Today is monday. And, I’m already tired! I went over to the island again on Saturday just for the night, as my friend who lives there had no power! And, since I had nothing better to do, I (being the excellent friend I am) decided to go over to the island so we could go see a movie, and she wouldn’t be alone in the dark! And of course, we saw Julie&Julia! What a good movie!! I loved it. It’s a movie, based on a book, based on a blog, based on another book. Got it? Good. So the movie’s based on Julia Child, who inspired Julie Powell to cook her way through Julia’s cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking and blog about it, and then the blog turned into a novel, which is now a movie! And it’s hilarious, not only is it about cooking and baking but the story is quite cute. I suggest all bloggers and cooks and bakers go see it! We were laughing so hard I almost cried! You’ll know when you see it. And now I have a huge craving to make beef bourguignon. Again, you’ll see.

Then last night we went to the Kings of Leon Concert in Vancouver! It was really really good. So I got home late, and went to work. And work tomorrow…. and then… I’m off to Vegas!! So excited. I turned 21 in June so I can finally go to Fabulous Las Vegas! I’m really excited and I’ll try and find some of the sweet cupcake shops i’ve heard so much about. For now, Tarts.

Last October I purchased about 1000 tart shells from Costco. And only now have I used them all up. Yup, 10 months. Needless to say I’ve made so many types of tarts and mini-quiches I’m happy to see them go. Although It did come in handy having so many at my disposal whenever I needed them. They come in useful when you need to whip up a quick dessert, or have pie filling left over. Or, when your mom tells you she wants something “sweet” after dinner. My dad would always tell my mom when she went grocery shopping to buy “something sweet.” I think I got my sweet tooth from him. In fact, I think all of my teeth are sweet tooths. It usually meant my mom would pick up some ice cream, or brownies or a cake if it were on sale. Yup, I definitely got it from my dad. Thanks dad.

So over the last couple weeks I’ve used the last of the tart shells up. I used the leftover filling in the Tarte Au Citron to make mini lemon tarts, and made quick mini-apple pie tarts after dinner one night, and the other day when my mom asked for something sweet, I whipped up some mini-chocolate cream pie’s.

So here’s a few recipes you can make if you’ve got as many tart shells as I have. Have fun!

Mini Apple Pie Tarts A La Mode – Recipe by Bakeaholic

Recipe for 12 mini tarts.

Ingredients:

• 3-4 Apples, Cored and Diced into small pieces
• 1 1/2 tbsp. Corn Syrup
• 1 tsp Lemon Juice
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Brown Sugar

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350.

1. Place tart shells on a baking sheet.
2. Mix together in a large bowl the apples, corn-syrup and lime juice.
3. Sprinkle with Cinnamon and a dash of nutmeg and brown sugar.
4. Spoon into tart shells til just full. Bake for about 15 minutes, until tart shells are lightly browned and the filling looks carmalized.
5. Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream.

Little Lemon Tarts

Made with the filling from my Tarte Au Citron recipe.

Prepare filling as directed, and fill tart shell’s 3/4 of the way full. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until center looks sugary and set. Allow to cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.

Serve with whipped cream.

Enjoy =)

I dunno about you, but whenever I bake something I have this same order I do things. First, get out all the ingredients. Second, read the directions, and get all the ingredients I forgot in previous step, & prepare the recipe. Then, while the recipe is chilling or baking I always go and write my blog post. I find this is the best time to do it, while you can smell the delicious thing you are baking in the oven! And when they take up to 30 or 40 minutes to bake you have some time on your hands. Today I had a long time between prep and chilling and baking time to write this post.

I had been craving a Lemon tart for some reason, and It’s probably because we’re in the middle of summer and a lemon tart just seems so refreshing and summery to me! I remember when my mom and I would go visit my grandma we would always take her out to lunch, usually chinese food, and afterwards we would get something sweet for dessert. Now my grandma was a diabetic so she really couldn’t, or shouldn’t, have been eating too many sweets. But whenever my mom (her favorite of 6 children as my mom always joked) visited her, she would spoil her and get her a little lemon tart from the IGA (grocery store.) She loved lemon tarts! When she was younger my grandma always made preserves and always canned things. She made the best canned fruits and my mom said she loved her bread pudding (something on my list of To-Do’s!) So in memory of my Grandma today I baked a Lemon tart. I’m sure she would have loved a slice! (more…)

I know, only my second post and it’s more tarts? Well here’s why. My moms friend was going to Costco one day, and asked if she needed anything for thanksgiving. My mom then called me and asked what I thought we should get from Costco. I told her I planned on making pumpkin tarts and that they were cheaper at Costco than at Thrifty Foods or Safeway. So she told her to get some for us.
…Well, she came back with more than just some tarts, she had a box of 180! Seeing as how I had never made any kind of tarts before, 180 was more than enough! So my mom and I joked that I guess we would be eating a lot of tarts/quiches in the next little while! So it’s a rainy Friday, and we needed something to take to a party tomorrow night so I decided what the heck, why not tart it up again.

