Tarte aux Fruits Rouges

Fall is here and even though I kept going on and on about how I love Summer, something is also magical about the beauty of Fall season. The leaves are turning from green to yellow or bright red, it is amazing. The weather has turn cold earlier in California this year and we also have a lot of rain, all this makes me long for a cozy couch in front of fireplace with a slice of brownie and a cup of milk (someday...)

I just came back from a week trip in Louisiana, to visit M's family. It was quite a relaxing week, that I almost felt unproductive, but it was nice and enjoyable. We definitely got plenty of sleep for sure! I experienced an interesting Thanksgiving tradition in South. Apparently, it is very common to have the Thanksgiving feast in between lunch and dinner, we had ours at 3pm and football game is on all day long. Here in California, I am so used to having a feast during dinner time, so it was interesting to see something different.

Now that I am back, I have to get ready for my next trip. My company is sending me to China for a work assignment ASAP. I will be there for a few months and during that time, I won't be able to bake or post anything. I am trying to go through my back log of posts before I leave, but it will literally be an adventure in China as I don't speak Chinese (despite being one) and they don't speak English. Nice. I guess we will see if I will survive

The sad part is that I won't be here for the holiday, all the Christmas trees and the joy being with your loved ones. Instead, I will be busy working since we will have no break in China for Christmas.

So while I am welcoming the warmth of Fall, I will be talking about the Summer berries I talked about a few months ago.

Every year, I would make a list of what I would like to make when Summer time comes, and they all involved some kind of berries. In reality, when Summer does come, all of a sudden I will have so many plans, travel, birthdays, weddings, BBQ, trying to fit all of them before the warm weather is gone. This is why most of the summer dessert I make might be a little "late" in the season.

Like this one here. I mentioned a few months ago then I bought TONS of sweet raspberries in the market. At $1/box, I was so tempted to just buy the whole thing if I didn't consider the other costumers, but I did bring home 12 boxes full of them! I made brandied raspberries with some, freeze some, eat some, and make this. I am excited about the brandied raspberries (I also made brandied cherries) but it won't be ready until December, this waiting is killing me! I also happily brought home some strawberries, heirloom tomatoes, and other goodies from the market as well.

Seeing the different berries I had, I wanted to showcase them in some form and I immediately thought of this tart I've always wanted to make since last year after seeing this gorgeous post by Adam. He is quite an interesting guy and I enjoy reading his pastry review, if only those pastries are within reach... oh well. His review on Sadaharu Aoki's take on fruit tart exceeds other reviews of the same kind. Alan of the travellingfoodies also made a beautiful rendition of the tart a while back, which made me more eager to replicate it. The components are:

• Pate sucree
  
• Pistachio creme frangipane
• Vanilla bean creme patisserie
  
• Assorted berries and a macaron
  

I don't have Mr. Aoki's recipe, but Adam kindly gave a list of the components and a close up picture of the inside, which makes it easier. I do have pate sucree dough ready in the freezer, so that's ready to be used. Berries, checked. Macarons, checked (I have a couple of pink macaron shells in the freezer as well). All I needed to make was the pistachio creme patisserie, and creme frangipane, which also uses the creme patisserie in it. I used Mr. Hidemi Sugino's recipe for the creme frangipane, and added some pistachio paste to it, pretty straight forward. I made strawberry mousseline cream with the same pastry cream for the strawberry macaron filling.

So here it is, my version of Sadaharu Aoki's Tarte aux Fruits Rouges. I won't be able to tell how it is compared to the original (I am sure that his is far and beyond my version), but in my humble opinion, this tart tasted awesome! And it certainly looked pretty!

I made a different version of tart too with white chocolate mousse I had left from different cake. I pour some of them on half-circle silicon mold and froze them. Both are equally good. One thing I would change in the future for the strawberry tart (this actually comes from the bf, the strawberry connoisseur) is adding a layer of strawberry garniture in the bottom layer to accentuate the strawberry flavor even more. Great Idea!

