Pie Club Week 13: Peach/ Raspberry Frangipane

Week 13 was the second tart so far, and it was a frangipane tart. For those of you who may not be familiar, frangipane is defined as: a filling made from almonds, or almond paste. This filling can be used in a variety of ways including cakes, tarts and other assorted pastries. Originally designated as a custard tart flavored by almonds or pistachios it came later to designate a filling that could be used in a variety of confections and baked goods. Frangipane is normally made of butter, sugar, eggs, and ground almonds, and is often paired with pears during the winter holidays. Typically, I think frangipane is too sweet and do not enjoy it very much.

However, in this tart it was delicious! I found the raspberries and apricots I used to be a better compliment to the sweetness, and I think this tart had a more balanced flavor. I used almond paste for my frangipane recipe, along with creamed butter and sugar, eggs and vanilla. It was light, fluffy, golden and beautiful, and I received a lot of compliments on this tart. I cannot believe that I forgot to take a picture of the complete tart!

The mouth feel was a really pleasant combination of the moist, fluffy frangipane surrounded by the slightly firm fruit and perfectly flaky sweet tart crust. I will use this frangipane recipe in future tarts I make that call for it, and I will definitely make this tart again!

Pie Club Week 12: Honey

Week 12 was honey pie, and my first pie that I was unhappy with.

I figured that with 52 different varieties of pie, it was just a matter of time before one didn't turn out as well as I expected, and it came in week 12. I was very interested in making honey pie, because I love to make custard (which this basically was), and I am interested in sugar alternatives.

I researched some recipes before making this honey pie, because I was not sure where to start. The recipe I tried had a lot of eggs for the thickening agent, of course a lot of honey and just few other simple ingredients, which appealed to me. There was no cream or dairy in this recipe. I used my pate brisee for the crust, which was blind baked. As standard with most custard pie recipes, the filling was very liquid, and was started on the lowest rack then moved to the middle rack and cooked at a lower temperature.

There was a strong smell of honey as it baked, and it took a long time to set up. When I took this pie out of the oven, right away I was not happy with the color. It was visually unappetizing and a dark yellow color. I let the pie cool completely, and then put it in the fridge to keep since it is a custard with a lot of eggs. We didn't try it until the next day, and by that time it had developed a slightly "wet" layer on the filling, and it had a very unpleasant mouth feel. Surprisingly, the crust stayed perfectly flaky and crisp. The flavor profile was just pure, overwhelmingly honey, which was improved with some freshly whipped cream.

I am still interested in making a delicious honey pie, and will continue to experiment with this. I have a few ideas for how it might be improved. I also think it could be nice used in a savory application with nuts or cheese. The draw back is that very good honey is no inexpensive, but when I get a chance I plan to implement some of my ideas. I will keep you posted!

Pie Club Week 11: Mango Tart

Week 11 was Coconut Mango Cream tart. Since tarts are so similar to pies, and because I love them, I have included a few in this pie club. This tart was beautiful, and delicious, but I forgot to get even one picture of it! Let me just say here that I have been on many food blogs and seen a lot of beautiful pictures of food, and I am no food photographer. Forgetting to get a picture of the tart just further proves it. Haha!

Anyway, the base of this tart is where I used the coconut. I do not enjoy mangoes because I taste an anise note in it, but a lot of people do enjoy them and they make a nice pairing with coconut. The base was basically a baked custard with toasted coconut in it. The filling was light, creamy and a perfect compliment to the flaky tart crust.

I peeled the mango, then thinly sliced it and brushed the slices with lemon juice. I topped custard base with sweetened, fresh whipped cream swirls and nestled the mango slices in with the whipped cream swirls. The colors were beautiful, and everyone who ordered this tart had great feedback about it.

I would definitely make this tart again!

Pie Club Week 10: Cherry

Week 10 was cherry pie, which is always a classic. I love cherry pie, but I am not a big fan of the most common versions made with cherry pie filling. They are often too sweet, and in my opinion have too much "filling" and not enough fruit.

Therefore, I opted for fresh cherries, and simple ingredients. I was fortunate to have a cherry tree in a friends backyard! Tart cherries are known as "pie cherries", and you want to make sure to use tart instead of sweet cherries. I picked and pitted the cherries, then mixed them with sugar, vanilla and cornstarch. I used a double crust of pate brisee, brushed with egg wash and sprinkled with turnbinado sugar, and then cut a pair of cherries into the top for my pie vents.

I was really happy with how the vents turned out! This pie was just what I wanted, simple and delicious. The cherries were really the star of this pie, and it was such an enjoyable eating experience. It was not over sweet or sour, and the crust made a perfect, flaky encasement for the filling. 

I will make this pie again, and not change a single thing!