Midweek Roundup: "A Complete Doddle"

Photo by Nicola

She Bakes the Cake

To be precise, Nicola called this recipe a "complete doddle" if you have an already-prepared crust sitting in the fridge.  If you have to make the crust first, it's not so much of a doddle.  However, before you think this was a complete breeze for Nicola, you should probably also know that she overbaked the tart (but only because she followed the directions) and ended up with a "crack between the pastry and the filling [that] could swallow a small child."  (You can see the crack in the picture--it clearly presents a danger to small children).  This tart is on Nicola's make-again list, but next time she's going to eat it soon after it comes out of the oven, when the crust is at its crispest.

Creative Vicki not only made the tart ("exactly how I always wished a lemon bar would taste") but she also made a parfait with the leftover filling, crumbled shortbread cookies, raspberries, and whipped cream.  In fact, Vicki should get to work on her own cookbook, called something like "Everyday Trifles."  She clearly believes that any dessert can be improved, and any disaster can be rescued, by trifleizing a recipe.  And really, she does have a point.  Look at her parfait if you have any doubt.

Jen did something even more daring than making a parfait.  She made a tart crust without rolling out the dough--she just patted it into a pan.  Why has it taken so long for someone to suggest this?  No rolling, no splitting, no breaking, no sticking.  And it looks lovely too!  With no rolling of pie crust to put her in a bad mood, her blog is happiness itself:  "wonderfully creamy and lemony," "very simple to make," "a delightful dessert."  I don't think pastry whizzes understand how daunting rolling out a piece of dough can be to those of us who are pastry-challenged.

Leave it to Kristina to celebrate her making of the Araxi Lemon Cream Tart by visiting Whistler, B.C., the home of the Araxi Restaurant.  No word on whether she herself visited the Araxi for a taste of the original tart, but she did whip up her own, which she described as "quite a simple" recipe.  Just wave your hands around the ingredients and "Done!  This made a great dessert on Saturday, with my parents visiting.  Just had another piece tonight, and I think the rest might make it to work tomorrow."

Rachel noted that when you bake a lot of Rose's recipes, you realize that chocolate and lemon are high on her list of favored flavors.  And if you're "going to bake a lot of lemon desserts, this one should be on your list!"  Rachel also zipped right through this recipe:  "Almost before I realized it, I was pulling the baked crust from the oven!"  This was a satisfying recipe for another reason; Rachel figured out how to whip small amounts of cream with her hand-held mixer without splashing cream all over the kitchen walls.  (She made a makeshift silicone guard, and now most of the cream stays in the bowl).  It's the small things that keep us going.

When you start reading Faithy's blog, you think this is going to be a story with a very unhappy ending.  No time to rest!  Bubbles that couldn't be removed!  Poured too much filling in the tart shell! Until you get to the last paragraph, which is a perfect example of all's well that ends well.  "This is the BEST lemon tart I have ever tasted!  I always thought lemon tart is too sour for me ... but this cream tart, I love!  Now I feel like making it again...soo good!"

Next week:  Brandy Snap Cannolis.  I can pretty much guarantee that nobody is going to say that these were a breeze to make, but, like so many other of Rose's multi-page, multi-step, multi-process recipes, they may well turn out to be worth the effort.

The countdown:  Just eight more elegant recipes.  I hope you have time to try some.