Tuesdays with Dorie: La Palette's StrawberryTart

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*Note: My Internet was out since 9:00 this morning and I just got back online about 15 minutes ago! My apologies for posting this so late. It couldn't be helped.

I have to admit that I wasn't all too excited to make this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, La Palette's Strawberry Tart. Not because I have anything against strawberry tarts. I happen to like them very much. And not because I don't think it's a good recipe, because it is a very good one. The reason for my reluctance is because of the timing of this challenge. Here in Florida, strawberry season has been over for months. The only fresh strawberries we have access to are shipped in from California. California strawberries are undeniably tasty, but we don't usually get the really good, ripe and sweet ones until later in the season.
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I thought about what other fresh fruits I might substitute in this recipe. After a search mission at the market, I was a little disappointed. The strawberries were okay, but they still had that bland, watery taste. The peaches and nectarines were hard as rocks. The apricots were sour, as were the raspberries and blackberries. The cherries were not quite dark and plump enough yet. I picked up some strawberries, blackberries and cherries and crossed my fingers, hoping that with enough sugar and shots of booze, they would turn out to be sweet, juicy and delicious!

I sliced my berries and pitted my cherries. Then, I left them and the blackberries to macerate in their own sugar/liqueur baths. I added Chambord to the strawberries, cassis to the cherries and blackberry brandy to the blackberries. It worked! All three of the fruits soaked up enough of their respective cocktails to make very respectable tart fillings.
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Dorie's original recipe yields one large tart that is sliced and then dressed with fruit. I decided to make little tartlets so that everyone could choose their own fruits to fill theirs with. I also felt that the tartlets would act like small containers and hold the fruit and juice in better. I topped the tartlets with a dollop of sweetened creme fraiche (after all, they are French), and the merest hint of freshly ground black pepper. (Ooh La La!)

I made my tartlets using Dorie's Sweet Tart Dough, which I've always had good results with. No problems this time either. I did add an extra egg yolk because I felt the dough wasn't moist enough.

I tasted all three kinds of the tartlets, (I had to. Don't judge me!) and I can't decide which I liked best. They were all good. I think I would have enjoyed them more if they also had some kind of a cream filling, but that wasn't part of this recipe. Maybe next time!
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If you'd like to try this tart, the original recipe can be found on page 374 in Baking: From My Home to Yours and on Serious Eats. My thanks go out to Marie of A Year from Oak Cottage for selecting this week's recipe. Please be sure to check out the TWD blogroll to see what delicious takes on this tart the others have come up with.

Comments

Jules Someone said…
You are totally forgiven for posting late when you make such gorgeous goodies! Yum!
Anonymous said…
These look so beautiful! Love all the different berry tarts.
Anonymous said…
Your tarts are beautiful! I love the different berries!
Christine said…
Beautiful tarts! Love all the different berries!
Gretchen Noelle said…
I love how cup-like these are! Wonderful with all the different fruits!
Anonymous said…
Great fruit choices. So glad they turned out well as filling.
Anonymous said…
Well dang they look perfect! Those purpley colors look divine!
Anonymous said…
they look absolutely perfect. i like all the different choices of fruit. the blackberry one... mmmm!!
Engineer Baker said…
*cough*overachiever*cough* :) I love the vibrancy of all the variations - stunning!
test it comm said…
Those berry tarts look so good!!
Anonymous said…
Oh my, those look amazing!
Rachel said…
I love your little tart trio. Great job!
Susie Homemaker said…
Our farmers market is once a week - tomorrow - and now I am going to have to buy some blackberries thanks to your post! Beautiful job!
NKP said…
Your photography is great and your tarts look amazing. I'll take a cherry.
kimberly salem said…
yummm! gorgeous photos and tarts. i agree about the pastry cream... but it was pretty darn good as is :)
Linda said…
Love the variety and beautiful photos!
Dolores said…
Well I'm glad you were able to breathe some life into your off-season fruit with booze. :) They're gorgeous!
Lore said…
Bet the cherry one was the best :D! fresh ground black pepper? That's genius! LOVE IT
Anonymous said…
I think you did the right thing tasting them all. It was your responsibility to do so, after all, how could you have posted about them if you hadn't tasted them!

Your devotion inspires me ;)!
Nic said…
Save the cherry one for me please!!
Jen said…
Gorgeous! It is strawberry season in Michigan.
these are making me happy right now...
grace said…
i'll take one of each, please and thank you. :)
Peter M said…
Berry, cherry, strawberry...I can't decide!
Those look fantastic and I'm glad you did the trio. The California strawberries mock me every week when I go to Publix--they just don't compare to the gems I was spoiled with a few months ago. :-/ I think I'd go for the cherries tart first since that seems to be my fruit of the month...yum!
Susan @ SGCC said…
Thanks everyone, for the great comments! I really enjoy reading them. I'm so glad you all liked my little tartlets. I can assure you that they tasted as delicious as they looked!

