French Tarte Faves (FTF) No. 1: financiers

This is the launch of an idea I came up with recently - a series of posts entitled “French Tarte Faves” that I hope to pop into the mix every now and then! I bake/make a number of things that never end up as the subject of a blog post, and so I’d like to include some of those treats now and again.

Even though I have posted on this one, I’m going to start with one of my tried and true favorites - financiers. I do mention them periodically in some of my seasonal updates and, in fact, make them so often that I can’t even begin to recall all of the versions Steve and I (and others!) have enjoyed. Check out this post from many moons ago. Back in my Pawtucket shop days, pear ginger was a standard. So good.

The beauty of financier batter is its relative ease of preparation, versatility, wonderful texture and all around deliciousness. Here are a few recent variations you might like to try - or create your own.

As is often the case, a project may be spurred on by various components/ingredients I have on hand from other baking adventures or classes I’ve taught. This time some blueberries and blackberries, lemon curd, dark chocolate ganache, ground hazelnuts, dried apricots and the remainder of a bag of almond flour (before I open a new one!). Once baked, they hold well in the freezer to be plucked out for those times when the urge for a little treat strikes.

I baked several versions on a couple of different days. As usual, I use my silicone molds for these babies - no buttering/flouring. I have a number of shapes and sizes, the first day’s session involving ovals and mini-muffins.

First, here’s a link to my base recipe. Made with egg whites, browned butter, confectioner’s (or granulated or brown) sugar, all purpose flour and almond flour, it’s a straight forward task to prep the batter and refrigerate it until ready to bake off. You should give it at least a 4 hour or so chill, but I usually make the batter a day or two ahead. It will keep for several days so you can choose to bake it as desired, scooping out a portion of batter and adding chosen flavors like citrus zest or spices, dried fruits or chopped chocolate to create your own unique versions. It’s also common in the mignardise world to simply top the batter with a berry or two before baking. Crumble isn’t bad either.

Back to the task at hand. I’ve explained before (I think) how to determine the quantity of what I’ll call “chunky” additives for a batter. Weigh out the finished batter. Take 10-15% of that weight to figure your additive(s). E.g. if you have 500 g batter, blend in 50-75 g of chopped chocolate, dried fruit pieces or toasted chopped nuts.

It’s different for flavor additions like citrus zest, spices and extracts - that’s really more of a learning curve based on trial as well as experience. E.g. with my base recipe I might add the zest of one large orange or two medium lemons or three limes - adjust as you like. I tend to amp up citrus so I might even use more.

OK. For this project I added chopped dark chocolate to half the batter and piped it into my favorite mini-muffin silicone molds. Remember - no buttering necessary!

After baking and cooling I spread a swirl of dark chocolate ganache on top and sprinkled ‘em with chocolate cookie crumbs. Yum.

For the next I added lemon zest to the other half of the batter, piped it into ovals, made a shallow well, piped a dollop of lemon curd in and topped with blueberries..

Once baked, I gave them a light lemon juice/confectioners sugar glaze for that extra special something.

The next duo involved subbing ground toasted hazelnuts for half of the almond flour. When ready to bake, I divided the batter in half and to one half added about 2 tablespoons finely diced crystallized ginger and about 50 g diced, dried apricots that I had soaked in some hot water and a splash of rum to soften them up. Pat the apricots dry before adding to the batter.

My square savarin molds give me a blank canvas for garnishing. I had some lightly spiced peach apricot Swiss meringue buttercream in the freezer from a previous macaron project. A nice swirl is all it takes to dress these up a bit. You could even put a dollop of apricot jam in the well before piping on the buttercream.

How about some garnish?

You could even top ‘em off with some oat crumble or toasted candied pistachios for some added texture.

I piped the remaining half into mini muffin molds and pressed some halved blackberries into the top.

While these are delicious as is, I gave them a nice swirl of orange caramel Swiss meringue buttercream. Mmmm . . . . . good!

These petite cakes are simply delightful, no matter how you make them. What a wonderful way to vary your creations by flavors, seasons, favorite fruits or nuts or . . . . . . You get the idea. Now go make your own version of financiers!

One big bearded iris among giant allium. Love that purple!

Gorgeous rhodedendrons at D&D’s in Massachusetts

Flowering astilbe along our front walk

Swiss meringue buttercream

Ciao everyone! It took me a bit of time to get this post together, but here it is at last. You’d think with all the extra time on our hands during our staying at home (11 weeks and counting), I’d have knocked this baby out in a few days. I decided to take some extra time to add some recipes for some base components that are great ones to have in your baking armamentarium, and you’ll find links for those throughout the post.

