Crisp Grape Tarts Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400˚ F. Whisk the egg and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl until combined. Roll out the puff pastry into a 17-inch square. Using a sharp knife, cut the puff pastry sheet into sixteen 4 1/4-inch squares. Arrange the squares on a parchment-lined baking sheet spaced evenly apart.
• Add a pinch of mozzarella to the center of each pastry square, followed by a slice of salami and 2 pieces of asparagus. Lift opposite corners of each pastry square and fold them in, wrapping the pastry around the filling. Dab some of the egg wash onto the corners and press to seal. Brush each tart with more egg wash and bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Steps:

• Cut each phyllo pastry sheet into six squares, about 4 inches each. Layer six squares of phyllo pastry in each of six muffin cups, brushing each layer with butter and placing the corners of the squares to create a petal effect. Bake at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes or until phyllo is crisp and lightly browned. Brush bottom of each pastry cup lightly with honey, using about 1 tablespoon among the 6 cups. Remove phyllo cups from muffin pan and cool on baking rack. Toss grapes with liqueur and remaining 2 tablespoons honey. Mix well and let stand 30 minutes.
• Note: You may use whipped cream cheese or prepared vanilla pudding instead of yogurt, if you prefer. Roll remaining phyllo from the purchased package in waxed paper; then in plastic wrap and store according to package recommendation.
• Nutritional Stats: Using yogurt: Calories 194; Protein 3 g; Fat 8 g; Carbohydrates 26 g; Cholesterol 22 mg; Fiber 1.0 g; Sodium 150 mg.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• In a food processor, pulse flour, sugar, and salt. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 2 tablespoons ice water; process until mixture just comes together when squeezed (add more water if necessary). Add oats; pulse to combine.
• Press dough onto bottom and 1 inch up sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake until golden, about 25 minutes. Remove sides of pan; cool crust.
• Whisk cooled pastry cream until smooth. Spread evenly in crust; arrange grapes on top; press in.
• Chill at least 2 hours and up to 1 day. Just before serving, dust with confectioners' sugar.

Steps:

• Make pastry cream:
• Whisk together yolks and 1/2 of sugar, then whisk in flour and a pinch salt. Stir together milk and remaining sugar in a heavy saucepan and bring just to a boil over moderate heat. Whisk 1/2 of hot milk into yolks to temper and whisk yolks into milk remaining in pan. Bring custard to a boil over moderate heat and boil, whisking constantly, until very thick. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and butter until incorporated. Chill hot pastry cream in a bowl, its surface covered with a buttered round of wax paper, until cold, about 1 hour.
• Make tart:
• Preheat oven to 425°F while pastry cream chills.
• Open puff pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface and roll out to a 14- by 12-inch rectangle. Quarter pastry to form 4 rectangles. Brush 1/3 inch of edges lightly with water and fold in borders. Brush off excess flour and press borders with back of a fork to seal. Brush borders lightly with water and sprinkle with sugar. Prick insides of shells all over with fork. Bake on a large baking sheet in middle of oven until crust is golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes, and transfer to a rack. Gently flatten puff pastry inside border to deflate, and cool completely.
• Halve and seed grapes if necessary. Melt jelly, stirring, and toss with grapes in a bowl.
• Spread pastry cream in shells with a spatula and top with grapes.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a lightly floured work surface, unfold pastry. Cut into 4 squares (4 3/4 inches each). Transfer to a rimless baking sheet. Using the tip of a paring knife, score a 1/2-inch border around edges of squares, being careful not to cut all the way through pastry. Refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes.
• Whisk together egg yolk and cream; set egg wash aside. Toss together grapes, granulated sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Divide grape mixture among tart shells, keeping it inside the borders. Brush edges of tarts with egg wash, and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake until pastry is crisp and golden and grapes are just beginning to collapse, 23 to 27 minutes. Let cool on sheet on a wire rack.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• With an electric mixer or by hand, cream butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add vanilla and then stir in flour and chopped nuts until combined. Roll tablespoon-sized pieces of dough into crescent shapes. Repeat until no dough remains. Arrange on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until cookies are lightly golden.
• While cookies are in the oven, put 2 cups powdered sugar in a large resealable bag. Remove cookies from baking sheet and add them to the bag of powdered sugar. Carefully turn cookies in sugar while they are still hot. Remove cookies from bag and shake lightly to remove excess sugar.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9-inch square baking pan generously with baking spray.
• Make the topping by mixing the flour, brown sugar, oats, butter, vanilla, and salt until crumbly, pea-size pieces form. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine the grapes, blackberries, sugar, and cornstarch. Pour into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the fruit. Bake in the middle of the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling in the center. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.

