My French Foray Continues!

A french almond flan is a delicious little tart, filled with frangipane and studded with fruit. Frangipane is an almond pastry cream which is thick and creamy and perfect when peared (hehe) with pears and equally delicious with apples.

Sweet Pastry Crust:

1 1/2 cups (195 grams) all purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter

1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Frangipane:

6 ounces (170 g) almond paste (marzipan**)

2 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons flour

3 ounces (85 g) butter, salted or unsalted, cubed, at room temperature

1 large egg, plus one egg white, at room temperature

a few drops almond extract, optional

1 1/2 teaspoons rum, Calvados, or kirsch

3 poached pears, cored, drained and blotted dry, then cut into 1/2-inch (2 cm) slices (alternatively, you may use canned pears, blotted dry)

1. In a separate bowl, sift or whisk together the flour and salt. Place the butter in your mixer and beat until softened. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Gradually add the beaten egg, beating just until incorporated. Add the flour mixture all at once and mix just until it forms a ball. (Do not over mix or the pastry will be hard when baked.) Flatten the pastry into a disk, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 20 minutes or until firm.

2. Have ready an 8 – 9 inch (20 – 23 cm) tart pan with removable bottom. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry into an 11 – 12 inch (28 – 30 cm) circle that is about 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick. To prevent the pastry from sticking to the counter and to ensure uniform thickness, keep lifting up and turning the pastry a quarter turn as you roll (always roll from the center of the pastry outwards to get uniform thickness). To make sure it is the right size, take your tart pan, flip it over, and place it on the rolled out pastry. The pastry should be about an inch larger than pan. When the pastry is rolled to the desired size, lightly roll pastry around your rolling pin, dusting off any excess flour as you roll. Unroll onto top of tart pan. Never pull pastry or you will get shrinkage (shrinkage is caused by too much pulling of the pastry when placing it in the pan). Gently lay in pan and with a small floured piece of pastry, lightly press pastry into bottom and up sides of pan. Roll your rolling pin over top of pan to get rid of excess pastry. Prick bottom of dough (this will prevent the dough from puffing up as it bakes). Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes to chill the butter and to rest the gluten.

3. Preheat the oven to 375F (180C). Set the pre-baked tart shell on a baking sheet.

4. In a stand mixer, or by hand, beat the almond paste with the sugar and flour, until smooth. Some almond pastes may be drier than others. If yours is dry, just mix until the almond paste is finely-broken up.

3. Gradually beat in the butter, until smooth, then beat in the egg and the egg white, the almond extract, and the liquor.

4. Spread the almond filling evenly over the tart shell

5. Fan the pears out evenly over the almond filling, then press them in slightly. *you can sprinkle sliced almonds around your pie if desired

6. Bake the tart for about 40 to 45 minutes, or until the almond filling between the pears has browned.

7. Cool slightly before serving, or serve at room temperature. Glaze, as desired

**You may use marzipan if you have nothing else, but almond paste is recommended for this recipe since it contains less sugar than marzipan (traditionally used for candy-making) and produces a more traditional pie.

Source: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2009/11/pear-and-almond-tart-recipe/

There is a town in France, called Pithivier, which produces these amazing desserts. Puff pastry rounds, stuffed with almond pastry cream and (traditionally) rum are as beautiful to eat as they are to look at.

The Pithivier pictured here is filled with the delicious frangipane and stuffed with apricot halves. A perfect combination! Pithiviers are lovely with their versatility – it does not matter what you stuff them with really, a creamy centre combined with the fluffy puff pastry crust produces a winner – sweet or savoury.

You can use store bought puff pastry for simplicity, but do try to splurge on a better quality brand. For those more adventurous in the kitchen – puff pastry tutorial is coming very soon!

