Cookie Crust Egg Tarts

Are you team cookie crust or team flaky crust?

I was 100% team flaky crust until I had these homemade cookie crust ones! The cookie crust is buttery and almost flaky with its crumbly texture. They are sturdy to handle, but crumble as you bite into it.

Both the crust and filling take no time to make, and I am surprised at how quick my cravings were satisfied.

I researched a couple sources before I come up with this small batch test. I will definitely be tinkering around with it more to get the ideal filling. For now, these are good enough for me to post!

Egg Tarts
makes 7 tarts

crust:
100g cake flour
50g unsalted butter, room temperature
25g sugar
1 yolk
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt

1. Cream butter and sugar together until smooth and light.
2. Whisk in yolk and vanilla extract until combined.
3. Sift in flour and salt. Mix until just combined.
4. Shape dough into disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Leave in fridge for 30 mins.
5. To mold into tart tins - either weight out 26-30g dough balls and press into tin or roll disk into 1/8" thick and cut with a cookie cutter slightly larger than tart tins.

filling:
60ml hot water
40ml evaporated milk
80g egg (~2 whole eggs)
25g sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1. Dissolve sugar in hot water. Cool slightly.
2. In separate bowl, whisk together egg, evaporated milk, and vanilla extract.
3. Slowly pour sugar water to egg mixture while whisking.
4. Strain a couple times to remove lumps.
5. Wrap and let sit in fridge. Strain again before pouring into tins.

Bake at 375F got 17-20 mins.

Strawberry Mascarpone Tart

A gorgeous dessert that will impress any Mom on Mother's Day! (or anyone on any day!)

This tart is ..

Peach Almond Tart [Gluten Free]

This Peach Almond Tart sure turned out very appealing with its golden crisp tops and a light dust of powdered sugar, however, the taste/texture did not live up to its good looks. The tart is lightly sweetened since I omitted all the sugar except the honey in the original recipe. The taste is primarily honey with a little nuttiness to it. Texture is dense and gritty.. a texture that's similar to cornbread.

I don't hate it, but I also don't love it. The part I do enjoy most about this tart is the burnt caramelized edges! The edges are dry and crumbly almost like a biscotti.

Peach Almond Tart

recipe adapted from Anncoo Journal

makes one 9" tart pan

6 Tbsp (60g) melted butter
1 3/4 cup (180g) almond meal
3 eggs
1/4 cup (80g) honey
2-3 Fresh (small size) peaches, pitted and peeled
sliced almonds, to top
icing sugar, to dust

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Prepare and line pan with parchment.

3. In large mixing bowl, whisk together melted butter, honey and eggs.

4. Add almond meal and mix until no lumps. 

5. Pour evenly into pan and arrange peaches in concentric circles on top of the batter.
6. Bake for about 40 - 50 minutes or until browned and set. 

7. Let cool and remove from pan. Dust with icing sugar or top with ice cream and serve.

Peaches were a pain in the butt to peel. There's probably a better method (blanching?).. but I didn't bother since I already got my hands into it. And of course, after all that hard work, I got to reward myself a slice fresh a la mode!

Taste: 3 stars out of 5

Prominent honey taste with a bit of nuttiness. Not much peach flavor. Caramelized edges were best.

Texture: 2.5 stars out of 5

Dense, gritty, and moist near peach slices. Edges are drier and slightly crispy.

Apricot Streusel Galette

Making pie dough on a hot day is not the smartest idea. The cold butter for that flaky crust was softening and melting unbelievably fast! My freezer door opened and closed for a countless amount of times that night.

Nonetheless, the crust turned out well.. Could not have guessed that it was made on the hottest day yet in 2016.

Galette Dough
recipe adapted from Hummingbird High

makes one 10-inch galette or two small galettes

1 cup all-purpose flour*
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt*
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1-inch cubes*
4 tablespoons water, very cold

*subbed with 113g white whole wheat flour, skipped salt and used salted butter

1. In food processor, briefly pulse together flour, sugar and salt until combined.
2. Add in butter and pulse until small beads form.
3. Dribble in cold water and pulse until dough starts to come together as a ball.
4. Flatten dough to a flat disc, wrap in plastic, and chill for 30 minutes.

5. When dough is chilled, roll out into a 14-inch circle about 1/8-inch thick on a lightly-floured surface.
6. Transfer dough to a parchment-lined baking sheet and chill for at least another 30 minutes before using.

Apricot Filling
makes enough for one small galette

2 apricots, sliced into 1/4" slices
1 tsp organic coconut sugar
roughly 1/8 tsp ginger powder

Toss together and set aside. 

Assembly

streusel (leftover crumb topping), optional
heavy cream
turbinado sugar 

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Layer apricot slices on pre-rolled chilled dough, leaving a 2 inch border.

3. Fold border up and over itself, crimping and pushing it against the apricots.
4. Sprinkle streusel on top of apricots, if using.

5. Brush egg wash or heavy cream over folded crust.

6. Sprinkle sugar over.

7. Bake for 40 minutes, until crust is well browned and edges are slightly caramelized.

8. Let cool and enjoy warm, or leave in fridge to enjoy chilled.

Nom.

Taste: 4 stars out of 5

Buttery crust, tangy apricots with sweet crumbles. 

Texture: 4 stars out of 5

Flaky crust, moist and juicy apricots. Crumbles not as crispy as hoped.