I still have some summer posts I need to post, but the chocolate craving has kicked in. So far, I've baked brownies, some chocolate-hazelnut cake, and I hope a lot more. Right now, I am just trying to use up some stuff in my fridge before I leave next week. Eeekk..!!

Note: I will do my best to type the recipe as soon as I can, but it wont be in a few weeks or so once I am settled in China.

A Pool Party for Joan's Birthday and A Strawberry Pistachio Mascarpone Mousse Cake

Wow, I completely missed the month of October and I've never missed a month before! How bad :(. Not that I did that on purpose but so many things have been going on.

There were so many birthdays, lots of cooking (everyday cooking), and other stuff, it is amazing how little time left you have after. In fact, we went to San Diego this past weekend just to getaway from everything and to celebrate M's birthday. Nothing fancy, in fact, we both got sick the day of our departure. He's holding up quite well, but I feel bad for sleeping all the 7-hour driving! San Diego was raining too, quite hard and COLD! It was definitely a getaway full of sleeping (about 11 hours average, we needed the rest) and eating. I can safely say that all 3 days were spent eating and eating and only tacos (plus cheese quesadillas).

There's this one taco place in SD that we both think is the best of all. In fact, I got panicked not being able to enjoy them after I go back, we got 20 tacos and 4 cheese quesadillas to go!!! I have now a large tray full of meat and the different components sitting in my fridge. I thought cheese quesadillas were boring and bland but who knows that they can be so good! The tortillas are very flaky and buttery and that cheese... Hmmpphh... I am not on a quest to make my own tortilla and about to purchase a tortilla press. Yup, that's how serious I am with these Mexican food :).

I could go on and on about those tacos but let's get to the "baking" part of the story now.

One of my sister in law's birthday was in mid August. We didn't really have any plan on how to celebrate it, one thing we know is that she LOVES surprises. We didn't really decided a set plan until one day before and that we decided to have a pool party!

Although weather here is perfect during summer, it gets pretty chilly when the sun is down, making swimming at 5pm outdoor a pretty cold experience. Only a few of us dare to get into the water (including a baby) and the rest of us just chilling or prepping the food.

It didn't leave me much time to make the cake, basically only had less than a day to make. I decided that I am going to make a simple cake with whatever I had on hand (this seems to be my strategy for a last-minute cake), which I'm never happy to do cuz it doesn't give me the freedom to experiment with it.

So I made some kind of pistachio joconde, mascarpone mousse, red berry gelee, and white chocolate mousse. I had the pistachio joconde readily available and I always have frozen fruits in the freezer for the gelee that I froze during the peak of their season. I even had the pink macaron too, everything seems to be right in place.

The components of the cake are:

• pistachio joconde, moistened with kirsch syrup
• mascarpone mousse
• fresh strawberries
• pistachio joconde, moistened with kirsch syrup
• thin white chocolate mousse
• red berry gelee (strawberry and raspberry)
• white chocolate mousse
• pink macaron decor
  

We had a BBQ by the pool and we prepared korean BBQ, sausages. I made caprese salad and tuna dip to go along with the lemon garlic pita chips I bought at the farmers' market that morning. The bf also made a turtle and a pic watermelon carving to hold the watermelon cubes.

The cake turned out quite nice, the gelee was a bit thicker than what i wanted, but it's not a big deal. I will definitely use less in the future.

Strawberry and Pistachio Cake with White Chocolate and Mascarpone Mousse Cake
yield: one 8 3/4" round cake

Pistachio Joconde (from Hidemi Sugino's recipe)
90g almond paste
37.5g pistachio paste
45g whole eggs
40g egg yolks
25g egg whites
80g egg whites
50g sugar
45g cornstarch
20g melted butter

• Combine almond & pistachio paste in a mixer bowl and mix it to combine
• Add the egg yolks, 25g egg whites & whole eggs gradually and beat until thick
  
• Fold in the cornstarch
• Fold in the melted butter
• In another bowl whisk 80g egg whites and 50g caster sugar until stiff peaks and fold it in 2-3 additions
• Pour mixture into two 8" round pan and bake at 445F for 5-6 minutes