Pithivier Recipe

1 package puff pastry

Frangipane:

6 ounces (170 g) almond paste (marzipan**)

2 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons flour

3 ounces (85 g) butter, salted or unsalted, cubed, at room temperature

1 large egg, plus one egg white, at room temperature

a few drops almond extract, optional

1 1/2 teaspoons rum, Calvados, or kirsch

can of apricots, or other fruit if desired

Egg wash

1. Roll out your puff pastry until it is even thickness and cut out two large circles, using scalloped cutters if you have them, otherwise, use a knife to make a scalloped edge. Set Aside.

2. In a stand mixer, or by hand, beat the almond paste with the sugar and flour, until smooth. Some almond pastes may be drier than others. If yours is dry, just mix until the almond paste is finely-broken up.

3. Gradually beat in the butter, until smooth, then beat in the egg and the egg white, the almond extract, and the liquor.

4. Place a mound of your frangipane in the middle of your puff pastry round and pile on the fruit. The pithivier is meant to be thick in the middle with an at least one inch gap between the filling and the edges. Brush the edges with eggwash and place your second puff pastry round atop, sealing the edges. Use a knife to score the top of your pastry in a decorative pattern. Brush with egg wash.

5. Bake the pithivier at 200 degrees F for about 12 minutes and then reduce to 190 degrees for another 30 minutes, until beautifully puffed and golden.

Optional: you can melt some apricot jam in a pot and brush a thin glaze over your pithivier when it has baked, or you can sift some icing sugar atop and put it back in the oven for a few minutes until sugar has melted.

The best way to eat these: make more than one and don’t share.

7. Cool slightly before serving, or serve at room temperature. Glaze, as desired

**You may use marzipan if you have nothing else, but almond paste is recommended for this recipe since it contains less sugar than marzipan (traditionally used for candy-making) and produces a more traditional pie.

Tis the season – for Maple Syrup! Every year, there is a 4-6 window where the climate in Canada is perfect for collecting sap from trees and making Maple Syrup. During the month of March you will find tons of events going on celebrating the best kind of juice – the kind that flows from trees, is boiled down and poured over a stack of hot pancakes or dipped into with french toast.

image courtesy of sandyflatsugarbush.com

‘Pure’ Maple Syrup (not the Aunt Jemima’s Cornsyrup lookalikes which have nothing to do with the real stuff) is utterly divine – delicately sweet and wonderfully sticky. We embarked on a trip to Stouffville to Bruce’s Mill for the Sugar Bush Maple Syrup Festival last weekend to indulge in some pancakes with quality maple syrup and take a tour to learn more about this natural sugar.

Did you know that it takes 40 litres (40-50 galons)  of sap to produce 1 litre (1 gallon) of maple syrup? That the sugar content of maple sap is only about 2.5% and only through boiling do we get maple syrup (sugar content 66.6%), which can still be further boiled down to produce sugars, maple cream and other candy. Our tour guide explained to us different tools and techniques used in the production of syrup – from using stiles to tap into trees to collect sap in buckets, to the intricate tubing and vacuum pump system used today. The reason why the collection of Maple Syrup is so limited is because there needs to be a perfect balance of temperatures between night and day that allows for the easy flowing of sap up the tree in preparation for spring (and the production of leaves) – a maximum of plus 10 degrees C during the day and about -4 at night. This happens in March to early April and harvesting Maple Syrup is entirely dependant on the weather’s cooperation.

Mike with a yoke around his shoulders, holding 2 buckets of sap!

We saw demonstrations of processing maple syrup by Native Canadians, with the syrup ‘smoked’ out of the sap by placing hot coals in hollowed out trees.

Phillip, Joanna and Misiu getting schooled by the 'Native' display!

Then we witnessed more ‘advanced’ techniques used by the pigrims to boil down syrup in multiple cauldrons to create maply syrup, maple sugar and maple butter – especially useful because it was used in lieu of salt to preserve food. It was a very fun and informative tour and sampling maple syrup was the perfect finale to the day. So were the maple syrup lollypops.

Since Canada produces about 85% of the world’s maple syrup, with 90% of our supply from Quebec. What better way to celebrate our nationality than to learn – and then indulge.

