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Tuesday, March 2, 2010
TWD #91: I’m going (coco)nuts!
My dear readers, Before I give you the 411 on the above Tuesdays With Dorie weekly dessert, will you allow me to vent?? Not to sound ungrateful b/c I LOVE my new house but the natural lighting (or lack thereof) is driving me (coco)NUTS! I think I just need to bite the bullet and ask the lighting guys at Home Depot for help on how to add some OOMPH to my kitchen lights. Me thinks the builders probably didn’t spring for the mega wattage that I need for taking non-flash food photography. I swear I have photography envy these days. Le sigh… //end vent
This week the TWD bakers are tempering and whipping up some Coconut Custard Tart for your viewing pleasure hosted by Beryl of Cinemon Girl. You can find the recipe on her blog.
I was pretty excited for this one. Besides cake, I’m kinda smitten with my tart pan. Initially I was going to cut the recipe in 1/3 to make mini tarts but I threw caution (and my diet) to the wind and said “What the heck! I’m making the whole thing! FTW.”
What I learned this week:
FYI burned coconut actually doesn’t smell very good. Heed my warning! Don’t turn your back on those sneaky suckers or you might be spraying your house with Febreeze to get the smell out of your couch, pillows, hair, clothes, dog…
As much as I J’DORE my KitchenAid Mixer, it’s kinda nice to take breaks from our relationship now and then and use my food processor. It made mince meat out of all that buttah.
I may or may not have read Dorie’s instructions word for word when she said to break up the yolk and slowly add it to the food processor but rather just opted to drop he whole yolk blob in. *looking innocent*
This step right here is my favorite part of tart making: putting the dough in the tart pan. I never met a Sweet Tart Dough I didn’t like.
Look! I sifted the cornstarch into the sugar for the custard just like a good little recipe reader. But I need work on my egg yolk separating. Some yolks stayed blobs but other yolks broke and oozed through saucepan like the Nile through Sudan.
No matter. All their fates are the same. Blobs or ooze. They still temper the same. Since we don’t drink whole milk in my house (Hubs only likes fat free) I substituted with half-and-half. Not sure if it’s really a true substitution but it seemed to work out pretty good.
Before adding the butter, the custard looked kinda like soft scrambled eggs. I admit I started hyperventilating but what a difference adding some butter makes. Smooth as a baby’s butt. Not that you really wanna think about “butt” while you’re baking a tart but… (no homonym intended. HA HA!)
Look! I sifted the powdered sugar into the heavy cream like a good little recipe reader. Do 2 rights make a wrong right? I hope so.
I heart fresh made whipped cream. Although I have to admit, right before I added the toasted coconut to the custard I had reservations.
Look at that mound of whipped cream! Does it get any better than this?
Husband rating: A/A-
He had nothing but good things to say about this tart but I know it wasn’t an “A+” though b/c he didn’t ask for a second slice.
Wifey rating: A-/B+
I like coconut but in moderation. I knew I should have gone with my gut and omitted the toasted coconut from the custard. I liked it as a garnish on top of the whipped cream but I like my custards smooth and creamy and the chewy coconut bits distracted my taste buds. Oh… and I think I’m gonna have to get myself some whole milk. Custard was good but not as silky as I’ve had before using whole milk. Live and learn.
Next week: Thumbprints For Us Big Guys page 164
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Kelly — March 2, 2010 @ 7:21 am
I’ve never tried a tart, but you’ve given me inspiration. Plus I absolutely LOVE that you made a grammar joke! You now have my attention! :)
Linda — March 2, 2010 @ 7:39 am
Man, I need to get my rear in gear and get my TWD post up. Your tart looks fantastic! I’m with you, as I could have done without the coconut folded into the custard; still, my coconut obsessed hubs enjoyed the dessert.
For kitchen lighting, you should also check out IKEA, as your can get practical and very cool looking lighting that is easy on the pocketbook. I recently added track lighting for my home office and am considering addition lighting for the kitchen (I’m also challenged with not having enough natural light in the kitchen). Good luck!
BTW, if I haven’t said so already, I love the new look of your blog CB!
Susan — March 2, 2010 @ 8:30 am
Your tart turned out perfect! Love all the “blow by blow” pics. I loved this one and will definitely make it again.
Mary Ann — March 2, 2010 @ 10:06 am
I love it. You crack me up!
I think everyone burned coconut this week- what is up with that?
Your tart turned out pretty!
We are twinners when it come to faves- I love to bake cake and tarts!
Beryl — March 2, 2010 @ 1:34 pm
So many dishes go went undocumented until I got a light kit for xmas. Your tart looks great. Thanks for baking with me!
AmyRuth — March 2, 2010 @ 9:54 pm
I love your tart. It has heft! The layers are nice and substantial. Very nice photos inside out. Those are the hard ones. Great job! Thanks for stopping by and I’ll pass your compliments to Corbin. ;”) He’ll love it!
Uh, you are so not a cougar…. stop it.
Bridget — March 3, 2010 @ 7:08 am
I completely agree with you about the toasted coconut in the filling – ruined that silky pastry cream smoothness that I love! Also, I am far from the custard goddess, because my pastry cream oozed all over the plate when I cut the tart. I used a combination of 2% milk and half and half, but apparently I should have increased the ratio of half and half.
Peggy — March 3, 2010 @ 7:35 am
Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today. I can’t tell you how much that meant to me. And your coconut tart is fabulously perfect! I’m so in AWE. Truly. It looks very professional. I really want to try this one because I love coconut, toasted or not. And your photos rock. If you need more lighting, I surely can’t tell. Have a great week!!
Marthe — March 3, 2010 @ 11:51 pm
Perfect tart!! I absolute loved this one, I might use a little less coconut in the custard next time but it still tasted great!
miss kate — March 4, 2010 @ 10:53 am
re: burned coconut: I nearly BLINDED myself when I first opened the oven to stir the coconut. It wasn’t actually burned, so I have no idea what that noxious cloud of whatever was that came up but I had to go compose myself for a minute :-)
Your pictures are still lovely.
miss kate, who also has like NO natural light in her kitchen
steph (whisk/spoon) — March 4, 2010 @ 1:20 pm
yes, it’s fun to give the food processor a spin every once in awhile! your tart gets an A from me for sure!