Sliced fresh strawberries

Kirsch Syrup
20g sugar syrup (made with 1:1.3 water:sugar ratio)
15g water
10g kirsch

• Combine all the ingredients in a bowl

Red Berry Gelee
125g raspberry puree
125g strawberry puree
80g sugar (adjust depending on the sweetness of the fruits)
1.5 tsp. gelatin powder (mixed with 1 Tbs. water)

• Heat the raspberry, strawberry puree and the sugar in a saucepan
• Meanwhile, bloom the gelatin and the water, let set
• Once the puree almost reaches the boiling point, melt the gelatin in a microwave for a few seconds
• Add to the puree mixture and let it boil a few seconds
• Let cool in an icebath and pour into 8" round pan that has been lined with plastic wrap
• Harden in the freezer until ready to use

Mascarpone Mousse
8-oz mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
200g heavy cream
40g sugar
1/2 vanilla bean pod, seeds scraped (optional)

• Heat the heavy cream and vanilla bean seeds in a saucepan until simmering
• Turn off the heat and let it steep for a few minutes
• Put it in the fridge overnight
  
• If not using vanilla bean, use the cream directly without steeping
• Whip the cream and the sugar until soft peak and fold it into the mascarpone cheese
• Use immediately
  

White Chocolate Mousse
150g white chocolate
150g heavy cream
350g heavy cream, whipped until soft peak
3/4 tsp. gelatin (mixed with 1 tbs. water)

• Make a ganache with the white chocolate and 150g heavy cream
• Melt the gelatin and add it to the hot ganache
• Let cool in the refrigerator or on an icebath
  
• Whip the cream until soft peak
• Fold it into the cooled ganache
• Use immediately
  

To Assemble

• Place one layer of pistachio joconde inside of a 8" 8ound cake ring and moisten with kirsch syrup
• Spread about 1/2 of the mascarpone mousse
• Arrange strawberry slices on top
• Spread the rest of the mascarpone mousse
• Place the second layer of pistachio joconde and brush with the syrup
• Refrigerate overnight
• The next day, remove the cake ring and place 8 3/4" round ring around the cake
• Pipe white chcolate mousse on the side of the cake and a thin layer on top
• Place the frozen gelee on top and cover with more white chocolate mousse
• Refrigerate for at least overnight
  

Passionfruit Posset with Mango and Passionfruit Sorbet

Hmm.... nothing really interesting is happening lately. If you must now, I moved cube to a different building and environment, lots of birthday celebrations happening and coming (mean more cakes to make), work is not as crazy as it's used to, I guess everything is going pretty well.

Some downsides are that more of my friends are leaving the country to pursue their dreams somewhere else. More friends will be leaving in a few months, it is bittersweet really. I am sad that they are leaving but more importantly, it has been a real blessing to have known them. The other downside to life lately is that the bf is literally working day and night (dawn really) 7 days a week, leaving me feeling like a single woman sometimes, so I guess keeping busy with cakes helps too. Another thing I could do to distract myself is playing Wii!!! Mario Kart to be exact. I started playing Wii for the first time about a week ago and I'm loving it! A bit too late I know, but hey, as long as I'm having fun I think it is quite alright....

Moving on to a different subject, I just want to say that I love passionfruit! I really do. It has a really bright and very tropical flavor and makes everything even better. Everything with passionfruit in it always catch my attention and I think I have about a million of ideas on what to pair it with or how to incorporate this flavor into pretty much anything.

Passionfruit is commonly paired with mango, which I think goes really well together and it it great cuz I do love mango as well. I had made mango passionfruit cheesecake, mango passionfruit mousse, macarons, now mango passionfruit sorbet, and many more.