Be on the look out for maple-flavoured syrup masquerading as the real thing! Maple-flavoured syrup is imitation maple syrup, usually with little or no maple content. It is usually thicker, less expensive than real maple syrup and often called “syrup” or “pancake syrup” on the label.

For a maple syrup infused recipe, try my Chocolate Maple Raisin Walnut Pie. A chocolate pie dough is the base for the gooey goodness of maple-candied walnuts and raisins – think of a pecan pie, on chocolate-maple steroids.

Note: this recipe is all in weight. This is because it comes directly from my ‘Art of Pies’ George Brown manual, and also because baking by weight is a more precise art and actually produces better results in baking than measuring by volume alone. The best investment to your baking cabinet is a digital scale! This recipe is for 2 pies.

Chocolate Dough

453 g butter, softened

227 g granulated sugar

2 g salt

2 eggs

227 g bread flour

378 g cake/pastry flour

85 g cocoa powder

7 g baking soda

5 ml vanilla extract

Maple Raisin-Walnut Filling

280 g brown sugar

10 g cornstarch

375 ml maple syrup

43 g melted butter

4 eggs

5 ml vanilla extract

37 g graham crumbs

150 g walnut pieces, toasted

70 g raisins

*to toast nuts, place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake in the oven for about 10 minutes, unti fragrant. This enhances the flavour in the pie, although it is not a necessary step.

To Make Pie Dough:

1. Cream together butter, sugar and eggs on medium speed in the blender, or by hand, until smooth. Scrape bowl.

2. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Scrape down sides of bowl.

3. In a seperate bowl, sift together flours, baking powder and cocoa. Add to mixture on low speed until just comes together.

4. Scrape out dough onto a floured surface and gently knead into a ball. Flatten into a disk and cover with plastic wrap. Chill for atleast 20 minutes.

5. When chilled, roll out on a well floured surface until uniform thickness and transfer to a pie plate. Set aside.

To make Walnut Maple-Raisin Filling:

6. In your stand mixer with the paddle attachement, cream together the brown sugar, constarch and maple syrup and blend well on medium speed. Scrape down bowl.

7. Add melted butter and blend well. Add eggs and vanilla and blend until mixture is smooth.

8. Sprinkle your graham crumbs in the base of your prepared pie plate. This helps keep the base of the pie from getting soggy from all that maple goodness. Fill with your walnuts and raisins and cover with your maple syrup mixture until almost filled. You can use leftover chocolate dough scraps to create a lattice top, like I did, or just pop the pie in the oven and await, impatiently, for the mixture to bubble up and bake to perfection.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 45-60 minutes until the smell is too much and you can’t wait a minute longer. Cool on a wire rack and serve a giant slice with some milk (or almond milk, if you’re me!)

Lemon Meringue Pie + Cupcakes = Genius.

I know I say this a lot, and many of you must be wondering how I am not 300 lbs (portioning, people!…and a hot yoga addiction to even out the others) but lemon curd – the amazingly silky lemon-infused pastry cream – is one of my favourite things, ever, and I could a whole bowl of it, easy. Of course, it is always better when enhanced with a flaky pie crust and topped with marshmallowy meringue topping, but I thought – what about combined with fluffly cake?

I happen to have this awesome recipe from MyTartelette, which I have adapted from a Gluten-Free she shares, but still using coconut oil for the fat. These cupcakes are awesome – the texture from the coconut oil is so delicious and I can’t wait to try the GF version. If you do not have coconut oil, sub with equal parts butter – but I can’t even begin to express my love for coconut oil – in cooking, baking and skin care!

Vanille Cupcake Recipe (Makes 24 cupcakes) from MyTartelette

2 ½ cups flour

1/2 cup cornstarch

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

6 tablespoons coconut oil (solid stage preferably)

2 1/2 cups sugar, divided

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups milk

6 egg whites

Lemon Curd Recipe: (Makes 1 ½ cups) From JoyofBaking

3 large eggs

1/3 cup (80 ml) fresh lemon juice (2-3 lemons) (do not use the bottled lemon juice)

1  tablespoon (4 grams) finely shredded lemon zest

3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar

4 tablespoons (56 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

Note:  Room temperature lemons provide more juice. After squeezing, strain the juice to remove any pulp. Zest is the yellow, sweet-flavored outer rind of the lemon. A zester or fine grater can be used to remove the rind. Cold lemons are much easier to grate. Grate lemons just before using as the zest will lose moisture if it sits too long.

