Tuesday, September 4, 2007

holding onto summer

Since we've had such a busy few days (weeks) lately, I'm playing catch-up on last week's posts.

This tart was something that we made for a pot-luck dinner over the weekend. I remember seeing a picture of a similar tart on someone else's blog but I could not pin-point exactly where I saw it. I looked and looked and then finally gave up and decided to just improvise the recipe.

I decided to do a shortbread cookie crust which worked out very well. It was prebaked for about 20 minutes until it was flakey and lightly browned. So far so good...

Next, the filling. This is where I should I done some research. I decided on a vanilla Creme Anglaise. It was delicious but did not get as thick as the filling should have been. Still, I took the plunge and filled the tart crust with the mixture, hoping that it would thicken as it sat in the fridge till we were ready to devour it. Unfortunately, it never did and it kind of poured out when the tart was cut into. It was still delicious, but the tart was a failure.

Any idea on what I should have filled it with? Is Creme Anglaise normally not a thick mixture?

At least the wonderful late season strawberries saved this dish. They were wonderful with the cream and dark chocolate shavings were a good balance to the sweetness.

I want to try this tart again, but don't want a soupy filling. Anyone have any tips?
This baking thing is hard...

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

The tart was delicious, loved the crust ! I think that 2 table spoons of cream cheese mixed in the cream would have helped to thicken the filling.

Janet said...

hmmm, I think that looks perfect just like it is... but as an alternative you could use a vanilla custard?

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

I say fill it with a cream cheese mixture. It is so good!! Don't you just hate it when you can't locate a recipe again. I have been looking for weeks for the Kahlua Brownies on someone's blog. I will have to bookmark or print everything I see from now on.

Vanessa Vichit-Vadakan said...

beautiful pix!

since you asked, crème anglaise is meant to be soupy and saucy and is usually used as a garnish (like chocolate cake in a pool of sauce). what would have worked better is a crème patissière or vanilla pudding, both of which are actually thickened with a starch (usually cornstarch). i'd love to recommend a particular recipe, but i don't have one! there are lots of recipes for both online.

Anonymous said...

I think it looks great the way it is! It's so hard to say goodbye to summer...but thanks for giving us one last strawberry hurrah.

Anonymous said...

I just used this recipe for pastry creme (http://cafefernando.com/?p=82) and it works really well. Creme anglaise is supposed to be runny, since it is a sauce, not a filling.

Annie Ruok said...

Hey Dina - please don't think it was a failure, becuz it tasted really good (& that's really what counts!). Baking is trial & error! My mom makes a flan filling with Bird's Eye Custard that holds together very well, she either adds a thickener to it or it may already have one in it, not sure.

Aimée said...

It's looks delicious! I guess pastry cream might be a better idea if you want it thicker, though.