Baking by Hand (26 page)

ASSEMBLING THE TARTLETS

Preheat your oven to 450°F/230°C, with the baking stone in place and the oven rack in the middle position.

Take the chilled tart dough set into its rings and egg wash the rims. With a slotted spoon and letting excess liquid drain away, fill each tart just with the rhubarb filling to below the edge of the shell. If you keep all that liquid in the tart shell, it will bubble over and create a burnt mess in the oven. Use up all the fruit among the six shells.

Place the sheet pan directly on the baking stone and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the tarts from the oven and add the oat topping to cover the rhubarb. Return the tarts to the oven, this time on the rack rather than on the baking stone. Bake for another 25 to 30 minutes. Use a spatula to lift the edge of one of the tarts and peek beneath to confirm that the bottoms are a deep golden brown color; this will be the final sign that the tarts are fully cooked. If the top is browning too fast, cover the whole lot with a sheet of aluminum foil.

Remove from the oven and immediately remove the rings, or else they will stick to the tarts as they cool. Allow to cool for 15 minutes on a rack before handling or eating.

CRUST

1.2 oz/34 g almond meal

8.6 oz/243 g flour

¼ tsp/2 g fine sea salt

5.2 oz/147 g unsalted butter

4 oz/100 g granulated sugar

1 oz/30 g egg yolks

1 egg white, lightly beaten

PASTRY CREAM

13.9 oz/411 g half-and-half

2.3 oz/65 g granulated sugar, plus 0.8 oz/22 g sugar

Pinch of fine sea salt

½ vanilla bean, split and scraped

2.6 oz/70 g egg yolks

0.8 oz/22 g cornstarch

1.75 oz/50 g unsalted butter, cubed, softened

1 ½ cups/255 g sliced toasted almonds

24 to 48 strawberries, hulled

8 sprigs fresh mint (optional)

To make the crust, combine the almond meal, flour and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, combine the soft butter with the sugar. Mix it together with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until no lumps are present and a smooth paste has formed. Add the egg yolks and mix to combine. Then, add all the dry ingredients and stir until a slightly dry dough is formed. Chill for 30 minutes before rolling out. Don’t let it get too cold, or it will crack and crumble.

Roll the dough out to about a ⅛-inch/3-mm thickness. Cut eight circles with a 4 ½-inch or 5-inch/11 or 12-cm cutter. Press them into the tart pans and trim any excess. Chill for at least 30 minutes, or overnight.

Preheat your oven to 375°F/190°C. Prick the bottoms of the tarts with a fork. Place aluminum foil or parchment paper in the cavity and fill it with dried beans or rice. Bake for 20 minutes, and then remove the beans. Bake for another 5 to 7 minutes, until golden brown and completely dried out. Let cool for 2 minutes. Then, brush the surfaces with the egg white, and bake for 2 minutes more. Remove from the oven and cool completely. Turn the oven down to 325°F/160°C for the almonds.

To make the pastry cream, in a heavy stainless steel pot combine the half-and-half, 2.3 ounces/65 g sugar, salt and vanilla bean. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. While this is heating, whisk the egg yolks in a large bowl until combined, and whisk in the 0.8 ounces/22 g sugar until it looks smooth and creamy, about 15 seconds. Whisk in the cornstarch until pale yellow, about 30 seconds more.

Once the half-and-half mixture is simmering, set your bowl with the eggs in it on top of a dish towel to create a stabilizing rest for it and slowly add the hot liquid to the bowl of egg yolks, whisking the entire time. Once all of the dairy is added and thoroughly mixed (the mixture will have thickened a bit), return it to the pot and bring it to a boil over medium heat. The boiling will look like a few huge, gloppy bubbles. Mix vigorously the whole time with a whisk or else you will scramble your eggs. It will have thickened even further at this point. Remove the custard from the heat. Cube and soften the butter and whisk with custard until completely melted and combined. Strain through a fine-mesh metal strainer.

Cover the surface of the pastry cream directly with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. Chill until set. Once cold, use immediately, or refrigerate for up to 3 days.

To toast the almonds, spread on a sheet pan and toast in the oven for about 10 minutes, until lightly brown. Let cool.

ASSEMBLING THE TARTLETS

Cover the bottom of the tart shells with a single layer of the toasted almonds, reserving a few to garnish the top of each tart. Cover the almonds with about 2.5 ounces/70 g of the pastry cream per tart. Smooth the tops.

Cut the strawberries in half and lay them on paper towels to absorb any liquid. This way they will be less likely to bleed onto the surface of the pastry cream. Then, place four to seven halves on top of the pastry cream, cut side down with the tips facing in toward the center. Garnish the middle of the tart with a small amount of the toasted almonds. A sprig of mint also adds a pop of color and fragrance. Refrigerate these tarts until serving. They are best assembled the day you want to serve them.