Marshmallow Frosting (makes enough for 24 cupcakes) from Martha Stewart

8 large egg whites

2 cups granulated sugar

½ tsp cream of tartat

2 tsp vanilla extract

Prepare the cupcakes:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly butter 24 cupcake liners.

1.      Sift together all the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

2.      In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, coconut oil and 1 cup sugar at medium speed until pale and thick. Add the vanilla, then the dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with the milk. Transfer the batter to a separate bowl and wash your stand mixer bowl very well.

3.      In that clean bowl, whip the egg whites to a foam at medium speed. Increase the speed and slowly add the remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, until you get a glossy and firm meringue with stiff peaks.

4.      Fold 1/3 of the whites into the flour batter to lighten it and then fold in the rest carefully not to deflate the meringue completely.

5.      Divide in between the prepared cupcake liners and bake for 20 minutes.
Let them cool completely. In the meantime, prepare the curd and buttercream.

To Make Lemon Curd:

1.      In a stainless steel bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and lemon juice until blended. Cook, stirring constantly (to prevent it from curdling), until the mixture becomes thick (like sour cream or a hollandaise sauce) (160 degrees F or 71 degrees C). This will take approximately 10 minutes.

2.      Remove from heat and immediately pour through a fine strainer to remove any lumps. Cut the butter into small pieces and whisk into the mixture until the butter has melted. Add the lemon zest and let cool. The lemon curd will continue to thicken as it cools. Cover immediately (so a skin doesn’t form) and refrigerate for up to a week.
To make Meringue (Marshmallow) Frosting:

1.      Place egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer. Set over a saucepan with simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and whites are warm to the touch, 3 to 4 minutes.

2.      Transfer bowl to electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat, starting on low speed, gradually increasing to high, until stiff, glossy peaks form, 5 to 7 minutes. Add vanilla, and mix until combined. Use immediately.

To Assemble Cupcakes:

1. Cut out the centre of your cupcakes using a small round cookie cutter, or knife. Fill each cupcake with lemon curd – be generous! Pipe with a large star piping tip and using a small blow torch, flame the frosting until it is lightly golden. Alternatively, place in the oven on 250 degrees F until golden, watching the oven constantly!

Vanille Cupcake Recipe (Makes 24 cupcakes) from MyTartelette

2 ½ cups flour

1/2 cup cornstarch

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

6 tablespoons coconut oil (solid stage preferably)

2 1/2 cups sugar, divided

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups milk

6 egg whites

Lemon Curd Recipe: (Makes 1 ½ cups) From JoyofBaking

3 large eggs

1/3 cup (80 ml) fresh lemon juice (2-3 lemons) (do not use the bottled lemon juice)

1  tablespoon (4 grams) finely shredded lemon zest

3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar

4 tablespoons (56 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

Note:  Room temperature lemons provide more juice. After squeezing, strain the juice to remove any pulp. Zest is the yellow, sweet-flavored outer rind of the lemon. A zester or fine grater can be used to remove the rind. Cold lemons are much easier to grate. Grate lemons just before using as the zest will lose moisture if it sits too long.

Marshmallow Frosting (makes enough for 24 cupcakes) from Martha Stewart

8 large egg whites

2 cups granulated sugar

½ tsp cream of tartat

2 tsp vanilla extract

Prepare the cupcakes:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly butter 24 cupcake liners.

1.      Sift together all the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

2.      In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, coconut oil and 1 cup sugar at medium speed until pale and thick. Add the vanilla, then the dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with the milk. Transfer the batter to a separate bowl and wash your stand mixer bowl very well.