I used to have a difficulty locating passion fruit puree and I could finally order it from a local warehouse, about 45 minutes away from my place. So, it was no surprise that it was even more precious to me. I rarely found it fresh in the store but when I do, they come with a ridiculous price tag! But ever since I found passionfruit puree at a local Asian grocery store, the possibility of passionfruit dessert is pretty much endless, and it is SO MUCH cheaper too! So, don't be surprised if you see a lot of passionfruit desserts in this blog, even during winter months (who knows it could brighten someone's day in a dark and cloudy winter), cuz this passionfruit is available all year round, yippie!!

I had this recipe bookmarked for the longest time, always trying to find the perfect time to make it. But after a year being on my list and never get around to it, there will never be THE perfect time. I was actually really excited and curious to see how the recipe would come out, but there was no doubt in my mind that I would not like this. It has all of my favorite ingredients in it and the different layers of texture, I knew that I'm going to love it. The recipe has 5 different components (or layers), which is a bit intimidating considering the amount of time I have to spend on making each one.

Now that Summer is almost gone (if it hasn't been already), I decided to make this a few weeks ago to celebrate the bright warm days we're still having. It took me a few weeks to finish the whole thing. No no, don't be alarmed by it, it didn't take that much time. It was just that I was so darn busy it was so difficult to find time to make them. I made the sorbet first and kept it in the freezer for a while, then I would make the bottom passionfruit posset layer on one day and made the mango champagne jelly the next day.

I had to freeze the whole thing at this point cuz I was gone for a week followed by many many events and birthdays after that. I finally decided to finish this dessert and made the tapioca layer. I actually had to make it twice because again, I was lacking on time to finish assembling after I made the tapioca, so it was a bit dry and I had to scrape it off and made it again :(, but no worries, everything was good.

So here it is, after probably a month total of making, it finally came together. I have to say that it is very passionfruit-y, which I LOVE! It tastes very tropical! I would definitely make this again after making some adjustment to the recipe to suit my taste. Another thing that I would do differently would be making them in much smaller portion. The combination of the sour tang and the sweetness can be overwhelming in large portion, but it would leave you wanting for more and even addicting if served in smaller portions, which I prefer. I love the different layers and different texture of this dessert, and it will definitely appear again in the future.

I have to make comments about the sorbet though. I made mine and kept it in the freezer for about a month or so. When I was assembling the dessert, the texture was more like a jelly instead of sorbet. I am not too sure why although it seemed fine when i tasted it right after making it. This is making me really curious. The photo didn't do any justice, it was a really warm day and it melted within seconds after taking it out from the freezer. I changed the recipe slightly to my taste, please refer to the website if you wish to have the original recipe.

Passionfruit Posset with Mango and Passionfruit sorbet
Adapted from: gourmettraveller

Mango and passionfruit sorbet
265 ml mango puree
175 ml passionfruit puree
35 g glucose
45ml water

Combine mango purée and passionfruit juice in a large heatproof bowl and set aside.
Combine glucose and 45ml water in a saucepan, bring to the boil, whisk in caster sugar until sugar dissolves.
Pour over purée mixture, stir to combine, pass though a fine sieve.
Refrigerate until chilled, then freeze in an ice-cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions. Makes about 500ml.

Passionfruit Posset
400 ml heavy cream
180 g sugar
160 ml passionfruit puree

Combine cream and sugar in a saucepan, bring to the boil over medium heat and simmer, stirring continuously, until sugar dissolves (4 minutes).
Add passionfruit juice, simmer to infuse (4 minutes), remove from heat, cool slightly, divide among glasses and refrigerate until set (1½-2 hours).

Mango Jelly
100 ml sparkling wine
50 ml mango puree
30 g caster sugar
20 ml passionfruit pulp
1/4 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
1/2 tsp gelatin powder, soaked in a little bit of water

Combine sparkling wine, mango purée, sugar, passionfruit pulp and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat, bring to just below the boil, remove from heat.
Melt the gelatine in a microwave for a few seconds, add gelatine to pan, stir to combine, then pass through a fine sieve into a bowl.
Cool to room temperature, then carefully pour over set passionfruit posset and refrigerate until set (1-1½ hours).

