The Tarte Taste of Success - Meyer Lemon Mascarpone Tartlets

The season has come for sharing delicious food with your fellow man, or woman, as the case may be… Heck, invite them both over… LOL The point is, that it is time for all the glorious smells of the holidays to come wafting from your kitchen, heralding something amazing is about to enter the nest room and thus fostering copious amounts of drooling from your guests. (Be sure to have extra napkins on hand) ;)

I am speaking of Meyer Lemon Mascarpone tarts with Pomegranate seeds and White Chocolate. Sounds yummy huh? Yeah, I am sitting here with a napkin near by, just in case I salivate over my keyboard while I am trying to type this up.

The whole idea for this dessert came from an incident at a lovely restaurant in Hood River. My meal was absolutely delicious… I had this incredible salad that was bursting with hazelnuts, blue cheese and greens and a phenomenal raspberry dressing, all made with local ingredients… Truly stellar. Normally I do not order dessert in restaurants. Yes, I enjoy baking, and yes I make A LOT of stuff to have on hand for when visitors arrive or things to take to work and share…. But that’s just it… I don’t normally eat sweet things. Oh I will sample occasionally, but I never sit down and EAT dessert. I know, I know, there is an old saying “Never trust a skinny cook”, but in all honestly, I think it is my distaste of sugar that has kept me from being as big as a house… LOL

But I am digressing… There is 1 other reason that I do not order dessert in most restaurants…. They don’t make them.

There are WAY too many restaurants out there that do not employ pastry chefs. This means that if they are offering dessert, it came from somewhere else.  All prepackaged in plastic and cardboard. If you are lucky, they are acquiring these little delectable bits from a local bakery… Most likely it came from Costco or some such place. And lord knows how long it's been sitting around...  This leads to a lot of soggy pastry crusts, nuances of plastic and that ever so lovely fragrance of "aux de Refrigerator". And while I am a big fan of Sweet and Salty or Sweet and Sour in my desserts, Sweet and Refrigerator is not my one of my favorite combinations.

Thus, after a dreadfully unsatisfying dessert of “Lemon Mascarpone Tart” I decided to embarked my own interpretation, sans the aux de fridge.

Crème Fraîche is a wonderful thing.  Being less tangy than sour cream being only 1 of it's many virtues.  It also doesn't curdle when exposed to heat, making it a delicious substitution for the sour cream in Beef Stroganov.  This is all fine and dandy, but one of it's most luxurious traits is it's ability to whip, just like heavy cream.  Yes, and it's more stable than heavy cream once it's whipped, holding the incorporated air much better, without "melting".  Thus as you will see, Crème Fraîche makes an excellent addition to a Mousse when you are trying to forgo gelatin (yes, and ovo-lacto vegitarians may rejoice now)  Granted, it won't be quite as airy as one based on Gelatin and Egg Whites, but it's still deliciously silky and smooth.

I was originally going to type this up in multiple posts, but decided that I would go ahead and give out the whole thing all at once since I have already posted about Pâte Sucrée before.

Meyer Lemon Mascarpone Tart

1/2 Recipe Pâte Sucrée (1 1/2 cups AP Flour, 4 oz Unsalted Butter, 1/2 tsp Salt, 1/4 cup Sugar, 1 egg yolk)
8 oz Mascarpone
8 oz Crème Fraîche
Juice and Zest of 2 Meyer Lemons
1/4 cup Confectioners’ Sugar
1 cup Heavy Cream
2 TB Confectioners’ Sugar
1 Pomegranate (arils only)
6 oz White Chocolate
1/4 tsp Lemon Oil

First you must make 1/2 a recipe of Pâte Sucrée.  (this will make 6 4-inch tarts)

Chill for about 1 hour wrapped in plastic wrap.

Remove from the refrigerator and divide the dough into 6 pieces.

Roll 1 piece of dough between 2 sheets of waxed paper (it just makes it easier as this dough is very tender and rips easily due to the high sugar content)

Peel of i sheet of waxed paper.....

Then place the dough over a 4 inch tart pan and peel of the second piece of waxed paper.

Gently work the pastry into the tart pan and press the edges to cut off the excess dough.

Repeat this process with the remaining 5 pieces of dough until you have lined 6 pans with pastry.
Dock each shell with a fork.

Then place on a sheet pan, line each shell with foil and chill for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Fill the pastries with pie weights or beans to maintain their shape.

Bake for 15 minutes then remove the weights/beans and bake 10 minutes more.

