Apricot Apple Crumb Tart

There is a sweet and natural affinity between the soft sunset blush of early summer apricots and the homespun State-Fair-Blue-Ribbon pride of corn. 

Maybe it has something to do with long full days of bright sun, a labor-intensive harvest and our wholehearted ritual of indulging in the season’s bright splash of sumptuous colors and flavors.

Apricots are my ideal baking partner and this easy breezy tart really maximizes their lusciousness as they bask in the company of their adoring admirer, cornmeal. These two pair so harmoniously I can't help but conspire in their brief rendezvous every year.

These apricots are first bathed in a little sugar, vanilla and cinnamon to coax along some juices that bake into fruity puckers of bright acidity once they are ensconced in the tart. The little burst of cornmeal has just a slight crunch and all the rustic flavor but is not too dense or grainy. It almost begs for an embroidered tablecloth.

This time my immersion into the intersection of the cornfield and the apricot orchard has produced a beauty. I know I’ve waxed on and on about my love for apricots each and every season and I have to say, this is one of my favorite pastries to emerge from my studio. So now it’s your turn. Please, do tell: what are your favorite pastries that you seek out each year?

Ingredients:

2       - (6-ounce) packages dried apricot halves
1       - (8-ounce) package dried apples*
3       - cups water
1/4    - tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2    - (15-ounce) package refrigrated piecrusts
1       - teaspoon all-purpose flour
1/2    - cup all-purpose flour
1/2    - cup sugar
1/4    - cup butter or margarine
         - Ice cream or sweetened whipped cream


Procedure:

Step 1
- Combine first 3 ingredients in a large saucepan, bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes. Drain well.

Step 2
- Combine 1/4 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon flour, stir into fruit mixture. Set aside

Step 3
- Unroll pie crust, and press out fold lines. Fit into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch tart pan, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon flour. Spoon fruit mixture into prepared pastry shell.

Step 4
- Combine 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup sugar, cut in butter with pastry blender until mixture is crumby. Sprinkle mixture over tart.

Step 5
- Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes, reduce temperature to 350 degrees, and bake 35 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve within 12 hours with ice cream or sweetened whipped cream, if desired

Yield: one 9-ince tart.

* 1 (6-ounce) package dried apricot halves may be substituted for a tarter dessert.

Dried Cherry Muffins

When your favorite fruits aren't in season, here's a solution to this unseasonal dilemma: Dried Fruits. As snacks, they deliver a burst of concentrated flavor. And in these recipe, most of the fruits reconstitute to a product similar to fresh. Until cherries ripen again, these will do just fine.

Ingredients:


1/2   - cup unsalted butter or margarine, softened
3/4   - cup sugar
2      - large eggs
2      - teaspoons grated lemon rind
2      - tablespoons lemon juice
2      - cups all-purpose flour
1      - teaspoon baking soda
1/2   - teaspoon salt
1      - cup buttermilk
2/3   - cup chopped dried cherries
1/2   - cup chopped walnuts.




Procedure:


Step 1
- Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy, gradually add sugar, beating well. Add eggs, on at a time, beating after each addition. Stir in lemon rind and juice.


Step 2
- Combine flour, soda, and salt, add to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, begining and ending with flour mixture. Stir just until blended after each addition. Gently stir in cherries and walnuts.


Step 3
- Spoon batter into lightly greased muffin pans, filling three-fourths full.


Step 4
- Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from pans immediately.


Yeild: 15 muffins

Souffle Au Chocolat Cointreau

Bill Gilchrist of Birmingham, Alabama prefers to whip egg whites by hand, but this recipe works just fine with a mixer, too. you can cut this recipe in half to serve six.

Ingredients:

Butter or margarine

2        - tablespoons sugar

1/4     - cup butter or margarine

1        - (12-ounce) package semisweet chocolate morsels

1/4     - cup Cointreau or other orange-flavored liqueur

12      - large eggs, separated

1 1/2  - cups sifted powdered sugar

1        - teaspoon ground cinnamon

1        - teaspoon cream of tartar

          - powdered sugar

          - Chocolate ream

Garnish:  orange rind strips

Procedure:

Step 1

- Cut a piece of aluminum foil long enough to fit around a 2 3/4- quart souffle dish or straight-sided casserole, allowing a 1-inch overlap; starting from 1 long side, fold foil into thirds. Lightly butter 1 side of foil and dish. Wrap foil around outside dish, buttered side against dish, allowing it to extend 3 inches above rim to form a collar; secure with string or masking tape. Add 2 tablespoons sugar, tilting prepared dish to coat sides. Set aside.

Step 2

- Combine 1/4 cup butter and chocolate morsels in top of a double boiler, bring water to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cook until chocolate and butter melt, stirring often. Remove from water; cool 5 minutes. Stir in Cointreau. Set aside.

Step 3

- Beat egg yolks, gradually add powdered sugar, beating until mixture is thick and pale. Stir in cinnamon and chocolate mixture. Set aside.

Step 4

- Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in a large mixing bowl at high speed with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Gently stir 1 1/2 cups egg white mixture into chocolate mixture.

Step 5

- Fold remaining egg white mixture into chocolate mixture. Pour into prepare dish.

Step 6

- Bake at 375 degrees for 50 to 55 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, and remove collar. Serve immediately with Chocolate Cream. Garnish if desired.

Yield: 12 servings

Chocolate Cream

Ingredients: 

1        - cup whipping cream

1        - tablespoon sifted powdered sugar

1 1/2  - teaspoon cocoa

Procedure:

Step 1

- Beat all ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.

Yield: 2 cups