Coconut Tapioca
125 g tapioca pearls
200 ml coconut cream
50 ml heavy cream
50 g granulated sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped

Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and, stirring continuously, add tapioca in a stream, then stir occasionally until transparent (30-35 minutes).
Drain through a fine sieve, rinse under cold running water, set aside to drain.
Combine remaining ingredients in a saucepan, bring to the simmer over medium heat, stir in tapioca to combine, cool to room temperature, then spoon over jelly in glasses and refrigerate until firm (1-1½ hours).

Mango and Pineapple Mixture
mango, diced finely
pineapple, diced finely
passionfruit pulp

Combine all ingredients

Top the coconut tapioca with fresh fruits, then top with a scoop of sorbet. Garnish with mint leaf

Tartelettes Croustillantes Abricots et Cerises (Apricot and Cherry Crumble Tartlets)

Some people like changes, and some don't. I am the second part of the group, I don't like changes. I recently move cube to a different building. I was in that previous building for about 4.5 years, I made friends and become close to a lot of them. Being in a completely new environment scared me. Although I have to say that my current work schedule is not as crazy as before, which is always good.

Speaking about changes, I don't know how many more weeks I can talk about summer here as we can definitely feel the change in the season here. The sun sets earlier, temperature drops to mid 70's (still gorgeous), more chilly at night and in the morning. But in the meantime, I will still talk and post about my summer dessert at least for a couple more weeks.

About two months ago or so, I found what they called black apricot at Costco. I don't normally buy my fruits at Costco, in fact, I try to avoid it but I couldn't resist when the box says "the sweetest fruit on earth". Now who can resist that! I, of course, felt challenged and immediately grabbed one container full of them.

They look a lot like plum, but the skin is not smooth like plum, it has a skin texture like an apricot. I opened one to taste it and it did taste a lot like plum, very sweet! But the sweetest fruit on earth? I don't think so. I do however, enjoyed this a lot, it is sweet and gives a lot of juice, which is perfect for a hot summer day.

After days (or even a week I think) went by, I still have quite a few left. Our fridge is always loaded with fruits, more so during summer time. Apple, orange, banana, are the usual residents, but you will see a lot of summer fruits like cherry, watermelon, mango, yellow kiwi, apricot, pluot, plum, berries, etc.

I flipped through my cookbook and found this "apricot or cherry tartteletes" in this book by Laduree. I thought this would be perfect to test the book. The recipe is not too difficult at all. It has basic components such as pate sucree, almond cream, slices of apricot or pitted cherries, and topped with crumble before dusted with powdered sugar. I had some pate sucree dough ready and the crumble in the freezer, so all I need to do is make the simple almond cream and the crumble. Easy (I Love leftovers!!)

The tart turned out really well, not too sweet at all. Instead of yellow apricot or cherry like the book suggested, I used a combination of black apricot, yellow apricot, and cherry. I served some with vanilla ice cream too, but it was great on its own.

Tartelettes Crouistillantes Abricots et Cerises
Adapted from Laduree Sucree

Pate Sucree (from this recipe)
Crisp sweet pastry for crumble topping (from this recipe)

Creme d'Amandes (Almond Cream)
100 g butter
100 g confectioners' sugar
100 g ground almonds
10 g cornstarch 2 eggs
1 Tbs. rum

• Cut the butter into small pieces and put in a large heatproof bowl.
• Place over a pan of gently simmering water or in the microwave to soften until creamy, without allowing it to melt
• Incorporate the following ingredients into the butter, making sure to mic well after each addition: confectioners' sugar, ground almonds, cornstarch, eggs, rum
  

Pistachio Almond Cream
250 g almond cream (recipe above)
3 Tbs. pistachio paste
15 g shelled raw pistachio + 5 g shelled pistachio for decoration

• Chop pistachio and add to the almond cream, along with the pistachio paste.
• Preheat oven to 340F.
• Remove tartlet shells from the refrigerator. Using a fork, prick the surface of the dough to keep from pulling up during baking.
• Fit a round piece of parchment paper over the dough, carefully pressing into the corners and working up the sides so it will stay in place in the oven.
• Place dried beans or pie weights on top, spreading them out in an even layer.
• Bake for approximately 20 minutes until lightly colored.
  
