Baking by Hand (27 page)

Roll the dough out to about ⅛ inch/3 mm thick and cut one 10-inch/25-cm circle out of it. Put an 8-inch/20-cm flan ring on a parchment-lined sheet pan, and fit the 10-inch/25-cm circle into it. You will need to trim the top of the tart dough to be flush with the top of the ring. Make sure to gently press the dough all the way into the corners of the ring. Patch as needed.

Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes, prick a few times all over the bottom with a fork and then blind-bake the shell. Take aluminum foil or parchment paper and fit it into the circle. Add dried beans or rice to the aluminum foil all the way up to the top of the ring. Position the rack in the middle of the oven. Bake the shell for 35 minutes, rotating the pan
halfway through. Remove the pie weights and parchment or foil and bake for another 10 minutes or until the shell is golden brown and completely dried out. Cool for 2 minutes, then brush the bottom and sides with egg white and return it to the oven for 2 minutes. Cool completely before filling.

To make the ricotta filling, mix all of the filling ingredients in a food processor until completely smooth and shiny. Use immediately, or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

For the candied lemon zest, put the zest in a heavy-bottom stainless steel pot and cover with cold water. Bring the water to a boil, and then drain. Repeat this process twice more using fresh cold water. This helps reduce the bitterness.

Combine the zest with the water, agave nectar and granulated sugar in the pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a low simmer and cook for about 20 minutes, until zest is translucent. Watch that the sugar syrup does not caramelize. Cool and store the syrup in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.

ASSEMBLING THE TART

Fill the tart shell up to the edge with the lemon ricotta filling. Next, place the berries in three concentric circles, starting from the outside edge going in toward the center. In the very center, arrange a pile of the candied lemon zest. This tart can be prepared up to 1 day in advance. Keep refrigerated until serving.

CHOCOLATE SHORT DOUGH

5 oz/140 g flour

2.8 oz/80 g unsweetened cocoa powder ¼ tsp/2 g fine sea salt

5 oz/140 g unsalted butter, softened

6 oz/175 g granulated sugar

¼ tsp/4 ml vanilla extract

0.4 oz/11 g egg yolks

1 egg white, lightly beaten

RASPBERRY JAM

2 quarts/2 L raspberries

½ cup/80 ml water

1 tbsp/15 ml lemon juice

1 (1.75 oz/50 g) package pectin, such as Ball
^®
Original Fruit Pectin

42 oz/1 kg granulated sugar

VANILLA BEAN RICOTTA FILLING

1 lb/450 g ricotta cheese (high quality, whole milk self-draining, ricotta cheese such as Calabro Ricotta cheese)

3.5 oz/100 g granulated sugar

½ vanilla bean, split and scraped

56 fresh raspberries

1 bar of your favorite chocolate, for making chocolate curls

For the crust, mix the flour, cocoa powder and salt together. Next, combine the butter, sugar and vanilla extract in a bowl. Mix it with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until it is smooth and there are no lumps and a smooth paste has formed. Add the egg yolks and mix to combine. Add the dry ingredients and mix until all the ingredients are evenly combined to form a very dark, almost black, tart dough. Chill the dough for about 30 minutes before rolling out. This dough can also be chilled overnight, but it will need to be warmed up before rolling it out or it will crack. If it does, however, it is easy to mold back together by pushing it back with your fingertips. It will also freeze well wrapped tightly in plastic wrap.

Roll the dough out to about ⅛ inch/3 mm on a floured surface and cut the circles out with a 4 ½-inch to 5-inch/11 to 12-cm circular cutter. Immediately set these circles into eight ungreased 4-inch/10-cm fluted tartlet pans. Mold the dough to the shape of the pans, trimming the excess dough all around the edge, making it flush with the top. Chill the tart dough for at least 1 hour or up to overnight. After it is chilled, prick it with a fork before baking to decrease the bubbling up of the dough, as well as to ward off shrinkage during the baking process.

Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C with a rack in the middle. These tart shells do not need to be blind-baked with pie weights. The tart dough stays put during baking. Bake the shells for 16 minutes, rotating the tray of tart shells once after 8 minutes. Remove the shells from the oven and let sit for 2 minutes. Take the egg white and brush it onto the surface of the shells, including the sides, then put it back in the oven for 2 minutes. This helps to seal the surface of the shell to ward off sogginess brought on by the wet filling. Cool completely before use.