3.      In that clean bowl, whip the egg whites to a foam at medium speed. Increase the speed and slowly add the remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, until you get a glossy and firm meringue with stiff peaks.

4.      Fold 1/3 of the whites into the flour batter to lighten it and then fold in the rest carefully not to deflate the meringue completely.

5.      Divide in between the prepared cupcake liners and bake for 20 minutes.
Let them cool completely. In the meantime, prepare the curd and buttercream.

To Make Lemon Curd:

1.      In a stainless steel bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and lemon juice until blended. Cook, stirring constantly (to prevent it from curdling), until the mixture becomes thick (like sour cream or a hollandaise sauce) (160 degrees F or 71 degrees C). This will take approximately 10 minutes.

2.      Remove from heat and immediately pour through a fine strainer to remove any lumps. Cut the butter into small pieces and whisk into the mixture until the butter has melted. Add the lemon zest and let cool. The lemon curd will continue to thicken as it cools. Cover immediately (so a skin doesn’t form) and refrigerate for up to a week.

To make Meringue (Marshmallow) Frosting:

1.      Place egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer. Set over a saucepan with simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and whites are warm to the touch, 3 to 4 minutes.

2.      Transfer bowl to electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat, starting on low speed, gradually increasing to high, until stiff, glossy peaks form, 5 to 7 minutes. Add vanilla, and mix until combined. Use immediately.

To Assemble Cupcakes:

1. Cut out the centre of your cupcakes using a small round cookie cutter, or knife. Fill each cupcake with lemon curd – be generous! Pipe with a large star piping tip and using a small blow torch, flame the frosting until it is lightly golden. Alternatively, place in the oven on 250 degrees F until golden, watching the oven constantly!

Not to be confused with their North American homonym, these delicate french treats are famous for their delicate presentation and petite form – very french, indeed!

Macarons are one of my favourite french indulgences – Mike and I went on a macaron binge last time we were in Paris, an ultimate show down of Laduree vs Pierre Herme (I think Pierre won that round with his olive + vanilla bean macaron…).

you can't even imagine how good this tastes...

I have since tried to recreate macarons at home only a few times, but have had fairly good success without any of the macaron’s legendary temperment spoiling my baking. Although I still have to master their form (macarons are slim, not chubby!) their texture was spot on this time, and I am very pleased with the results.

I decided to make these ironic little treats after rediscovering some shredded coconut, coconut milk and coconut powder in my baking cabinet. I know that ‘coconut macaroons’ are what people usually associate when I speak of ‘macarons’, and I decided to confuse things just a smidgen by making these macaron shells with coconut powder and dusted with coconut shavings before baking. Combined with a coconut marshmallow filling = divine.

The best part about macarons is their tiny presense. In Paris, you do not chow down on a dozen macarons (I did, anyway…) but  indulge in a few select flavours, daintily. Perfect for a light treat with tea or coffee. And if you sit in the spring air, close your eyes and let the macaron melt in your mouth with it’s delicate almondy flavour, ahhh, la vie est belle! It’s almost Paris!


Makes 20-30 filled confections, depending on the size. Basic Macaron Recipe from mytartelette, adapted with my own tinkering.