• Take tartlet shells out of the oven and remove pie weights and parchment paper.
• Leave the oven on
  

Wash and pit the apricots, cut them in slices. Remove pit from cherries.

Filling:

• Transfer the pistachio almond cream to the piping bag fitted with a plain tip.
  
• Pipe cream into tartlet shells and arrange fruits in a decorative pattern on top
• Cover with crumble dough, using piece of various shapes and sizes.
• Return tartlets to oven and bake for approximately 40-45 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool
• Dust with confectioners' sugar and sprinkle a few crushed pistachio on top.
  

Popsicles Two Ways: White Peach and Raspberry Swirl Popsicle and Mango, Pineapple and Raspberry Popsicles

So, I am in the middle of a super frantic mode currently. My trusty computer got infected by a virus, which resulted in the performance being really slow, almost impossible to use. The first thing I did when that happened was to check my "Pictures" folder, and they're gone! Basically, all of my data was gone, what a nightmare! I am trying to find help and crossing my finger that the data can be recovered, but we'll see... :(

In the midst of all that this past weekend, I spent some time freezing raspberries, making fruit salad and yogurt sherbet for my niece's and nephew's dessert, and the last thing I did was making brandied cherries and raspberries! It wont be until 3 months from now that they will be ready to use, but I can't wait!

Putting the computer problem aside, I actually had a really good long weekend. We took a nice walk around Stanford mall and campus, which was really nice with the constantly perfect California weather. We took a drive to the Santa Cruz mountain on the mission to find the best taco place here in northern CA, dinner with friends, and I found white currants!! I've always wanted to use red currants for cake decoration but they are very rare around here. I was happily shocked when I saw the white version and even though not as pretty as the red sibling, I bought it anyway and thought I could really use it as a garnish for something. Now all I need to do is make something.

Before the computer crashes, I managed to type this draft of post. Here is another summer treat I made a while back, while we were still in "real" summer time. I've never made popsicles before, despite it being really fun and easy, but this year, I was always in the look for something quick and easy dessert to make.

It is not surprising that during summer time, my fridge is always full of different types of berries, different type of stone fruits, anything you can think of. Every weekend when I go to farmers' market, I just couldn't resist buying everything (and I mean everything), but they get forgotten really quickly once they're stored in the fridge due to my lack of visit to the refrigerator :(. As a matter of fact, I have 12 punnets of very fragrant raspberries, a big case full of strawberries, and a big bag of black cherries. They make the fridge smells so good everytime i open it up.

I am still working on summer desserts, still trying to grab on the last summer produce I can find. Not quite ready yet for the chocolate, coffee, caramel, chesnut, and the like, but I think I will be soon ;)

Popsicle is a fun treat, and not to mention healthy too for the kids after school or after an afternoon in the park under the sun. My nephew Tobias, which is only 1.5 years old (almost 2 now), couldn't get enough of it. He cried for more everytime he finished one portion.

I have a few events coming up, and that means I will be drown in sugar constantly, but in the meantime, at least for another week, I get to enjoy my day and make whatever I want in the kitchen. It is still going really slow for one easy dessert to make, but I'm trying my best.

White Peach and Raspberry Swirl Popsicles

Raspberry Swirl
125g fresh or frozen raspberries
40g sugar

Cook the raspberry and the sugar until boiling. Strain the mixture to get as much liquid as possible

White Peach Yogurt Layer
2 peaches (about 200g), cut up
175g whole milk yogurt
40g sugar

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth

• Prepare your popsicle molds
• Pour a little of the raspberry mixture in the bottom of the mold, then add some peach yogurt mixture.
• Continue layering until full
• You can swirl it using a toothpick or a skewer if you want to create a swirl pattern
• Put it in the freezer until solid.