Until all Golden, Brown and totally Delicious looking.

Cool for 10 minutes in the pan on a wire rack.

Then remove the sides and slide them off the bottom and let cool completely.

Store in an airtight container until ready to fill with the Meyer Lemon Mascarpone Mousse.

(This first part can me done a day or two ahead)

Make Mousse - 

Combine Mascarpone, Crème Fraîche and Meyer Lemon Zest in a bowl, mixing well with a spatula.

Add the strained Meyer Lemon juice and stir (with a spatula) until smooth but fairly runny looking (it’s OK, trust me)

Add confectioners’ sugar.....

and begin whisking until it thickens slightly. (this is because the Crème Fraîche will incorporate air and thicken)

Cover with plastic wrap on the surface and chill for 2 hours.

While the mousse is chilling, go ahead and prepare the pomegranate…. My friend Danielle has a great blog post regarding the dismantlement of a pomegranate, along with some delicious dishes from her Pomegranate Dinner Party.

Prepare a bowl of cold water...

Slice through the Pomegranate's skin, cutting it into "quarters".

Place the whole thing in a bowl of water and begin separating the seeds from the pith….
The arils (seeds) will sink to the bottom while the pithy parts will float.

Making it easy to scoop and deposit said pithy parts into the nearest trash receptacle.
Voila!!!
Rinse and drain, then let dry a little before storing in the refrigerator until needed.

White Chocolate curls and/or shavings:

Place 6 oz of White Chocolate in a heat resistant bowl over simmering water.

Add 1/4 tsp Lemon oil (not extract, or the chocolate will seize)

When it is just barely melted, use a brush and paint the inside bottoms of the tart shells. (this will keep the mousse from making them soggy)

Return the remaining chocolate to the simmering water to keep it in a melted state.

Line a baking sheet with parchment.

Using a small off-set spatula, smear the white chocolate in a thin layer, over the parchment.

Move the baking sheet to the refrigerator and let the chocolate set (about 1 hour)

Using the back of a metal spatula, push forward, in strips against the sheet of chocolate to form curls or “shavings”.

The higher the angle of the spatula, the more shavings you will have

as opposed to a lower angle which will give you a curl or a cigar.

Store these in the refrigerator until ready for your garnish.

OK, ALL the background work is pretty much done, so now it's finally time for some assembly so we can EAT the darned thing.

Finishing the Meyer Lemon Mouse, and Assembly:

Remove the mousse from the refrigerator and remove the plastic wrap, whisk the thickened cream to loosen it up a little.

Beat 1 cup Heavy whipping cream with 2 TB confectioners’ sugar until firm peaks, then add it to the Meyer Lemon Cream.

Fold it in well.

If the mousse seems a little on the runny side, go ahead and whisk it (by hand) until it begins to thicken (it will, thicken and fluff because of the Crème Fraîche and the added Heavy Cream)

Fill a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe the Mousse into the tart shells.

Chill until ready to serve. (up to 1 hour)
For serving, place the tart on a plate.

Sprinkle with Pomegranate seeds.

Place White Chocolate shavings on top.

Now THAT is a Meyer Lemon Mascarpone Tart.

Boo Yah!  (I love it when a plan comes together)

Mangia!!
~~

The Vegetable That Tastes Like Dessert - Rhubarb Tart

I suppose that it’s serendipitous I didn't have time to make my tart with the Pâte Sucrée last night. You see, tomorrow, June 17th, is “Eat Your Vegetables Day”. So in honor of this most pious of holidays. I present a way for you to eat your vegetables and have your dessert too.

That’s right folks! I am speaking of the deliciously wholesome goodness of Rhubarb Pie. I don’t care what the Supreme Court of these United States says, it IS a vegetable. Fruit import taxes be damned! (cause you know that’s the only reason they classified it that way).

Rhubarb is in the same family as Sorrel and Buckwheat. Its rhizomes are harvested for medicinal purposes such as the drug “Rhuem”. Some varieties are high in Anthocyanins, which not only attributes the red color to the petiole (stems) but increases their antioxidant activity. Basically, it's good for ya, just like all veggies. Eating it regularly can help reduce cholesterol and lower blood pressure, as well as guard against cancer and reduce the effects of acid reflux. Heck, even the leaves, though not edible, can be used to make an anti-aphid spray for your garden.

Rhubarb just ROCKS!!

