Des Legumes Miniature: Petits pour les Droigts Fées

In my family's secret little garden, back beyond the mulberry tree and the mint patches you can find an immense blooming of vines and shoots and leaves. If you creep along the dirt path, on your hands and knees, you can see the little buds of fruit pushing forth from their seedlings.


There you can meet mischievous baby mockingbirds pecking away at near-ripened cherry tomatoes and resting atop blushing pumpkins. If you dig a finger into the earth you will find minute pearl onions no bigger than a penny but sweeter than any peach or apple fresh from the orchard. Of course, there are potatoes too, not too many, but they'll do.


Their skin barely formed and an eye here and there, they are starchy and mellow yet you can only savour them in one bitty bite.


From our garden, we have a bounty of things, yet this summer's bounty appears to grow in miniature.

June Daring Baker Challenge: Bakewell Tart Peachy Petits Fours

I wasn't quite so keen on baking this, or baking much at all, since it is so awfully hot outside here in Austin, Texas. That is why I didn't bake at all until today, the challenge due date! However, no matter my chagrin against sticking my head in a steamy oven, these little petits fours were worth it. I also didn't want to weigh down my tart with heavy syrupy jam and how could I dare destroy my beloved Freestone peaches (recently acquired a second bushel from Abuelo, delivered fathers day). So I made a sort of deconstructed Bakewell Tart, with all the necessary components mind you, just in a slighlty lighter and simpler way. Oh and my new watering can served as a backdrop for a few photo ops, I figured that was better than the newly aired tires on my vintage bike.


THE NECESSITIES:
The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.

***my additions or changes are in stars***

Bakewell Tart…er…pudding

Makes one 23cm (9” tart)
Prep time: less than 10 minutes (plus time for the individual elements)
Resting time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes
Equipment needed: 23cm (9”) tart pan or pie tin (preferably with ridged edges), rolling pin

One quantity sweet shortcrust pastry (recipe follows)
Bench flour
250ml (1cup (8 US fl. oz)) jam or curd, warmed for spreadability
One quantity frangipane (recipe follows)
One handful blanched, flaked almonds

Assembling the tart
Place the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface. If it's overly cold, you will need to let it become acclimatised for about 15 minutes before you roll it out. Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry to 5mm (1/4”) thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start from the centre and roll away from you), and turning the disc a quarter turn after each roll. When the pastry is to the desired size and thickness, transfer it to the tart pan, press in and trim the excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200C/400F.

Remove shell from freezer, spread as even a layer as you can of jam onto the pastry base. Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart. Smooth the top and pop into the oven for 30 minutes. Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy and brownish. Remove from oven and strew flaked almonds on top and return to the heat for the last five minutes of baking.

The finished tart will have a golden crust and the frangipane will be tanned, poofy and a bit spongy-looking. Remove from the oven and cool on the counter. Serve warm, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or custard sauce if you wish.

When you slice into the tart, the almond paste will be firm, but slightly squidgy and the crust should be crisp but not tough.

Sweet shortcrust pastry

Prep time: 15-20 minutes
Resting time: 30 minutes (minimum)
Equipment needed: bowls, box grater, cling film

225g (8oz) all purpose flour
30g (1oz) sugar
2.5ml (½ tsp) salt
110g (4oz) unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better)
2 (2) egg yolks
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract (optional)
15-30ml (1-2 Tbsp) cold water

***instead of using water or almond extract (I didn't have the latter) I used a splash or two of Disaronno that had peach ginger loose leaf tea steaping in it. If you use alcohol, Vodka is used most often, tart and pie crusts become lighter and oh so flakier.

Sift together flour, sugar and salt. Grate butter into the flour mixture, using the large hole-side of a box grater. Using your finger tips only, and working very quickly, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.

Lightly beat the egg yolks with the almond extract (if using) and quickly mix into the flour mixture. Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form a cohesive and slightly sticky dough.