After searching and searching for a recipe for pecan tarts (harder than it sounds!) I found one and made it my own with a few changes.

I didn’t put any measurements for the pecans and chocolate ..because you can never have too many of either. So use as many as your heart desires!…as long as there’s still room for the filling.

Chocolate Chunk Mini Pecan Tarts
Ingredients:
20-24 Tart Shells – If frozen, take out of the freezer before you begin for about 5-10 mins
chopped pecans
pecan halves – one for each tart
Semi Sweet Chocolate – broken up into small chunks (Bakers secret or any other rich chocolate)
3 eggs
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup dark corn syrup

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325º F.
2. Place tart shells on baking sheet – about 20-24 on a large baking sheet
3. In the bottom of each tart, add 1 tablespoon (or more) chocolate chunks and 1 tablespoon + chopped pecans, then place a pecan half on top of each.
4. In a mixing bowl:
   -whisk together eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, and vanilla. Pour the filling over the pecans, just until it almost reaches the top of the sides of the tarts.
5. Bake for about 40-45 minutes, until the crust is golden, and the middle is set. Remove from the oven and transfer with a lifter to wire racks to cool

I always love pecan pie/tarts served with ice cream, or whip cream. I like them when they’ve been out of the oven for about 30 mins, while they’re still soft and puddingish, but I also love them when their hard and candy like.
Pecan Tarts are always good for a rainy afternoon..especially when you live in Vancouver! Betcha can’t eat just one.. I know I couldn’t!

Enjoy!

So here in Canada it was thanksgiving this weekend! Of course I was in charge of two things, decorating the table and baking. Last year I made this pecan pie, which I saw on Martha Stewart one day. I have actually never made a pumpkin pie and decided I wanted to this year! Well, I guess technically I still haven’t. I made a large pumpkin tart, and little pumpkin tartlets.

My aunt gave me a large tart pan for Christmas and I still haven’t christened it! So I decided it was time to tart it up!..or at least bake one. For my birthday my boss bought me a new cookbook, this book, Baking: From my Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. So I decided to look through it for a potential thanksgiving recipe! I came across the recipe for a pumpkin pie/tart and gave it a try. It was sooo good. I made it a week or two ago for a dinner with my cousins, so I could test it out! It was de-lish. So I decided it would be a great thanksgiving dessert. You can make this as a pie, but if you use it for a large tart, you have enough filling left over for little tarts! which is what I did.

If you love pumpkin pie {like me!}, I would definitely try it as a tart!

Here’s the recipe from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

Sour Cream Pumpkin Pie (or Tart)
(If you make this as a tart, you’ll have filling left over, which you can use to make mini-tartlets; bake the minis at 400 degrees F for 10 to 15 minutes.)

- makes 6 to 8 servings -
Adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours

Ingredients:

1 9-inch single crust Pie Dough , partially baked and cooled, or one 9-inch tart shell , partially baked and cooled
2 cups (canned) unsweetened pumpkin puree
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/3 cup sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
Pinch of ground cloves
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of salt
3 tablespoons dark rum <— I left this one out!**
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Lightly sweetened lightly whipped cream, for topping

Directions:

Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat and put the pie plate (or tart pan) on it.

Put all of the filling ingredients in a food processor and process for 2 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Alternatively, you can whisk the ingredients together vigorously in a mixing bowl. Rap either the work bowl or mixing bowl against the counter to burst any surface bubbles, and pour the filling into the crust.

Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 300°F and continue to bake for 35 to 45 minutes longer (20 to 25 minutes for a tart), or until a knife inserted close to the center comes out clean. (If you don’t want to create a slash in your masterpiece, tap the pan gently—if the custard doesn’t jiggle, or only jiggles a teensy bit in the very center, it’s done.) Transfer the pie (or tart) to a rack and cool to room temperature.

Serving: Pumpkin pie and whipped cream are naturals and, if you’ve tested the pie’s doneness with a knife, you might want to serve the whipped cream as a cover-up. I like this pie chilled, but others are fans of it at room temperature – decide for yourself.

Storing: Like most pies, this one is best served the day it is made. However, you can make the pie early in the day and keep it refrigerated until needed.