lemon cheesecake tart

I love cheesecake, but I sometimes get overwhelmed by the huge volumes of cream cheese required to execute the typical towering cheesecake monolith - 3, 5 even more bricks of cream cheese go into these giants. This is a thinner, low key layer of cheesecake, just one 8 ounce brick of cream cheese needed. It also has an excellent ratio of crumb base to cheese cake filling, because the graham crumbs are one of the top two reasons for eating cheesecake in the first place.  

You can get all that rich, tangy cheesecake flavour, in a petite little tart package. A puddle of lemon curd on the top takes it to the next level.

lemon cheesecake tart:

adapted from Martha Stewart

• 1 ⅓ cup graham crumbs

• ¼ cup melted butter

• 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

• ¼ cup + 2 tbs sugar

• 1 egg

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

• ½ cup lemon curd, store bought or homemade

Combine graham crumbs and butter, and press into the bottom and sides of a 13” rectangular fluted tart pan. Bake at 325 for about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Combine cream cheese, sugar, egg, vanilla and lemon zest and juice; whisk until very smooth. Pour into graham crust and bake until just set with a slightly wobbly centre, 15-20 minutes.

Cool completely and spread lemon curd over the cheesecake. Cut into thin slices to serve.

pecan pie

Pumpkin is a vegetable (well technically a fruit, but never mind that) and therefore pumpkin pie is very nearly a salad. That's why Thanksgiving needs another pie, a pie that is definitely not a salad. It needs a sugar pie. Sugar pies are the ones with gooey, caramel-y, custardy filling. They might have nuts, like pecan pie, or raisins like buttertarts, or sometimes they are fairly unadorned, like a chess pie. I love sugar pies, of all types, with and without fillings and topping. They are jiggly and sweet and rich, and just what you need after a huge meal of turkey, stuffing and lots of potatoes. Happy Thanksgiving!

crust: 

adapted from Bon Appetit. Makes twice as much as you need, tightly wrap the unused portion and freeze it for another pie later. 

• ⅓ cup almond flour

• ¼ cup granulated sugar

• 1 big pinch salt

• 2½ cups all-purpose flour

• 1 cup chilled butter, cut into pieces (my butter was not chilled, doesn't seem to matter too much)

• 2 large egg yolks

• 1/4 cup cold water

Combine almond flour, granulated sugar, salt, all-purpose flour and butter in a food processor and pulse until mixture is just combined and has a sandy texture. Combine egg yolks and water and drizzle them over the flour mixture. Pulse until just combined. Add a few drops more water if the dough isn't coming together. 

Dump the dough out onto a large sheet of plastic wrap and squish it into a rectangle. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and chill for at least two hours.  Roll out chilled dough to about 1/8th inch thick. Transfer to a pie plate and trim excess from around the edges. Crimp edges and put in the freezer until the filling is ready. 

filling: 

adapted from Martha Stewart

• 2 cups pecan halves

• 4 eggs

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

• 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

• 1 cup golden syrup (use dark corn syrup if you like, but golden syrup is nicer)

• 1/2 cup light corn syrup

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine all filling ingredients and stir well until evenly mixed. Pour into chilled crust and bake at 350 degrees, about 50 minutes, or until the center just slightly wobbles when shaken, but the edges are set.

pumpkin pie with candied pecans

It's nearly Thanksgiving! At least in Canada it is, I know American Thanksgiving is still a ways off. And in most of the rest of the world, it's not really a thing at all. But whether or not this is a tradition for you, I would highly recommend adopting the meal part of Thanksgiving. It's a great meal, one of my favorite meals of the year. For my family, it's always turkey, which is nice enough, but the real greatness of Thanksgiving is the sides. Turkey itself doesn't really inspire any especially fervent passion in me, the best reason to have turkey is that it allows for stuffing (let's not get into the whole stuffing vs dressing issue-dressing is clearly the liquid you put on a salad). Stuffing is one of the best foods there ever was, and is possibly the star of the entire dinner. 

Except maybe the pies. The only possible rivals to the Thanksgiving glory that is stuffing is the pie. We always have pumpkin and pecan (recipe coming soon!) because I'm not into choosing. Obviously pumpkin pie is THE Thanksgiving pie, but pecan pie is a perfect compliment for it. And because you really can't have too many pecans, this pumpkin pie sneaks some spiced and candied pecans into the crust and decorating the top. The graham crumb crust is easy and quick, and you don't have to deal with pastry at all. Other than the graham crust, this is a pretty traditional pumpkin pie, smooth and nicely spicy and tastes like Autumn. It's also excellent the next day for breakfast with a side of leftover stuffing, if you are lucky enough to have any leftovers. 

adapted from Williams Sonoma

candied pecans:

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cups pecan halves

Heat oven to 350°. In a colander, rinse the pecans with cold water. Shake to remove excess water. Toss the nuts in a bowl with sugar and spices. Spread the coated nuts onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until the sugar has crystallized. Check on them frequently to check for doneness, they can burn quickly. Cool and store in an airtight container up to 2 days. 

crust:

• 3/4 cup candied pecans
• 1 cup graham
   cracker crumbs
• 1/2 cup melted butter

Combine pecans and crumbs in a food processor, blitz until nuts are finely ground. Add butter and mix until combined. Press the crust into a pie plate. Set aside. 

filling:

• 1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin puree
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup heavy/whipping cream
• 2/3 cup  brown sugar
• 1 tbs cornstarch
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp cloves
• 2 tsp vanilla extract 

Heat oven to 325°. Combine all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and stir until well combined and smooth. Pour into prepared crust and bake 50-60 minutes, until the pie just just the slightest wobble in the center when you jiggle it, but it set around the edges. Cool pie and place candied pecans around the edge. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream. 

