We had a fantastic holiday. We had stretchy pants, good friends, booze, great food, and weather mild enough to allow us to eat outside.
I am so grateful to have so many things to be thankful for. The only thing missing was my big boys, but they had a good time with the other half of their family.
I was excited to have a big holiday to bake something from the new cookbook. I chose the tart immediately and bought the ingredients.
Later I read through the whole recipe and my heart sunk. Not only would I be making a meringue for the first time (for some reason meringue has seemed intimidating and I’ve avoided making recipes that have it) but I needed a torch.
I don’t have a torch. I went to buy a torch at Bed Bath and Beyond and left empty-handed. I didn’t want to spend that much money for one recipe.
My husband went to Harbor Freight for something else and noticed that they carried very cheap mini torches. I went back and bought one ($7) and grabbed some butane from Lowe’s. ($5)
I made the crust, which was a breeze, although I always manage to extend my crust up too high which makes the edges too tall and jagged. I need to work on that.
Next up was the filling. This part was tricky because I was using a 10″ springform instead of the 9″ it called for so I wanted to make a bit more filling. I added a bit more of everything including an extra egg and crossed my fingers that it would set. (it did)
I put it in the fridge overnight and on Thanksgiving morning I made the meringue. It came together so much easier and quicker than I was anticipating. It was beautiful: bright white and glossy and it was fun to swirl it over the tart. The only thing left to do (besides unmold it) was to torch it.
I started to very tentatively brown the tops of the swirls and my husband was standing next to me trying to control the urge to grab it from me. I handed it over willingly and he perfectly browned the meringue for me.
I took it in my lap to our friend’s house and removed the springform ring there. It came off perfectly and everyone ended up loving the tart. Of course I was making mental notes about what I would do better/differently next time but that’s what happens with a self-critical baker. 🙂
The next-day leftovers (there was hardly any left!) were perfect and delicious although I don’t think I’d keep this tart any longer than that. I will happily add this to my regular holiday rotation.
What did you bake for Thanksgiving?
We had a great time celebrating Easter this weekend. We dyed eggs (we had 4 casualties during the boiling but…those became baked goods) and left out carrots for the Easter Bunny.
Moomers wrote a cute note for him and they went off to bed excited at what the not-at-all-creepy bunny might bring them. Baby G was too young to get it. He received some toys for his backyard sand box and thought searching for eggs was hilarious but aside from that he didn’t really understand.
The big littles were stoked to find Pokemon cards, Legos, and art supplies in their basket along with the requisite chocolate bunny and Pez dispensers. They played with their cards all day and had their Lego set built in five minutes flat.
I wasn’t left out of the fun:
Did the Easter Bunny visit your house?
GlimmerMama 