Little Kai is coming!
Little Kai is coming!
Kai is mom-to-be Jennifer's first little one that will be arriving next month! This afternoon, work had a baby shower for her and her husband, Jay.
Awesome organizer and auntie-to-be Judy had a great spread that included a cake. I brought along some small bites. (Baby showers should have miniature food, no?)
This was my first time making tartlets! I used the crust recipe (miniature tartlet pastry) from
Sweet Miniatures by Flo Braker (page 205). It's a simple recipe and doesn't require chilling. The first time, I didn't use enough dough and the edges came out a bit weak. The next time, they came out looking like, get this, real tart shells! I was shocked that it all worked out!! ;)
For the fresh fruit tart, I used the Barefoot Contessa's pastry cream recipe (online
here). This was easy to make and tasted yummy! I used vanilla paste so it has small black vanilla bean flecks. I glazed the fruit with a diluted apricot preserve.
For the lemon meringue tart, I made a 1/2 recipe of Martha Stewart's lemon curd. Then, I made her swiss meringue and piped it onto the tartlets. The best part of my morning came when I got to torch the meringue at 6 am while listening to the morning news. Suddenly, the traffic jam caused by the jack-knifed truck just isn't so bad when you see pure white meringue turn golden in a millisecond! It's too cool.
I also made some Martha Stewart's
Chocolate Crackles Cookies. They are quite yummy!
To Little Kai: We are all excitedly awaiting your arrival in mid-October! You have the best mommy and daddy in the world!
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22 comments:
You are so sweet!! Those all look so incredibly perfect!
WOW! What a LOT of work! All those desserts look ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS, though! :)
Those are all adorable. =) I've been trying to decide whether to buy a torch to make the creme brulee. I think I may have to, now, so I can torch some mini-merengues like yours...
Oh, that is a party I wish I had attended - your food looks amazing!
And I have Flo's book but haven't made anything from it yet (I'm always out of some ingredient). The pastry would be a wonderful way to start!
Great minds! I'm in the midst of planning a baby shower, and the only thing that I'm absolutely sure of regarding the food is that it will be miniature.
...I'm also fairly sure that it won't be nearly as beautiful as yours!
Love the photos...looks like you've mastered your macro lense! Questions: Are the tiny tarts easy to remove from the tiny tart pans (do they have tiny removable bottoms)? Did you but them at Surfas? Thanks for the info.
Leah, I bought the tins from Sur la Table. They are the middle size (I believe they have three sizes). I tried to match them to my Whole Foods tartlet (I carried it with me into the store!). They come 24 to a pack and they were $10 a pack. I bought two and that was worth it. After baking, the tarts just slip out of the shell. Easy peasy - they shrink slightly and that makes them easy to remove! You should definitely try them!!! :) (I'm sure Surfas has them too.)
These were so good and very cute for the party!
These little tarts are so pretty and look very professional. How precious!
Those meringue tartlets are lovely! :D
I sit here in amazement...how and where do you find the time?
Your tartlets...are absolutely beautiful!
Those tartlets are so beautiful...and you made the mini crusts from scratch (I would have cheated and bought the ready mades from Surfas)...girl, you are amazing!!!
These are amazing photos, what lens are you using...they are awesome!
Jamie, I have...
Canon Rebel XTi, EF 50mm f/1.8, EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro and 430EX Speedlite Flash. For these photos, I only used the macro lens with flash in a little homemade light box.
I have no idea what I'm doing! Seriously, I need to take a few classes!
These are adorable!!
And I'm so glad I read your last comment - I've been wanting that speedlight flash - and now I really am sold!
Beautiful leamon tart, they looks so Elegant.
Beautiful mini desserts! Looks like it was a tasty party!
wow those look incredible!!!
These are really adorable! They look great! Where do you find vanilla paste?
Hi. New to your blog but I already love it. I was wondering where you got your tartlette pans. I like the deep cuppy ones you have, but I'm only able to find the flat-ish ones.
Tania,
I got the pans at sur la table. They are the 1.75" tartlets. They are called: Round Tartlet Sets, Sets of 24, for $10.00. Here is a link:
http://www.surlatable.com/product/round+tartlet+sets%2C+sets+of+24.do?search=basic&keyword=tart&sortby=gsa&asc=true&page=2
Forgot to check back sooner....thanks for the link! I have to wait until the small ones are back in stock.
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