Remember - you can also go directly to my recipe page for a list of base recipes with links to their PDFs and in some cases to blog posts on that particular topic.

Let’s go for it.

Never a big sweet frosting lover, I usually turn to a simple lightly sweetened Chantilly cream, a flavored whipped mascarpone or a basic ganache to give my petite cakes a swirl of panache. Buuuuuuuuut . . . . . . in recent years I’ve become a huge fan of SMBC. So light, airy, buttery and not cloyingly sweet, it’s rife with flavor possibilities. Let’s take a look at just a few and see what you can create to tickle your taste buds.

The beauty of this process is that the base remains the same - egg white, sugar, butter - with flavor added once all the butter is incorporated. Depending on what I plan to use the buttercream for, I’ll do a full batch as a single flavor or divide it in two and create two different flavors. The half batches work well for my small portion cake projects in which a nice swirl or dollop per un petit gâteau is all that’s needed. How efficient is that?

It’s the perfect make-ahead component too since it holds well in the fridge for several days and in the freezer for months. Just remember to thaw and bring it completely to room temperature before rewhipping and using for its intended purpose. It’s most commonly used for filling and decorating layer cakes, garnishing petite cakes or for sandwiching French macarons. A squiggle on an èclair or choux puff might not be bad either!

I reviewed a number of recipes from different sources and found many variants in terms of sugar to egg white ratio (anywhere from 1:1 up to 2:1) as well as differences in the amount of butter added e.g. when using 6 large whites, the butter quantity can range from 340 g / 12 ounces up to a full 456 g / one pound or even more!

Here’s my full batch base recipe (includes flavor variations!) which makes about 4.5 cups of buttercream - generally plenty for a 2-layer eight or nine inch round cake with leftovers for decorating, or just the ticket for some dozens of small treats. And remember - you can freeze the leftovers!

Getting ready to go!

On the day you want to make your SMBC, plan ahead and weigh out 370 g unsalted butter and cut it into 1/2 to 1 inch cubes. The butter needs to be at room temperature before adding it to the meringue!

Have your flavor ingredients ready to go too - from a pinch up to 1/4 teaspoon of salt to taste, 2 teaspoons vanilla (or other extracts) plus your chosen additions like caramel, fruit purée, melted/cooled yet liquid chocolate or lemon curd.

For the meringue place 6 large egg whites and 300 g sugar in a bowl over a steaming bain marie whisking constantly until the mixture reaches a temperature of anywhere from 145-155ºF. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk and beat on high until completely cool and marshmallow-y. I plan on a good 10 minutes for that.

Realize that the bottom of the mixing bowl may still feel a tad warm to the touch due to the heat of mixing. I test the meringue by putting a dab on my wrist - if it feels cool, I start adding the butter. You want to avoid adding it too early or you’ll end up with a soupy mess.

Add the butter several pieces at a time, blending completely after each addition. The mixture should thicken and become smooth and creamy by the time all the butter has been added. If it’s too loose, pop it into the fridge or freezer to firm it up and then rewhip.

Butter added - just waiting for flavor additions

When incorporating flavor components, they should be at room temperature, added slowly and blended on medium low with the whisk attachment to keep the buttercream from separating. Then scrape down and give it a final high speed whisking for a couple of minutes. Some folks switch to the paddle to give it a final fluffing up.

For a full batch of apple cider caramel blend in 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 cup caramel sauce with 2 tablespoons boiled cider (available from King Arthur Flour) and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste.

Apple cider caramel

For white chocolate mocha have ready 170 g white chocolate, melted and cooled yet still liquid, plus 2 tablespoons instant espresso powder dissolved in 2 tablespoon hot water and cooled. Blend it in. Yum.

White chocolate mocha

Oh man - yes I know this isn’t gelato but these images remind me of those mounds of creamy, cold goodness on display in all the gelaterias in Italy!

In addition to the two above (let’s call them richer flavors), I also went for the lighter, springier choices of lemon, mixed berry and honey orange. You can find details on the flavor additions here.

Now what exactly might I do with all this buttercream?? Small cakes of course!

First a quick word on piping tips. Just three tip shapes - round, star and French star - can create a bevy of designs for you. For years I’ve relied on my round and basic star tips (closed or more open like the one in the rear) to pipe the simple designs I prefer, but the French star - oh my. It has finer spacing which creates more of a seashell or tighter spiral look. I LOVE it. The only one I have is the one you see below, but I think a couple more sizes would do me just fine. Yup.

BTW just so you have a sense of size, the round tips range from 6 mm at the bottom of the image up to 12 mm (~1/2 inch) at the top.

