Bon Appetit Desserts (81 page)

Speculaas Tart with Almond Filling

Dutch
speculaas
cookies are similar in flavor to gingerbread cookies. This tart combines the spiced
speculaas
dough with another treat—almond tart filling. During the holidays, use a 2-inch gingerbread man cookie cutter to form the cookies for the top of the tart. At other times of the year, any 2-inch cutter, such as a heart or a star, can be used instead.
12 to 16 servings

2¾ cups unbleached all purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar

1 large egg

1½ cups blanched slivered almonds

¾ cup sugar

¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 large egg

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¾ teaspoon almond extract

Powdered sugar

Apricot preserves

DOUGH
: Sift flour, cinnamon, ginger, salt, baking powder, and nutmeg into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in large bowl until blended. Beat in egg. Add flour mixture and beat until moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball; divide into 2 pieces, 1 slightly larger than the other. Flatten dough into disks; wrap separately and chill at least 2 hours.

DO AHEAD
:
Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled. Let soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.

FILLING
: Blend almonds, sugar, butter, egg, lemon peel, lemon juice, and both extracts in processor until nuts are finely chopped. Transfer to small bowl. Cover; chill at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.

Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2¾ inch-high sides. Roll out larger dough disk on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round. Transfer to prepared pan and press gently over bottom and up sides, pressing to seal any tears. Spread filling in dough. Trim dough on sides to ½ inch above level of filling. Fold dough in over filling.

Roll out second dough disk on lightly floured surface to 12- to 13-inch round. Using bottom of cake pan as aid, cut out 9-inch-diameter round of dough. Slide dough round onto plate and freeze 5 minutes to firm. Reserve dough scraps for cookies. Place chilled dough round on tart; press to adhere and seal edges.

Bake tart until crust is brown, about 50 minutes. Remove sides of springform pan; cool tart completely on pan bottom. Maintain oven temperature.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll out dough scraps on lightly floured work surface to scant ¼ inch thickness. Using 2-inch gingerbread man cookie cutter, cut out cookies. Transfer cutouts to prepared baking sheets. Repeat, using all of dough.

Bake cookies until golden, about 8 minutes. Cool cookies on sheets.

DO AHEAD
:
Tart and cookies can be made ahead. Cover separately and store at room temperature 1 day or chill up to 3 days.

Sift powdered sugar over top of tart. Place small dab of apricot preserves on back of 1 cookie; place at top edge of tart. Repeat with more cookies, forming border around tart. Transfer tart to platter. Let stand at room temperature at least 1 hour.

Hazelnut Macaroon and Strawberry Tart

This dessert is kosher for Passover (with kosher almond extract), but don’t think of it as only a holiday treat. The nutty, cookie-like crust is the perfect foil for the strawberry filling.
12 servings

2 12-ounce containers strawberries, hulled, diced

¾ cup sugar

3 tablespoons Passover brandy

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Pinch of ground cloves

Matzo cake meal

2 cups hazelnuts, toasted, husked

1 cup sugar

⅛ teaspoon salt

Pinch of ground cloves

1 large egg

¼ teaspoon almond extract

3 1-pint containers strawberries, hulled, thinly sliced

FILLING
: Combine all ingredients in heavy large skillet. Stir over high heat until sugar dissolves and mixture comes to boil. Boil until very thick, stirring frequently, about 13 minutes. Cool in pan.

DO AHEAD
:
Can be made 2 days ahead. Transfer to bowl, cover, and chill.

CRUST AND BERRIES
: Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Line 11-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom with heavy-duty foil, pressing firmly into scalloped sides of pan and overlapping sides. Grease foil and dust with cake meal. Finely grind nuts, sugar, salt, and cloves in processor Add egg and almond extract; process until mixture just holds together. Reserve ½ cup dough for another use. Using moistened fingertips, press remaining dough onto bottom and up sides of prepared pan. Bake until crust is golden and crinkled and feels dry, about 13 minutes. Cool crust completely in pan on rack. Remove tart pan sides. Carefully peel foil off crust. Return crust to pan.

DO AHEAD
:
Can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap pan with tart tightly and store at room temperature.

Spread filling over crust. Starting at edge, cover tart with berry slices in overlapping concentric circles, with first circle leaning against crust edge.

DO AHEAD
:
Can be made 3 hours ahead. Chill.

Remove tart from pan. Cut into wedges and serve.

Almond Tart with Honey and Orange

This rich dessert is like almond candy in a crust. Because the crust requires no chilling or baking prior to being filled, the entire tart can be made from start to finish in a little more than an hour. If you like, you can serve it with softly whipped, honey-sweetened cream.
8 to 10 servings

1¾ cups unbleached all purpose flour

⅓ cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon (scant) salt

10 tablespoons (1 ¼ sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes

1 teaspoon finely grated orange peel

2 tablespoons (or more) ice water

1 cup heavy whipping cream

½ cup sugar

¼ cup (packed) golden brown sugar

¼ cup honey

2¼ cups sliced almonds, toasted

CRUST
: Blend flour, powdered sugar, and salt in food processor. Add butter and orange peel. Using on/off turns, process until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 2 tablespoons ice water and process until moist clumps form, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if mixture is dry. Gather dough into ball. Break into small pieces and scatter over bottom of 10- to 10 ½-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Using fingertips, press dough evenly onto bottom and up sides of pan. Freeze crust 25 minutes.

FILLING
: Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°F. Combine cream, both sugars, and honey in heavy medium saucepan. Bring to boil over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Continue to boil until mixture darkens and thickens slightly, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in almonds. Spoon filling evenly into crust.

Bake tart until filling is deep golden brown and bubbles thickly and crust is golden, about 38 minutes. Transfer tart to rack and cool completely in pan. Carefully remove pan sides from tart. Place tart on platter.

DO AHEAD
:
Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and store at room temperature.

Cut tart into wedges and serve at room temperature.

Chocolate and Mixed Nut Tart in Cookie Crust

The crust of this tart is like a shortbread cookie, and the rich filling is similar to a pecan pie—except that it features a variety of nuts and chocolate chips. Serve the tart warm so that the chocolate chips are nice and gooey.
10 to 12 servings

1½ cups unbleached all purpose flour

¼ cup sugar

½ cup (1 stick) plus 1 tablespoon chilled salted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes