Strawberry Mascarpone Tart with Lavender

Strangely, I have made this tart (or variations on this tart) several times and have never recorded the recipe - it is just that easy and forgiving! In the interest of posterity and the sharing of deliciousness, I decided to finally post the recipe to the blog.

As mentioned, this recipe is very forgiving so variations are accepted and encouraged, though the combo of cornmeal-strawberry-mascarpone-lavender should not be treated lightly. The cornmeal crust is a variation on a classic pâte sucrée that I use for almost every tart shell. I have also subbed the cornmeal for buckwheat, which is just as delightful, but a little darker/nuttier. Other variations include brown sugar in place of white, addition of different herbs and spices such as rosemary, cinnamon, or saffron, different fruit, etc. Again however, you might want to just stick to this very delicious combination! Makes one tart, about 6-8 servings.

Mascarpone tart awaiting strawberry slices.

• 7 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the tart pan, diced

• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup cornmeal (medium-grind)

• 1/2 teaspoon plus one pinch salt (medium-grind), divided

• 2/3 cup granulated sugar, divided

• 2-3 tablespoons plain yogurt, cold milk, or cold water (I prefer yogurt for its tangy quality)

• 8 ounces mascarpone

• 1 large egg

• 1/2 vanilla bean pod scrapings

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 pint strawberries

• 1/4 cup lavender flowers (other edible flowers can be used, but lavender is very easy to find as it often grows wildly or is feral on roadsides)

• Honey, for drizzling

To Prepare

1. Lightly grease the bottom and sides of an 8-inch or 9-inch tart pan. Set aside.Mix flour, cornmeal, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/3 cup sugar and cut in butter. Using pastry blender, fork, or hands mix butter into flour mixture until the dough resembles small peas. Add yogurt, milk, or water and blend until dough sticks together when pressed, but is still crumbly.

2. Press dough into and up sides of pan, chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and bake for 15 minutes, until golden-brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

3. While tart shell is cooling, remove the tops from the strawberries and thinly slice. set aside.

4. Whisk mascarpone with remaining 1/3 cup sugar, egg, vanilla bean pod scrapings, vanilla extract, and pinch salt until combined. Once tart shell is completely cool, spread mascarpone evenly over shell and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until set. Tart will turn golden and may have some areas of browning and start to rise some - don't worry, that's what is supposed to happen!

5. Remove from oven and cool for 20-30 minutes. Top mascarpone with strawberries in overlapping concentric circles, starting with the largest strawberry slices around the outer edge and working your way in until the entire tart is covered with strawberries.

6. Top with lavender flowers and drizzle with honey. Serve at room temperature or cold.

Strawberries laid out in concentric circles - now just awaiting the lavender and honey!

Elderberry Buckwheat Tart

More on elderberry and foraging here.

Nutty buckwheat pairs perfectly with the tartly sweet berries balanced by a bright kick of ginger. Serves 8.

• 9 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided, plus more for greasing pan

• ½ cup buckwheat flour

• ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons gluten-free flour blend (or all-purpose flour)

• ⅓ cup plus ½ cup granulated sugar, divided

• ¾ teaspoon salt, divided

• 2–3 tablespoons cold milk or water

• 3 cups fresh elderberries

• 1/3 cup light brown sugar

• 2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger

• 2-3 tablespoons cornstarch

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Lightly grease the bottom and sides of an 8-inch or 9-inch tart pan. Set aside.

Mix flours, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and cut in 7 tablespoons butter. With pastry blender, fork, or hands, mix butter into flour mixture until the dough resembles small peas. Sprinkle in milk or water by the teaspoon and blend until dough sticks together when pressed, but is still crumbly.

Press dough into and up sides of pan, chill for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350°and bake for 15 minutes until golden-brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

While tart shell is cooling, add elderberries, remaining ½ cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, remaining ¼ teaspoon salt, and ginger to a large pot and heat on medium-high. Blend cornstarch with 1 tablespoon water to create a slurry, and then add to the elderberry mixture, stirring to dissolve slurry and sugars.

