) whole milk

1 tsp vanilla essence (I use vanilla extract, it's better)

5 large eggs, separated

100g (3 1/2oz) plain flour

100g (3 1/2oz) caster sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tbsp unsalted butter (Once again I used salted butter so I omitted the above salt)

1 tsp ground cinnamon for dusting

Use one 23cm (9inch) diameter loose-bottomed tart tin

Rub the butter and flour together with your fingertips, then stir in the sugar and egg. When a dough forms, take it out the bowl and knead gently on a lightly floured surface to bring it together (Remember the less you handle it the better! It also helps to have cold hands.) Wrap in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for 20-30 minutes.

Take the pastry out the fridge and roll onto a lightly floured worktop to a thickness of 5mm (1/4 inch) and wider all round than the tart tin. Carefully press the pastry into the base and sides of the tin (I roll the pastry round the rolling pin to transfer it) Cut away any excess pastry and prick the base a few times with a fork. Put the tin in the fridge to rest for 20-30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas mark 3. Take the tin out the fridge and line it with parchment paper and baking beans to blind bake for 12 minutes. Then remove the paper and beans and put back in the oven for another 15 minutes or until the pastry is cooked through and a light golden colour. Leave to cool whilst you make the custard filling.

Pour the milk and vanilla essence into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Meanwhile, place the egg yolks in a bowl with the flour, sugar (and salt) and  mix to a thick paste. Loosen the mixture with 1 tbsp of milk if necessary. Once the milk has boiled, remove from the heat and add 4-5 tbsp to the egg and sugar paste. Stir until combined and the paste has become a thick liquid, then pour into the pan with the remaining milk mixture (I did this in stages) and set over a low heat. Stirring constantly, bring the custard to the boil for at least 2 minutes to fully cook the flour. Once it has thickened, add the butter, allowing it to melt and stir it in. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

Using a hand held electric whisk, whip the egg whites until they form stiff peaks (I forgot how much fun that is!) then fold into the custard. (My mixture unfortunately went a bit lumpy at this point, but it didn't matter in the end.) Pour the custard into the prepared tart case and place in the fridge to set for a few hours or preferably overnight. Leave the tart in the fridge until you are ready to eat it and dust the top with cinnamon just before serving.

Utility china and lemon tart

Here they are, my new sideplates all washed and pretty on the draining board :)

Firstly, a big thank-you is in order to my sister-in-law, Fiona who stumbled across a clearout of a store for an old local shop in town and told me there was a massive stash of lovely crockery. It turns out it was the best type of crockery, Utility China! With a pile of plates in my hand I asked the lady if she had any more in that range and she took me to one of the back rooms and holy moly I have never seen so many stacks of sideplates in my life!!! Perfect because I didn't really have an sideplates in my general crockery collection. I got 22 sideplates and two cups and saucers for £5. If it's open tomorrow morning I'm going back to buy more of the green teacups and saucers (I told myself I had enough teacups and saucers at home and that two extra was enough, but it really isn't! 22 sideplates may not be enough either...) I'm also going to see if there are any dinner plates. There was just so much in the store that it was hard to think!

A gorgeous mix of Alfred Meakin, Johnson Bros, Peach Petal Grindley, Rose Leaf Grindley, Myrtle Leaf Grindley and Petal Ware Grindley.

It was necessary to celebrate the arrival of the new sideplates with triangle sadwiches and a lemon tart (nothing to do with the fact I had watch the pastry episode of Great British Bake Off earlier this week...) Plus I thought the lemon flavour would match the pastel colours. I'm even secretly delighted that the ham in the sandwiches match the pink cakestand.

Enjoying afternoon tea with Dad. I like how Mum's Denby Juice teapot, milk jug and sugar bowl match the utility china.

The filling of the tart was excellent, similar to a Bakewell Tart but with lemon curd instead of raspberry jam. It's also the first time I've made lemon curd, yummy and surprisingly easy. I found the pastry a little bit too dry and crumbly, probably because I'm pants at pastry and most likely over worked it. It also didn't need an egg, which I thought was a bit strange, but I'm no pastry expert and it certainly didn't spoil the over all flavour of the tart.

Lancaster Lemon Tart

Recipe from Traditional Teatime Recipes by the National Trust (Nice book, each recipe has a story of its origins and/or recommends a tea to compliment the flavours!)

