An experimental dessert for a dinner party with friends - pineapple dulce de leche tart. Michel Ruhlman’s pâte sucrée for the base, filled with a layer of dulce de leche, then chopped fresh pineapple, then pineapple curd, then caramelized pineapple, finished with a dulce de leche drizzle. Good, but I think it needed less dulce de leche and something with some texture in the filling - maybe some salted macadamia nuts. Also, the Ruhlman pâte sucrée bakes up very crispy - hard to cut with a fork. Would be better as a base for a handheld dessert.
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Smitten’s “Mom’s Apple Cake” right before I put it into the oven. This is one of those recipes where you mix by hand and imho this is a bug, not a feature.
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Deb says you should make this the day before you want to eat it, so I did.
I was terrified it hadn’t baked through and couldn’t cut a slice to confirm before sending it off with Mom this morning. Fortunately she came back with a slice for me, and I’m happy to report it is bangin. I used a mix of apples from my CSA and one of mom’s old aluminum one-piece angel food pans, sprayed with baking spray. I had to tent it with foil for the second half of the bake, which was accomplished in a mail-biting series of ten-minute increments. Total bake time in the recipe as written is 90 minutes.
Last weekend I made the highest-rated apple cake from Pancake Princess’ bake-off, the Sally’s Baking Addiction easy apple cake with the optional brown sugar glaze, but personally I prefer this one from Deb (and her mother, thankyouverymuch.) The Sally’s cake is more open, more tender and a little …. I don’t know, flabby and unremarkable. Without the glaze I found it a little meh. Deb’s is closer to a pound cake and that’s definitely my personal sweet spot.
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Nice idea! I can see how macadamia nuts would be a good counterpoint. Maybe a sprinkle of flaky salt, too?
Yeah, I think I would either put nuts in between the dulce and curd or make a nut streusel for the top next time. And definitely a sprinkle of flaky salt either way. I’m planning to add macadamias before consuming the leftovers for sure!
With Nannybakes great help, I made a first attempt on Mini Apple Tarts (4") and Pate Brisee. I used Dorie’s crust recipe, calls for 1 teaspoon sugar; I’d do 2 teaspoons next time. Recipe made 16 4" tarts; I ordered the disposable molds from Amazon.
For the filling:
My tarts were larger than the ones in the recipe … this made 6 tarts … I used 2 Granny Smith apples, sliced very thinly, adding 1 teaspoon of lemon zest and 1 teaspoon of lemon juice to filling. For the crumble topping I used finely chopped pecans instead of oats, subbed ground cardamom for cinnamon. Recipe said “brown sugar”; I used Golden, wonder if Dark is better … Crumble topping seemed too skimpy … I would increase everything a bit next time.
Per Nannybakes: Since I don’t have a stone for the oven, I preheated my half sheet pan in 400 oven, baked from frozen tart shells. After 10 minutes, I lowered oven to 375, total bake time was 30 minutes, I didn’t need to cover with foil.
Next time, instead of 2 apples, I’ll use 3 since they cook down.
I don’t like things too sweet … if anything, these could be a bit sweeter! They really need lightly whipped heavy cream! Smell in here is intoxicating!
I think this is a GREAT idea for holiday dinners; everyone gets their own tart!
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Wonderful ! Fantastic results, so happy you were so successful! No stopping you now!!
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I’m pleased with my first attempt … only took 3 days total! (Just parts of each day since I had to freeze the tart shells.)
But you made quite a few tarts! BTW, you need “about” 70g finished weight of pastry for each tart mold. Freezing the molds for an hour is probably sufficient if you want to bake the same day.
Looks great!
(Those molds are also perfect for personal quiches / strata, and LPQ’s Belgian brownies were exactly that size, just saying.)
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Should I use dark brown sugar for the crumble? For filling should I add a little more brown or white sugar? I only used cinnamon in filling, not crumble, happy with pecans instead of oats.
Since I’m frugal and like to live dangerously, I’m going to reuse the molds one time!
I used a sweeter apple for the mini tarts, so I think you should adjust the sugar based on the apple. Why don’t you bake off just one with your new adjustments and go from there for the balance?
I hope they don’t disintegrate the second time around, another reason to try just one.
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Golden OR Dark Brown Sugar???
Milk bread from Mooncakes and Milk Bread. Made this just to make a toasted tomato sandwich with the last tomato from my garden. Will revisit those same sandwiches next summer.
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I don’t keep dark brown sugar in the house, my preference for the apples is white, there isn’t going to be much of a difference in sweetness level between the dark and golden in the crumble. The darker brown will be marginally sweeter.
ETA You could put some crumble on foil and bake for a few minutes , then taste it for sweetness. The micro “ might” work for a taste trial.
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I forgot to mention, especially for LLM: to roll out the Pate Brisee, I used a Paderno Silicone mat I bought a few years ago:
https://www.amazon.com/Paderno-World-Cuisine-Silicone-Nonstick/dp/B0001MSFHC/ref=sr_1_1?crid=RQT6W98NOWMQ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.DsnbsEJSYE8FakjdbnZr33e9YSp4zzDhf3fzfQT-uNJXnGVGi9Va3-Lg2PwZu70nnGQCNEpD-trHj2d3fu2E89u9SrEqXstR5iDxYD6RWRbvReVJntS0uH3SrEZ6_xnktcU0JvGsQ2ScaCdkazA5TeIrrV2tL0WD-iaTHoFR7iQ.saLOt_X7n3p2_Lh4ZeMSNKTtOCSYihNFb6W3mpjk5ko&dib_tag=se&keywords=paderno%2Bworld%2Bsilicone%2Bmats%2B15x23&qid=1730084166&sprefix=paderno%2Bsili%2Caps%2C207&sr=8-1&th=1
I don’t use it for baking, only for rolling out dough … it’s a breeze. I only use a little flour on the mat and rolling pin, add a bit more as needed. I wasn’t able to roll out a rectangle, only a jagged circle, then I used a 5 ½ inch bowl to cut out the circles for the molds. I kept reusing the scraps; didn’t seem to hurt, I patched in places. Used every last bit of dough, why not?
When I took the dough disc out of the fridge it was so hard I had to leave it on the counter ½ hour before I could roll it; I just rolled out from the middle, kept turning it.
The big size is hard to find but another brand should work too.
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I do have a silpat mat. Will keep this in mind when I decide I’m ready to retackle.
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Maybe the Pate Brisee recipe is more forgiving. My kitchen is pretty cool year round since I’m near the ocean so best for you to try in winter months.
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ATK’s no-knead “brioche”, from which I made savory tarts. (Apologies in advance for the paywall.)
The recipe calls for melted butter. I’m not sure the resulting texture is the same as a classically made brioche, however the results are marvelous - light, tender, indulgent, and slightly sweet. The recipe can easily be worked into a busy schedule, and gets bonus points for not having to haul out or clean the stand mixer at any stage.
Basically you whisk the dry and the wet separately, fold the wet into the dry, and follow with a series of stretch-and-folds in the bowl. Chill overnight (or longer). Shape while cold, proof, and bake.
I made a half recipe for four small tarts, baking off two today topped with sauteed leeks, gruyere, bacon, and chopped scallions. These were delicious, and made for a very nice lunch. I’ll bake off the other two tomorrow - I’m quite interested to see if the dough changes with a longer chill time.
Will make again!
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