Bake Along #55 - Italian Almond Tart

I was not too well today, but I have chosen today is the day to bake this tart so I proceeded and it's a good decision. This is a really yummy tart. A little too sweet to my liking, but it's really delicious!
Eating a slice of this sweet and tangy tart with a cup of ginger tea made me feel better :)
Ginger tea sounds a weird choice to accompany this tart but it's a great choice for me with body ache, sore throat and stuffy nose LOL

Recipe is from Williams-Sonoma
I baked half recipe using my 20cm pie tart and it's still more than enough to feed my family

What you need:
(for half recipe)

For the tart dough:
1/2 egg yolk
1 tbsp very cold water
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
100g all purpose flour
45g sugar
a pnch of salt
65g cold unsalted butter, cut small

Method:

1. In a small bowl, stir together the egg yolk, water and vanilla; set aside
2. To make the dough by hand, in a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar and salt. Using a pastry cutter or 2 knives, cut the butter into the flour mixture until the texture resembles coarse cornmeal, with butter pieces no larger than small peas. Add the egg mixture and mix with a fork just until the dough pulls together (you can also use stand mixer or food processor - but I did by hand)
3. Transfer the dough to a work surface, pat into a ball and flatten into a disk. Use the dough immediately, or wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until well chilled, about 30 mins
4. Fold the dough round in half and carefully transfer to a 24cm tart pan (mine was half recipe with 20cm pan), preferably with a removable bottom. Unfold and ease the round into the pan, without stretching it, and pat it firmly into the bottom and up the sides of the pan
5. Trim off any excess dough by gently running a rolling pin across the top of the pan. Press the dough into the sides to extend it slightly above the rim to offset any shrinkage during baking. Refrigerate or freeze the tart shell until firm, about 30 minutes

Now prepare parchment paper and pie weight to blind bake the pie crust
Preheat the oven to 190degC

Line the pastry shell with parchment paper and fill with pie weight. Bake for 20 minutes, then lift an edge of the foil. If the dough looks wet, continue to bake, checking every 5 minutes, until the dough is pale gold, for a total baking time of 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and reduce the heat to 175degC

For the filling:
65g unsalted butter, room temperature
125g almond paste*, cut small cubes
30g sugar
1 egg
30g all purpose flour
55g raspberry jam
25g sliced almonds

*How to make almond paste: (source: Joyce from Kitchen Flavours)
Mix 75g ground almond, 45g sifted icing sugar, 1/4 tsp almond extract (I replaced with vanilla extract), a pinch of salt and 1 tablespoon of egg white
Knead to a dough and it's ready to use

Method:

1. In a bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter until smooth
2. Add the almond paste, one piece at a time, beating until smooth after each addition
3. While continuing to beat, sprinkle in the sugar
4. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the flour

 

Now back to the tart shell...

Spread the jam evenly over the bottom of the partially baked tart shell. Spoon in the almond paste mixture and spread evenly over the jam. Sprinkle the surface evenly with the sliced almonds

Bake the tart until the filling is golden and the middle is firm to the touch, 35 to 45 mins Transfer to a wire rack and let the tart cool completely. Serve at room temperature

This tart is for Bake Along , a baking event organised by  Joyce from Kitchen Flavours, Lena from Frozen Wings and Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids

Bake Along #53 - Brown Sugar Raisins Bread (Williams-Sonoma)

Raisins, cinnamon, brown sugar
Another lovable combination, easily lovable :)

I baked only 1/4 recipe after I found out even half recipe still uses almost half a kg of bread flour. I guess it's pretty wise since the bread is best eaten on the baking day itself
It's still great to be eaten the next day by microwaving it about 15 secs. Throwing them in the toaster was great, too
To me, this bread is flavourful enough to eat on its own. Texture wise, it's not so fluffy but it's soft with a little chewiness. Nice!
Thanks for choosing this recipe, Joyce :)

Recipe is from the book The Williams-Sonoma Baking Book
or HERE

What you need:
1/4 recipe (for 1 20x10cm loaf pan)

1/4 tbsp active dry yeast

3/4 tbsp granulated sugar

75ml warm water (40-46degC)

60ml warm milk (40-46degC)

3/4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for greasing

1/4 tbsp salt

1/2 (30g) large egg, lightly beaten

240g bread flour

35g golden raisins (sultanas)

35g dark raisins

Filling:
40g firmly packed light brown sugar mixed with 1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Method:

1. In a bowl, sprinkle the yeast and a pinch of the granulated sugar over 25ml of the water and stir to dissolve. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes
2. Using breadmaker, add in the remaining water, milk, egg, and yeast mixture
3. Followed by sugar, salt, flour and yeast
4. Start dough cycle and after 5 mins kneading add in butter
5. Let it knead and do the first proofing - total is 1 hour 30 mins
6. Lightly grease and line the pan
7. Take out the dough from the breadmaker and flatten using rolling pin
8. Brush lightly with butter (my addition) and sprinkle with filling
9. Beginning at a narrow end, tightly roll up each rectangle into a compact log. Pinch the ends and the long seam to seal in the filling. Place each log, seam side down, in a prepared pan. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until the dough is about 1 inch above the rim of each pan, about 1 hour
10. Preheat an oven to 175degC. Bake until the loaf are golden brown and pull away from the sides of the pan, 35 to 40 minutes. Turn the loaf out onto wire rack and let cool completely

 

 

 

 

This is for Bake Along , a baking event organised by  Joyce from Kitchen Flavours, Lena from Frozen Wings and Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids