Brown Butter Raspberry Tart

If you don't like rolling out a crust, this one's for you.  You just press it into the pan.                  

Crust:

·     7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted* (save light-colored pan to melt butter for filling)

·     1/3 cup sugar

·     1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

·     1 cup plus 1 tablespoon all purpose flour

·     Pinch of salt

Filling:

·     1/2 cup sugar

·     2 large eggs

·     Pinch of salt

·     1/4 cup all purpose flour

·     1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·     1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter*

·      2 6-ounce containers fresh raspberries or 2 peaches, sliced

For crust:

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Using rubber spatula or fork, mix melted butter, sugar, and vanilla in medium bowl. Add flour and salt and stir until incorporated. Transfer dough to 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Using fingertips, press dough evenly on bottom and up about 3/4" the sides of pan.

Bake crust until golden, about 15-18 minutes (crust may puff slightly while baking). Transfer crust to rack and cool in pan. Maintain oven temperature.

For filling:

Whisk sugar, eggs, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Add flour and vanilla; whisk until smooth. Cook butter in heavy small saucepan over medium heat until deep nutty brown (do not burn), stirring often, about 6 minutes. Immediately pour browned butter into glass measuring cup (to keep from burning). Gradually whisk browned butter into sugar-egg mixture; whisk until well blended.

Arrange raspberries/peaches into bottom of cooled crust. Carefully pour browned butter mixture evenly over berries. Place tart on rimmed baking sheet. Bake tart until filling is puffed and golden and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30-35 minutes. Cool tart completely in pan on rack. 

Remove tart pan sides. Place tart on platter. Cut into wedges and serve.

DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead.  Cover and store at room temperature, but it might get soggy overnight. 

*Test-kitchen tip:  When browning butter, use a saucepan with a light-colored bottom so that you can gauge the color of the butter.

Upside-down Apple Pie

Don't let the caramelizing scare you.  If you're uncertain, look online for more tips or videos.   (Here is a link: Caramelize-Sugar.  Use the second method, Dry caramelization.) Otherwise it's an easy and impressive dessert or teatime treat. 

1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed

4 apples, peeled, cored, and quartered*

½ C sugar 

3 Tbsp butter
1 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg

Trim puff pastry to a little larger than the top of 10” pie plate.  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375.

Over moderate heat, caramelize sugar in a light-colored skillet (9-10”) so you can monitor the color more accurately. 

As the sugar begins to brown, use a silicone spatula or wooden spoon to move the liquefied sugar from the edges of the pan to the center.

Turn the heat lower for more control, if necessary.  Watch carefully as it can turn from golden brown to burnt quickly, if not watched carefully!

With heat turned down, when golden amber color is reached, add butter and stir until it melts and mixes together.

Add apples, cinnamon, and nutmeg to the caramel.  Caramel may clump up, but it will remelt as it continues to heat up.  Cook for about 5 minutes or until the caramel is smooth and liquid again.

Place apples in the pie plate with rounded side down, starting around the rim and fill in the middle using all the apples.  Pour caramel over the apples.

Place trimmed pastry on top, pushing the edges down over the apples.  Bake for 35-45 minutes, until pastry is golden.

Carefully flip over onto a platter with slightly sloped sides to catch any juices.

Serve warm with ice cream.

*You could use a variety of other fruit such as peaches or pears.  Berries would be delicious, but not as impressive looking.

Brown Butter Berry/Peach Tart

This crust is not the typical one that you roll out.  Instead you press it in with your fingers.  And it is so buttery and very yummy!  You can use other fresh fruit, berries or  peaches are good choices. 

           Crust:

7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted until brown bits form, using a saucepan wth a light-colored    bottom, (save pan for  melting butter for filling)

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon all purpose flour

Pinch of salt

            Filling:

1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs

Pinch of salt

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

12-ounces fresh berries or 2 large peaches, sliced

          For crust:

          Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F.

Using a rubber spatula or fork, mix melted butter, sugar, and vanilla in medium bowl. Add flour and salt and stir until incorporated. Put dough into a 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Using fingertips, press dough evenly onto bottom and up the sides of pan about 3/4-1".  (I place a cookie sheet lined with a piece of foil with the edges folded up about 1/2" all around, just in case there is a leak through the bottom, for both baking the crust and once the crust is filled.)

              Bake crust until golden, about 18-20 minutes (crust will puff slightly while baking). Transfer crust to rack and cool in pan. Maintain oven temperature.

          For filling:

          Whisk sugar, eggs, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Add flour and vanilla; whisk until smooth. Cook butter in heavy small saucepan over medium heat until deep nutty brown (do not burn), stirring often, about 6-8 minutes. Immediately pour browned butter into glass measuring cup. Gradually whisk browned butter into sugar-egg mixture; whisk until well blended.

          Arrange fruit in bottom of cooled crust. (Be careful of hot pan when filling with fruit.) Carefully pour browned butter mixture evenly over fruit. Place tart on rimmed baking sheet. Bake tart until filling is puffed and golden and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool tart completely in pan on rack.

          Remove tart pan sides. Place tart on platter. Cut into wedges and serve.  Good with ice cream or a little whipped cream.

Test-kitchen tip:

When browning butter, use a saucepan with a light-colored bottom so that you can gauge the color of the butter.

Recipe from this site.

Lisa’s Amaretto Cranberry Sauce

Lisa has made this cranberry sauce for the holidays for several years now.  The addition of the amaretto takes cranberry sauce to a higher level.  Enjoy this for Thanksgiving.  Besides serving it with turkey or other holiday meats, it is good on toast or biscuits, or over ice cream.

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

1 12 oz bag fresh cranberries

1/3 cup orange marmalade

1/3 cup Amaretto

1/3 cup toasted slivered almonds

optional: zest and juice from one lemon

Combine water and sugar in a saucepan and heat to boiling.  Add cranberries and cook for about 5-10 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Add marmalade and optional lemon zest and juice. 

Cool completely and add amaretto and almonds.

Pour into glass jars and chill.  Keeps in refrigerator for months.