I chose pecan cakes for the apple cider caramel SMBC, baking them in petite tinned steel brioche tins. NOTE: it’s very important to butter the tins thoroughly and pop the cakes out within a few minutes of coming out of the oven to avoid sticking. One could also use mini muffin tins like I did in a previous post where you’ll find the pecan cake recipe. Silicone molds would also work well although I think the cakes brown and crisp better in metal molds.

My small round tip served nicely to pipe a daisy like design to compliment the fluted ridges of the cakes. Pretty simple stuff.

Apple cider caramel on pecan pie cake

For the white chocolate mocha SMBC a classic moelleux chocolat seemed just right, baked in one of my favorite square savarin silicone molds. The French star tip yields a lovely scallop like swirl. Those are some Valrhona dark chocolate crunchy pearls on top. Delicious.

White chocolate mocha on moelleux chocolat

The lemon cake is essentially financier batter to which lemon zest has been added. I baked these in mini-muffin silicone molds. So simple and nice.

Lemon on citrus financier

Since I made a batch of lemon curd to add to the lemon buttercream, I also used it to create a center flavor burst in the cake before topping with the final flourish. Using a round tip I cut out a core piece (for snacking of course), filled it with the curd and finished it off with a star tip swirl.

For the mixed berry use your favorite base muffin recipe and fold in an assortment of berries like blue, red and black. I generally avoid adding fresh strawberries to cakes or muffins due to their water content and mushiness after baking. Once again a star tip provides the luscious ridges. Create different looks as you swirl, twist and lift your tip.

Mixed berry on triple berry muffins

For the honey orange SMBC I again used my base financier batter, replacing 1/2 the almond flour with finely ground pistachios and adding orange zest for a lovely citrus touch. Similar to the lemon cakes above, I used my favorite mini-muffin silicone mold for the cakes and the star tip swirl for the top flourish with a few pistachios tucked in the center for a tasty treat.

Honey orange on orange pistachio financier

For a different look I used another favorite ingot rectangular silicone mold which gives me a linear canvas for the buttercream using the French star tip. Same financier, more orange zest in the buttercream for a deeper orange color and a ridge of scallops or stars on top. Remember it’s all about how you twist, swirl and lift! Candied pistachios add just the right crunch. So deeeelicous!

Have fun creating your own treats with luscious buttercream the Swiss way!

As spring moves into summer do your best to keep a positive outlook, stay safe and healthy. That’s what counts.

Giant allium

White lacecap Viburnum

Fragrant lilac -oh the aroma!

The Queen of Hearts she made some tarts . . . .

Mind you, I’m not equating myself with the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland (described as a foul tempered monarch), however I do love making tartes - and I can promise that Steve did NOT steal any of them!!

Above is a collection of fresh fruit tartes I created for a recent Alice-themed fund raising event here in Grand Rapids. The chess board seemed like just the right backdrop for these luscious treats.

We have blueberry/lemon, raspberry cream, strawberry/lime mascarpone and blackberry citrus/Earl Grey ganache. Delightful!!

When creating your own fruit tartes remember to start with your favorite pâte sucrée, blind baked, then fill with classic crème pâtissiére or a fruity whipped mascarpone or your own version of a citrus or tea infused ganache (white chocolate works well with fresh berries). It’s lots of fun to mix and match to your heart’s content. Hop on over to the recipes page to find some of my favorite base recipes.

Here are just a few of the other tartes I’ve done in recent months (including some late summer reminiscing!).

Fresh blueberry

Peach custard

Apple blackberry

Classic pear almond

As we are ever fast approaching Thanksgiving and the whirlwind of the holiday season, I wish all of you many “all is calm, all is bright” nights.

Happy tarte baking!

Fresh fruit tarts

Four Inch Tartes individuelles

West Michigan is known for it’s grey skies and lack of sunny days during the winter months, but lately I’ve been making a variety of fresh fruit tarts which simply add their own version of sunshine and brightness to the seemingly dreary weather. The good news is when we do have a sunny day, it’s a beauty! And some of our sunsets are absolutely gorgeous. Ahhhh . . . . there’s something about a Michigan sky.

Tartelettes Petits Fours

While I’d prefer to use fresh local summer berries and stone fruits for my fresh fruit tarts, we’re fortunate to have pretty decent berries coming to us from California as well as citrus and all manner of tropical fruits from various parts of the country and the world. It’s interesting that most requests I receive for fresh fruit tarts happen during the winter months. I guess it’s just that desire for something colorful and delicious, and there’s nothing wrong with that!

