All Caught Up. Now on to Tartlets!

For the most part, my posts from now on will be from current experiences. My latest excursions have been in tartlets.

There's something about individual servings that's really special. Maybe I feel this way because as a twin, I grew up sharing everything. But I really like having my very own little pastry ALL to myself. And I think the idea of little tartlets in itself is charming. They're so enticing with their fluted, golden brown crusts and attractive arrangements of fresh fruits atop a decadent filling. Ahem, excuse me while I stop salivating.

Ok, so I've been a little obsessed lately. For a few months now, I've been looking at the same tartlet recipes, but waiting. Waiting for what? The gumption to again try something new, and also to commit already and buy those darn tartlet pans. My kitchen is already straining to accommodate all the special equipment that I need for my baking.

Well, I finally bought the pans, and then I finally tried some recipes. The first were for a simple pie or tart dough and the second for a raspberry-chocolate ganache filling. The tart crusts came out golden brown and very un-disc-like. And the ganache also turned out well. With raspberries and powdered sugar on top, the tartlets looked very promising. Well, they tasted good. But that was it, just, good. Maybe my sweet tooth is too demanding. The only added sugar the recipes called for was for the garnish. Not enough. I think some whipped cream on top would have done the trick, but I was too lazy. So half of the tartlets sat in the fridge for awhile. When I did decide to eat them, the other flat of raspberries had already molded. So I added bananas, which actually tasted pretty good.

A little later, I was having company over so I decided to try a new crust recipe and do a different filling. The new crust called for sugar and more butter. To make a long story short, the dough was impossible to work with, so I had to throw it in the freezer for awhile. Thankfully I had leftover dough from the first batch. I used that to make the first six crusts. They came out too brown. I figured it had to do with sitting in the fridge for awhile. So I used the more buttery, sugary dough. That came out browner. Only two of the second batch were salvageable. Rather than throw out all my hard work I decided the crusts would taste better once the filling was added. I made a quick cream cheese filling and added some fruit. Ta da! They turned out fine.

I wish the sweeter, more buttery crusts had turned out, (even the burnt ones tasted good). But they didn't and neither did the batch ahead of them. I now know why. Instead of using my regular baking sheet underneath the tartlet pans, I used an older one with rims to keep the pans from sliding off. The older one apparently decreased the baking time.

Lessons Learned
I learned that I need to be more creative when baking. The raspberries and ganache didn't work out for me, but the bananas did. And I'm sure some candied oranges would taste good too. Also, I need to remember that not all baking sheets are created equally. And when using a new one, I need to monitor the baking progress. Lastly, the second dough was impossible to work with, I wanted to give up and throw it away. (Luckily it improved a little in the freezer.) Though it was a pain, if it hadn't burnt, it would have been worth it. So, I shouldn't avoid more difficult things, they do pay off.