Valentine's Bakes: Coconut Sugar Pecan Shortbread Cookies

To be honest, I am pretty proud of myself for the spontaneous last minute brunch I pulled together this past Saturday. From ideation to execution, I will shamelessly give myself an A+. I was even able to not leak clues as to what I was preparing to the Fatty for two whole days! Surprise!

I am glad it turned out well, and the Fatty enjoyed the-day-before-valentines-day-brunch as much as I enjoyed preparing for it.

On the menu:

1. "Muscle Builder" Smoothie
   greens // banana // blueberries // almond butter // chia seeds // honey // almond milk
2. Crustless Quinoa Quiche
   quinoa // greens // onions // mozzarella cheese
3. Side salad
   greens // tomatoes // toasted pecans // toasted sunflower seeds // avocado // balsamic maple vinaigrette
4. Banana muffins
   chopped walnuts // peanut butter swirl
5. Banana salted caramel tart
   whipped cream // bruleed banana slices
6. Coconut Sugar Pecan Shortbread Cookiesmilk chocolate // toasted pecans

Coconut Sugar Pecan Shortbread Cookies
recipe halved and adapted from from Natty's Pantry
makes about 44 bite size cookies

1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (50g) organic coconut palm sugar
7 Tbsp (99g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup (50g) finely ground pecans

Optional: chocolate dip

1/3 cup chocolate chips
1/2 tsp coconut oil

Melt together.

Chopsticks are helpful in rolling them into an even thickness!

before

after

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Cut butter into small cubes, set aside to soften.
3. In a food processor, pulse and ground pecans.
4. Add flour, coconut sugar, and salt to the finely grounded pecan. Pulse until combined.
5. Add butter and vanilla extract, pulse until dough forms.
6. Gather dough in plastic wrap and put another layer of plastic wrap on top. Roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness, and refrigerate for about 15-20 minutes until firm.
7. When dough is firm, cut out shapes with cookie cutter. If dough gets too soft to handle, return to refrigerator. Refrigerate cut out cookies for another 30 minutes or until firm.
8. Bake for about 10-11 or until golden brown. Let cookies cool for about 5 minutes before transferring to wire rack to completely cool.
9. Enjoy as is or decorate!

Dip in melted chocolate/coconut oil and throw some toasted pecans on them!

I don't normally make cut out cookies or sugar cookies since they don't appeal to me as much as good ol` classic chocolate chip cookies. The amount of butter and sugar also scares me away from consuming too much of them. This Valentine's day, I wanted to make heart shaped cookies, and this shortbread cookie recipe couldn't have popped up at a better time.

Natty's CNY royal icing design is what drawn me to them at first. And the fact that these cookies incorporate coconut sugar and grounded pecans.. SOLD!

Making these is simple and only require one bowl! The dough gets soft quite fast in the recent cali heat wave, but it's not something a little chill in the fridge cannot fix. Working in small batches seems to help for me.

These cookies retained their shape really well and stayed flat, meaning you can do intricate shapes and designs. I went for a 1-1.5" heart cutter which didn't exactly have the perfect heart shape and dipped them in chocolate. I suggest dipping them in dark chocolate to balance out the sweetness of the cookies and also refrigerating them if you prefer a harder/crispy cookie.

Taste: 3.5 stars out of 5
Buttery with a hint of toasty/nutty-ness.
Would reduce the sugar a bit next time.
Texture: 3.5 stars out of 5
Tender, flaky, crisp snap bite.

_____________________________________________________

recipe for quiche: here
recipe for balsamic maple vinaigrette: Flavor the Moments 

recipe adapted from Sweet Pea's Kitchen*

 

recipe for salted caramel: here 

 
 

*40g coconut sugar, 1/8 tsp fine sea salt, 1 1/2 banana = 172g, 1/4 cup chopped walnuts, ~1 tsp peanut butter per muffin

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Almond Ricotta Tart

A lightly sweetened, orange scented ricotta tart topped with sliced almonds.

I wouldn't call this a lighter version of cheesecake at all because there's no resemblance. It's not dense, rich, and indulgent like a NY cheesecake, and it's not light and airy like a Japanese cheesecake. With its crumbly and soft texture, mild cheese flavor, and bright citrus note, it stands as its own thing!

Almond Ricotta Tart

recipe adapted from Food Wishes

recipe makes 1 9" tart

For the crust
See previous post

For the filling
1.5 cups whole-milk ricotta cheese
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolks
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp maple syrup

3/4 tsp vanilla extract

freshly grated orange zest from 1 orange
1/8 tsp salt
1/3 cup sliced almonds

Bake for 45 minutes at 350F, or until just set (160 internal temp).

post bake

Adding the almonds were a good touch. It provided a nice textural contrast to the soft ricotta filling and also hid some of the imperfections of the tart. I wanted the almonds to toast darker and actually turned up the temp to 400F towards the end of the bake time for 5 minutes. The almonds didn't seem to be affected, but the tart resulted in a few cracks. Nbd. Almonds and a dusting of powdered sugar came to the rescue.

The steps to making the filling is ridiculously easy and can be done in one bowl in no time. Blind bake the crust, whisk together the filling, pour filling on crust, and bake. I chilled this tart overnight, so I can't comment on how it's like served warm/fresh out of oven.

The sweetness is subtle, but it's just right for my liking. The orange zest gave the tart a prominent but not overwhelming citrus flavor. It helps cut into the richness of the ricotta and lighten the tart overall.

Taste: 3 stars out of 5
Bright orange note and light cheese flavor.
Texture: 2 stars out of 5
Crust wasn't as flaky and crisp. Texture of filling was crumbly and not favored.