I always have so much fun when I get to work with my friend Allison. Here is a link to the blog that she works on with another friend Liz at Pie Drunk. Allison is such a good baker that I get ambitious and really wanted to try to shoot a tart or a cake. As a non baker, those seem rather terrifying to me. She thought about some ideas and sent me the link to the White Chocolate Citrus Tart that was done at Desserts for Breakfast. It was so pretty I just had to try it! She did a great job making it, and helping out quite a bit with the food styling. (Recipe from Desserts for Breakfast below the photos) For our tart, we added raspberries, and lemons, and substituted blood oranges for cara cara oranges.
In other news, I was really excited to have one of my photos featuered on huffington post last week in an article on Beautiful Iced Coffee!! Click the link to check it out. 🙂 I also have been planning some fun summer trips, and since I love traveling it gives me some really fun things to look forward too. I plan to shoot everywhere I go, so I will share when I get back, for sure. From a friends wedding in Chicago, to visiting friends in Colorado, it should be a lovely summer!
Blood Orange + Grapefruit White Chocolate Tart
makes one 9-inch round tart
for tart shell
100 g buckwheat flour
60 g almond meal
40 g brown rice flour
40 g potato starch
50 g sugar
7 Tbspn (99 g) butter, cold and cut in pieces
1 large egg yolk
3 – 4 Tbspn cold water
for filling
100 g white chocolate, chopped
13¼ oz (375 g) mascarpone cheese
3 Tbspn (38 g) sugar
½ cup (115 g) heavy cream
1 vanilla bean
for citrus
2 – 3 small grapefruits
3 – 4 blood oranges
marmalade, for glaze
1. for tart shell. In a food processor, mix the buckwheat flour, almond meal, brown rice flour, potato starch, and sugar until well-combined. Add the cold butter and pulse until the size of small peas. Add the egg yolk and pulse to combine. Gradually add the water one tablespoon at a time until a dough begins to form when pressed together between two fingers. Do not overmix. Remove the pastry from the food processor, form into a disc, wrap in parchment paper or plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least one hour.
2. Preheat oven to 425° F. Remove the pastry dough from the refrigerator and roll the dough on a lightly floured surface until ⅛-inch thick. Press the dough into a 9-inch round tart pan. Trim and remove any excess dough. If the dough has softened during rolling, return the tart shell to the refrigerator or freezer and chill until firm, at least 15 to 30 minutes. Prick the bottom of the dough all over with a fork, cover with parchment paper, and weigh down using dry beans or pie weights. Bake the tart shell for 13 to 15 minutes until the edges just begin to turn golden. Remove the beans and parchment paper and continue to bake for 3 to 5 minutes more. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.
3. for filling. In a double boiler or the microwave, melt the white chocolate. Let cool to room temperature but do not let the chocolate firm up again. *AS A NOTE, WE FOUND IT MIGHT BE BETTER TO MELT THE WHITE CHOCOLATE, CHEESE, SUGAR, VANILLA AND CREAM AT THE SAME TIME. Our white chocolate hardened.
4. Combine the mascarpone cheese, sugar, and heavy cream in a mixer bowl. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds into the bowl. With the whisk attachment, whip the mascarpone mixture on medium high just until stiff peaks. Do not overmix. Carefully fold in the melted, room temperature white chocolate. Spoon the filling into the cooled tart shell, and smooth with a spatula.
5. for citrus. Remove the rinds, pith, and seeds from the citrus fruit. Either segment the citrus or cut into thin slices and arrange on the tart. Warm the marmalade and brush a small amount on the fruit for a shiny glaze. Serve the tart on the same day it is made.
