Lucky Me!!

I was very very spoilt this birthday by receiving loads of lovely presents, the biggest and best being my beloved Empire Red Kitchenaid Artisan mixer (!!) from my brother as well as a 3 tier cupcake stand from my sis-in-law, a magazine subscription to GoodFood magazine from my sis, a sugarcraft gun from another sis-in-law, gorgeous bangles from some close friends and a beautiful accessorize bag from hubby, Mr WWW. Now I have the mammoth task trying to put everything to use - No problems there with the bangles and the bag! And the magazine has some mouth-watering dishes that are definate must-tries, especially when they are tried and tested by their own panel. I have loads of recipes ear-marked, just sitting pretty waiting for the right opportunity.

I had that opportunity today. My friend M came over for a cuppa, but with so many recipes calling out to me ("Bake me! Eat me!"), I knew it couldn't be just an ordinary cuppa tea. I made a peach and almond tart to go with the tea.

OK, I'll come clean - I overdone the blind-baking so ended up with a dark crust (a too-common casualty when running around after 2 toddlers!). However, it tasted soo scrummy, the pastry case had the biscuit crunch, no sogginess at all. And the peaches and almonds were totally melt-in-the-mouth!


You can also get the recipe online from here


Peach and Almond Tart
Ingredients
For the Pastry:
• 175g plain flour , plus extra for rolling
• 85g cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 2 egg yolks
For the Filling:
• 100g caster sugar
• 140g butter
• 2 eggs , beaten
• 140g ground almonds - next time I'll use less cos I like my filling to sit inside the case rather than level
• 50g plain flour
• 3 peaches , sliced - I found 2 peaches was enough
• peach preserve or apricot jam


Method:
1. To make the pastry, rub together the flour and butter until it looks like fine breadcrumbs, then mix in the sugar. Add 1 egg yolk and 1 tsp water, followed by the next yolk and 1 tsp water until the dough just comes together. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 30 mins.
2. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface until big enough to line a 23cm tart tin. If the dough rips, simply patch it up. Cut away the excess pastry. (At this point, I put it back in the fridge for a further 20 mins so pastry wouldn't shrink in the tin) Line with greaseproof paper, fill with baking beans, then bake for 10 mins. Remove paper and beans. Prick quite a few holes in the base of your tart, then bake for another 10-15 mins until biscuity.
3. While the pastry cooks, make the filling. Whisk the sugar and butter together until you get a pale paste. Beat in the eggs and finally add the almonds and flour. Spoon into pastry case, arrange the peach slices across the top in a pattern and bake for 30-40 mins until golden. When cool, brush your preserve or jam across the top. Serve with a little pot of crème fraîche (optional)
Enjoy!!


My eldest daughter, WWW-1 finishes her preschool this week and I feel sooo sad :(   I've tried telling her that she'll be going to nursery in September, she's even been there to see it but she doesnt get that she wont be seeing her teachers and keyworker again who she's grown attached to and who have also helped me tackle the big hurdle of the dreaded potty-training! I shall be making some cupcakes for the pre-school teachers as a thank you and will post it in due course.


Oh yeah, another thing I just remembered. I've just joined The Daring Kitchen as a daring baker! Very excited, waiting now for the confirmation and whether I will make it for the August challenge. Very excited about that because I'll be at my parents for the first part of August and all four of us siblings will be getting together. We're all foodies to a certain extent and have great cook-offs and challenges between us.


See you soon!