It is always an exciting feeling when your work is featured or mentioned anywhere and anytime. This time the wonderful people at Foodista featured A Brown Table as blog of the day at their website. Over the past seven months, I have learned so much. But beyond honing any blogging skills, I have made so many friends along the way. That is the most unique reward about maintaining a food blog.
Another fun learning experience over the weekend involved a bit of playing around with my camera. I tried a couple of shots with a new telephoto lens that I received for Christmas. I am sharing some of those images from that trial. My inner nerd was fascinated that my lens could pick up some of the intricate details of the moon.
Now coming back from the moon to planet Earth. This post is more about one of the easiest pastry dough recipes than it is about lemon curd fillings. Pasta frolla is fast, simple and quick making it a great choice for dessert pastry bases. Made with eggs and a little sugar, this dough takes on a yellow tinge and makes for a delicious tart with a mild sweet taste.
pasta frolla pastry
yields : 6 tartlets
ingredients
2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
a pinch of salt
2 large eggs
1 stick of unsalted butter, chilled
1. Whisk all the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Chop the butter into cubes and add it to the dry ingredients.
2. On a lightly floured surface combine all the ingredients together by hand or with a food processor.
3. Lightly beat the eggs and add to the flour mixture. Knead the ingredients to form a ball of dough. Cover with cling film and store in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before using. The dough can be frozen for up to 1.5 months and thawed in the refrigerator overnight before use.
2. On a lightly floured surface combine all the ingredients together by hand or with a food processor.
3. Lightly beat the eggs and add to the flour mixture. Knead the ingredients to form a ball of dough. Cover with cling film and store in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before using. The dough can be frozen for up to 1.5 months and thawed in the refrigerator overnight before use.
tart au citron
yields : 6 tartlets
ingredients
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, strained
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
4 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 stick of butter, chopped
1. Bring a pot of water to boil in a stockpot. Whisk the cornstarch and water in a small bowl to form a slurry and keep aside.
2. Whisk the eggs and sugar at a high speed in a large heatproof glass bowl and whose bottom can fit the top of the pot. The eggs and sugar should become light and fluffy.
3. Add the lemon juice, zest, cornstarch slurry and butter and continue to whisk at a high speed. Move the bowl on to the top of the pot taking care to make sure the boiling water does not come into contact with the base of the bowl. Keep whisking the mixture till it begins to thicken. This will occur slowly but you must not stop whisking. Once thickened to a custard like consistency, remove from the pot and allow to cool. This can be prepared a day ahead and refrigerated.
2. Whisk the eggs and sugar at a high speed in a large heatproof glass bowl and whose bottom can fit the top of the pot. The eggs and sugar should become light and fluffy.
3. Add the lemon juice, zest, cornstarch slurry and butter and continue to whisk at a high speed. Move the bowl on to the top of the pot taking care to make sure the boiling water does not come into contact with the base of the bowl. Keep whisking the mixture till it begins to thicken. This will occur slowly but you must not stop whisking. Once thickened to a custard like consistency, remove from the pot and allow to cool. This can be prepared a day ahead and refrigerated.
Assembling the tart
1. Grease six 3 inch tartlet pans with melted butter. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface and then line the tartlet pans with the sheet of pastry. Cut and trim off any excess off the edges of the top of the tartlets.
2. Prick the surface of the pastry with a fork and bake blinded with pie beads or dried beans for 10 minutes at 375F in a preheated oven. Remove the tartlets and fill them immediately with the lemon curd. Garnish with slivered almonds if desired and put them back in the oven for another 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let them cool in the pans. Remove the tartlets from their pans and refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.
2. Prick the surface of the pastry with a fork and bake blinded with pie beads or dried beans for 10 minutes at 375F in a preheated oven. Remove the tartlets and fill them immediately with the lemon curd. Garnish with slivered almonds if desired and put them back in the oven for another 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let them cool in the pans. Remove the tartlets from their pans and refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.
14 Responses
Nik,wonderful!
Delicious photos.
Cheers.
Congratulations on being featured at Foodista! Yes – that is always a lift for bloggers! You tart sounds and looks fabulous and is definitely a winner.
This looks like such a light and beautiful dessert. Really lovely photos.
Just found your blog and I'm loving it. Your tarts look lovely, the colors are so sunny, and I'm curious to try the dough recipe, it's a little different from the one I use.
Looks easy for sure!
The moon clicks look amazing! The citrus tartlets must have tasted wonderfully delicious.
Congratulations on your feature…I know you will have many more!
The tart is simply lovely and thank you so much for the pastry dough recipe! I am most terrible when it comes to baking, so I need all of the help I can get 🙂
P.S. the moon shots are so cool!
this looks amazing and I am sure it taste the same way it looks. thanks for sharing.
It looks very interesting. Thanks for sharing.
this looks amazing! Delicious photos!
I liked your recipe a lot… but being a vegetarian, please suggest what can I use instead of Egg in it
Can I omit the Cornmeal s'il vous plaît mes amis? Merci beaucoup.
Hi there, I use cornflour (cornstarch) and not cornmeal in this recipe. If you can't find it you can use tapioca starch but you can leave it out. I like to use cornstarch to hold and bind everything together.