For the shells:
200 gr powdered sugar
110 gr almonds (slivered, blanched, sliced, whatever you like)
90 gr egg whites (use egg whites that have been preferably left 3-4 days in the fridge)
25 gr granulated sugar
2 Tbs coconut powder
1/2 cup shredded coconut
Prepare the macarons:
Place the powdered sugar and almonds in a food processor and give them a good pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Sift if desired (helps keep the shells smooth in appearance).
In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites to a foam, (think bubble bath foam) gradually add the granulated sugar until you obtain a glossy meringue (think shaving cream). Do not overbeat your meringue or it will be too dry.
Add the nuts and powdered sugar to the meringue, give it a quick fold to break some of the air and then fold the mass carefully until you obtain a batter that falls back on itself after counting to 10. You are just folding in your nut mixture into the egg mixture, be gentle but thorough. This seems a lot harder than it actually is. Give quick strokes at first to break the mass and slow down. The whole process should not take more than 50 strokes. Test a small amount on a plate: if the tops flattens on its own you are good to go. If there is a small beak, give the batter a couple of turns.
Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip (Ateco #807 or #809) with the batter and pipe small rounds onto parchment paper or silicone mats lined baking sheets. Sprinkle shells with coconut shavings. Let the macarons sit out for 30 minutes to an hour to harden their shells. (Be sure to sprinkle your shells before they have a chance to dry out otherwise, the shavings won’t stick!)
When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 280F.
Bake the macarons for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on their size. Let cool.
Once baked and if you are not using them right away, store the shells in an airtight container out of the fridge for a couple of days or in the freezer for up to 2 weeks (longer and the sugar starts to seep out which makes them sticky). Fill the macarons and let them mature in the fridge at least 48 hours prior to eating them.

Coconut Marshmallow Cream Frosting

I was thinking of going all fancy and doing a swiss meringe buttercream based on coconut milk…but decided to go with marshmallow frosting. which I know goes amazing with coconut.

1 container marshmallow fluff
1/2 cup butter
couple of drops of coconut extract

Mix well until smooth. Pipe with a plain tip to sandwich macarons together.

Macarons can be devoured all at once, but I think their texture/flavour does improve over time. Can be stored in an airtight contained for a maximum of 4-5 days. They won’t last that long – trust me.

Sweet Pastry Crust:

1 1/2 cups (195 grams) all purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter

1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Pastry Cream:

1 1/4 cups (300 ml) milk

1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise or 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3 large egg yolks

1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar

1/8 cup (20 grams) all-purpose flour

2 tbs  (20 grams) cornstarch (corn flour)

3/4 tablespoon (10 ml) liqueur (Grand Marnier, Brandy, Kirsch) (optional)

Apricot Glaze: (optional)

1/2 cup (120 grams) apricot jam or preserves

1 tablespoon Grand Marnier or water or combination of the two (can also use other liqueurs)

Topping:

2 – 3 cups mixed fruit, such as raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, kiwifruit, bananas, plums, pineapple, melon, etc.

Sweet Pastry Crust:

1. In a separate bowl, sift or whisk together the flour and salt. Place the butter in your mixer and beat until softened. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Gradually add the beaten egg, beating just until incorporated. Add the flour mixture all at once and mix just until it forms a ball. (Do not over mix or the pastry will be hard when baked.) Flatten the pastry into a disk, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 20 minutes or until firm.

2. Have ready an 8 – 9 inch (20 – 23 cm) tart pan with removable bottom. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry into an 11 – 12 inch (28 – 30 cm) circle that is about 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick. To prevent the pastry from sticking to the counter and to ensure uniform thickness, keep lifting up and turning the pastry a quarter turn as you roll (always roll from the center of the pastry outwards to get uniform thickness). To make sure it is the right size, take your tart pan, flip it over, and place it on the rolled out pastry. The pastry should be about an inch larger than pan. When the pastry is rolled to the desired size, lightly roll pastry around your rolling pin, dusting off any excess flour as you roll. Unroll onto top of tart pan. Never pull pastry or you will get shrinkage (shrinkage is caused by too much pulling of the pastry when placing it in the pan). Gently lay in pan and with a small floured piece of pastry, lightly press pastry into bottom and up sides of pan. Roll your rolling pin over top of pan to get rid of excess pastry. Prick bottom of dough (this will prevent the dough from puffing up as it bakes). Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes to chill the butter and to rest the gluten.

3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line unbaked pastry shell with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Fill tart pan with pie weights, rice or beans, making sure the weights are to the top of the pan and evenly distributed over the entire surface. Bake crust for 20 to 25 minutes until crust is dry and lightly golden brown. Remove weights and cool crust on wire rack before filling.