Mango, Pineapple and Raspberry Popsicles

Raspberry layer - use the leftover from the white peach popsicles

Pineapple layer
175g pineapple puree
sugar (I forgot to measure it. Put enough sugar to sweetened it, the amount depends on the sweetness of the pineapple)

Blend the pineapple and the sugar until smooth. Strain.

Mango Yogurt Layer
175g whole milk yogurt
50g mango pulp
30g sugar

Blend all ingredients in the blender until smooth

Assembly:

• Pour some mango yogurt layer in the bottom (that will become the top of the popsicles)
• pour some pineapple layer
• Freeze for a few minutes until the pineapple layer set for a bit
• Pour a thin layer of raspberry layer
• Freeze until solid
  

Enjoying Summer Bounty with Summer Fruit Crumble

Just when I am about to post about summer fruits, summer is officially over. While East Coast is hit by hurricane Irene, and Texas and other states are scorching hot, weather here in northern California is great as usual, about 80 F constantly during the day, and low 60's F at night. This is exactly why people love California, cool and gentle breeze, not humid and not dry. Perfect.

I am now in a week break from all the baking duties. I was really busy with quite a bit of cake stuff including 90th birthday cake, sorbet making frenzy (and still going), putting use of all the beautiful summer produce we have here in tarts, ice cream, and more cake.

There was my niece's first birthday party involving a full dessert table and a two-tiered cake. There was also a dessert table and wedding cake I made for a wedding 1.5 weeks ago. In between all this craziness, I also went for a few-day trip to Boston for a different wedding and very quick "vacation" (it ended up not being a vacation at all due to lack of sleep and food the whole time we're there, lots of walking too!). I was back mid week last week and immediately planning for my sis-in-law birthday. I feel dizzy just writing all these stuff, but just in case you're wondering where I have been, well... there you go.

I have no plan for this coming labor day weekend really, I am thinking of spending the time in the kitchen baking for my pleasure (not for any particular occasion), although I need to make more cakes for the following weekend (it never stops). Taking pictures is now a lower priority, as long as everything gets done, and most of the time, they're done in the nick of time, cutting it really close to the due timing. But I do have quite a bit of desserts I managed to squeeze in about 1-2 months ago and I will post them one post at a time.

Like this dessert for example, not planned at all. I opened my fridge one day and found a lot of different type of fruits, apricots from church friend, plums from my coworker, cherries I bought at farmers' market, peaches I bought when I passed through a fruit stand, you name it, it's there. I decided to make a quick summer fruit crumble with them, probably the easiest way to use up all of them all in one dessert.

I made the crumble first and refrigerate them until I was ready to use them. I made more in advance and keep the rest in an airtight container in the freezer and you can use them for other tarts, or even cake or parfait and ice cream topping.

It was fairly quick and easy to make this dessert. I served it with vanilla bean ice cream that I made a while ago and fresh apricot slices.

Speaking of summer produce, my fridge is now full of pounds of fresh sweet raspberries and strawberries, a few pounds of cherries too. I am too excited (and a bit overwhelmed) just thinking of the possibilities of their destiny in a cake/dessert form. A suggestion of your favorite summer cake/dessert that includes berries and/or cherries is greatly appreciated :).

Enjoy!

Summer Fruit Crumble

Crumble Topping
100g unsalted butter
100g flour
100g granulated sugar
75g almond flour
pinch of salt

• Mix all of the ingredients in a mixer with a paddle attachment until crumbly, or mix by hand.
• Crumble on a baking sheet and refrigerate until ready to use
  

Fruit Filling

400g Summer fruits (apricot, peach, nectarine, raspberry, blueberry, strawberry, plums, cherries, etc.)
10g flour (you can add more if you're using fruits that release a lot of juice like strawberry)
25 g sugar (you can adjust this too if your fruits are more on the tart or sweeter side)
lemon zest ( a bout 1/2 tsp-1 tsp or so)
1/2 pod of vanilla bean, scrape the seeds (optional)

• Cut up the larger fruit into pieces and toss them together with the flour, sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla bean seeds (if using)
• Divide between ramekins
• Bake in a preheated oven at 350 F for about 30 minutes or until it's bubbly and the crumble topping is nicely browned.
  
