Meyer Lemon Tart with Lemon Creme

Last week we went to our favorite whole foods (also known as Harry's, and the same whole foods that Alton Brown films Good Eats) and I saw some meyer lemons, and since I have not yet made anything with them before I picked up a few. As we were checking out Dan saw the lemon tart on the front cover of a magazine and told me that I should make one some time. Since I had not yet picked a dessert for Easter, I decided that this tart would be perfect. This is my first time making a tart as well as the first recipe from David Lebovitz, I will doing both again soon. The tart has a strong lemon flavor and is a bit tart if you only use 3/4 c of sugar. I noted to increase the sugar or you could use all Meyer lemons. Meyer lemons are less tart than traditional lemons. Top the tart with lemon creme, it provides a nice balance and reduces some of the tartness.

Lemon Tart: www.davidlebovitz.com
Ingredients:
1 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice (I used 4 Meyer lemons and 3 regular lemons)
grated zest of two lemon (one Meyer the other regular)
3/4c to 1 cup sugar (use more if you want it to be less tart)
12 tablespoons butter, salted or unsalted, cut into bits
4 large eggs
4 large egg yolks
1 baked French Tart crust (11")

Top with Lemon Creme:
1 c heavy cream
1/3 c powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon extract
a pinch of lemon zest

Directions: 1. Whip all of the ingredients together until stiff peaks form.

Preheat the oven to 350F

Directions:
1. In a medium-sized non-reactive saucepan, heat the lemon juice, zest, sugar, and butter. Have a mesh strainer nearby.
2. In a small bowl, beat together the eggs and the yolks.
3. When the butter is melted, whisk some of the warm lemon mixture into the eggs, stirring constantly, to warm them. Scrape the warmed eggs back into the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and almost begins to bubble around the edges.
4. Pour the lemon curd though a strainer directly into the pre-baked tart shell, scraping with a rubber spatula to press it through.
5. Smooth the top of the tart and pop it in the oven for eight minutes, just to set the curd.
6. Remove from the oven and let cool before slicing and serving.

French Tart Dough

The brown butter mixture, directly from the oven.


After the flower has been stirred in, do not mix by hand.

Prick the dough several times with a fork, and bring the dough further up the pan than I did.

Notice the small hole in the baked crust in the upper left hand corner,
this is why you reserve a small piece of raw dough.


Personally I think this is the easiest crust I've ever made. Just be careful because the butter mixture will be very hot, so be sure to have a potholder nearby, and use caution when handling the dough.

French Tart Dough: www.davidlebovitz.com

Ingredients:
8 T unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 ¼ tablespoon vegetable oil (I used canola)
3 T + 2 ¼ tsp water
1 + ¾ tsp sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
187.5 g all purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 410º F (210º C).

Directions:
1. In a medium-sized ovenproof bowl, such as a Pyrex bowl, combine the butter, oil, water, sugar, and salt.
2. Place the bowl in the oven for 15 minutes, until the butter is bubbling and starts to brown just around the edges.
3. When done, remove the bowl from oven (and be careful, since the bowl will be hot and the mixture might sputter a bit), dump in the flour and stir it in quickly, until it comes together and forms a ball which pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
4. Lightly butter the tart pan (bottom and sides)
5. Transfer the dough to an 11-inch tart mold with a removable bottom and spread it a bit with a spatula.
6. Once the dough is cool enough to handle, pat it into the shell with your and, and use your fingers to press it up the sides of the tart mold. Reserve a small piece of dough, about the size of a raspberry, for patching any cracks.
7. Prick the dough all over with the tines of a fork, then bake the tart shell in the oven for 15 minutes, or until the dough is golden brown.
8. Remove from the oven and if there are any sizable cracks, use the bits of reserved dough to fill in and patch them.
9. Let the shell cool before filling.

Oreo Torte

Happy Easter everyone! I made this torte for our Easter celebration. At first I suggested making Dorie's Chocolate Peanut Butter Torte, but Dan informed me that he does not like peanut butter in his desserts. According to him peanuts belong at the ballpark NOT in dessert. He said that the concept looked good and asked if I could make something similar. So after some searching I came across Alton Brown's Chocolate Mousse and decided to combine the two together and make some changes to better suite my family's taste. Be warned that this torte has an intense chocolate flavor that is best paired with a tall glass of cold milk. So for those who have seen this torte in the peanut butter version and thought that it looked good but were disappointed because you or a family member have a nut allergy I hope you enjoy my improvised version.

Oreo Torte:

Source: adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s Chocolate Peanut Butter Torte & Alton Brown’s Chocolate Mousse. My changes are in bold.