Pastry Cream:

1. In a medium-sized stainless steel bowl, mix the sugar and egg yolks together with a wooden spoon. (Never let the mixture sit too long or you will get pieces of egg forming.) Sift the flour and cornstarch (corn flour) together and then add to the egg mixture, mixing until you get a smooth paste.

2. Meanwhile, in a saucepan combine the milk and split vanilla bean on medium heat until boiling. (The milk will foam up to the top of pan when done, so watch carefully.) Remove from heat and add slowly to egg mixture, whisking constantly to prevent curdling. (If you get a few pieces of egg (curdling) in the mixture, pour through a strainer.) Remove vanilla bean, scrape out seeds, and add the seeds to the egg mixture. (The vanilla bean can be dried and placed in your sugar bowl to give the sugar a vanilla flavor. This sugar can then be used in baking where you would like a vanilla-flavored sugar, e.g. pies, cakes, cookies.)

3. Place the egg mixture back into a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until boiling, whisking constantly. When it boils, whisk mixture constantly for another 30 – 60 seconds until it becomes very thick and it is hard to stir.

4. Remove from heat and immediately whisk in the liqueur (if using). Pour into a clean bowl and immediately cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a crust from forming. Cool. If not using right away refrigerate until needed, up to 3 days. Beat before using to get rid of any lumps that may have formed.

Apricot Glaze: Heat the apricot jam or preserves and water (if using) in a small saucepan over medium heat until liquid (melted). Remove from heat and strain the jam through a fine strainer to remove any fruit lumps. (If using, add the liqueur at this point.)  Let cool until it is only slightly warm.

Variation: If glazing strawberries, raspberries or any other red fruit you can make a red currant glaze. Gently whisk 1/2 cup (125 grams) of red currant jelly over medium heat until melted. Let cool slightly and then lightly glaze the fruit using a pastry brush.

To Assemble Tart:

1. To remove the tart from the fluted sides of the pan, place your hand under the pan, touching only the removable bottom not the sides. Gently push the tart straight up, away from the sides. The fluted tart ring will fall away and slide down your arm. If you want to remove the bottom of the pan, run a knife or thin metal spatula between the crust and metal bottom, then slide the tart onto a cardboard cake round.

2. Spread a thin layer of apricot glaze or melted chocolate over the bottom and sides of the baked tart shell to prevent the crust from getting soggy. Let the glaze dry between 20 – 30 minutes. Spread the Pastry Cream onto the bottom of the baked tart shell , filling about 3/4 full.

3. To decorate the tart you will need 2 to 3 cups (480 – 620 ml) of mixed fresh fruit (such as berries, bananas, oranges, kiwifruit, plums, pineapple, and melon). Prepare the fruit by gently washing and drying. Peel and slice the bananas, plums and kiwifruit. The strawberries will need to be sliced also. Arranging the fruit on the tart can be done either randomly or in concentric overlapping circles, starting at the outside edge. Try to cover all the pastry cream with fruit so that no pastry cream is showing through.

4. After arranging the fruit, rewarm the glaze, if using, and gently brush a light coat on the fruit. Do not put it on too thick or it will look like Jell-O. Try not to get any glaze on the tart shell. The idea is to make the fruit look shiny.  If not serving immediately, refrigerate. Take out about 30 minutes before serving to give the fruit and cream a chance to warm to room temperature.

This fruit tart is best eaten the same day as it is assembled. Cover and refrigerate any leftovers.

Serves about 8 – 10 people.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

1. Place sliced apples in a large bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice. In a seperate small bowl, mix together sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Sprinkle mixture over apples. Toss until apples are evenly coated. Stir in raisins and walnuts if desired. Spoon mixture into pastry shell.
2. In a small bowl mix together 1/2 cup flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter or margarine until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle mixture over apple filling. Alternatively, cover with lattice strips or seal the entire pie with pie dough – making sure to cut a some holes at the top to let the steam out while baking! Cover top loosely with aluminum foil.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 25 to 30 minutes, until top is golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Eat it warm out of the oven, cooled after a few hours – with ice cream, whipped cream, or naked.