Sherlock and a Stone Fruit Tart


What a rainy day it was! I woke up late, made a giant bowl of homemade, banana cinnamon oatmeal, read, and listened to the rain. Rainy days are such a blessing. Feels like God's way of telling me to slow down, rest, and reflect on all the wonderful blessings he has put in my life recently. The amazing cool front doesn't hurt either! Especially with this humid Houston weather. I spent the afternoon trying out a new recipe. Wonderful new friends of mine were hosting a party to eat dinner and watch BBC's season two of Sherlock. British food it is! I had originally planned to make a traditional bakewell tart, but in true Nicole fashion I waited till last minute to read the recipe and missed the chill for 3 hours part! Whoops! A stone fruit tart had to do! The tart was well received and I enjoyed it, but I prefer a traditional pate brisee crust. Next time I will use this crust recipe with the same filling. The best part is you can choose any stone fruit and it will be delicious. I chose nectarines and red and black plums. So yummy! Oh and Sherlock was so good too! 


Stone Fruit Tart

Pastry
8 tbsp butter, melted and cooled
1/2 sugar
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 1/4 cups and 1 tbsp flour
2 tbsp almond flour plus more for sprinkling

Filling
1/2 heavy cream
1 egg
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp almond flour
1 1/2 lbs stone fruit, sliced (peaches, nectarines, plums, cherries, apricots, etc.)

Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 9" tart pan or a variety of smaller tart pans. For pastry: Combine butter and sugar, mixing until well blended. Add remaining ingredients and stir until combined. Press into the bottom and sides of pan(s). Bake for 12-15 minutes until puffed and set. (You will not need pie weights.) Sprinkle bottom of crust with additional almond flour. For filling: Whisk heavy cream, egg, extracts, and honey until well combined. Add in flour. Arrange sliced fruit in tart creating one layer. Pour filling over, but not covering fruit. Place on baking sheet and bake 30-50 minutes. Smaller tarts will back quicker. (My 9" tart baked for 45 min.) Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle with powdered sugar. Let tart cool completely, sprinkler with powdered sugar again, and serve. 


Recipe adapted from here. Photos by the awesome Sarah Gee and Kaleb Fulgham!

Lazy Sunday Strawberry Italian Tart



Sometimes the soul needs a lazy Sunday. My lazy Sunday = waking up with no alarm clock + pajama wearing all day + delicious cups of coffee + pancakes + baking a Strawberry Italian Tart with no grocery store trip! This tart definitely made the Favorite Things to Bake list. The process was incredibly simple and resulted in a whimsical and extremely tasty tart. It was the perfect ending to a beautifully restful, lazy Sunday.

Strawberry Italian Tart

1 1/2 cups of flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
6 tbsp butter
3/4 cups of sugar
2 eggs
2 tbsp milk
1 pint of strawberries, hulled and cut in half

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour an 8 inch springform pan. Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Beat butter and sugar in a separate bowl. Add in eggs in milk. Add dry ingredients until just incorporated. (Batter will be dough like.) Pour into pan and press in strawberries in a circular pattern. Bake for 30 minutes, dust with powdered sugar, and serve warm.

Recipe from here.