Hazelnut Tart With Fresh Strawberries
Food indulgence comes in many forms, but Hazelnut Tart With Fresh Strawberries is as fresh and light as it is delicious. The crust is made from a French-style hazelnut meringue, or dacquoise, normally seen as a layer in fancy french pastries and cakes. Here the subtle chew, airy lightness, and nutty praline flavor of hazelnut meringue provides contrast and support to the sweet juicy berries. The resulting tart is exquisite. Don't be intimidated: this dessert is surprisingly foolproof. The only unique ingredient is hazelnut flour. Buy the freshest you can find (we use Bob's Red Mill) You can grind your own from fresh roasted hazelnuts...but be very careful not to make hazelnut butter in the process (this happens from over processing the nuts).
Yield: one 9" inch tart, serves 6-8
Ingredients:
Hazelnut Tart
- 3/4 cup hazelnut flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon cake flour (can use all purpose)
- 3 egg whites
- pinch (about 1/16 teaspoon) cream of tarter
Strawberries:
- 1 pint fresh strawberries, washed, hulled, left whole
- 1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries, pureed
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 275.
- Combine egg whites and cream of tarter, and whip until medium peaks form (see photo). The easiest way to do this is with the whisk attachment on your stand mixer, on high for 2-3 minutes. You can also use a hand held mixer, or a hand cranked egg beater.
- Add sugar to the egg whites and beat for one additional minute. The whites should begin to become shiny and stiff.
- Gently fold the hazelnut flour and cake flour into the whites. You want it to be thoroughly combined, while handling the mixture as little as possible.
- Grease a 9" tart pan, dump in the egg white mixture and spread evenly with a spatula.
- Bake the tart at 275 for 90 minutes. It will be lightly browned, and relatively hard to the touch (see photo). Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
- Put the pureed strawberries in a pot, add sugar and cornstarch, and over medium heat bring to a boil. Let the strawberry puree boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. This helps to thicken the puree. Remove from heat and add lemon juice. Pour strawberry puree over fresh strawberries and mix.
- Immediately prior to serving, spoon strawberry mixture over hazelnut crust, garnish with mint, and serve. This dessert is best served immediately after topping with strawberries. If you want to make it ahead, keep the components separate until you are ready to serve.
Buttermilk Popovers with Quick Strawberry Jam
For my father's family, Christmas Eve, Heiliger Abend, is the heart of Christmas. It is a magical dark and cold night, where old hymns are sung by memory in German, acapella, by candlelight. My sister and I would look forward to the special appearance of traditional Christmas sweet and savory foods made by my Oma for Christmas Eve snacking. For Heiliger Abend this year, our young family of three is once again together. We will start new traditions as a family, and borrow from the past. Tonight we will be making my Oma's roast meat filled pastries, fleisch pieroshki with pickles. As a nod to our ravenous little eater's current favorite breakfast, will crank up the oven Christmas morning to make a batch of these airy buttermilk popovers with homemade strawberry jam, before an afternoon Christmas feast with our family. We will be thinking of our family and friends far away this Christmas as we celebrate, Merry Christmas! This recipe is inspired by Jenny Rosenstrach and adapted from King Arthur Flour.
Hoosier Milk Tarts with Berries
With 89 votes, the good readers of The Hungry Hounds clearly had a hankering for a Hoosier (or Indiana) style dessert. Having spent a combined 14 years in the Hoosier heartland, this mandate warmed our mid-western bellies! One of Indiana's finest culinary traditions is Hoosier Milk Pie (alternatively known as Indiana Sugar or Cream Pie). Hoosier Milk Pie came to Indiana in the mid 1800's with Quaker and Amish homesteaders. It is a homey, dairy-rich custard-style pie with a stove-top filling. Hoosier Milk Pie is egg-less, which is great for those with allergies, makes it easy to cook (no curdling), and allows the clean milk flavor to take the limelight. A crisp flaky crust (whole wheat in this case) paired with the milk custard partners beautifully with fresh ripe berries. To make this pie your own, substitute any fruit you'd like, eat it unadorned, or add whipped cream as is traditional in some parts of Indiana. Either way, you are going to love this easy and versatile pie.
Strawberry Rhubarb Shortcakes
The mercury is rising, and the days are lengthening. It is the season of backyard barbecues and farmers markets. We find ourselves craving Strawberry Shortcakes this time of year, and wanted to remake this classic dessert to feature the seasonal bounty. To highlight the first stalks of rhubarb and early strawberries, we made a tangy strawberry rhubarb sauce, sweetened with handfuls of fresh strawberries. For shortcakes with bright flavor and fantastic crunch, we mixed together a dough dotted with citrus zest and crisp cornmeal. Top these lovely Strawberry Rhubarb Shortcakes with heaps of fresh whipped cream, and your family and friends will thank you.
Watermelon Chiffon Pie
Four years ago, in dreary mid-April, Rebecca asked me what I wanted for my Birthday dinner. I'd been preparing for the question, and quickly pointed to a quirky recipe I'd found for Watermelon Chiffon Pie. The pie was a winner; light, airy, and fresh, with the undeniable, but subtle flavor of fresh watermelon. This oddly addictive pie balances a sweet buttery graham crust with an almost cucumber-like freshness in the fluffy pastel-pink filling. While I request it every April, the best flavor comes from using fresh-from-the-market local watermelon in the heat of summer.
Meyer Lemon Posset
Lemon Posset is a near perfect dessert in my mind. It is rich, decadent, and creamy, while managing to taste light and fresh on the tongue. It has only three simple ingredients, that come together in a taste and texture that will make you smile. We discovered this unique old-fashioned British treat when searching for a custard-like dessert for a friend who is allergic to eggs. As often happens when we are confronted with a food restriction, we become fixated on that ingredient...in this case egg-centric dishes: ice creams, meringues, cakes, and custards. We wanted a dish with the silky creaminess usually only possibly with thickeners and eggs. Lemon Posset allows the egg-free and gluten-free among us an uncompromised dessert win, free of any substitutes or unpronounceable ingredients.