Shortcrust pastry

450g (1lb) plain flour, sifted

a pinch of salt

100g (4oz) butter, softened

100g (4oz) lard, softened

3-4 tbsp cold water

Filling

150g-175g (5-6oz) lemon curd. *I made mine following a Delia recipe which I'll write at the bottom of the post.*

100g (4oz) butter, softened

100g (4oz) caster sugar

2 eggs, beaten

3 tsp lemon juice

75g (3oz) self-raising flour, sifted

25g (1oz) ground almonds

To make the pastry, mix together the flour and salt then rub in the fats until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Gradually add water, mixing with a fork, to give a stiff but pliable dough (I don't think I added enough!) Knead lightly for a few minutes until smooth then wrap in clingfilm and chill for at least 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180C, 350F, gas mark 4 and grease a 20cm (8inch) loose bottomed round flan tin. On a floured surface, roll out the pastry and use to line the tin (I had quite a bit of excess). *The recipe didn't mention blind baking but I did. Stuck it in at gas mark 6 for around 15 minutes* Spread the lemon curd over the base. Beat together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs and lemon juice beat well. Add the flour and almonds and fold in with a metal spoon. Spread the mixture over the curd and smooth out. Bake for 35 minutes or until the sponge springs back when lightly pressed. Remove from oven, dredge with icing sugar and leave to cool in the tin.

*Lemon curd, from Delia's Complete Illustrated Cookery Course (completely forgot I owned this. It makes the perfect amount of curd for the tart, plus a little excess to spread on a bit of toast!)

grated rind and juice of 1 large, juicy lemon 

75g (3oz) caster sugar

2 large eggs

50g (2oz) unsalted butter

Place the grated lemon rind and sugar in a heatproof bowl. In another bowl whisk together the lemon juice and eggs then pour this mixture over the sugar. Add the butter cut into small pieces and place the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir frequently until thickened (about 20 minutes) and leave to cool before spreading onto tart base.

Bakewell tart

Here's the bakewell tart I made with the left over pastry from yesterday's quiche.

This is the second time I've made a Bakewell Tart and I figure it's going to be a third time lucky thing. The first time I forgot to add flaked almonds and the pastry I made from the recipe tasted too lemony. This time I nearly burnt the tart, it cooked quicker than the recipe stated (good job I decided to check on it 10 minutes before it was meant to come out!) I was also a bit too keen with the raspberry jam which made it tricky to add the sponge mixture. It still tasted better than my first one though, so next time it WILL be perfect. I also took the opportunity to show off my party ring mug. I love how sturdy it is, perfect for a big cuppa after a long day at work.

Judging by my blog posts I have baked three times in the last week. No wonder my trousers were feeling on the tight side the other day! May have to reign myself in slightly.

Here's a picture of my quiche too. I was really pleased with it, despite seeing in hindsight that it looks more like a pizza. Definitely going to be making quiche more often.

February baking creations

Mam's birthday tart

"Happy Bakewell Birthday!" My mother is strange in that she's not a great cake fan, so for her birthday she requested a Bakewell Tart. I hadn't made one before but found a recipe in my Avoca cookbook and it worked lovely, just a shame I burnt the edges of the pastry. The lemon in the pastry nearly overwhelmed the almond flavour so I may reduce it by half the next time I make it.

Have only just noticed, about a week later, that I forgot to put the flaked almonds on top. Fairly important thing to miss out, I'm so stupid. Oh well, I'll just have to bake it again...

Black-bottomed cupcakes/buns 

This was my second venture into the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook. I found the bun a bit too heavy on the stomach although it was tasty warmed up. The recipe was a bit strange to follow and at one point I thought my mixer had died because it made a pretty nasty smell after attempting to mix the super thick chocolate batter. I also had problems with the vegetable oil because I couldn't find small enough liquid measures. On the whole I just wasn't 100% sold on the recipe which was disappointing as I thought it would be great.

Hummingbird Bakery brownies

This was the first recipe I tried from the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook. As promised, the brownies turned out "chewy and chocolatey", however they were very difficult to remove from the greaseproof paper. It certainly didn't stop me eating them though.

I also decided to rival the Hummingbird Bakery for photgraphy. It is such a beautiful book. I think this is the best baking picture I have taken so far and shows off my new Cath Kidston cup.