For the raspberry jam, combine the raspberries, water, lemon juice and pectin in a sauce pot. Stir and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring as needed to prevent scorching. Add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Bring it all back to a rolling boil that cannot be stirred down. Boil like that for 1 minute. If you fail to boil it this hard, the pectin may not activate fully and the jam will be runny. Skim the scum and store the jam in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

For the vanilla bean ricotta filling, put the cheese, sugar and vanilla bean seeds in a food processor. Process the mixture until smooth and somewhat shiny. Give it a stir and process a little more. No lumps or graininess should be present. Use immediately or store for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.

ASSEMBLING THE TARTLETS

Fill each tart shell with 2 ounces/50 g of the ricotta filling. The filling should come up to the edge of the crust. Place seven raspberries around the outer edge of the filling, or in any way you find pleasing, and use a vegetable peeler to shave chocolate curls, arranging them in the center of each tart. Keep chilled until serving. These can be made up to 1 day in advance. If there is any extra filling and raspberries, feel free to just gobble them up together. You won’t be sorry.

1 recipe Lazy Baker’s Puff Pastry Dough (see
here
)

5 medium peaches

8 oz/250 g granulated sugar

2 ½ tsp/8 g cornstarch

Egg wash, consisting of 1 beaten egg and a splash of water

Spray six 5-inch/12-cm flan rings with cooking spray. Roll our your dough to 14 inches × 27 inches/35 × 70 cm, cut out six 7-inch/18-cm circles and place on top of the flan rings. Lifting up around the entire perimeter of the disk, “settle” the dough into the corners of the rings. Then, working from the outside in, roll the overlapping dough until you can press the roll into the side of the flan ring, creating a thicker outer crust with a thin bottom. Place on a sheet pan and chill in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Cut the peaches into wedges, ¾ inch/2 cm wide (skin side) at the most. You should be able to get about 10 slices per peach. In a large bowl, toss the peaches with the sugar and let sit for 30 minutes to macerate.

Preheat the oven to 450°F/230°C, with the baking stone in place.

Add the cornstarch to the macerated peaches and toss again. Egg wash the rims of the crust and arrange the slices in the pastry dough rings as artfully as you wish, fitting roughly eight slices per ring.

Bake on the baking stone for 15 minutes. Raise the pan to the upper shelf and rotate the pan as well. Continue to bake for 20 to 25 additional minutes, rotating as necessary to create a uniformly golden crust. Make sure to check the bottoms by lifting the edge of the tart with a spatula and peeking. Bake until the filling boils and the edges of the peaches begin to brown. Remove the rings immediately after they come out of the oven to avoid sticking to the pastry, and move the tarts to a cooling rack. Give them at least 15 minutes to cool before handling or eating.

CRUST

1 recipe 3-2-1 Pie Dough (see
here
)

CARAMEL

10.5 oz/300 g granulated sugar

4 oz/110 ml water

9.65 oz/270 ml heavy cream

1.75 oz/50 g unsalted butter, cubed, softened

FILLING

3 lbs/1.5 kg pears, peeled and medium diced

5 oz/140 g brown sugar

2 ½ tsp/6 g ground cinnamon

¼ tsp/0.5 g ground nutmeg

1 tsp/2.5 g ground ginger

½ tsp/3 g fine sea salt

6 tbsp/2 g all-purpose flour

Egg wash, consisting of 1 beaten egg and a splash of water

For the crust, roll the dough into two circles about 12 inches/30 cm in diameter. The bottom piece should be a little bit bigger, to cover the pie dish. Fit the bottom into the dish and chill until you are ready to put the filling in and top it. Chill the top piece as well until you are ready to completely assemble the pie.

For the caramel, combine the sugar and water in a large very clean saucepan over high heat. Make sure all the utensils you use are very clean as impurities can cause your caramel to crystallize. Stir it with a spatula to dissolve the sugar. Have a pastry brush and a cup/240 ml of water ready to wash down the sides of the pot. Bring this mixture to a boil. Once it is boiling, you will want to wash down the sides of the pot periodically to prevent crystallization. It should become a deep amber/caramel, which is about 325°F/160°C on a candy thermometer.

When the caramel is the right color, slowly whisk the cream into the sugar syrup, being very careful to avoid the steam that will burst up toward your hand. Continue to cook the caramel for 2 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the butter.

For the filling, peel and cut the fruit. Combine it with all of the dry ingredients, tossing until evenly coated. Allow the fruit to sit for 30 minutes.