Form the dough into a disc, wrap in cling and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

Frangipane

Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Equipment needed: bowls, hand mixer, rubber spatula

125g (4.5oz) unsalted butter, softened
125g (4.5oz) icing sugar *** I actually totatlly forgot to use this and put turbinado in the mixer instead! Oops, instead the frangipane was slightly denser and a little more rustic looking, but it still tasted the same.
3 (3) eggs
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract *** Again the Disaronno spiked gingerpeach tea:)
125g (4.5oz) ground almonds
30g (1oz) all purpose flour

Cream butter and sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is primrose in colour and very fluffy. Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter may appear to curdle. In the words of Douglas Adams: Don’t panic. Really. It’ll be fine. After all three are in, pour in the almond extract and mix for about another 30 seconds and scrape down the sides again. With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts and the flour. Mix well. The mixture will be soft, keep its slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds) and retain its pallid yellow colour.

Un peu de notes:
* For the frangipane, try to have everything the same tempurature, so room-temperature that is. The ingredients will mix better that way.
*I also didn't have enough almonds, so I tossed in a few pecans, walnuts, and I think a chashew went in there too!
* And as I didn't have enough plain almonds for the frangipane I didn't have some for the top of the tart, however since my peaches, or whatever fruit you choose to use, covered the top it didn't really matter.

Assembling the tart

Place the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface. If it's overly cold, you will need to let it become acclimatised for about 15 minutes before you roll it out. Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry to 5mm (1/4”) thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start from the centre and roll away from you), and turning the disc a quarter turn after each roll. When the pastry is to the desired size and thickness, transfer it to the tart pan, press in and trim the excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200C/400F.

Remove shell from freezer, spread as even a layer as you can of jam onto the pastry base. ***I didn't use jam so I skipped this step and put my fruit on top!*** Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart. Smooth the top and pop into the oven for 30 minutes. Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy and brownish. Remove from oven and strew flaked almonds on top and return to the heat for the last five minutes of baking.

The finished tart will have a golden crust and the frangipane will be tanned, poofy and a bit spongy-looking. Remove from the oven and cool on the counter. ***Cut into small petits four sized squares, top with three or four slices of fresh room-temperature peach and sprinkle a bit of fresh ginger over it all. Serve warm, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or custard sauce if you wish.

When you slice into the tart, the almond paste will be firm, but slightly squidgy and the crust should be crisp but not tough.

The Garden at 304 Francis...

First he ate some lettuces and some French beans; and then he ate some radishes;

And then, feeling rather sick, he went to look for some parsley.

But round the end of a cucumber frame, whom should he meet but Mr. McGregor!

I am sorry to say that Peter was not very well during the evening.

His mother put him to bed, and made some camomile tea; and she gave a dose of it to Peter!

'One teaspoonful to be taken at bed-time.'

But Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cotton-tail had bread and milk and blackberries, for supper.

THE END.

In our garden this weekend I found baby birds, so pale and with big bulging eyes still covered in skin. Not a slick of a feather to be found, and no momma around to pester me, so I couldn't quite tell what type of bird they might be. Nevertheless they cried like mockingbirds.

Near the backdoor our fig tree is bearing fruit again...

I plucked two miniature strawberries from the pot on the picnic table, of course the best I have ever tasted...

The fenced garden was blooming with mint as always and sprays of basil, every shape, colour and flavour imaginable pierced with steamy air in the afternoon.

Da's newest addition, a la farmer McGreggor, is near the back of the yard.

We've already seen pumpkins, little dainty watermelons barely striped in green, and snap peas.

Oh, the tomatoes, the tomatoes! Vine heavy Beef Steaks, little mouth popping grapes, stylish yellow pears, and vintage heirlooms all being simultaneously watched by human and avian eyes. Who will reach them first is merely a battle of speed and stealth. Mockingbirds will become vicious around cats, loud cars and the loss of a great tomato.

I've got Georgia on mind...