Photos: Tyrel Hiebert

damn fine cherry pie

I didn't watch Twin Peaks the first time around, largely because I was a toddler when it first aired and a lot of the great weirdness of it would probably have been lost on me. I always had it in the back of my mind as something I knew I was supposed to watch, and should get around to one day. There are so many cultural references to the show floating around that I had picked up a bit of Twin Peaks through osmosis. But then when I heard a new season was being coming out, I finally got motivated to watch it, and it's really good you guys! I'm sure it's news to you, but it's just as good as everyone said all these 26 years. 

I wanted to pay homage to Twin Peaks' new season with a Double R Diner special, a cherry pie and a cup of strong black coffee. 

I know it's a bit early for fresh cherries, at least where I live, so I used some jarred sour cherries and some frozen sweet cherries. You can use all sour, or all sweet and fresh cherries will work too. 

crust:

adapted from Bon Appetit

• ⅓ cup almond flour
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 big pinch salt
• 2½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chilled butter, cut into pieces 
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1/4 cup cold water

Combine almond flour, granulated sugar, salt, all-purpose flour and butter in a food processor and pulse until mixture is just combined and has a sandy texture. Combine egg yolks and water and drizzle them over the flour mixture. Pulse until just combined. Add a few drops more water if the dough isn't coming together.

Dump the dough out onto a large sheet of plastic wrap and squish it into a rectangle. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and chill for at least two hours or overnight. 

On floured parchment paper, roll out just over half the dough to 1/4" thickness, until it's large enough to line a 9" pie plate. Transfer the dough to the pie plate and trim excess. 

Roll out remaining dough until 1/4" thick and use a small piping tip to cut out polka-dot holes in the pie top or slice vents with a knife. 

filling: 

adapted from Martha Stewart.

Note about cherries: Fresh or frozen is fine, I like a mix of sour and sweet cherries. Because it's a bit early in the season, I used 5 cups sweet frozen cherries + 1.5 cups jarred sour cherries, drained of syrup. If you use frozen, make sure to thaw, rinse and drain well on paper towels to prevent sogginess. 

• 2 pounds cherries
• 2 tbs corn starch
• 2 tbs lemon juice
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tbs heavy cream 
• sanding sugar for sprinkling

Pre-heat oven to 400° F. 

Toss cherries, sugar, lemon juice and corn starch in a large bowl. Place filling into the dough lined pie pan. Drape the top dough layer over the cherries and trim off excess dough. There is quite a bit of extra, which can be frozen for another use. 

Pinch the two layers of dough together all around the edge. Beat together egg and cream and brush over pie top. Generously sprinkle with sanding sugar and bake on lowest rack in the oven for 60-70 minutes. If the edges brown too quickly, wrap tinfoil around the edges.

Serve with a damn fine cup of coffee, preferably in a foggy little seaside town enshrouded in mystery and cedars. 

salty macadamia, caramel & chocolate tart

This one is just a wee bit intense. If you think of desserts on a spectrum from the snacky, light and morish, the muffin and streusel cake end of things, right down to the richest flourless chocolate cakes, this tart falls well into the latter end of the continuum. I had to cut the slices pictured here in half, they were so rich. I don't want to make it sound like a bad thing, I really loved this tart. It just isn't a tart to be trifled with (I think that's what I would like on my gravestone: She was not a tart to be trifled with.) It should be administered in teeny little doses to avoid acute sugar toxicity. Which is a good thing, because macadamia nuts are stupidly expensive, and they'll go a long way if you only serve very thin slivers. I think the macadamias are worth it, they are so buttery and salty, but feel free to substitute the nut of your choice. 

Don't skimp on the salt here, it's a great balance to the tart's sweetness and richness. A very strong cup of coffee would also go very nicely with a slice. 

salty macadamia, caramel and chocolate tart: 

crust: 

• 1 1/2 cups graham crumbs 
• 6 tbs butter, melted 

Coat graham crumbs evenly in butter and press into the bottom and sides of a 14" rectangular tart pan. 

filling:

adapted from Bouchon Bakery

• 1/2 cup golden syrup, corn syrup or liquid glucose 
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 3 tbs butter 
• 3/4 cup whipping cream 
• big pinch of flaky salt
• 1 cup salted & roasted macadamia nuts

Put the macadamia nuts in an even layer in the prepared tart pan and place the pan on a cooling rack or heat-proof surface. 

Bring the syrup or glucose to a boil in a large saucepan on high heat. Add sugar a third at a time, stirring to incorporate each addition. Cook until the syrup reaches 350°F on a candy thermometer. Reduce heat to medium and stir in the butter. Stir in cream, working carefully. The syrup will bubble vigorously, watch out! Add salt and stir constantly until the mixture comes back up to 248°F.  Pour over the macadamia nuts in the pan until the caramel is 2/3 the way up the side of tart. Save any extra caramel in an airtight container in the fridge for ice cream. Chill the tart until it's no longer warm to the touch. 

chocolate ganache

• 1/2 cup dark chocolate, finely chopped or chocolate chips
• 6 tbs heavy cream 

Over a double boiler on medium low heat (or a metal bowl set over a pan with a couple inches of water in the bottom) melt chocolate and cream together, stirring to incorporate everything together well. Once fully melted, let the ganache cool slightly and pour over the top of the caramel, smoothing with a spatula. Finish with a little sprinkle of flaky salt.