Red Rose Tartlets

Bakers across the world will readily agree on this next statement: licking the bowl, sampling the dough and devouring the filling is the best part of making things from scratch. Sometimes I eat so much in between that by the time the tarts or cookies are baked, I’m not even hungry anymore. Then there are times when I thoroughly regret having eaten so much because it turned out I needed all that dough. But today there was dough and pastry cream in excess, so joy for me!


Red Rose Tartlet


The tartlets I made today are lovely in their simplicity. Don’t let the fancy name fool you. All you need is some rose syrup and 5 generous mouths to feed. I’m aware that the rose pasty cream is almost vulgarly pink, but the pastry cream turned out to be quite yellow so I went a tad overboard with the food coloring. Rating: 3.5 out of 5.



The Crust: Pierre Hermé - Desserts
You will need ⅓ recipe of this Sweet Tart Dough.
(I made half of this recipe and froze the leftovers.)

Ingredients: Makes enough for three 10-inch tarts
- 2 ½ sticks (10 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 ½ cups confectioner's sugar, sifted
- ½ cup ground blanched almonds
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ vanilla bean pulp or ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour

Instructions:
- Place the butter in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on low speed until creamy. Add the sugar, almonds, salt, vanilla and eggs, beating on low speed. Still on low, add the flour in 3 or 4 additions and mix only until the mixture comes together - a matter of seconds. Don't overdo it.
- Gather the dough into a ball and divide it into 3 or 4 pieces. Gently press each piece into a disk and wrap each one in plastic. Allow the dough to rest in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or for up to 2 days. The dough can be wrapped airtight and frozen for up to a month.
- To mold the tartlets, butter and set aside 5 individual-sized tartlets tins, fluted or plain. Working on a floured surface with one piece of dough at a time (keep the other piece in the refrigerator), roll the dough to a thickness of about ⅛ inch. Fit each round of dough into a buttered tin. To get a good fit without roughing up the dough, use a small ball of excess dough to push the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the tin. Refrigerate the tins while you roll out, cut, and mold the second piece of dough. Chill the tins for at least 30 minutes. If you’d like, the scraps can be rolled and cut to make additional tartlets: gather the scraps from both pieces of dough, form them into a disk, and cover and chill for at least an hour before rolling out.
- Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350ºF. Remove the pan with the tartlet tins from the refrigerator and gently press a square of aluminium foil into each tin. Put a few beans or a spoonful of rice into each tin – just enough to keep the foil in place – and bake the tartlets for about 15 minutes. Remove the foil and beans and bake the shells for another 2 minutes or so, just until they are lightly colored. Transfer the tins to a rack and allow the shells to cool to room temperature.


Rose Pastry Cream: adapted from MarthaStewart.com

Ingredients: Makes about 1 ¼ cups
- 1 cup whole milk
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons rose syrup
- Pinch of salt
- 2 large egg yolks
- ⅛ cup cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Instructions:
- Whisk milk, ⅛ cup sugar, the rose syrup, and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat, and set aside.
- Whisk yolks, cornstarch, and remaining ⅛ cup sugar in a bowl. Whisking constantly, gradually add milk mixture, ¼ cup at a time. Pour back into pan. Cook, whisking, over medium-high heat until mixture thickens and registers 160 degrees on a candy thermometer, about 2 minutes.
- Transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add butter; mix on medium speed until butter melts and mixture cools, about 5 minutes.
Cover with plastic, pressing it directly onto surface. Refrigerate at least 2 hours (up to 3 days). Let stand at room temperature 10 minutes and stir before using.


Red Rose Tartlets

Comments

Chele said…
Very pretty - it would almost be a shame to eat them! I'm currently reading Dorie Greenspan & Pierre Hermé - Chocolate Desserts! Reckon I've gained a pound from the pictures alone lol
Eden Angel said…
Oh wow! These look so adorable! How do you manage to always make your desserts look perfect?? xx
Danielle said…
Cute! I actually really like the color of them(: I like licking the bowl & eating the batter too. It's the best part!
Anna Patricia said…
You take great images! I can practically taste it :)
Mariel Torres said…
they look so beautiful! they seem to make the perfect desert for pretty much any occasion :)
Heidi said…
I'd love to make these, they sound (and look) delicious. And they are the perfect shade of pink!
SteelCityFlan said…
They're lovely, and I don't think the pink looks vulgar - they actually look very sophisticated :)
Lucie said…
Your crusts look perfect! This is such a cute dessert, perfect for a tea party!
Snooky doodle said…
i REALLY LIKE THE LOOK OF THESE :)
Wow, it's so adorable.
It looks like it's called - cute.
I'm really in love with it.
Lovely regards,

xx, Jana from petit fournil de paris.
A Bowl Of Mush said…
Aww these are gorgeous!!
I love love looove rose!!
Anonymous said…
That's such a pretty shade of pink!
Eliana said…
I'm right there with you! Licking the bowl is definitely the best part of baking from scratch.

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