12.2.08

small tarts have big hearts

little buttery boats

i so desperately wanted to join the revolution this month! i had been thinking about it all along, trying to decide what mini tart i wanted to sacrifice to the liberation. you know, the one that is due *tonight*! yesterday i finally decided on a caramel-hazelnut mini tart, recipe found on epicurious. no problem mee thinks, i've made tarts before, this is just a mini version!

well ... i was tempted not once, not twice, but like a dozen times to chuck this thing in the garbage!! i expected to roll the dough and trim to fit. but this recipe was a "pat in the pan" type of dough so instead, i was furiously trying to put this shit into tiny 2" tartlet pans with all the butter melting on my fingers. what a pain in the ass!! i was so pissed off. i was about to say frick with the revolution in all my turncoat shame. but then i took a deep breath, remembered that i am an honored member of the daring bakers, and pressed forward (no pun intended! and albeit, only making about a dozen because i was just so exhausted).

i finished the dough shells last night but then time ran out so i thought no problem (oh haha, we remember what happened last time i thought that! see above) i'll make the filling today. after waiting in the freezing snow for half an hour for the bus that never appeared, i was in no mood to be making caramel. between the trauma of the tart dough yesterday to the freezing sleet tonight i was just full of crank for this project. i could of easily whipped up a simple pastry cream ... if i had milk in the fridge. back to square one, with me *this* close to dumping those tartlet shells.

but then came mr. mimi to the rescue. pity the poor man that must make a self-indulgent pity-party-throwing baker feel better for the sake of a sane evening! :)

the revolution marches on!

so without further ado, here is my small contribution, thanks to the brilliant idea from mr. mimi, to the fight against cupcake oppression in all its magnolia bakery incarnations (which by the way, wasn't too bad of a place when we lived nearby ... but then sex and the city came and ruined it all) ... hazelnut-pear raspberry tartlets. no recipe here because it was a concoction of inspiration without much measurement. but it was basically caramelized butter, d'anjou pears, pinch of salt, dark brown sugar and then tossed with chopped hazelnuts. topped with cinnamon-vanilla whipped cream and a raspberry.

caramelizing the pears

filling the tartlets

piping the cream

and the verdict? some of the best tartlets i've ever tasted!!! no kidding. pat in the pan was a dreadful affair in these little tin things; but a crumbly (rather than flaky) crust was perfect. the pears were sweet but the nuts were earthy, the cream was just spiced enough, and the raspberry was tart. wow. i could have eaten them all!

hazelnut-pear raspberry tartlets

aerial shot

with raspberry purée

dessert is served

3 comments:

  1. Just beautiful! Thanks so much for participating in The Revolution!
    Ann at Redacted Recipes

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  2. Those are so lovely! I love those little pans.

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  3. thanks ann and sara! i can't wait for summer so i can do some more with fresh fruit. and i'm addicted to these little tart pans, they're so cute!

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