I lost my Internet again last night before I was able to make the TWD rounds. I just got it back about an hour ago. This is really getting me ticked off! Hopefully, I'll get caught up tonight. :D
If these taste as good as they look, then they must be absolutely delicious.

I certainly don't blame you for trying all three. I would have done the same thing!
Heather B said…
yum! They all look fabulous! Great job!
Nicole said…
Well these are absolutely darling, beautiful and perfect. I want the blackberry one! My favorite!
Nina Timm said…
Holy cow, Susan. This is is beautiful. The blackberries brought back many childhood memories. We had a tree in our backyard and permanent black rings around our mouths.
Manggy said…
As a berry fetishist, I would like to personally thank you for making my week, heh heh heh :) Those are the most seductive things I've seen today. Did they spill their macerated juices all over when you cut the crust? You have good cooking sense, to use the liqueur and black pepper! Genius!
PheMom said…
Yum, yum, yum! Look at the variety of goodness! I just knew a cherry version would look beautiful! Fabulous job!
In Ottawa, there's a little bakery called "The Three Tarts". Your picture of the three tarts is perfect! They all look delicious, especially since they're all soaked in different liqueurs. Amazing.
Shari@Whisk: a food blog
You just TASTED all of them??? I would have shoved my pie hole FULL of one of each.....no apologies here.

They look delicious....I will put on a pot of coffee and wait for your arrival.
Melissa said…
OMG, these are amazing. I love the idea of the cherries!!!
I am really very hungry Susan and not a sweet treat within a few blocks of here.I wish I could just reach in and "grab me" one of those:D
CookiePie said…
These are soooo pretty and luscious looking! And I love the individual tarts -- so nice to have your own, like a cupcake, but super-elegant!
Anonymous said…
those tarts are just beautiful! the crust looks perfectly buttery and flakey too. nom nom nom...
Mari said…
I think you did a fine job of playing around with this recipe, and I'm glad that you did and could share it with all of us!
Emily said…
These are so pretty! The finest I've seen.
Leslie said…
absolutely beautiful tarts!!
ostwestwind said…
Where did you get the blackberries, ours are just blooming !

Great looking fruit tarts

Ulrike from Küchenlatein
As much as I love strawberries - and I deeply do - your cherry tart is calling out my name, Susan!
these are stunning!! i love that they are packed with fruit, and i'm all over the cherry one!!
these are stunning!! i love that they are packed with fruit, and i'm all over the cherry one!!
Jen Yu said…
Yours are some of the prettiest ones I've seen!! Wonderful and lovely as always. Btw, I got the oven mitt in the mail :) You are too much! Thank you, sweetie. Just love that it's from you - makes it a million times more special. xxoo

p.s. the picture of the steak from your previous post is staring at me from under the comment window... my word that looks soooooooo good right now!
Anonymous said…
WOW, these look fantatic! I love the blackberry one and the cherry one - YUM!! This was certainly a great recipe and I plan on using it very often!
Gabi said…
Tarts to steal hearts!!!
Very beautiful....
maybelles mom said…
alright, I am the 50th person to say these are beautiful. But, that must mean it is the truth.
Cakelaw said…
Susan, these tarts look achingly delicious. My favourites are the cherry tarts. You'd never know that there was a fruit crisis in Florida from looking at these.
Jaime said…
wow, all three are beautiful! i never get around to visiting all the blogs on tuesday, so posting any time before the weekend is good enough for me! :)
Anonymous said…
I wonder if the chambord stawberries are tasty like the chandlers. Our favorites are the Chandlers from California, they have the most AMAZING flavor!
Back on the issue of AMAZING, your tarts look incredible! All the combinations and colors of the berries is just screaming out SUMMER! Beautiful!
Anonymous said…
Stunning and Yummy! Don't you just love this time of the year, when you can get such beautiful fruit.
All three look amazing yummy! Great job!
These look great! Did you have any issues with too much juice? Did they get soggy at all?
Graeme said…
I'd love to choose a favourite, but they look incredible - all three.

Great pastry, too.
They look so gorgeous!!!! Love the photos...this is such an inspiration.. I shall make one of these one day.. dunno when ...
They look so gorgeous!!!! Love the photos...this is such an inspiration.. I shall make one of these one day.. dunno when ... BTW, added u to my links..

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