Apricot & Basil Tart

Apricots looked fabulous at the farmers market, so I bought some and decided to make a tart. I usually love to surprise people with unexpected combinations of flavors. 

So I picked up a bunch of basil in the garden and made a Apricot-Basil tart...the result was simply 'délicieux'!

Puff Pastry
Fresh Apricots
Fresh Basil
Granulated Sugar


For the Basil Pastry Cream:
250 mL (1 cup) whole milk
2 Eggs
50 g(2 oz) Granulated Sugar
25 g (1 oz) Corn Starch
About 20 leaves of Fresh Basil


In a saucepan bring the milk to a boil. Take the pan out of the heat. Place the basil leaves in a tea ball (you can also put the leaves directly in the sauce pan, but you will have to take them out before adding the other ingredients). Leave the tea ball in the hot milk and let it rest for about 20 minutes.




In a bowl, mix the sugar and the corn starch. Add the eggs and whisk the mixture.
When the 20 min have passed, whisk the hot milk into the egg mixture. Return the saucepan to a moderate heat and whisk constantly until the cream thickens and is boiling.
TIP: If you want a stronger basil flavor, you can add some freshly cut basil leaves into the pastry cream.
Let the pastry cream cool down for about 30 min and place it in the fridge until needed.


Preheat the oven to 170C (340F). Grease a tart ring (or a tart mold). Place the puff pastry on the ring. With a fork prick the dough. Spread the pastry cream on the dough.





 Cut the apricots in half and place them harmoniously on the tart. 
Sprinkle some granulated sugar on the top of the apricots (about 2 tbsp). 
Cut some fresh basil leaves and place it on the top of the tart.
Bake the tart for about 20 min or until the dough is golden brown.


 

Let the tart cool down for about an hour and...Enjoy!

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Chocolate Brownie & Vanilla Cheesecake

Do you like Brownie? Do you like Cheesecake? What about a Brownie-Cheesecake?!

I ate my first Cheesecake when I was in New York, and immediately felt in love with this extra heavy and creamy (but delicious!) cake. I, later, learnt the different ways to make it when I was working in California. I love the fact you can replace its typical vanilla flavor to almost anything you want (chocolate, honey, dulce de leche, strawberry, coconut...whatever you like!).




For this version, I simply used a vanilla cheesecake recipe but decided to replace the classic crust by a layer of chocolate brownie for an absolute pleasure.

Chocolate Brownie Layer:

Granulated Sugar:  150g (3/4 cup)

Butter: 140g (5 oz)

3 eggs

Cake Flour: 50g (2 oz)

Dark Chocolate: 200g (7 oz)

Preheat the oven to 180C (350F).

With an electric mixer, beat together the granulated sugar and the butter until the mixture becomes smooth (about 5 min.).

Add in the first egg. Mix until it is incorporated. Add in a little of the flour, and mix until incorporated. Repeat the operation until you have mixed in all the eggs and the flour.

Melt the chocolate in the microwave.

Add the melted chocolate to the mixture. Mix with a spatula until the chocolate is fully incorporated.

Grease a baking pan (i used a square one of about 25cm x 25cm (10in x 10in)). Pour the batter in the pan.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes.

Make the vanilla Cheesecake Layer while the brownie is baking.

Vanilla Cheesecake Layer:

Cream Cheese: 600g (21 oz)

Whipping Cream: 60g (2oz)

Granulated Sugar: 135g (5oz)

3 Eggs

Vanilla Extract: 1 tsp

In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese until fluffy. Add gradually the sugar, the whipping cream and the vanilla extract. Mix in the eggs.

When the brownie layer in baked take the baking pan out of the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 150C (300F).

Pour the cheesecake batter on the top of the brownie. Bake for about 40 to 50 minutes, or until the cheesecake layer is just set in the center.

Let cool down for 1 hour. Chill in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight if you can.

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Vanilla & Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Shortbread cookies are easy to make and everybody loves them! Traditionally made of one part of sugar, two parts of butter and three parts of flour, their crumby texture is perfect and delicious with coffee. Recipes have evolved and this version combines a buttery & vanilla flavor with a delicious chocolate aroma.





