Truffle Cups

Some people put all the things that have been hanging around the pantry together and come up with hash. I put all the things that have been hanging around the pantry together and come up with chocolate-raspberry-hazelnut truffle cups. On the whole, I like my pantry better.

Truffle Cups

• For the pastry:
• 1/2 recipe pie crust
• less one Tbs. butter
• plus 1/4 cup roasted, ground hazelnuts
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• For the truffle filling:
• 1/2 recipe basic ganache
• 1 Tbs. soft butter
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• For the raspberry ganache:
• 1 1/2 oz. white chocolate
• 1/8 cup heavy cream
• 3 Tbs. raspberry jam, strained and seeds discarded

• Prepare pastry, wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate at least a half hour before rolling. Roll out dough, cut out circles using a 2 3/4-inch biscuit cutter, and line the cups of a mini muffin tin. Trim the edges so they are flush with the top of the tray. Preheat oven to 350-375°F. Fill each cup with beans. Bake cups 25-30 minutes, or until edges are golden and dough is cooked through. Remove to wire racks and allow to cool.
• Prepare ganache adding the butter once the ganache is smooth. Blend again for a few seconds to incorporate butter. Allow to cool slightly then pipe into cooled pastry cups.
• Prepare white chocolate ganache in the same manner as the basic ganache. Once the ganache is smooth transfer to a bowl and stir in the jam. Spoon enough raspberry mixture on top of the chocolate ganache to fill the cup without any spilling over the edge. Allow to set before transporting. Raspberry topping will not harden entirely so don't stack the cups.

Makes 12-15 cups.

I used what I had on hand, and you should feel just as free to experiment--with this, with anything. What's the worst that could happen? You can always chop up any rejects and add them to your next batch of ice cream.

Fall Pie Primer, Part One: Crust

A good crust is one of the best tricks you can have up your sleeve in the kitchen. I wrote about pie crust last year and my feelings on the subject haven't changed. I thought I'd bring it up again, though, because it is getting to be that time of year again and some poor souls might be eyeing the freezer aisle. Don't do it! You're going to be making your own pumpkin purée, peeling all those apples, making your own mincemeat, so why would you buy a pre-made pie crust. You wouldn't. I know.

Pie Crust

10-inch double crust

• 2 2/3 cups flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 cup butter, cold
• 7-8 Tbs. water, very cold

• Combine flour and salt.
• Cut butter into pieces and drop into flour mixture. Using a pastry cutter or your fingers, work the butter into flour until butter is well incorporated, but there are still visible pieces of butter. (Recipes often say, 'until mixture resembles small peas,' but I like to leave slightly larger pieces.)
• Using a fork, stir in water one tablespoon at a time, being careful not to add too much. When dough begins to from clumps, enough water has been added.
• Form the dough into a ball. The dough might be somewhat crumbly, but as long as you can make it into a ball it will be alright. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least half an hour before rolling.

Use for pies, pasties, and tarts.

I had a bit of a mishap last week: I thought I had a 9-inch pan so made the recipe for an 8 to 9-inch double crust. Unfortunately it was a 10-inch pan. It is no fun trying to eke an extra inch out of too little dough and then having none leftover to decorate the top of the pie. So from now on I'm making enough for a 10-inch pan regardless of what size pie plate I actually have. Wasteful? Maybe, but in this instance I don't care. There is always something to be done with leftover pie dough, but don't make me cobble together another pie without enough.

Peaches and Pastry

The same day I went blueberry picking, I also picked peaches. The peaches I picked that day are long gone--made into a plum sponge pudding (the recipe for which I will share with you one day) and devoured with vanilla ice cream--but the farm I went to started delivering to the co-op so I picked up a few more peaches Wednesday night. I have been wanting to make a fruit tart all summer and while berries are all well and good, when I saw the peaches I thought, "Peaches."

Somehow between going to the dentist this morning and going to work this afternoon, I managed to fit in my first peach tart trial. As usual, I read several recipes before jumping in and many of them--including Julia Child's, Paula Peck's, and one from this ancient Provençal book my sister gave me--put a layer of ground nuts between the crust and the fruit. Paula Peck adds cinnamon to the nuts and I followed her example. It is my guess that the nut layer acts as a barrier between the fruit and the crust, preventing the crust from becoming too soggy on the bottom. It is also delicious.

I was never quite sure why everybody insists on brushing fruit tarts with an apricot or currant glaze when they come out of the oven, but today I learned why. When my tarts came out of the oven the peaches, shiny and lovely when they went in, were lackluster; dull. The glaze restored their shine, their sheen, their peachy keen.

The real star, though, was the pastry. When making tarts, I usually just make a recipe of my go-to pie crust, but today I didn't. The recipe said, "rich tart pastry (230)," so I turned to page 230. The recipe called for 3 hard-cooked egg yolks so I had to try it. I am now completely convinced that hard-cooked egg yolks make the world go 'round. I had a clue after making Claudia Fleming's biscuits (thank you, Deb), which also call for hard-cooked egg yolks, but now I know. I took a bite of tart, an edge piece, and time stopped. My heart, my body, my everything melted as if in sympathetic reaction to what was happening in my mouth. It is a delicate pastry; it is a rich pastry; it is a heavenly pastry.

Rich Tart Pastry

thank you, Paula Peck

• 2 cups flour, sifted
• 3 Tbs. sugar
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. lemon zest, grated
• 3 hard-cooked egg yolks
• 2 raw egg yolks

• Sift flour into a mixing bowl. Make a well in the center of it and to it add the remaining ingredients, mashing the cooked yolks or passing them through a medium sieve. Using your finger tips, make a paste of the ingredients in the well and gradually incorporate the flour until a smooth, firm ball of dough is formed. Work quickly so the butter does not become oily. Chill the dough until it is firm enough to roll.
• Roll dough between sheets of wax paper. Once you have lined your tart pan(s), chill in the freezer before baking.

Enough for one 9-inch tart with a bit left over.

If you find this pastry is altogether too fragile for your purposes, Paula notes that you can substitute 2 egg whites for the raw egg yolks, which will also make for a crisper crust.

I think I will look around for another tart recipe before I am satisfied--maybe something with a custard--but at least I have found the crust.