Blueberry Desperation

Coping with blogging away from my own computer is hard, especially when my nephew's computer in Jakarta was installed with Photoshop version 6 while I am using CS2 at home. On top of that, my brother-in-law has restricted his son to use only 15 hours of internet connection. Gosh, I am kind of using a portion of his internet time... poor boy (I hope he doesn't hate me or anything like that). Anyway I only realized about this restriction when my sister revealed it to me. So I guess I have to stop blogging for a while during my holiday. And yes, there are many internet cafes out there but most don't come with Photoshop.

Or else I will do it from Singapore next week. Cross my fingers... I would miss this so much for a while. Well, all I can say is see you all again very soon!



BLUEBERRY MACARONS
Makes 10 macarons

Prepare: 1 big baking tray lined with a Silpat or parchment paper

1. Macarons

Ingredients :
- Egg white > 70 grams
- Sugar > 50 grams
- Icing sugar > 90 grams
- Ground almond > 70 grams
- Red coloring > 2-3 drops



Method :
- Combine icing sugar and ground almond. Sieve.
- Whip egg white until frothy. Add sugar and continue whipping until stiff peaks form.
- Fold almond and icing mixture gradually into the egg white in 2 additions. Add red coloring. Mix carefully with a spatula until batter is shiny and flowy like magma.
- Fill batter into piping bag tipped with a plain circular nozzle and pipe into a circle with a diameter of 3 cm. Piping makes 20 pieces.
- Leave to rest until surface of these pipings are flat and dry or when touched, it doesn't stick to our finger.
- Preheat oven at 150°C.
- Bake at 150°C for 8-10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 125°C, turn tray 180 degrees and continue baking for 8-10 minutes.
- Cool on the rack and detach from Silpat or parchment paper.



2. Blueberry Cream

Ingredients :
- Whipping cream > 50 grams
- Blueberry puree > 9 grams
- Lemon juice > 1 gram

Method :
- Beat whipping cream until it starts thickening. Add blueberry puree and lemon juice. Continue beating until stiff peaks form.

Daring Bakers' Bakewell Tart

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.

Thanks to Jasmine and Annemarie for hosting the June DB Challenge. The recipe was easy to follow and tart turned out fabulous. With a small investment of time and ingredients, I got full satisfaction in flavor and taste. This recipe is officially one in my top 5 list of tarts I would bake in my free time!



My date, C who is not so into cakes or tarts has fallen for this tart - he finished 2 big slices when I finished my photo shoot. Well, if everyone has said:"The way to a man's heart is through his stomach!", then my saying is "The way to a man's heart is through a slice of bakewell tart"! Ha ha ha

So for those who missed this challenge, do catch up on your own free time, cause it is definitely worth every second of your time.



BAKEWELL TART
Makes one 23cm (9 inches) tart

1. Sweet Shortcrust Pastry

Ingredients:
- All purpose flour > 225 grams
- Granulated sugar > 30 grams
- Salt > 1/2 teaspoon
- Cold salted butter > 110 grams
- Egg yolks > 2
- Vanilla essence > 1/2 teaspoon
- Cold water > 2 tablespoons

Method:
- Combine flour, salt, and granulated sugar in a mixing bowl.
- Grate cold butter (using a large hole grater) into the flour mixture. Mix butter into flour at low speed until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.
- Lightly beat egg yolks and vanilla extract. Quickly mix into the flour mixture.
- Add water gradually whilst mixing it with flour at low speed until forming a cohesive and slightly sticky dough.
- Form the dough into a disc, wrap in cling film and refrigerate overnight or minimum 30 minutes.



2. Frangipane
Makes 575 grams

Ingredients:
- Softened salted butter > 125 grams
- Icing sugar > 125 grams
- Ground almond > 125 grams
- All purpose flour > 30 grams
- Eggs > 3
- Vanilla extract > 1/2 teaspoon



Method:
- Cream butter and icing sugar for about a minute or until the mixture is primrose in colour and very fluffy.
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Pour in the almond extract and mix for about another 30 seconds.
- Finally add ground almond and flour. Mix well.

3. Assembly
Need: a rolling pin and a 23cm (9”) tart pan or pie tin (preferably with ridged edges

Ingredients:
- Shortcut pastry > 1 recipe
- Frangipane > 400 grams
- Pineapple jam > 250 grams
- Blanched almond flakes > 30 grams



Method:
- 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 a circular shape with a thickness of 0.5 cm and diameter slightly bigger than the diameter + height of the tart pan.
- Transfer rolled dough to the tart pan, press in and trim the excess dough.
- Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 200 degree Celsius.
- Remove dough from freezer
- Spread 250 grams of pineapple jam onto the pastry base. Level it.
- Top with 400 grams of frangipane or the amount that is sufficient enough to cover the entire surface of the tart. Smooth the top.
- Bake for 23 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkled flaked almonds on top and continue baking for 7 minutes. 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.