Steps:

• For the crust: Place 12 identical 3 1/4-inch brioche a tete molds in the freezer.
• Combine flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to 2 to 4 times, then add butter and pulse 8 to 10 times, until texture looks mealy and no large lumps of butter remain. Pour on water and pulse 5 times. (At this point, the mixture should hold together when squeezed.) Turn the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap and draw the plastic up around it, squeezing and pressing the dough into a ball. Flatten into a 1-inch-thick disk and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator, unwrap and place on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper. Dust the top of the disk with a small amount of flour and top with a second sheet of parchment. Roll dough out into a round 1/8-inch thick. Use a 5-inch biscuit cutter and cut 6 circles out of the dough. Re-roll once if necessary.
• Remove the brioche molds from the freezer. Line 6 of the molds with the dough, being careful to press the dough into all the nooks and crannies. Gently run the rolling pin over the tops of the molds to trim the edges. Nestle each of the empty brioche molds inside the molds with the dough. Place the sandwiched molds in the freezer refrigerator for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 300 degrees F and position a rack in the center of the oven with a second just beneath it.
• Remove the sandwiched molds from the freezer. Place them, inverted, directly on the center rack with a sheet pan on the rack below to catch any butter that might render out. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the molds from the oven. Flip right-side up and remove the top molds.
• Turn the oven up to 400 degrees F, return the tart shells to the oven and bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes more. Remove the tart shells from the oven and let cool completely on a baking rack before removing the shells from the molds.
• For the lemon filling: Whisk egg yolks until light in color in a medium nonreactive bowl and set aside.
• Whisk cornstarch, sugar, water and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat and temper the yolks by slowly adding the hot starch mixture to them in a steady stream, whisking constantly, until a third of the starch mixture has been worked into the eggs, then return that mixture to the saucepan. Whisk in the butter and continue heating until just boiling.
• Stir in the lemon juice and zest, reduce heat to medium-low and whisk constantly until mixture returns to a boil. Cook for 1 full minute more, then transfer to a medium bowl over an ice bath. Cool, stirring occasionally, until the curd is just slightly warmer than room temperature. (Do not chill or cool completely, or the curd will become difficult to spread.) Pour or use a pastry or zip top bag with the corner cut off to pipe the mostly cooled curd into the tart shells until flush with the tops of the shells. Cool filled tarts completely on a baking rack while you make the meringue topping.
• For the meringue: Whisk together the egg whites until foamy, then add the sugar, cream of tartar and salt in the heat-proof bowl of a stand mixer. Place the bowl over a pot of simmering water and whisk constantly until the mixture reaches 165 degrees F. Then return the bowl to the base of the stand mixer and whip the egg whites on medium-high speed until medium-stiff peaks form. Increase the speed to high and whip until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes total. Transfer the meringue to a pastry bag fitted with a star tip.
• Pipe the meringue to cover the top of the cooled tarts. Brown the meringue under a preheated low broiler, about 1 minute, or with a kitchen torch.

Steps:

• Make filling:
• Toss grapes with sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon in a wide 6- to 8-quart heavy pot. Bring to a boil, covered, over moderate heat, stirring occasionally. Continue to boil, covered, stirring occasionally, until grapes begin to burst, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Transfer grapes with a slotted spoon to a colander set over a bowl and drain 15 minutes, then return juices in bowl to pot.
• Preheat oven to 425°F. Boil juices, uncovered, until syrupy and reduced to about 2 cups, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Stir together Cognac and cornstarch until smooth and whisk into grape syrup. Boil, whisking constantly, 1 minute. Stir grapes into syrup, then spoon filling into a 3-quart shallow baking or gratin dish.
• Make topping while juices are reducing:
• Pulse together flour, brown sugar, oats, butter, cinnamon, and salt in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer to a bowl and stir in pecans.
• Bake crisp:
• Sprinkle topping evenly over filling and bake in middle of oven until topping is golden brown and filling is bubbling, about 20 minutes.

Steps:

• Make tart shells:
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Pulse pecans with brown sugar in a food processor until finely ground (do not allow to become a paste). Add flour, butter, cinnamon, ginger, and salt and pulse until mixture begins to form large lumps. Divide mixture between tart pans and press evenly over bottom and up sides with floured fingers. Chill until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Bake tart shells in lower third of oven until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Transfer shells in pans to racks to cool completely. Carefully remove sides of pans, keeping shells on pan base.
• Make filling while shells cool:
• Simmer Port and jelly, stirring occasionally, until reduced to about 1 1/2 cups, about 30 minutes, then stir in lemon juice. Immediately toss grapes with 1 cup glaze in a large bowl until well coated, then mound in tart shells.
• Just before serving, drizzle tarts with more glaze and serve remainder on the side.