Ingredients:

For the crust:
32 Oreo cookies, finely processed into crumbs (I used an entire package)

5 1/3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled (I used an entire stick)

Small pinch of salt

For the crunch:

½ cup almonds, toasted & chopped (see notes below)

¼ c. cup mini chocolate chips

2 tsp. sugar

¼ tsp. ground cinnamon (I might have used more, but I didn’t measure)

Dash of ground nutmeg

For the filling:

1 ¼ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

2 c heavy cream (can be reduced to 1 ½ c.)
16 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature (could easily reduce to 8oz to produce less filling, I made a 10 inch torte and had about a cup and a half of leftover mousse.)

Chocolate Mousse Recipe
10 Oreos roughly chopped

For the ganache:

½ cup heavy cream

4 oz. semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

Directions:

To make the crust, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 10-inch springform pan and place it on a baking sheet. Combine the Oreo crumbs, melted butter and salt in a small bowl. Toss with a fork to moisten all of the crumbs. Press into a thin layer covering the bottom and sides of the springform pan. Freeze the crust for 10 minutes. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before filling.

Chocolate Mousse:
Ingredients:
1 ¾ cups whipping cream (reduce to 1 ¼ c.)
12 ounces quality semi-sweet chocolate chips (this can be reduced if you do not want an intense chocolate flavor)
3 ounces strong hot chocolate (recipe follows)
1 tablespoon dark rum (can be omitted if necessary, although not including it will change the flavor of the mousse.)
4 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon flavorless, granulated gelatin

Directions:
Chill 1 ½ cups whipping cream in refrigerator. Chill metal mixing bowl and mixer beaters in freezer.
In top of a double boiler, combine chocolate chips, coffee, rum and butter. Melt over barely simmering water, stirring constantly. Remove from heat while a couple of chunks are still visible. Cool, stirring occasionally to just above body temperature.

Pour remaining ¼ cup whipping cream into a metal measuring cup and sprinkle in the gelatin. Allow gelatin to "bloom" for 10 minutes. Then carefully heat by swirling the measuring cup over a low gas flame or candle. Do not boil or gelatin will be damaged. Stir mixture into the cooled chocolate and set aside.

In the chilled mixing bowl, beat cream to medium peaks. Stir ¼ of the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture to lighten it. Fold in the remaining whipped cream in two doses. There may be streaks of whipped cream in the chocolate and that is fine. Do not over work the mousse.

Hot chocolate:
½ c whole milk
2 tsp sugar
½ oz semi sweet chocolate, chopped
½ tsp vanilla

Directions:

Heat milk, and add chocolate, sugar, and vanilla. Heat until chocolate is thoroughly melted.

To prepare the cream cheese filling, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip 2 cups of the cream until it holds medium peaks. Beat in 1/4 cup of confectioners’ sugar and whip until the cream holds medium-firm peaks. Scrape the cream into a separate bowl and refrigerate until needed.

Wipe out (do not wash) the mixer bowl, replace the whisk with the paddle attachment, and beat the cream cheese with the remaining 1 cup of confectioners’ sugar on medium speed until the cream cheese is satiny smooth.

Using a large rubber spatula, gently stir in about 1/4 of the whipped cream just to lighten the mousse. Still working with the spatula, carefully fold in the remaining whipped cream. Combine the cream cheese mixture and the chocolate mousse together, by gently folding them together. Continue working with a rubber spatula gently combine the chopped Oreos into the mousse. Scrape the mousse into the crust, mounding and smoothing the top. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight; cover with plastic wrap as soon as the mousse firms.

To finish the torte, put the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Leave the bowl over the water just until the chocolate softens and starts to melt, about 3 minutes; remove the bowl from the saucepan. Bring the ½ cup of cream to a full boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate and, working with a rubber spatula, very gently stir together until the ganache is completely blended and smooth.
Pour the ganache over the torte, smoothing with a metal icing spatula. Scatter the crunch topping over the top and chill to, at least 20 minutes. When the ganache is firm.

To make the crunch, in another small bowl combine the almonds, mini chocolate chips, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Toss with a fork to mix and sprinkle over the top of the torte. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Remove the sides of the spring form pan before serving.

Toasting the almonds: Preheat oven to 350 degrees, prepare cookie sheets by lining it with parchment paper and lightly spraying it with Pam. Evenly distribute the chopped almonds (I chopped mine in a food processor) and bake for 7 minutes. Allow to cool completely before using, this allows the almonds to restore their crunch.

Store leftovers in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator.

