Last weekend I ventured to West Virginia, my friend and fellow
Tart Kari in tow, for my pal Joe's 30th Birthday Party (and a friend reunion) in an old one-room schoolhouse-turned-sodapop speakeasy.
It was magical. The weekend was jam-packed with lady time in the kitchen, walks in the woods, tune-playing, dancing to the best 45 jukebox this side of the Mississippi, joke-telling, bourbon drinking, and lots and lots of eating.
We spent the bulk of Saturday cooking, singing, and dancing in the kitchen. Kari and I worked together on two ginger lemon & orange bourbon tarts with cardamom almond crusts, baked in my new rectangular tart pans. We also collaborated with Lora, Amy and Mike on some German chocolate whoopie pies.
Here's the recipe for the Ginger Lemon & Orange Bourbon Tarts, adapted from
Eat The Love. He calls for blood oranges, but we couldn't find them this time of year, so used naval oranges instead.
Ginger Lemon & Orange Bourbon Tart with Cardamom Almond Crust
Ingredients
For the crust:
Note: We had to double this for 2 rectangular tart pans, though one may be enough for a 10-in round tart pan.
1 1/4 cups all purpose white flour
1/2 cup almond meal (we used Bob's Red Mill)
1/2 tsp. cardamom
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup + 1 Tblsp. unsalted butter at room temperature
1/4 tsp. salt
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
For the crust egg wash:
1 egg
1 pinch of salt
For the lemon ginger curd:
3 Tblsp. arrowroot starch (or corn starch)
1 cup + 2 Tblsp. granulated sugar
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
finely grated zest from 1 medium lemon
1 Tblsp. of freshly grated ginger
2 Tblsp. white wine
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
pinch of salt
3 Tblsp. of unsalted butter, cold
For the bourbon orange curd:
4 Tblsp. arrowroot starch (or corn starch)
1 cup + 2 Tblsp. granulated white sugar
1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
finely grated zest from 1 medium orange
2 Tblsp. of bourbon
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
pinch of salt
3 Tblsp. of unsalted butter, cold
Directions
For the crust:
1. In a large mixing bowl place the flour, almond meal, and cardamom.
Using a whisk, vigorously stir dry ingredients until uniform in
color.
2. Place the sugar, butter and salt in the bowl of a standing mixer
fitted with a paddle attachment. Cream butter on medium speed until
smooth and fluffy. Scrape down the sides and add egg and vanilla. Mix on medium until incorporated.
3. Add all the dry ingredients to the butter and mix on low speed
until just incorporated. Do not overmix.
4. Split dough into two balls. Flatten each ball into a disk and
wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or
overnight.
5. Preheat oven to 325˚F. Place a fluted 10-in. tart pan (or 2 rectangular pans) with
removable bottom or baking sheet for easy removal from
the oven.
6. Take one ball of dough out of the fridge and place on a generously
floured flat surface. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to a 12-in. circle. If the dough
starts to stick, use more flour.
7. Carefully transfer the dough to the tart pan, trying not to
stretch it (stretching it will cause the dough to shrink when you bake
it). Fit it into the tart pan and trim excess dough.
8. Prick the bottom of the tart with a fork all over and place in the
preheated oven to bake for 15 minutes. In the meantime make the egg
wash by whisking the egg with the pinch of salt in a small bowl.
9. After 15 minutes, pull the tart crust out, and brush the bottom and sides of the crust with the egg wash. Place
back in the oven for 3 minutes. Take the crust out and let cool on a
wire rack.
For the lemon ginger curd:
1. Place the arrowroot starch, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, grated
ginger, white wine, eggs, egg yolks and salt in a small saucepan.
2. Turn the stove on low heat, and with a wisk, stir contents constantly as the curd cooks and thickens. Bring the curd
to about 185˚F which should take about 7 or 8 minutes.
3. Once the curd has reached the right temperature turn off the stove
and remove the saucepan from the heat. Pour the curd into the bowl of a
standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Turn the mixer to high
and beat for 30 seconds to cool the curd. Then turn the speed to low and
add one tablespoon of butter. Beat until it is melted and fully
incorporated. Add the second tablespoon beating until it too is
incorporated. Repeat with the final tablespoon.
4. Let the curd come to room temperature and pour it into a ziplock
sandwich bag. Place the bag in the freezer for at least two hours or
overnight.
For the bourbon orange curd:
1. Place the arrowroot starch, sugar, orange juice, orange zest, bourbon, eggs, egg yolks and salt in a small saucepan.
2. Turn the stove on low heat, and with a wisk, stir contents constantly as
the curd cooks and thickens. Bring the curd
to about 185˚F which should take about 7 or 8 minutes.
3. Once the curd has reached the right temperature turn off the stove
and remove the saucepan from the heat. Pour the curd into the bowl of a
standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Turn the mixer to high
and beat for 30 seconds to cool the curd. Then turn the speed to low and
add one tablespoon of butter. Beat until it is melted and fully
incorporated. Add the second tablespoon beating until it too is
incorporated. Repeat with the final tablespoon.
