les tartes aux fruits de saison / Cordon Bleu Jour 6

Yesterday was my favorite day yet.  We had six hours in the kitchen with Chef, and at the end of the day, I went home with two beautiful tarts that I made all by myself.  Well, almost.  I had to have a little help from Chef getting my pastry crust in the pastry ring comme il faut, and he made the meringue for everyone because it's easier in larger batches, but other than that, they were all mine. 

Tarte aux fruits de saison
Seasonal fruit tart

Tarte au citron meringuée
Lemon meringue tart

Both had a pâte sablée and an almond paste.  We blind baked the crust, then added the almond paste using a pastry bag, and then baked for 10 more minutes.  I was surprised to learn that you don't need a mold to make these tarts; a simple pastry ring and a baking sheet will do.  It's easier to serve the tarts this way, because there's no risk of breaking them.  Another tip is to clean up the edge of the baked crust with a knife so it's smoother.


These beauties miraculously survived the metro+bus+walk to St. Ouen, then walk+metro+train+car from St. Ouen to Poix.  They were only a little worse for the wear.  We at the fruit one at the dinner party in Poix last night, and the lemon one today after lunch.  And they both tasted as beautiful as they looked!  The dinner guests thought they were store-bought.  What a compliment!

Shopping list: pastry rings of various sizes, loads of good French butter, parchment paper, almond powder, butane torch to brown the meringue.