CRUST

1.25 oz/35 g pistachios, chopped

5 oz/140 g cold unsalted butter

7.75 oz/220 g all-purpose flour

1 oz/30 g granulated sugar

1 tsp/7 g fine sea salt

1.25 oz/35 ml ice water

1 egg white, beaten with a fork

CANDIED PISTACHIOS

1 cup/115 g pistachios

4 tbsp/50 g turbinado sugar

1 oz/30 ml hot water

1 oz/30 g granulated sugar

HONEYED RICOTTA FILLING

14 oz/400 g high-quality, self-draining whole-milk ricotta cheese such as Calabro Ricotta cheese

1.75 oz/50 g orange blossom honey (or your favorite honey)

8 food-grade fresh pansy blossoms (or other small edible flower)

For the crust, preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Toast the pistachios for 10 minutes. When cool, finely chop them and set aside. Next, cut your cold butter into ½-inch/1-cm cubes and keep cold until you are ready to mix the dough. Measure out about half of the flour and add the sugar and salt to it, toss to combine and throw in your butter as well. Break the butter in with your fingers by rubbing it between your thumb and fingers. Do this until no lumps are present and a dough has formed. This will take some time and working with your hands.

Add the chopped pistachios to the other half of the flour. Add this mixture to the butter-flour mixture and work it all together with your hands until the flour is mostly incorporated. When the dough has lost most of its dusty appearance, add the ice water and mix until completely combined. Then, press the dough into a circle or rectangle and wrap with plastic wrap. Chill for at least 1 hour. This dough can be wrapped tightly and refrigerated for 3 days or frozen for longer storage.

Roll the dough out to ⅛ inch/3 mm thick and cut eight 5-inch/12-cm circles out of the dough. Set them into fluted tartlet pans and trim the tops so they are flush with the top of the pan. Chill the shells for another 30 minutes, or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C.

Prick the bottoms of the tart shells with a fork, place all the tart pans on a sheet pan and then fit aluminum foil or parchment paper into the shells and fill completly with dried beans or rice to weight them down. Bake in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes, rotating the sheet pan after 15 minutes. Remove the beans and foil and bake for another 8 to 10 minutes. The shells should be golden brown and completely dried out. Remove them from the oven and cool for 2 minutes. Brush the surfaces with the beaten egg white, and return them to the oven for 2 minutes more. This helps to seal the shells against the wet filling. Cool completely before removing them from their pans and assembling.

For the candied pistachios, combine the pistachios with the turbinado sugar in a bowl. Put the hot water and granulated sugar in a bowl and stir to dissolve the sugar. Next, add this liquid to the nuts. Toss to coat the nuts thoroughly. Pour the entire mixture on a parchment-lined sheet pan and bake at 350°F/180°C for 10 minutes, rotating after 5 minutes. Cool the nuts and break them apart. Use immediately or store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

For the honeyed ricotta filling, put both ingredients in a food processor fitted with the blade attachment and process until the cheese is shiny, there are no lumps and there is no grainy texture. Stop halfway through and fold the cheese once in the food processor in order to blend it evenly. Use immediately, or store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

ASSEMBLING THE TARTLETS

Fill the tart shells evenly with the ricotta filling, about 2 ounces/50 g each. Place one flower in the center of the tart and then place five candied pistachios staggered next to one another coming out of the flower. Chill for 1 hour before serving. The tart can be assembled (except for the flowers and pistachios) the night before; simply add the garnishes before serving.

CRUST

4 oz/110 g all-purpose flour

2 oz/60 g corn flour

¼ tsp/2 g fine sea salt

¼ tsp/1 g lemon zest

3 oz/75 g granulated sugar

3.8 oz/107 g unsalted butter, softened

1.25 oz/35 g egg yolk

1 scant tbsp/15 ml cold water

1 egg white, lightly beaten

FILLING

10 oz/300 g high-quality, whole-milk, self-draining ricotta cheese such as Calabro Ricotta cheese

1.5 oz/40 g granulated sugar

1 tsp/4 g lemon zest

¼ tsp/4 ml vanilla extract

CANDIED LEMON ZEST

Zest of 3 lemons

6 oz/170 ml cold water

2 oz/50 g agave nectar

8 oz/250 g granulated sugar

About 56 blueberries

For the crust, mix the flours and salt together. Combine the lemon zest and sugar, rubbing together with your hands in order to release the lemon oils into the sugar. The sugar will become moist and fragrant.

Add the butter to the bowl with the sugar and zest and mix with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until the ingredients are evenly combined and there are no lumps and a smooth paste has formed. Then, add the egg yolks in three additions. You will need to stir and scrape down to the bottom of the bowl to fully incorporate each addition. Add the dry ingredients, and mix until evenly combined. This mixture will be quite soft.

Add the water and mix to incorporate into the dough; you may need to use your hands to do this. The dough will be soft and a bit sticky. Chill the dough well for at least 1 hour before rolling out. This dough can be wrapped tightly in plastic and refrigerated for at least 3 days or frozen for longer storage.

Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C.