Fig Frangipane Tart

It's October. It's Fall. It's fig season. It's tart season!

Decided against the galette idea and resorted to my trusty tart/pie crust recipe that I have been using for my nutella pecan pie. Mm, should I make nutella pecan pie next? The crust is unbelievably easy to make and amazingly flaky and buttery! Takes literally 5 minutes or less to prep when you have that awesome food processor. Simply throw everything in, pulse, and refrigerate.

#nofilter

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Crust
recipe from Tasty Kitchen
makes 2 9'' crust

1 1/2 cup AP flour
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter, cubed and frozen
4 tbsp water, cold

1. In food processor, pulse together salt and flour until combined.
2. Add in butter and pulse until small beads form.
3. Add in cold water and pulse until dough starts to come together as a ball.
4. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
5. Split dough into two and wrap both in plastic wrap.
6. Place one in fridge to chill for 30 more minutes before rolling out. (*Reserve other one in freezer)
7. Roll out (**in between two plastic wraps) to even thickness and large enough to fit tart pan.
8. Place dough into pan and chill for 20 minutes.
9. Preheat oven to 375F.
10. Place foil over crust and fill with pie weights (or uncooked rice) and bake for 25 minutes.
*I removed the foil at the 20 minute mark- helps get it golden brown!

While crust is baking, prepare the frangipane and figs.

Frangipane
enough for 1 9'' tart

75 g ground almond
50 g sugar (*amount reduced)
75 g butter, softened
1 egg

Pulse everything in food processor until it turns into a thick sticky paste!



After crust is baked and cooled, spread frangipane over the the crust and lay figs on top in any way your heart desires(: I cut mine into wedges (1 figs = 6 wedges) and slices. Used about 5 figs.

Then bake at 390F for 30 minutes.
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Precisely, recipe yielded one 9'' PLUS two mini tarts!

I was so excited when these were baking in the oven. The frangipane filling proofed up as the minutes went by. It's so cute! I was overjoyed at their last 5 minutes in the oven.. the frangipane achieved a nice shiny golden brown. Totally obsessed with getting that golden brown on everything.


This tart recipe is pretty versatile. There's no sugar or salt in the crust to exclusively define it as a sweet or savory tart. You can also freely switch out figs to any fruit of your liking- pears, apples, nectarines, peaches, berries, etc!




Taste: 4 stars out of 5 (not big fan of cooked fruit still but love the not too sweet frangipane and buttery crust)
Texture: 4.5 stars out of 5 (noms- custardy filling and crumbly/flaky crust with even thickness!)

Matcha Chiffon Cake order

On the agenda for this week: fig frangipane galette/tart 

Today.

Matcha chiffon cake (recipe same as last post) + cream + strawberries on top.

Minor adjustments were made to the chiffon cake recipe. Reduced the sugar down to 30g for the yolk part and left the 40g for white unchanged hoping to get nicer air bubbles in the white. Whisked whites to a stiffer peak than last time and folded the whites less even than last time resulting in some large air bubbles in the cake. Cake rose to similar height as last. Note to self: fold whites until no big streaks left!

step by step

so smooth

3 layers

My cake decorating techniques are so rusty. Definitely need major improvement on getting the right smooth shiny consistency for the cream. Wonder if I should try doing a meringue or adding corn syrup next time. Also attempted to do a crumb coat before "frosting" it. Left it in the fridge for like a minute = fail.

star tip and a dust of matcha powder

Mm, not too bad for a semi- noob I guess. I am pleased with what I came up with after not baking and decorating cakes for a while. Hopefully my cousin's friend will have a smile on her face when she sees and tastes this cake. Happy Birthday Eva!

finished.

&look! The box from Daiso fits my cake perfectly!

Till next bake`

Matcha Chiffon Cake

Got my first inofficial cake order pick up this coming Monday! Here's a test run of the cake I will be making.

Matcha (Green Tea) Chiffon Cake
recipe from Green Cilantro
makes one 18cm tube

3 yolks
40 g sugar
100 g cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
2 tbsp matcha powder
50 ml vegetable oil (used corn oil instead)
75 ml water
3 whites
40 g sugar

1. Sift together cake flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
2. Manually whisk yolks, adding sugar in 3 additions. Whisk till sticky and pale.
3. Drizzle in oil while whisking until well combined. Repeat with water.
4. Add flour mixture and whisk until fully incorporated.
5. Sift in matcha powder and whisk well.
6. In separate bowl, beat whites with electric mixer until frothy and foamy. Gradually add in sugar and beat on high until stiff peaks.
7. Fold whites into yolks in 3 additions until just blended.
8. Pour batter into ungreased pan. Tap pan lightly and run skewer through batter.
9. Bake at 170C/ 338F for 45- 50 mins.
10. Remove from oven and invert the pan. Let cool before unmolding.

cross section (:

To my surprise, the cake came out sturdy- firm yet spongy and light. The flavor of green tea is subtle and sweetness level is just right. I would still try lessening the sugar to 60 g total next time. And to make it more birthday-y for my order, I would add layers of lightly sweetened whipped cream and probably cover/decorate the outside with cream. One thing I wish though was a taller rise. Noted that the egg whites weren't as stiff as I wanted when I was folding them in. Possibly that contributed to a small rise. 

Taste: 4 stars out of 5

Texture 4.5 tars out of 5

Cinnamon Rolls

Unemployed = time to blog again! It was a lame idea for me to try to keep everything in chronological order (I have over 20 drafts that are waiting to be published!). It really takes away the fun of spontaneous blogging.. And eventually I just become lazy and MIA.

I guess I can start fresh again now with my last bake- Cinnamon Rolls!

Cinnamon Rolls
recipe from The Girl Who Ate Everything
makes ~18 rolls

1 cup warm milk, microwaved 45-60s
2 eggs, RT
1/3 cup butter, melted
4 1/2 cups bread flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup white sugar
1 package (1/4 oz) active dry yeast

Filling:
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 tbsps ground cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, softened

Icing:
3 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup (4 tbsp) butter, softened
1 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar (added less)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt

1. Dissolve yeast in warm milk in large bowl
2. Add sugar, butter, salt, eggs, and flour and mix well.
3. Knead into large ball.
4. Put in bowl sprayed with cooking spray and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled (~1 hour)

5. (For the filling) Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in small bowl
6. Spray working surface with cooking spray or sprinkle with flour
7. Roll dough into a 16 x 21 inch rectangle about 1/4 inch thick
8. Spread dough with 1/3 cup softened butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/ cinnamon mixture
9. Roll up dough starting from longer side and cut into rolls
10. Place rolls in lightly greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish
11. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled (~30 mins)
Optional: After step 11, put in fridge for baking next day
12. Bake rolls in 350F for about 18- 20 mins

13. (For the icing) Beat together cream cheese, butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt
14. Spread on rolls while they are still warm
15. Enjoy(:

For the filling, I also threw in some chopped walnuts/ pecans for some crunch. The rolls came out pretty well! I was very pleased with the fluffiness and how they stayed soft and fluffy till the next day.

Taste: 4.5 stars out of 5
Texture 4.5 stars out of 5
would be better with even rolling