CLASSIC FRUIT TART

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A light, fruity dessert seems rather enticing, when temperatures reach almost 90 degrees.

The blueberries, raspberries and blackberries in our garden are still green - (and the poor little strawberries get "slugged" before they are ripe), but the supermarket has now berries in good quality - not that watery stuff from California.

Therefore, Hanaâ's Avid Bakers' Challenge for July couldn't have come at a better time - the Classic Fruit Tart from "The Weekend Baker".

Not ripe yet - blueberries in our garden

Abigail Dodge wrote this book for people who don't like spending hours in the kitchen, when smart do-ahead steps are possible, and the refrigerator is your friend.

Usually I follow Abby's make-ahead suggestions, but my oven was still hot from my Saturday bread baking, and I had invited a neighbor for tea.

And, really, what could be nicer than a toasty kitchen, heated from baking pitas at 550º F - when outside temperatures almost reach the 90 degree mark? (My husband only rolled his eyes...)

I made the dough, substituting a quarter of the all-purpose flour with spelt. Being a bit in a hurry, I chilled my finished dough disk only for 30 minutes, the minimum given time.

After preparing the pastry cream I rolled out the dough on a silicone mat. Soon I realized the impossibility of achieving the desired 14"-round, the dough started tearing, and there was no way to roll it around the pin without total disintegration.

Cooling the dough was not an option - my nice, practical King Arthur silicone mat was too large for the fridge. Its size made it also too difficult to flip it over the tart pan. Sweating and desperate, I searched my kitchen for anything that could help me get the dough in the right place.

Fortunately I found a metal cake platter that I could press on the dough, then flipping it over the tart pan. But not without mishap, the sharp fluted edge of the pan cut right through the dough, and the whole pain of rolling out the round to that size had been in vain - "for the cat", as the Germans say.

Skippy couldn't care less!

 Using the cut off dough pieces I pinched together a half-ways even rim, and put the tart in the oven. When I took it out, I saw with great displeasure that, in spite of all my gentle handling, the dough had opened up some ugly cracks in the bottom.

But pastry cream covers all baking sins with a layer of pure innocence, and fresh blackberries and raspberries gave the tart a pretty, cheerful look.

And the reward for all that effort? The tart was absolutely delicious, and everybody had a second helping!

Afterwards I looked through basic tart recipes (from William-Sonoma, "Fine Cooking" and "Cook's Illustrated") to see whether there were some helpful hints. Obviously a cooling time of just 30 minutes for the dough was not enough, it should have been 1 hour instead.

Rolling out the dough to a 14"-round for a 9"-inch pan seems rather unnecessary, 2 inches larger than the pan should have done it.

And in William-Sonoma's "Pie & Tart" I even found my own scribbled note: "Roll out the dough on a thin plastic cutting board, and flip it over the pan".  That's exactly what I will do the next time. Or just press into the pan with my fingers!

SCRUMPTOUS SCONES FOR HURRIED PEOPLE

 

The "Scrumptuous Scones for Hurried People" from the "Weekend Baker" was Hanaâ's Avid Bakers' Challenge for May. 

Abby Dodge, the "Weekend Baker", has a heart for people in a hurry who need to whip up a batch of pastry without much ado, perhaps because their beloved in-laws pay a surprise visit, or hubby brings his boss home from work.

Or those like me who, out of the blue sky, feel a sudden craving for something sweet that simply can't be denied.

Following Abby's do-ahead suggestions you can have a basic scone mixture in your pantry, like one of those ready made ones you can buy in the supermarket, only, of course, much better! 

And if a pile of over-sized sneakers in your hallway warns you that a hungry horde might raid your fridge at any minute, a "Big-Batch Scone Mix" comes really handy, you only have to add the wet ingredients and your flavoring, and your kitchen is safe!

Since no home invasion was imminent, I made only an individual batch of eight scones.  

I changed the basic recipe only in so far that I substituted 84 g of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat, to add a little whole grain - next time I would probably add even more.

The flavoring options left me wondering. Why be a purist and stick with just one add-in? Chocolate or nuts? Nuts or raisins? Cranberries or ginger? Aren't there some perfect combinations?

I decided to stray from the path of recipe purism, and opted for nuts and cranberries. Hazelnuts were a natural choice - I just stocked up on them at Trader Joe's. 

