Seriously, I am looking through my vintage cookbooks more and more these days, especially those published around the time of the Depression through World War II. Those women had to feed their families on limited funds and limited ingredients. More and more, as grocery prices seem to swing out of control I find that these old recipes work great for me.

I was skeptical about this rice tart. It seemed a little weird to me but I had several cups of left-over rice that needed to be used up and it seemed a good way to do it. Since it was leftovers there was not much to lose on this one.

I made pate sucre for the crust.  I was afraid that the tart would not be sweet enough. A lot of vintage recipes use much less sugar, palates were more refined and less glotted with high fructose corn syrup back then so you will find you often need to add a little more sugar for today’s tastes. I needn’t have worried. It was plenty sweet, although not overly so. I liked this, and so did the family. The thing I had to get past was the texture of rice…I am not a big fan of rice pudding because of texture issues.

This tastes a lot like an egg nog flavored rice custard. The meringue would not stiffen…the day was a bit too humid and the house was a bit too hot..and then I was talking while I was using the torch to brown the meringue quickly..so it isn’t beautiful.

If you like rice pudding you will probably like this a lot. It is a great way to get rid of leftover rice. Use what you have..I had brown rice and jasmine white so I mixed them. It was fine. I also used a ten inch pie plate for this.

Pate Sucre

• 2 1/3 cups  pastry flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 pound unsalted butter, chilled and chopped
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 to 2 tablespoons heavy cream

Directions

1. In a food processor  combine the flour and sugar.
2. Add the butter and process until the texture resembles coarse cornmeal.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and 1 tablespoon of the cream.
4. Pour  it in the food processor and process until a ball begins to form.
5. Use the other tablespoon of cream if necessary.
6. Remove the dough from the machine, and on a lightly floured surface, press down into a circle.
7. Wrap  and refrigerate for an hour or overnight.
8. Roll and fit into pie plate.
9. Prick with fork and bake at 350F until done – about 15 to 20 minutes.

Rice Custard Filling

• 3 cups of cooked rice
• 3 cups of whole milk
• 2 tablespoons of flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 egg yolks, beaten
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup rum (or 1/2 tsp rum flavor)
• Freshly grated nutmeg

1. Heat the milk,  rice, flour, salt and sugar stirring constantly until it begins to thicken.
2. Spoon a little of the hot milk mixture into the egg yolks, beating well until the temperatures of the milk mixture and the eggs are about the same.
3. Pour the yolks into the milk mixture simmer for about three minutes.. stir constantly.
4. Remove from heat and add 1/4 cup unsalted butter.
5. Stir in the vanilla and the rum and pour into the baked crust.
6. Grate nutmeg over the top.
7. Chill overnight.
8. You can use the egg whites to make a meringue or top with whipped cream.

serves 8-10

images-Marye Audet

Post from: Baking Delights

Basically, we are talking about a butter cookie crust, filled with rich bittersweet ganache, topped with a cloud of delicately flavored lime cheesecake, and then embellished with the ripest of ripe raspberries, with a quick raspberry coulis poured over the top.

Did I say over the top?

This was better than good. The main problem was that the kitchen was hot and by the time I got the pictures taken the slice I was shooting had begun to look a little droopy. After all it was a good 95 degrees in the kitchen, and I was losing light fast.

I know this tart sounds complex but I swear to you it will go together almost as fast as instant pudding. The shell is the only thing that is baked, the rest of it is no cook. It would be best if you made it enough ahead of time that you could chill it thoroughly before serving.

The lime flavor is not distinct in this. If you are thinking of key lime pie or something it isn’t at all like that. With only a tablespoon or so of lime juice in the cheese mixture it is more of a delicate nuance, a little snap at the end of the swallow. It cuts the sweet intensity of the bittersweet chocolate nicely.

You can add a little non-GMO cornstarch to the coulis and microwave it to make it more of a glaze if you like. I preferred it to be just sweetened and blended. I think it tastes fresher.

Black Bottom Raspberry Lime Cheesecake Tart

Shell:

• 1 cup organic white flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup ice water, more or less
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla

1. Mix flour, sugar, and salt.
2. Rub in the butter with your fingers, until the flour looks like coarse crumbs.
3. Mix water and vanilla and add it to the flour mixture until it forms a soft dough. Chill for about 3o minutes for easier handling.
4. Roll out on a floured surface and fit carefully into a tart or pie pan. Prick with a fork.
5. Bake at 375 until crisp, about 15-20 minutes.

Ganache:

• 8 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup heavy cream

1. Bring cream to a simmer.
2. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate.
3. Stir until melted and smooth.
4. Pour into crust.
5. Chill until firm.