Bring to simmer and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until mixture thickens, about 5 minutes. Add another tablespoon of water-thinned cornstarch if needed to get mixture to thicken.

Turn off heat, stir in lemon juice, and pour elderberry mixture into cooled tart shell. Dot with remaining 2 tablespoons butter and bake for 40 minutes until set.

Serve warm or at room temperature, ideally with vanilla ice cream.

Apricot Ginger and Almond Galette

There's something about me and tart shells - something...special. No matter the style or variation, I just can't seem to do wrong. I'm not sure what it is - call it skill or call it kismet, but you have to agree that it's also called delicious, delicious fate.

See what I mean? This flaky tart shell is off the hook.

This particular tart shell is a galette, meaning that it's free-form. The free-form shell is great because, as there is no pan, you can use the dough to make a whole bunch of smaller galettes if that sounds fun. Also, it has a very classy rustic look and can be eaten with your hands, like a slice of pizza - perfect for picnics!

Free form tart shell ready to be folded over filling. Also, a cocktail - rolling out pastry dough can leave you parched!

The other thing I love about tart shells is that the ingredient combinations are endless, from a simple pairing of fresh raspberries and honey to more complex variations like nectarines and cardamom brown butter or dark chocolate salty caramel. Stone fruit is one of my favorite bases for fillings (yay to summer!) and the ginger and almond in this galette pair beautifully with the apricot. Feel free to use this pâte brisée in any number of other combinations - the egg mixed it makes it ideal for rolling out and folding over scrumptious fillings as a galette. Go on, get crazy with your tart self!

Pâte brisée

• 1-1/3 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out

• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, diced

• 2 eggs, lightly beaten, divided

• Ice water

Filling

• 1 pound apricots, pitted and quartered

• 1/4 cup sugar

• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract

• 2 teaspoons cornstarch

• Pinch coarse sea salt

• 1/4 cup slivered almonds

• 1 tsp grated fresh ginger

• Honey, for drizzling (optional)

• Crème fraîche, for serving (optional)

Mix flour with 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt. Cut in butter and, using pastry blender or fingers, incorporate until mixture looks like pea-sized crumbs. Form a well in the center, crack in 1 egg, then stir egg into flour/butter mixture until incorporated. Add ice water as needed (you may not need it) just until dough holds together, but is not sticky. 

Roll dough into a ball, flatten into a thick disc, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F and toss all filling ingredients except honey in a medium bowl.

Folding over pastry dough edges.

Remove dough from refrigerator, allow to thaw for 5 minutes, and roll out dough in a circle on a floured surface to about 1/4-inch thick. Spread apricot filling in center, leaving 1.5-inches around edge. Fold over, pastry edges, brush with remaining lightly beaten egg, and place on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Bake galette for 30 min or until golden.

Serve at room temperature or warm with crème fraîche and a drizzle of honey, if desired.

Cherry and Wild Fennel Clafoutis

Sometimes, a word for a dish or a food preparation method I have never used will come to me and I will not rest until I have experienced it. That is what happened with "clafoutis" - I have no idea where I was introduced to the word, but after we picked up some cherries on our way back from a wedding in beautiful Los Olivos, all I could think about was making a cherry clafoutis, while at the same time asking myself, "cherry clafoutis is a thing, right?" This is where the internet came in, helpfully proving that cherry clafoutis is, indeed, a thing and although I don't necessary need a reason to make special desserts, my mother was serendipitously visiting for Mother's Day. Using a recipe from Saveur as a base, I decided to decrease the egg because some comments complained of eggy-ness and I tend to shy away from really eggy desserts and include wild fennel (more on wild fennel including foraging here), as cherry and fennel go together in a delightful way.

There are a few great things about this dessert. The first is that it's easy - really easy. It's also visually impressive in the cast-iron pan and versatile in ingredient options (apricot + almond? pear + bergamot?) and, because it's not super sweet, it's also versatile in potential eating occasion. We enjoyed it with fennel whipped cream as dessert and again the next day with coffee for brunch and I'm pretty sure no one would turn their nose up to a clafoutis at tea time. So, now you have no excuse - get out there, forage some fennel (which is all over the bay area), buy some cherries, and make this deliciously easy puffed crepe-like cake! Recipe below serves 8.

