June 27, 2009

The Last Minute Baker

Blue eggs from the farmers' market. Take that, Martha!

Yup; I waited until the last minute again to execute The Daring Bakers' challenge. Which could only mean more spastic kitchen adventures for me. Good times, indeed.

The June Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart… er… pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800’s in England.

The recipe calls for ingredients in weight measurements. I hemmed and hawed and reluctantly bought an inexpensive kitchen scale (made more inexpensive by my 20% off coupon) from Bed, Bath & Beyond yesterday. I set all of my ingredients out on the counter this morning, and popped the scale out of the box.

The scale was broken.

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while you’d say what I did: “Well that just figures.” (I may have said something else, too, but no need to share that particular gem.)

The later part of the morning was spent trying to figure out exactly how much flour 225 grams is. I was flashing back to high school math. Not good. “If 30 grams = ¼ cup, then 225 grams = 1 ¾ cups + a schtickle.”

And that’s what I wrote on the recipe.



We were instructed to add a layer of jam, preferably homemade, under the frangipane. So this morning I also made peach jam. Don’t get too excited…by “made peach jam” I mean chopped and heated two ripe peaches and some sugar (a schtickle?) until it looked like this:



I layered crust and the jam in the pan and got all fancy with the leftover crust I trimmed off.



My crust set up nicely, but felt a little tough…I’m not sure my fuzzy math helped. It was still dotted with butter (important for flakey goodness) so I’m hopeful.

OK…we’re out of the oven. Not so bad:



And, better dusted with powdered sugar:



I’m bringing it to a big housewarming party in about five minutes tonight and if it’s not a hit I’ll totally deny I brought it.

Check out a couple of my favorite bloggers Mille Fiori Favoriti and Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives for their incredible projects. Both have the recipe posted.

Update: Yum! Not a slice left. I would have actually added a bit more fruit, but the frangipane set up perfectly -- definitely more tart than pudding. Someone at the party even asked what bakery it came from. Fabulous!

32 comments:

Purple Flowers said...

Great job! I love the flower and petals on top of it. I also follow Jen at URB (Use real butter) as she always has fun with words, while baking and cooking. She's very witty. Keep up the great baking! :)

Sue said...

You did good there lady...it looks very fancy schmancy....report back on how it was enjoyed...

heidi said...

That pie is GORGEOUS. Also, can I please use schtickle for everything, from now on? Except when I mean schmeckle, which is completely different. -xoh

Keetha Broyles said...

Well it LOOKS delightful!

Anonymous said...

I cannot believe you turned out such a perfectly executed, gorgeous Bakewell at the last minute in such a short amount of time! YOu are amazing! Also, love the schtickle..I'm always coming up with words myself. I could write a dictionary by now!

Allidink said...

Wow this other food blog I read called Nosh and Tell that I found through Stumble did the same challenge! Small blog world. LOL. Looks so cute with the flower lol.

All the best,
Allison

Nicole A. said...

Beautifuly done and I bet it was delicious! Love the flower!

Formerly known as Frau said...

Gorgeous I love the flower! Looks too good to eat!

maris said...

This is gorgeous! I love the flower petals!

Local Girl said...

I bet that tasted as good as it looked! :) I wish I could bake like that, minr always looks like I've dropped it on the floor!! xx

Caren said...

It looks yummy to me. Can't wait to hear how it turned out.

black eyed susans kitchen said...

Laura, You are fearless and very funny. Could I please have the measurement equivalent of a schtickle? It really looked delicious.
♥, Susan

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

Sorry about that --here is the spell check version...
Laura, your Bakewell looks so much better than my pudding like mess --lol! Messy or not I loved how it tasted, however, and I'm going to try it again with a little LESS fruit as I think my strawberry jam prevented the frangipane from setting beyond a mushy state.

I love your extra dough flower applique --so pretty and I'm stealing that for next time! :-)

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

PS: Schtickle is a word! It comes from a Yiddish word meaning “a little something"! I hear it used all the time here in Brooklyn :-)

Laura @ Shoot-Scoop said...

I am so impressed!!! And...hungry ;-)

Unknown said...

Hi Laura,
I'm very impressed! Your pie looks great!

Rue said...

What a wonderful little confection that is!! I love the flower on top-- and making your own jam?? That is too good! Sadly, I have dropped out of the daring bakers-- I'm thankful to get to live vicariously through your posts!

ice tea: sugar high said...

Love the flower detail on the tart. Simply stunning

Joyce said...

It looks so good!! Will we be hearing of Laura's Bake Shoppe opening soon? xoxox

j.cro said...

Nicely done!!

dee said...

I am so impressed with people that can bake, let alone make things like frangipane. I have no idea what that even is but I'm jealous and really need to be able to make it myself now!

The Quintessential Magpie said...

Girl, I am SO impressed! Wow, Laura. Okay, confess... did you really make that, or did you buy it at the bakery down the street???

Love it! Great job...

XO,

Sheila :-)

Kwana said...

Whoo Hoo! Big cheers all around for you. Sooo pretty and yummy. I'm impressed.

jasmine said...

The flower motif is so lovely. I've been on a peach kick for the past couple of months, so that peach jam looks heavenly.

Thanks for participating.
j

pve design said...

yummo!

Maureen said...

Amazing... it looked professional, and super yummy. I am very impressed.

Leciawp said...

a work of art!

Dips said...

Wow ! Those flowers look amazing ...how creative !!Hope everyone at the party enjoyed it ..

Free Art Printables said...

I love the way you measure! :)

Annemarie said...

Bakery bought - that is a complement (as long as people didn't think it was Costco bakery-esque). Shame about the kitchen scales, once I finally submitted and bought some I never looked back at my measuring jug again. Unless I had to, of course.

Pearl Maple said...

The free form flower is the perfect topper for your creation. Well done, bet it tasted fabulous.