Week 4: September 6-12,Tarte Aux Abricots or Peches (Apricot or Peach Tart), pg. 639 (KPH)

Kimberley: (left picture)
I was nervous to start this week's recipe because of my experience with last week's recipe which was, in my eyes, less than successful. I called Mom in the morning to review the recipe with her and see if she was going to use apricots or peaches. Neither one of us were able to find fresh apricots and peaches are in season, so the decision was made for us.

There are actually three recipes involved in this week's recipe. First you have to make a Pate Brisee Sucree (Sweet Short Paste) on pg. 533. This recipe was pretty confusing because it lists the ingredients for 1 cup ratios, but then the recipe is based on 2/3 cup, and I needed 1 1/2 cups. Fortunately, Dad was around and figured out the new units of measure for us. I made the pastry in the mixer which worked fine and put it in the freezer to cool down for rolling. The first time I tried to roll it out, it was a sticky mess even though I followed the right amount of time in the freezer. I put it back in the freezer for another hour and the second time it rolled out just fine.

Slicing and arranging the peaches went fine, except that the recipe does not state how thick the slices should be. I had to bake the tarte for longer than the recipe said, in order to get syrupy juices. I had to modify the apricot glaze recipe on page 593 because I started with homemade apricot jam, not preserves. My jam would not go through a sieve. My modified recipe seemed to work fine.

For dinner we had grilled pork chops, baked potatoes, and roasted summer squash and zucchini. We had the tarte for dessert. It is half gone. We each had two servings. It is very good. Connor really liked it, especially the crust which he thought tasted more like a cookie. The recipe was a success!

Taste: 5
Ease of preparation: 3 (lots of time in-between steps)
Presentation: 4 (nice looking dessert)
Price: 1-2 (especially with my own fruit)
Would make it again? Yes, I would. It is a very tasty, pretty dessert. I would also like to try an apricot tarte and an apple tarte.

Sar: (Picture on the right)
I enjoyed making the peach tart. As you can see, my crust was not too pretty. Next time, I’ll use the sweet paste amounts for two cups.

That will give me plenty to cover the pie pan and maybe some for cookies. I also used your homemade apricot jam with the recipe as is except for the straining.

Rating:

Taste: 5 - It was better cold than hot, but both were delicious.

Ease of preparation: 3 – It was fun to roll out the dough and it was nice to have a recipe that did not involve whipping egg whites or cream..

Presentation: 2

Price: 1-2

I would definitely make it again and would like to try the apricot version.