“The evening sky was awash with peach, apricot, cream: tender little ice-cream clouds in a wide orange sky.”
― The Golden Compass
It’s just too hot to hoot. To hot to function.
Too hot for anything except linen sheets and a thin cotton bedspread. Too hot to cook, and certainly too hot to turn on an oven in my little shoebox.
The ice in my matcha latte melts by the time I make the short 7 block jaunt to work in the morning, because this heat rises early and overstays its welcome deep into the night.
My windowsill basil is rather limp and wilted, though its tropical neighbor, my hoya carnosa compacta, has been reveling in the heat, so much so that she has gone and produced her third bloom (which is a sensationally alien looking ball of light pink, fuzzy flowers that smell like chocolate and vanilla with a whiff of boozy cherry).
Clearly the only of this greenhouse’s apartment’s inhabitants that is thriving. Showoff.
I thought today’s deluge might usher in a cooler August, but looking at the forecast for next week, my feeble hopes are dwindling.
So anyways, blog post to write, recipe to make, oven a no-go. What do?
I baked this little tartlette in my Wonder Oven, which is just a compact toaster / convection oven from OurPlace. I’ve used it several times for baking in the past, and it is mostly reliable.
For things like tart shells that don’t need absolutely 100% precise temperature maintenance, it is perfect, though I always have to fashion an aluminum shield for the crust by the end of the baking time to prevent burning.
A quick 15 minute spin in a toaster will still increase the ambient kitchen temperature, but honestly, not by much.
The rest of the tart is no-bake, so I guess this can be considered a low-bake tart. Alternatively, a graham cracker (or oooooh, a gingersnap) no-bake crust would be a welcome substitute here.
The base itself is lightly adapted from Alison Roman’s cornmeal and blueberry tart. The pastry is wonderfully salty, crunchy, and crisp without being too toothsome. Inside is a sweet corn-infused vanilla and elderflower pastry cream that is absolutely lush and only needs stovetop cooking and a few hours in the refrigerator to set. I made a quick caramel powder that I torched on top of the tart that made it taste remarkably like a corn crème brûlée.
On top, peaches, apricots, lime zest, and sanding sugar are scattered around haphazardly.
Slightly underripe peaches and apricots work especially well if you intend to cut shapes and/or leave this in the fridge for a day, because they hold up well without becoming mushy.
The effect of it all is an assuredly summery dessert: peach, apricot, and cream, to match the dazzling July evening skies.
Corn, Elderflower, Peach and Apricot Tart
makes 1 7″ tart
crust recipe adapted from Alison Roman
filling recipe adapted from The Scran Line
ingredients:
for the cornmeal crust:
120 grams (1 cup) flour
30 grams (2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons) cornmeal
25 grams (1/4 cup) confectioner’s sugar
30 grams (2 packed tablespoons) brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
85 grams (3/4 stick, 6 tablespoons) butter, melted
for the corn-elderflower filling:
55 grams (1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon) sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
25 grams (1/4 cup) cornstarch
4 egg yolks
375 grams (1 cup less 2 tablespoons) whole milk
1 cob of corn, shucked but corn silk saved
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1 tablespoon elderflower liqueur
60 grams (4 tablespoons) butter
to decorate:
approximately 1/4 cup sugar
peaches, apricots, lime zest, sanding sugar
directions:
Make the crust: mix flour, cornmeal, confectioner’s and brown sugar, baking powder, and salt together.
Slowly mix in melted butter until the dough comes together in a crumbly mass.
Press into prepared 7″ tart pan.
Keep leftover dough aside in case of cracks.
Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees F.
Allow to cool.
Meanwhile, make the pastry cream: place milk with corn cob, corn silk, and corn kernels over low heat in a medium sized pot.
Simmer for 10-15 minutes, then press with potato masher to extract corn juice, then strain corn out and return strained milk to low heat.
Whisk sugar, salt, and cornstarch together very well until no lumps remain.
Whisk the dry ingredients into the egg yolks along with the vanilla bean paste and elderflower liqueur.
Once the milk again reaches a hard simmer, ladle a small amount into the egg yolk mixture while whisking constantly to temper the eggs.
Once the eggs are warmed and thinned, whisk them into the remaining milk and return to low-medium heat.
Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil and thickens.
Strain into a clean bowl and whisk in the butter until emulsified.
Spread pastry cream into crust and smooth the top.
Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface to prevent a skin and refrigerate until completely cooled.
Make the caramel powder: caramelize sugar in dry pan until light amber, then pour onto a silicone baking sheet and allow to cool completely.
Use a food processor to pulverize the hardened caramel into powder.
When ready to serve, evenly sprinkle caramel powder over the top of the tart, then brûlée with a torch.
Decorate with fresh fruit and serve.
Keeps well in the fridge for 2 days.