The scones turned out very nice, tender, moist and crumbly.

You can find the recipe in Abigail Dodge: "The Weekend Baker" or on her website (Here she gives you yet another flavoring option, but beware: the recipe in the "Weekend Baker" has 1/4 cup sugar - the one on her website has 1/3 cup - too much in my opinion!)

THE EMPOWERED SCONE (8 wedges) 

SCONES:
10 ounces (2 ¼ cups) all purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar (the recipe in the book has only 1/4 cup!)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon table salt
4 ounces (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces and chilled
1/2 cup dried cherries, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger
¾ cup + 1 tablespoon buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

TOPPING (optional):
2 tablespoons buttermilk or heavy cream
2 tablespoons turbinado or demerara sugar

To make the scones
1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or a nonstick baking liner.

2. Combine the flour. Sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large bowl. Whisk until well blended. Add the chilled butter pieces. Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the butter is the size of peas (about 1/2 – inch).

3. Add the chopped dried cherries and ginger and toss with a rubber spatula until well dispersed. Add the vanilla to the buttermilk and stir to combine. Drizzle the buttermilk mixture over the ingredients. Toss with the rubber spatula until the dry ingredients are wet and the dough just comes together in moist clumps.

4. Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Briefly knead the dough to combine and shape it into a 7-inch round. If using the topping, brush the buttermilk or heavy cream evenly over the top of the dough and sprinkle with the sugar.

5. Using a lightly floured knife, cut the dough into 8 equal wedges. Arrange the wedges on the prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake until golden brown and pick inserted in the center of one scone come out clean, about 18 minutes.

SWITCH-INS: instead of the dried cherries and crystallized ginger, choose one of the following:
3/4 cup chopped bitter or semisweet chocolate

OR
3/4 chopped, toasted walnuts or pecans

OR
1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
2/3 cup dried cranberries or chopped dried apricots or dried currants

OR
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/3 cup chopped crystallized ginger

(UN)GLAZED CINNAMON ROLLS

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Fellow baker Hanaâ instigated me to buy yet another baking book - as if my bookshelves were not already buckling down under the weight of my cooking library. She invited me to join her ABC baking challenge, every month trying out a new recipe, currently from Abby Dodge's: "The Weekend Baker".

My husband loves sticky buns and their sugar laden relatives, but, though I like cinnamon, I was never very fond of the overly sweet stuff, he would sometimes buy. Therefore, without Hanaâ's challenge, I would probably never have thought of baking cinnamon rolls.

What I especially like about "The Weekend Baker" and this recipe, are the several "do ahead" options. I prefer working with slow fermentation, and most doughs show their appreciation for the cold treatment with a significant better taste, so, after a 30-minute rise, I put my my dough to sleep in the fridge overnight.

I always try to incorporate some whole grains in my recipes, a substitution of 10% white flour with whole grains doesn't require additional liquid, so I replaced 47 g of all-purpose flour with whole wheat pastry flour.

The recipe was easy to follow, and the next morning the dough had nicely risen in the fridge. I rolled it out cold - it will come to room temperature quickly - and the filling was no problem, either. Next time I probably would add some toasted, chopped nuts, though.

Cutting a roll of dough in even slices with a bench scraper or knife is not that easy, the layers slipping away over the crumbly filling. Using dental floss, as Hanaâ suggested, works much better.

I skipped glazing the rolls, nice as it looks, it adds even more sugar, without contributing to the taste. And even without this decoration - the cinnamon rolls looked beautiful when they came out of the oven and their wonderful aroma filled the whole house, so that I could hardly wait to try one until they had cooled down a bit.

"... now I know their taste - now I'm a believer..." you don't have to be a Monkee to love these treats!
I am converted, and my husband could wallow in them, so good are they!

They, also, freeze well, wrapped in plastic foil and then placed in a ziplock bag. To enjoy them you only have to nuke them for a few seconds, and then re-crisp them at 350ºF/175ºC for a few minutes in the oven.

I can only encourage everybody to purchase Abby Dodge's "The Weekend Baker" - I got it, used, at amazon. But, if you would like to bake the cinnamon rolls, and don't have the book, Abby posted the recipe in Cookstr http://www.cookstr.com/recipes/glazed-cinnamon-rolls-2

And if you would like to join the ABC challenge - Hanaâ will be happy to welcome you (if you are not a jerk!)