Cheesecake:

• 16 oz cream cheese (full fat), room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup heavy cream
• Juice of one lime (1-2 tbs)
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Beat cream cheese and sugar until well mixed.
2. Add cream, lime and vanilla
3. Beat until light and creamy, scarping down bowl often. You may need to add a little more cream to get the right consistancy.
4. Taste to adjust flavor.
5. Spoon over the ganache layer in the tart and return to refrigerator

Raspberry Topping:

• 1 pt raspberries
• Sugar to taste

1. Rinse raspberries gently.
2. Pick out the softest berries, and the not perfect berries to use for coulis.
3. Sprinkle the remaining berries over the top of the cheesecake layer.
4. Place the berries you set aside for coulis in a blender and add about 2 tbs water. Blend until a puree is formed.
5. Add sugar to taste. Blend until smooth
6. Thin with a little more water if necessary. Spoon over tart.

Makes 8-10 servings.

images:marye audet

Post from: Baking Delights

Rich caramel with a vanilla midnote melting into black tea flavor on your tongue.  It is very complex, very sweet, very rich, and very good.  The filling is light and creamy, just the way a mousse should be, meltingly rich texture to compliment the flavor of the filling.  There will be filling left, you can make tart shells, put it in the chocolate cups, or just eat it.

I loved everything about this except my presentation…that is something I want to work on. I used Sara Lee Frozen Puff Pastry sheets, homemade would be better but I was limited in my time.  It did not take very long at all because of starting with the premade puff pastry.  I think it would be an awesome addition for Mother’s Day or anytime you wanted a great, impressive dessert.  You could also use the small puff pastry shells or use this mousse as a filling for choux pastr, y.

Basically you are diving through pillows of mousse and hitting airy-crisp layers of pastry.  The combination is intoxicating.

Vanilla Caramel Truffle Tea Tart

• 1 package frozen puff pastry (2 in package, you will need both)
• 1 egg yolk
• 4 bags Lipton Vanilla Caramel Truffle tea
• 1 tsp unflavored gelatin, softened in 1/4 cup water
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, divided use
• 1 cup half and half
• 2 eggs, separated
• 1 cup sugar
• pinch of kosher salt
• Melted chocolate for garnish

1. Thaw the puff pastry according to directions.
2. Heat 1/2 cup of cream just to a simmer.  Add the tea bags and set aside to cool.
3. Preheat the oven to 400F or whatever is directed on the box.
4. Cut one sheet of the pastry into 5 strips.  These will make the sides of the tart and the cutouts.
5. Unfold the other sheet of pastry on a baking sheet.
6. Brush beaten egg yolk along edges and gently press 4 strips of pastry around the perimeter to make edges.
7. Cut hearts, stars, or other shapes out of the remaining strip.
8. Bake until puffed, golden and done, about 20 minutes.
9. Meanwhile add half and half and salt to the 2 beaten egg yolks.
10. Add sugar and beat until well blended.
11. Squeeze out tea bags and discard.  Pour infused cream and softened gelatin into the egg mixture.
12. Whisk until well mixed.
13. Cook in a double boiler until the mixture coats the back of a spoon.  Remove from heat and set aside.
14. Meanwhile beat the remaining cream until soft peaks form.
15. Beat the egg whites until peaks form, do not over beat.
16. Fold egg whites into room temperature infused cream mixture.
17. Fold whipped cream into all.
18. Spoon into tart shell.  Chill.  Garnish with melted chocolate.

serves 9-12

images:marye audet (c) 2009

Post from: Baking Delights

images:(c)maryeaudet 2009

Post from: Baking Delights

You can see the other entries in this competition and vote for the one you like best (voting is on October 1) at Royal Foodie Joust

1 box puff pastry sheets, thawed
Cut 12 equal squares from the puff pastry, making 9 on the first sheet, and 3 on the second. Fit the squares into muffin cups and bake at 400 F for about 12 minutes or until puffed and golden. Cool.

Lavender Creme Anglaise

2 c half and half
6 large egg yolks
5 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 tbs freshly grated lemon peel
2 tbs food grade lavender flowers
1 tbs butter

put half and half in a pan and add lavendar. Bring just to a boil, but not boiling, remove from heat and let steep about 10 minutes. Strain.
In a bowl beat together the yolks and the sugar until mixture is light and forms a ribbon when the beater is lifted. Add the hot half-and-half , in a stream, stirring. Add lemon peel. Transfer the custard to a heavy saucepan, and cook it over moderately low heat, stirring, until it thickens, but do not let it boil. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla and butter. Strain the custard through a fine sieve into a metal bowl set in a bowl of ice, let it cool, stirring occasionally, and chill it, covered. Can be made one day ahead.

Topping:
3-4 very ripe pears
6 oz premium white chocolate

Core and chop pears in small chunks, leaving peel on. Fill the puff pastry with the creme anglaise, add chopped pear to the top. Melt white chocolate. Drizzle with melted white chocolate. Sprinkle with lavender for color.
12 servings.

Post from: Baking Delights

I wasn’t sure if I was going to get time to bake at all and then I remembered that I had seen some wonderful things around the internet lately..Some of these blogs are going up on the blog roll as soon as I have time.. I visit them regularly for inspirtion in my own kitchen. So, pour another cup of coffee real quick and check these out!