Well, Fredericksburg actually. That's a little closer anyways. Close enough to drive two hours just to pick up 1/8 of a bushel at Berg's Corner. The Texas peach crop this year was close to destroyed due to a late surprise frost so the price of peaches increased (as with everything else in this nation). However, I am not one to shirk at elevated prices on good produce, and let me tell you this is fine produce. So fine, you must drawl out that "i" in fine to exactly understand how fine these are.


The Texas hill country, specifically Fredericksburg and Stonewall, are renowned for their plump peaches. Stonewall, where Berg's is located, is 15 or so miles East on 290 from Fredericksburg. A large orangey, almost peachy, wooden building invites drivers with several variations on the "OPEN" sign. Mr. Berg, I don't know if this is his real name I just want to call him that for story's sake, is also known for his peach ice cream. After a day of shopping up the Fred (the local nickname for Fredericksburg as I am sure you could have guessed) a cup of fresh peach ice cream is the perfect antidote to sweltering summer heat and aching feet. However I do not recommended our previous edible choices of The Bakery, thick cinnamon rolls and giant sweet German pretzels, then The Brewery, at least we split the chicken sandwich and beer battered fries, in addition to a peach-pit stop for Berg's ice cream.


So, at the chagrin of our stomachs, and my hips, that is the consumable course we elected. I then drove home with 1/8 bushel of peaches for myself, another 1/4 bushel for Da, and the requisite French milk Provence soap and some fabric quarters. My little 1/8 bushel, tucked neatly into a little white cardboard box cost me a whole $13 dollars; Da's significantly more mind you. My roommate scoffed at their price until she bit into one of my precious buys and exclaimed, and I quote, "This is the best damn peach I've ever had!"


So what else was I to do with so many peaches. I had to leave for work and day dream about them, sitting all by their lonesome in my little apartment, waiting to be fashioned into something remarkable. Although, I do not think their is much more remarkable than just a plain fresh Fredericksburg peach. Well, it does improve; I made individual cobblers and they were practically perfect. I do apologize if I appear a bit immodest, but what can I say: at these prices, perfection is necessary.


Ginger Peach Cobbler

1.5 cups flour
1 tbs sugar
1/4 tps ground ginger
dash of salt
1 stick butter
4 tbs ice cold water

2 peaches per serving
2 tbs cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tbs corn starch
4 tbs sugar ( this is easily modified according to preference and peach ripeness, sweetness. Honey would work nicely too!)
4 pours Disaronno (well this is technically supposed to be lemon juice but I didn't have any. Really you just need a bit of liquid aside from the peach juice)
1 tsp fresh minced ginger root


1. Slice about 2 peaches per serving, or however many will fit into your little serving dishes. In a bowl combine peaches, cornstarch, cinnamon, fresh ginger, ground ginger and Disaronno. Let it alone to set and congeal a bit while you mix up the dough for the crust.

2. Combine all dry ingredients, including sugar, and then cut butter into flour.
*** Cutting butter is easiest with two forks or a pastry cutter. Simply slice butter into little chunks and place in with dry ingredients. This is sometimes easier if you freeze your butter for a few minutes before working. Then "cut" the sliced/chunked butter bits into the dry ingredients by smashing with fork/pastry cutter. This creates little pieces of butter throughout the dough, creating a flaky, buttery crust in the end. Do not handle the butter too much as it will melt and not achieve the same type of crust.


Once combined add the ice water a tablespoon at a time and mix until the dough holds together, but not sticky.

3. Roll out on a floured surface and cut into rounds with biscuit cutter for tops of cobbler. This batch of dough should make 6-8 tops, depending on how thick you cut them.

4. Fill dishes with peach filling, cover with dough, sprinkle tops with bits of sanding sugar. Add tiny chunks of butter on top of dough and around openings of peach exposure. Not too much as this is just for browning purposes.

5. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes. Eat piping hot with vanilla bean ice cream:)