Pear and Almond Tart

Assalamualaikum!

I thought I’d have more time to blog in May but nope. I was busy stressing out over others things like graduation and moving to a different country. Anyways, I always made sure that I have time to try new recipes. One of the latest recipes I tried was an Pear and Almond Tart. I was surprised at how easy it is to make one and OH MY how delicious the tart is! I wouldn't mind having a slice or two for breakfast with my hot and steaming coffee on the side.Can't wait to make this for mom!

Original recipe here

Pear and Almond Tart

2 whole pears (I used Bosc Pears)

1 9-inch pie/tart crust

6 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

2/3 cup sugar

3/4 cup ground blanched almonds, almond flour/almond powder

2 teaspoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit
2. Poke the pie/tart crust with a fork or knife to make small holes all over it.
3. Cover with aluminum foil that is weighted down
4. Blind bake the pie crust for 20 minutes. Set aside.
5. In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar together.
6. Add the ground almond, all purpose flour, and cornstarch into the mixture and mix well.
7. Beat the egg into the mixture and continue mixing
8. Add in the vanilla extract.
9. Pour the mixture into the half baked tart crust and set aside.
10. Peel the pears and slice them into thin pieces.
11. Arrange these slices onto the tart.
12. Bake the tart for 50-60 minutes until the almond mixture is slightly puffed up and the pears are brown on the sides.
13. Glaze with some syrup or diluted jam or cover with powdered sugar before serving.

I brought this pie to our camping trip in May. I never realized what a city person I was until it crossed my mind to ask whether they have WIFI in the cabins…in the middle of the woods. I need to stop embarrassing myself.=.=’

Wherever you are, take care.

Wasalam,

Love,

Sofhan Hasni 

Strawberry Rosewater Mousse

Assalamualaikum!

I haven’t blogged for two months.Oh boy… Not that I haven’t baked or made desserts, but I just never got myself to blog about them. I have finally finished my Undergrad *Alhamdulillah*! So I have more time now to compile the recipes I’ve used before on my blog. Yeay.

One of my favorite desserts is mousse. I FREAKING LOVE MOUSSE. It’s light and fluffy. It’s like eating flavored clouds that melts in your mouth. AHAHAH. Amidst papers and midterms, I was obsessed by My Kitchen Rules! I learned so much from that show! Anyways, one of the groups made Raspberry and Rosewater Mousse and straight away, it went to my To-Try list. For some reason,(I cant think why now) I opted for strawberries instead of raspberries. Now I really want to try the raspberry version...soon.

I love everything roses; the flower itself and its amazing scent. The rosewater brings the strawberry mousse to another level! I never knew that there is such thing as a floral taste but trust me, IT’S AMAZING! This mousse can be quite sweet, thus reserving some of the balsamic strawberry purée balances it all out while adding a hint of sharpness in the mousse. *heaven*.

Strawberry Rosewater Mousse

3 egg whites

3/4 cup sugar

2 cup heavy/whipping cream

1 teaspoon of gelatin and 1/8 cup of warm water

1 pint of strawberries

1-2 tablespoons of rosewater

2 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar

1. Using a blender, purée the strawberries and add the balsamic vinegar. Set aside.
2. Using an electric mixer beat the egg whites until foamy.
3. Then, add sugar, two table spoon at a time, until hard peaks form. Set aside
4. In a different bowl, whip the heavy/whipping cream until medium or hard peaks.
5. Fold the whipped cream ¾ of the balsamic strawberry purée into the egg whites mixture until well combined.
6. Add the rosewater. Adjust to your liking.
7. Melt some gelatin in the warm water and add it to the mixture as well.
8. In your serving cups/ bowls, spoon a layer of the remaining balsamic strawberry purée and then add your mousse.
9. Refrigerate before serving.

 I was contemplating whether or not I should add the refrigerate part. Lets be honest here. A HUGE CHUNK of the mousse already went into my mouth even before it went into the cups.=P imma walrus liddat. If you don’t want the balsamic strawberry purée layer, by all means add them all up into the mousse. The original recipe calls for a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and it was tooooo much for me. Burned my throat in every bite. But yeap. I still finished ALL OF EM.

Also, if you don’t have or don’t want to add in gelatin, don’t. You can definitely leave it out. It is better to use gelatin if you are using molds instead of cups.

Currently I’m living with 3 other amazing girls and two of them are Arabs. Whenever I went to an Arab household, it’s interesting to see what tea or coffee they serve and of course what kind of tea sets or cups they use! SO naturally, I had to use their coffee and tea cups as well as their tajine for decoration purposes. I really need to try a tajine recipe before I leave. They are so fancy, I feel like I need one.

You can also put em in a jar to give as gifts.=D

 Ain't it pretty?

Wasalam.

Till then, Love,

Sofhan Hasni.