OK, About this lovely vegetable pie.....
Orange and Honey are the key to great tasting Rhubarb Pie, especially "Strawberry" Rhubarb.... That's the red rhubarb, known as Crimson Queen. This particular varietal is much sweeter than the "Pink" or Green variety (Victoria).

When sweetened, Crimson Queen Rhubarb has a strawberry-ish flavor. The honey adds a depth that sugar cannot duplicate and orange enhances its inherent "strawberry-esqueness", just like the Cinnamon with the Montmorency Cherries, so does Orange assist Red Rhubarb in living up to it's full potential.

Sadly, it was way too late to go to the store, when I found I was out of honey... Thus I have substituted sugar, at least for the first part, enhanced with some Orange Blossom water... I know it's not a normal kitchen ingredient, but I use it for Baklava so I usually have it around. In a pinch, a tablespoon of Cointreau or Triple Sec will work just as well. I do not recommend Gran Marnier for this application. (this will be the ONLY time you will hear, or rather read, me say/type that statement -Cause I LOVE that stuff) But Gran Marnier is based on the bitter Seville orange, thus it will enhance the bitterness of the rhubarb, unlike a sweet orange liquor such as Cointreau (Bitter & Sweet Orange) or Triple Sec (Sweet Orange).

While this is actually a family pie recipe which normally uses Pâte Brisée, I have chosen to re-vamp it in a Linzer Torte fashion, thus I am utilizing Pâte Sucrée, a tart pan and will be making a lattice topping. Basically I rewrote the recipe as I was going, so it doesn't follow the standard format... It's more along the lines of my thought process, so it might be a little confusing... Sorry...

Oh, and lemme go on records as saying, I understand why Pâte Sucrée is used for open faced tarts now... The dough is SO incredibly delicate that is disintegrates from the heat of your hands. It woudl have been fine if I was making a double crust pie, but the lattice was almost impossible to do.

Rhubarb pie is very much a matter of taste. There are sour pusses, like me, and sweet toothed individuals; so on this one, tasting is very important to get your "Ultimate Veggie Fix" right.

"Strawberry" Rhubarb Pie
 (without actual Strawberries)

4 cups of chopped Rhubarb (The red stuff)
1/4 cup Orange Blossom Honey or 1/2 cup Sugar and 1 TB Orange Blossom Water

24 Hours in advance, place Strawberry Rhubarb in a stainless bowl and drizzle with honey or sprinkle with sugar and orange blossom water.

Toss to coat.

Cover with plastic and place in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours, preferably 24.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Next Day~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Remove and drain the juice into a sauce pan.

(with fresh, you will get about 3/4 cup juice; if previously frozen, you will get a little over 1 cup)

To this add:
1/4 - 1/2 cup Orange Blossom honey (your going to have to judge how tart you want it - I like it REALLY tart)

1 TB Arrowroot or Cornstarch per 1/4 cup of juice

2 tsp Fresh Orange zest or 1 tsp Orange oil or 1 TB Cointreau

I decided to be crazy and add a couple grinds of black pepper too... Hey, what the heck.

Cook over medium heat in a medium saucepan, whisking constantly, until thick, clear and bubbly.

Remove from heat and fold in the Rhubarb and 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter. (if you are using fresh rhubarb, return to the heat for 3 minutes)

Let cool while preparing the pastry crust. (this is important, if it's too hot, the butter in your crust will melt.)

Preheat Oven to 375 degrees
Warm your Pâte Sucrée on the counter for 5 minutes;
Divide in two and roll out the first half to fit an 11-inch tart pan, leaving the overhang intact.

Roll out the second ball, utilizing a pasty cutter, cut into strips for a lattice top.

Pour filling into waiting shell and lay out a lattice.

(It was impossible to actually weave; the dough is very delicate - thus the shattered remnants of broken dough strips)

Edge the inside with a dough "snake" pressed against the inside rim to hold everything together.

Place a sheet of tin foil on the bottom of your stove. (Because Rhubarb pie ALWAYS stews over a little bit)

Bake for 25 minutes.

Cool on wire rack and serve with Rummed, Brandied or Bourboned stabilized whipped cream.
OR - My personal favorite.... Add a little bit of ground cloves... Just a pinch... The eugenol in the cloves will denature the proteins in the whipping cream and stabilize it without using gelatin.

Sprinkle with a little nutmeg or mace.

Now, EAT YOUR VEGGIES!!!! Come on, you KNOW you want to.

Mangia!!
~~