• Enjoy with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or just plain sweetened whipped cream
  

Meyer Lemon Tart

Ah.. finally this post is up!!

Every year around Spring time (it is kinda late this year), I am always loaded with a whole bunch of meyer lemons, mostly coming from neighbor's tree, friends, and also from my coworker's too. The coworker has a meyer lemon tree that is producing all year around (yup, I now now where to get my source all year!).

The temperature here is staying around 80's on average, cool in the morning and at night. I guess making lemon tart is really appropriate to finally celebrating the hot summer days! I LOVE SUMMER!

Life is still crazy busy, it seems like there is never enough time for everything, I am sure it happens with most of you too. Lack of sleep is becoming a regular now, so between work, baking, personal life, social life, errands (or chores), sometimes you really just want to sit back and relax.

anyways, if you've been following this blog for a while, you probably notice that I would make meyer lemon tart every year and this year is no difference, just a bit later than usual (I made this about 1.5 months ago). I have been trying to use them fast since they have been in the fridge for quite a while and I would hate it if they're going to waste. So, I managed to make this lemon tart and macaron over a span of a week, one component at a time.

LOVE LOVE LOVE this tart (that is really the primary reason why I make them every year)! As usual, the recipe comes from Pierre Herme and I am pretty sure any lemon lovers are well-informed about his brilliant lemon cream. It is always satisfying everytime I make it and it will continue to appear every year.

So if you still have some stash of lemons, please try this. And even if you don't, you might want to go get it to make this tart.

Pierre Herme's Meyer Lemon Tart

Pate Sucree
yield: three 101/2-in crusts or four 8-in crusts

300g unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature
190g powdered sugar
60g ground almonds
1 vanilla bean, scrapped
2 eggs, room temperature
500g all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt

* Put the butter in a mixer bowl and cream until smooth and creamy using a paddle attachment.
* Add the sugar, ground almonds, and vanilla bean seeds. Mix until combined.
* Add the eggs one at a time, fully incorporating the previous one before adding the next one (the dough might look curdled at this point but don't worry, it'll come together once you add the flour)
* Combine the flour and salt. Add to the dough in about three addition. Mix until just it comes together. Do not overwork! Like Pierre said, "it's better to have lumps of butter rather than to have an overworked dough".
* Divide the dough in the portions you need. Form each one into a ball and flatten it into a disk. Wrap each disk with plastic wrap and store in the fridge overnight (you can also freeze the dough at this point and thaw it in the fridge overnight).
* Remove one disk from the fridge, and roll it either between two sheets of parchment paper, or just well-floured surface. You need to move quickly though. You don't want the dough to be soft and overworked.
* Line your tart pan with the dough and put it back in the fridge for at least 1-2 hrs to rest.
* Preheat the oven to 350 F.
* When you're ready to bake, put a parchment paper on top of the dough and fill the bottom with either rice or beans.
* Bake for 20 minutes. Take the parchment paper and the beans/rice off, then continue to bake for another 5-10 minutes until it's golden brown.
* Let cool in the ring.

Lemon Cream

200 g whole eggs (4 eggs)
240 g granulated sugar
160 g fresh Meyer lemon juice
zest from about 5 lemons
300 g unsalted butter, room temperature and cubed

* Rub the zest with the sugar using your finger until the sugar is moistened with lemon oil.
* On a double boiler, combine the sugar, eggs and juice .
* Whisk/stir constantly until the mixture reaches 85-86 C.
* Strain the mixture and let cool to about 55-60 C and put it in a blender (if you don't have a hand-held blender)
* Add the butter a couple of pieces at a time, to make an emulsion. The mixture will lighten in color. Continue running the blender for a few minutes after all of the butter has been added to ensure the airy and light cream. Make sure stop and run the blender a few times to avoid over-heating.
* Pour the mixture into prepared crust and refrigerate.