First, and I have snatched a picture of it because you have to see it to believe it is from my friend Valli, of More than Burnt Toast. She recently came in second for the Foodie Joust with this incredible creation. It is Chocolate Zucchini Cake with Chipotle Chocolate Sauce and besides being a great way to use up those end of season zucchinis….well just LOOK at it!

O.k….pick your chins up off the ground and dab away that little bit of drool in the corner of your mouth..yeah.

Reading Marie’s blog, A Year At Oak Cottage is somewhat like sitting down with a Jane Austin novel and a cup of tea on a rainy afternoon. Her recipe for White Chocolate Strawberry Tiramisu looks, well, definitely droolworthy as Vallii would say.

Another blog that is not only full of delicious food, but also of delicious writing is Vanielje Kitchen .Her recipes ae interspersed with thoughts that will whisk you away to her home and give you a peek into her heart and life. I am so out of my league with these people! Her Apple and Willd Blackberry Crumble sounds like a slice of summer.
Finally, Dharm at Dad, Baker & Chef whips up these incredible concoctions that leave your mouth hanging open. Part of my amazment is in the fact that my own, very wonderful husband, other than grilling, has mastered peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and boxed macaroni and cheese. A man that cooks and does it well is so….so….amazing. He created a Milk Chocolate and Caramel Tart for a Daring Bakers challenge and it looks incredible.
So…check out all the fabulous stuff on the blogs today, make some new friends, but don’t for get to check back here because Christmas Countdown and a couple of amazing B5 Home and DIning channel things are coming up..like the Fall Scavenger Hunt which promises to be ..well…   more fun than a quick dip in a bath of warm milk chocolate.

Post from: Baking Delights

I will post pictures of this in a bit. You see, there has apparently been a mutiny in techni-land and my computer is not speaking to my camera. Even my husband, who is the computer fixer in our family, has been unable to mediate between the two. He has graciously and wonderfully volunteered to take my camera to work and load the pictures on his laptop when he has time and then emailing them to me. As soon as that happens pictures will magically appear on today’s recipe. Life is good.
Anyway. In my shopping the other day I found a nice, slightly overripe papaya that had been marked down. I snagged it and was thinking about what I would like to use it in…the different flavors, etc. I came up with this tropical fruit tart which has a summery/vacation in the Bahamas type of flavor and is very easy and relatively quick. The presentation is beautiful, as you will see when the pictures come up, and the pastry was buttery-crumbly perfection and held up well out of the tart pan. The rum glaze added a faint pina colada type flavor which complimented the fruit and filling nicely. I would not add the fruit to this more than about 2 hours ahead and, as the glaze got a bit cloudy as it chills, I would glaze the tart right before serving. If you are making ahead and not glazing brush the bananas with lemon to prevent browning. This should serve 8-10 depending on the generousity of your slices.

Tropical Fruit Tart with Rum Glaze

Tart pastry

1 1/4 c flour
2 Tbs sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 c butter
1/4 c organic shortening
about 4 tbs ice water
Bowl of ice water

Mix together dry ingredients.
Blend butter and shortening well and chill a few minutes in freezer.
Put fingers in bowl ice water, shake off excess water and cut butter mixture into flour mixture until it looks like coarse crumbs, keeping fingers cold by dipping into the bowl of ice water as needed.
Add the 1/4 c ice water and toss together until dough holds together well.
Turn pastry out on a floured surface and roll to size.
Place in tart or pie pan, and, using a small ball of leftover dough, press gently into pan.
Prick with fork all over.
Sprinkle with sugar and bake at 400 until golden..about 10 minutes
Set tart pastry aside to cool completely. you may remove it completely from the pan when it is cooled or finish in the pan. I removed mine.

Filling
1 lb cream cheese at room temp
1/2 c cream of coconut ( Coco Lopez)
1/3 c sugar
1 c toasted coconut
1/4 c finely chopped crystallized ginger

Beat cream cheese and cream of coconut together until fluffy.
Add sugar, beating until smooth and not grainy.
Add coconut and ginger and mix well.
Spoon into cooled crust and smooth.

May be refridgerated at this point and finished later.

Topping
I/2 ripe papaya
1 banana
1 ripe strawberry, hulled
3 mint leaves

Slice papaya thinly in a horizontal (across the narrow) direction to make petals.
Lay the papaya petals around the edge of the tart, overlapping slightly.
Slice the banana about 1/2 inch thick on a sligh diagonal.
Lay the banana slices around with tips overlapping the papaya row, just slightly.
There should be a small space in the middle of the tart at this point.
Take the strawberry and carefully with a sharp knife cut oval *petals* without cutting through the base..continue as long as you can, 4 around the outside and then some in the middle.
Gently peel back the petals to open up the strawberry flower.
Place in the center of the tart.

Glaze

1/3 c cream of coconut
1 tbs butter
1/4 c sugar
1/4 tsp rum extract..
cook first three ingredients, stirring, until sugar is no longer grainy and butter is melted.
Add extract.
Cool slightly and brush over fruit.
Garnish Tart with mint leaves before serving.

Post from: Baking Delights