Hidden Rose Apple Tart

Guys, it has been a rough and confusing couple of weeks over here and I know a lot of you are feeling it too. Instead of a rosy story about this tart and how excited I am for Thanksgiving, I thought I would share some resources for simple actionable things you can do today to help protect people (and yourself!) who are going to need protecting for at least the next two years. 

Support pro-women, pro-LGBTQ, pro-Earth, pro-Immigrant, and anti-Bigotry organizations. Here is a list complied by Jezebel. There is also a direct link to Planned Parenthood in the sidebar. 

No Kid Hungry - Help ensure every kid in America has healthy food to eat, all year round.

Subscribe to the NY Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and/or the New Yorker. Support good journalism and keep it alive - we need it now more than ever.

Call your Congressperson.

Ok, Have a Happy Thanksgiving. Have the hard conversations. Don't sit idle! And eat some good food too.

Hidden Rose Apple Tart

makes one 9-inch tart

1/2 recipe all butter pie crust or your favorite pie crust

Hazelnut Frangipane (recipe follows)

4 medium apples

3 tablespoons sugar

pinch salt

1 egg 

1 tablespoon turbinado sugar

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Peel and slice the apples into thin slices.

Roll out the pie crust to a 12-inch circle and transfer it to the parchment lined baking sheet. Spread the frangipane on the crust, leaving a 2-inch border around the edges. Lay the apple slices over the frangipane in a slightly overlapping layer in a decorative pattern, leaving a 2-inch border around the edge. Sprinkle the sugar along with a pinch of salt evenly over the fruit. 

Fold the excess dough over the fruit and press gently to seal the folds. Put the baking sheet in the freezer and freeze the tart until the dough is very firm, about 15 minutes. While the tart is chilling, preheat the oven to 400ºF and whisk the egg in a small bowl. 

After the tart has chilled, brush the dough with the beaten egg and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake the tart until deep golden brown, 35-45 minutes.

Hazelnut Frangipane

adapted from the Violet Bakery Cookbook

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup ground hazelnuts

1 large egg yolk

4 teaspoons heavy cream

pinch salt

Beat the butter and sugar together until pale and creamy. Add the hazelnuts followed by the egg yolk, cream, and salt. Beat well.

Vegan Strawberry Vanilla Custard Tart

Every year I cross my fingers and hope there are local strawberries for my birthday, which usually falls on Memorial Day weekend. So when the strawberries showed up at the Greenmarket right on time this year, I wanted to make something super special. I turned to a recipe that I have had dog-eared for over a year - Amy Chaplin's Strawberry Vanilla  Custard Tart from At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen.

I haven't made a ton of creamy vegan tarts like this one, and it was a super fun little project that made good use of the first gorgeous local berries. The oat, barley, and spelt crust comes together quickly in a food processor and is patted in the pan, then while the crust cools, the filling is briefly cooked on the stovetop before being chilled and topped with a big 'ol pile of  fresh strawberries - it's a perfect Springy treat. In the photo from the book, Amy's tart is covered with the tiniest  tristar strawberries. Tristars are my absolute favorite too, but they don't show up at the market until later in the summer here in NY. This doesn't really need to be said, but use the tastiest, cutest berries you can find here.

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EVENT ALERT! I'll be at the Union Square Greenmarket on Saturday, June 18th with the folks from Food Book Fair, signing copies of Sweeter off the Vine and handing out treat samples. Come say hi!

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Vegan Strawberry Vanilla Custard Tart

from At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen by Amy Chaplin

makes one 8 or 9-inch tart

This tart was originally made with a glaze that the strawberries are tossed in before arranging them on the tart, but I skipped it in favor of sliced strawberries tossed with the tiniest bit of honey. Also, Amy suggests using a high speed blender to mix the filling, but I used my food processor which worked fine. I just made sure to soak the nuts the full 6 hours and gave them a good long mix to ensure the mixture was as smooth as possible. I also used honey from my friends at Old Blue Raw Honey instead of the maple and brown rice syrups the recipe originally called for, which I know isn't strictly vegan so choose your own adventure there.

Crust

3/4 cup rolled oats

3 tablespoons barley flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup spelt flour

3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon melted coconut oil

3 tablespoons maple syrup (I used honey)

Filling

3/4 cup raw macadamia nuts, soaked 2-6 hours in 2 cups water

1 vanilla bean, split

1/4 cup brown rice syrup (I used 3 tablespoons honey)

3 tablespoons pure maple syrup (I used 2 tablespoons honey)

2 teaspoons agar flakes

pinch sea salt

2 teaspoons arrowroot powder

Topping

2 pints strawberries, washed, sliced, and lightly sweetened

Make the Crust

Preheat oven to 350ºF and position a rack in the center of the oven. Line the bottom of an 8 or 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper and lightly oil the sides.

Add the oats, barley flour, baking powder and salt to the bowl of a food processor; blend until the oats are ground. Mix the coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla together. Pulse in the spelt flour and salt, then with the processor running, drizzle in the coconut oil mixture and mix until the flour is moistened.

Press the crust onto the bottom and sides of the prepared pan, about 1 1/4-inches up the sides.

Bake the crust for 16-18 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant. Set aside while you make the filling.

Make the Filling

Drain macadamias and place in a blender along with the 2 cups water. Blend on high speed for 2 minutes.

Add the macadamia milk to a medium saucepan along with the vanilla bean seeds, brown rice syrup, maple syrup, agar, and salt. Whisk until the mixture comes to a simmer. Then loosely cover and simmer for 15 minutes, whisking every 5 minutes or so.

In a small bowl combine the arrowroot with 2 teaspoons of water then whisk it into the simmering custard. Remove the mixture from the heat then let it cool for 10 minutes. Whisk to smooth, then pour into the prepared crust. Let the mixture cool for a few minutes on the counter (until it stops steaming), then chill until firm, about 2 hours.

Just before serving unmold the tart then top it with a pile of lightly sweetened, sliced strawberries. Enjoy immediately.