“Cherries can also be unpitted, which provides a more rustic flavor and texture, but I did not this time, as I knew my mom wouldn’t like it!”

• 1 cup chopped wild fennel fronds, plus a few fronds for garnish

• 1/2-1 cup whipping cream, depending on how much your group likes whipped cream (optional)

• 7-8 tablespoons sugar, divided

• 1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, divided

• 1/2 tablespoon butter

• 1-1/4 cups whole milk (can be substituted for a combination of 3 parts reduced fat and 1 part whipping cream, if you happen to have these around like I did)

• 2 tablespoons kirsch or Luxardo (I had Luxardo, but think it would be better with kirsch)

• 5 eggs

• 1/2 teaspoon medium coarse Kosher salt, divided

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

• 3 cups black or sour cherries, pitted (see post on how to pit cherries like a boss)

• Confectioner's sugar, for dusting

Infuse whipped cream with wild fennel by allowing whipping cream to impart fennel flavor overnight.

To make fennel whipped cream: Place 1/2 cup chopped fennel in a mason jar, pour whipped cream over top, cover, and refrigerate overnight. Remove fennel then beat cream until whipped, adding 1-2 tablespoons of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla toward the end of beating. Refrigerate until used.

Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Grease a 9'' cast-iron skillet and set aside. Whisk milk, sugar, kirsch or Luxardo, vanilla, eggs, and 1/4 teaspoon salt until combined. Add flour and whisk until smooth, about 30 seconds.

Pour batter into buttered skillet, then distribute cherries evenly over top. Bake until a skewer inserted into batter comes out clean and a golden brown crust has formed on top and bottom of clafoutis, about 25 minutes. Dust with confectioners' sugar and serve with a dollop of fennel whipped cream, if desired.

Cardamom and Brown Butter Nectarine Tart

“Caution: Production of this dessert may lead to a decrease in productivity related to ridiculously delicious kitchen smells as evidenced by inability to focus on anything else.”

I’m a sucker for cardamom, browned butter, and stone fruit, so it’s no surprise that this dessert really does it for me. Usually I make crusts with cold diced butter for better flakiness, but the melted butter in this tart crust makes for a very crunchy, more caramelized flavor and texture that’s great with the fruit filling. Using half almond meal in the crust produces great flavor and texture, but the crust falls apart a bit more easily. Amp up the cardamom amount for more intensely cardamommy flavor if you desire.

“Try making the crust with 1/2 cup almond meal and 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon all purpose flour for a deliciously nutty twist. ”

• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted plus 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, diced

• 1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup sugar

• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons all purpose flour

• 1/8 teaspoon plus one pinch salt

• 1 large egg

• 10 cardamom pods, seeds removed and ground with mortar and pestle (green pods are the freshest and most flavorful)

• 3 large nectarines, sliced

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Mix melted butter, 1/3 cup sugar, and vanilla. Add 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour and 1/8 teaspoon salt and stir until incorporated.

Transfer dough to a 9” tart pan (preferably with removable bottom). Using fingertips, press dough evenly onto sides and bottom of pan. (I use a 1/3 cup measurer to smooth the crust out)

Bake crust until golden, about 18 minutes (crust will puff slightly while baking). Transfer crust to rack and cool in pan. 

Whisk together remaining 1/4 cup sugar, egg, and pinch of salt. Add 2 tablespoons flour and whisk until smooth. 

Cook remaining 1/4 cup butter and ground cardamom in heavy small saucepan over medium heat until deep nutty brown (do not burn), stirring often, about 6 minutes. 

Immediately pour browned butter into glass measuring cup. 

Gradually whisk browned butter into sugar-egg mixture, until well blended.

Arrange fruit in concentric circles in bottom of cooled crust. Carefully pour browned butter mixture evenly over the top and bake until filling is golden and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30-40 minutes. 

Serve at room temperature or cold, with or without a creamy side such as ice cream, creme fraîche, or whipped cream.