So invite your friends over for coffee and surprise them with those fabulous homemade cookies!


Vanilla Dough:
Granulated Sugar: 135g ( 0.30 lbs)
Unsalted Butter: 205g (0.45 lbs)
Salt: 2g (1 tsp)
Vanilla Extract: 5g (1 tbsp)
1 Egg
Cake Flour: 155g (0.35 lbs)
All-Purpose Flour: 155g (0.35 lbs)

In the bowl of a mixer, combine both flours, the granulated sugar and the salt. Mix slowly with the paddle attachment for 30 seconds.
Add the butter and continue mixing on low to medium speed, until it looks like sand (about 2 min). Add the egg and the vanilla extract. keep mixing until the dough comes together. Wrap the dough with a plastic film and leave it to rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Chocolate Dough:

Granulated Sugar: 135g ( 0.30 lbs)

Unsalted Butter: 205g (0.45 lbs)

Salt: 2g (1 tsp)

Vanilla Extract: 5g (1 tbsp)

1 Egg

Cake Flour: 140g (0.30 lbs)

All-Purpose Flour: 140g (0.30 lbs)

Cocoa Powder: 30 g (1 oz)

In the bowl of a mixer, combine both flours, the granulated sugar, the cocoa powder and the salt. Mix slowly with the paddle attachment for 30 seconds.
Add the butter and continue mixing on low to medium speed, until it looks like sand (about 2 min). Add the egg and the vanilla extract. keep mixing until the dough comes together. Wrap the dough with a plastic film and leave it to rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.




Preheat the oven to 180C (350F).

Roll out the chocolate dough. Cut it in a rectangle of about 20 cm x 30 cm (8in x 12in). Keep it aside.



Roll out the vanilla dough. Cut it in a rectangle of about 20 cm x 30 cm (8in x 12in).



Brush the top of the vanilla dough with a little bit of water. Place the rectangle sheet of chocolate dough on the top of the vanilla rectangle.
Trim the edges of the two-layered rectangle.






Roll it up. Slice the roll into 1cm thick (about 1/3 in) cookies. Arrange them on a baking pans lined with parchment paper. Bake them for about 8 to 10 min.

You can also use the chocolate dough and the vanilla dough separately. And don't forget...be creative!

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Fresh Strawberries with Spiced Red Wine Reduction & Homemade Milk & Vanilla Sauce

Strawberry season just started and I picked up the first ones in my garden today!

When I was a kid my grand mother would often make 'miget' with them. 'Miget' is a traditional and ultra refreshing dessert from the French region I'm from. It was served in summer, during threshing.
The recipe is simple: cut some strawberries, add pieces of bread, pour red wine (you can also add milk) and sprinkle a little bit of sugar: Here you go!

I tried to bring back some childhood memories with this recipe, replacing the simple splash of wine and milk by two different sauces.







Spiced Red Wine Reduction:

500 mL Red Wine
150 g Granulated Sugar
1 Cinnamon Stick
2 Star Anise
2 Black Peppercorns
3 Cloves
1 Teaspoon Grounded Nutmeg


Crush the cloves and the peppercorns.
In a sauce pan pour the red wine. Add the granulated sugar and all the spices.
Bring to a boil and leave it to simmer until you get a syrupy consistency (about 45 min to 1 hour). Strain the reduction to remove the spices.


Homemade Milk &Vanilla Sauce:

250 mL Whole Milk
125 g Granulated Sugar
1 Vanilla Bean

Cut the vanilla bean in half and scrape the seeds.
Pour the milk in a sauce pan, add the granulated sugar and the scraped seeds. Bring it to a boil and live it to simmer until the color turn to a pale yellow and the consistency get thicker (about 30 to 45 min).

TIP: You can use the vanilla bean to make vanilla extract. Simply place it in a airtight glass container and pour some vodka on the top. You can use it when needed after few day!




Using a squeeze bottle (or a spoon), drizzle some Red wine Reduction on one side of the plate. On the other side, drizzle some Milk & Vanilla sauce.









Cut some fresh strawberry and arrange them harmoniously in the middle of the plate.
You can add some mint leaves to finish the decoration.










For extra 'Gourmandise' you can add some vanilla ice cream!

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