4. Let the curd come to room temperature and pour it into a ziplock
sandwich bag. Place the bag in the freezer for at least two hours or
overnight.
To assemble the tart:
1. Take the curds out of the freezer. Snip a corner of each bag.
2. Pipe one stripe of lemon curd on the side of the tart shell. Pipe
another stripe of orange curd next to it. Alternate stripes of
curd until the tart shell is filled. (We followed these directions, though in the end the lemon and orange curds were not that different in color to notice the stripes, though it did allow for a nice mixing of flavors).
3. Using a butter knife, smooth the curd out
on the tart but running the knife across the curds, flat, in parallel
strokes to the curd.
4. Once the curd is smoothed out, turn the tart so the stripes are
vertical as you look down on it. Take a toothpick or butter knife and place it about an
inch from the “top” of the stripes on the tart. Drag it across the tart,
from left to right perpendicular to the stripes. Then move the
toothpick down an inch and drag the toothpick perpendicular the other
way across the tart. Repeat until back and forth, all the way down the
tart.
5. OPTIONAL: Taking a sifter or mesh sieve, dust the edges of the tart with a
generous amount of powdered sugar. The powdered sugar will cover up any
of the edges that were hard to smooth out with the knife.
6. Serve the tart chilled or at room temperature.
The tarts were heavenly, with really bold citrus flavors and not too sweet. The crust was a little finicky, but fairly forgiving. We rolled out one, and ended up pressing in another. I will definitely be making those again.
The German chocolate whoopie pies, with ganache made by Lora, "cookies" made by Mike and Amy, filling made my me, and assembling by Kari, served as the "birthday cake" of the evening. Lora found the recipe from
Bon Appetite. Here's our version...
German chocolate Whoopie Pies
Makes about 15 pies
Ingredients
For the cookies:
2
cups
all purpose flour
5 Tblsp.
unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/8
tsp.
baking powder
1
tsp.
baking soda
1/2
cup unsalted butter (1 stick), room temperature
1
cup
sugar
2
egg yolks
1 Tblsp.
vanilla extract
1
cup
whole milk
For the German chocolate filling:
1/2
cup
evaporated milk
2
egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4
cup
sugar
1/2
cup
(1 stick) chilled unsalted
butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 1/2
cups
sweetened flaked coconut
3/4
cup
chopped toasted pecans
For the chocolate ganache:
3 Tblsp.
heavy whipping cream
1/2
cup
bittersweet chocolate chips
Directions
For the cookies:
1. Position rack in center of oven
and preheat to 375°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment
paper. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and baking soda into
medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter, sugar, egg yolks,
and vanilla in large bowl until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add flour
mixture in 3 additions alternately with milk in 2 additions, beating
until blended after each addition.
2. Drop dough by very rounded
tablespoonfuls onto baking sheets, spacing 3 inches apart. Bake
1 sheet at a time until cookies are slightly puffed and spread but still soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on sheets 10 minutes. Carefully
transfer cookies to racks and cool completely. Repeat with remaining
cookie dough. Cookies can be made 1 day ahead. Store
airtight in single layer at room temperature.
For the German chocolate filling:
1. Whisk evaporated milk, egg
yolks, and vanilla in large saucepan. Whisk in sugar and
pinch of salt. Add butter. Stir constantly over medium heat until
mixture thickens and turns golden and thermometer inserted
into mixture registers 175°F to 178°F, 8 to 10 minutes (do not boil).
Remove saucepan from heat, stir in coconut and pecans. Transfer filling to bowl and cool completely, stirring occasionally.
Cover and chill until filling is slightly firmer, about 1 hour. Can be made 1 days ahead. Keep chilled.
For the chocolate ganache:
1. Line 2 baking
sheets with parchment paper. Bring cream to simmer in heavy small
saucepan. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and whisk until melted and
smooth. Cool ganache until lukewarm but still spreadable, about 15
minutes.
2. Scoop 1 rounded tablespoon
German chocolate filling on bottom of half of cookies. Place
cookies, filling side up, on prepared baking sheet. Spoon 1 teaspoon
chocolate ganache onto bottom (flat side) of remaining half of cookies (We put ours on top).
Place 1 ganache-topped cookie, ganache side down, atop each German
chocolate-filled cookie, pressing slightly to adhere. Can
be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate in airtight container.
With these two divine treats, salted and apple cider caramels, Lora's fig-infused cocktails, and other delights of the weekend (including Dawson family sliders, various breads, buttered popcorn ice cream, a bacon taste-off, and apple cider drop doughnut holes--all homemade), we decided that we are going to start a private restaurant for ourselves (a closed-loop system), and just maybe take over the world.
Very special thanks to Brynn, Mike and Amy for being AMAZING hosts, Lora for all the planning and gathering us all together, and Kari for the great pictures. I may post some more when I get my film back. Hope to return to West Virginia for more deliciousness soon.
p.s. check out
Dale's blog for Lora's winter mimosa recipe we enjoyed on Saturday morning!