Superbowl Sundaes

While trying to come up with an idea of what to make for dessert on Superbowl Sunday, I thought of the idea to make sundaes and thought that it was a cute play on words. It also gave me the opportunity to make vanilla bean ice cream again (I made it for Thanksgiving too) so there is now a picture to go along with the original post. I buy my vanilla beans online at http://www.beanilla.com/ because they have a larger selection and the price is so much cheaper. I bought eleven beans for $18.10 (including shipping), at my local grocery store they cost $7-8 per bean. Plus I like that they vacuum seal them at Beanilla so they stay fresh so much longer.

Superbowl Sundaes:

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Caramel Sauce

Chocolate Sauce

Vanilla Cream

Cherries

Sliced Banana

Sprinkles

Caramel Sauce

Caramel Sauce:

Source: The Ultimate Ice Cream Book

Ingredients:

1 c heavy cream warmed

1 c sugar

½ c water

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Place the cream in a small saucepan set over low heat. Cover and keep warm while making the caramel.

2. Combine the sugar and water in a large, heavy saucepan and place over medium heat.
3. Stir until the sugar dissolves and the syrup is clear.

4. As the syrup boils, use a wet pastry brush to wash down any sugar crystals that form on the side of the pan.

5. Continue to cook without stirring until the syrup is golden brown.

6. Immediately remove from the heat and slowly add the warm cream, stirring constantly.

7. The caramel will split and rise up, so do this carefully.

8. The sugar may also form a clump on the bottom of the pan. If this occurs, return the pan to low heat and stir until the caramel dissolves into the cream completely.

9. Let simmer for 2 minutes.

10. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

11. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Yields: 1 1/3 c.

Chocolate Sauce

Chocolate Sauce:

Source: The Ultimate Ice Cream Book

Ingredients:

¼ c unsalted butter

2 oz unsweetened chocolate

¾ c. sugar

2 T unsweetened cocoa powder

½ c heavy whipping cream

2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Melt the butter and chocolate together over a double boiler or in a large metal or glass bowl over a pan of simmering water.

2. Combine the sugar and the cocoa in another bowl.

3. Stir the heavy whipping cream into the sugar & cocoa and mix until a thick paste forms.

4. Stir the chocolate paste into the melted chocolate and butter.

5. Cook the mixture over simmering water for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

6. Whisk in the vanilla.

7. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Yields: 1 ½ cups

Vanilla Cream

Vanilla Cream:
Source: Giada De Laurentiis - food network

Ingredients:

1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar (I used 4 T)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I omitted)

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream until it forms soft peaks. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon. Continue to beat until cream holds stiff peaks.

Apple Pie

Last weekend we went to visit some of Dan's family and since I know that apple pie is his and his baby sister's favorite and that she doesn't know how to make one; this was the perfect time to show her how to make it. Hopefully now that she knows how easy it is she will feel comfortable enough to make it on her own. She said that she liked using the pastry blender. Because I was teaching her how to make the pie I actually measured out the ingredients that I used which I never do for apple pie.

Apple Pie:Double Batch Pie Crust (Recipe found under July)

Ingredients:
3 T brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp apple pie spice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
pinch of ginger
1/8 tsp all spice
6 T sugar
1 T water
5-6 apples thinly sliced & peeled (we used 3 Gala & 2 Granny Smith)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Wash, peel and slice apple thin.
Add all remaining ingredients and stir thoroughly.
Prepare pie dough according to directions.
Roll out dough and place into pie plate.
Fill crust with apples (I left out the "juice from the apples")
Top with a lattice top.

Lattice top directions:
Roll out pie dough.
Cut dough into 1/2 strips that are about 9 inches long.
Weave dough alternating pieces to create a basket weave.
Dab small pieces of butter all over the pie (the size of peas)
Sprinkle crust with sugar before baking.
Bake for 35 minutes or until crust in golden brown.

Chocolate Crème Brûlée

Ingredients:
8 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
2 cups cream
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp chocolate syrup
2 tsp cocoa
Use more chocolate for a stronger chocolate flavor.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees
Stir egg yolks and sugar together until sugar is dissolved and mixture is light yellow. Add cream and vanilla, stir until combined.

Pour through strainer (I used a colander) over a bowl to remove bubbles.

Place towel in bottom of large baking dish/roasting pan. Pour cream mixture into 6 ramekins (depending on size) and place in baking dish on towel.

Place dish holding ramekins onto oven shelf. Pour hot water in to baking dish (Turn up a corner of the towel and pour the hot water under the towel so not to splash the creme brulees) halfway up the ramekins. Bake for 40-50 minutes, depending on size of ramekins. Take out oven and let cool in water bath.
Chill thoroughly for at least 2 hours, up to 2 days.
If you don't have a hand torch, you can use your broiler-- just keep an eye on it! :)

I used turbinadao sugar for the caramelized tops, or you can use demerara (they are similar)