TWO and a half inch Tartes individuelles

I love the pinkish-orange of the Cara-Cara variant of the navel orange - just like one of our beautiful Michigan sunsets, especially when paired with the brilliant red of raspberries. And the blackberries lean more toward the end-of-sunset dusk when things start darkening into the deep purple hues of the night sky.

Nine inch Tarte

The nuts and bolts of this type of tart include a standard pâte sucrée crust, a classic crème pâtissiére and, of course, an assortment of fresh fruit. Whatever suits your fancy.

Especially when I’m assembling a large tart, I like to do a mock up of my fruit lay out before actually placing the fruit on top of the crème. Here I’m using raspberries, blackberries, strawberries and Cara-Cara citrus. You might notice the pomegranate seeds at the top - I didn’t end up using them for my own aesthetic reasons (artistic license, right?).

Working on the layout

Assembly in process

I must say that finishing a fresh fruit tart gives one quite a sense of satisfaction. And, of course, one hopes that the recipients will be just as satisfied!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone. Here’s to many more baking adventures! And may you enjoy your own sunsets wherever you are.

Time for some tarts!

Tarts are my favorite desserts to make (and eat), going back to the days in the late '80s when I became a huge fan of pastry chef Emily Luchetti (then of Stars restaurant).  I used to pour over her book "Stars Desserts" and made many of the recipes, being particularly fond of the macaroon nut and the blackberry streusel tarts.

So, as I spent a fair amount of time in Grand Rapids, Michigan this past July and August, staying at my mom's, I simply had to take advantage of the summer fruits that the orchards of western Michigan produce.  I paid a visit to the Fulton Street farmers market where I scored some Michigan Red Haven peaches (BIG favorite from my childhood) and fresh local blackberries which soon went into a delicious peach-blackberry custard tart for a small family gathering. Deelicious!  Topped with sliced almonds and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, it was just the ticket. 

Above: peach blackberry custard tart

When I had a September request for some petits fours tartlettes, I took a break from my La Pâtisserie des Rêves project to turn out some of my favorites - lemon, chocolate ganache and caramel nut.

It's always such a pleasure to return to tart making, especially when the cool, crisp days of autumn are upon us.  Working with the cool, supple dough, lining the tart rings or petit four molds and thinking about those luscious fillings is such a delight.

The beauty of these tarts is the make ahead fillings.  You can even blind bake your crusts and freeze them ahead of time. Just thaw them briefly at room temp, warm in a 325º oven for 5 minutes to crisp up, then cool and fill.  As usual, it's all about the planning.

I've tried many lemon curd/lemon cream tart fillings over the years, always in search of the perfect one.  All can easily be made a couple of days (or more!) ahead. I normally prefer a classic pucker-y lemon curd, although this time I used a riff on Pierre Herme's (complements of Dorie Greenspan) lemon lemon cream.  It’s oh so smooth and lemony, especially garnished with a dollop of light, whipped lemon mascarpone and a fresh raspberry. 

Above: lemon cream tartlettes

The ganache tart filling (3 parts cream to 2 parts chocolate with a bit of butter added) also keeps extremely well in the fridge.  The day you wish to assemble the tart, gently warm the ganache over a bain marie to liquefy it before you pour it into a blind baked chocolate crust and allow it to set.  I garnish mine with my own chocolate cookie crumbs.

Above: garnishing the chocolate ganache tartlettes

For the caramel nut tart I toast a combination of almonds, pecans, walnuts, pistachios and blanched hazelnuts before coarsely chopping them and folding them into a caramel filling made with butter, honey, brown sugar, sugar and a little cream and vanilla extract.  The mixture is put into a blind baked pâte d'amandes crust and popped back into the oven until the filling is bubbly. Steve describes this one as the best "payday" he's ever had (and it doesn't even have peanuts!)

Above: caramel nut tartlettes

And now - leftovers!!  When making petits fours tartlettes, make plenty of filling so you'll have components on hand to create additional goodies for friends or family.  It's a great way to plan ahead for an upcoming dessert occasion.

Here are just a couple of ideas.

Lemon semifreddo -  freeze the leftover lemon cream in silicone flexi-molds or a plastic wrap lined loaf pan.  At serving time either pop them out of the flexis or turn out of the loaf pan and slice - great with fresh fruit, perhaps a little berry coulis and some lovely shortbread.

Caramel nut truffle tart - blind baked pâte d'amandes, layer of caramel nut filling with chocolate ganache poured over.  A definite keeper!

Above: the components

Above: pouring the ganache over the caramel nut filling

Above: ready to chill with some nuts peeking through

And finally, a summer reminder - the classic fresh fruit tart with crème pâtissière filling.  Ahhhhhh.

Ciao for now!