But to get to this week's recipe: Cranberry Crackle Tart.
This recipe is unique in it's simplicity. The tart base is really a platform; Dorie has us trim the dough down about a third of the way from the top edge of the pie pan. What a novel idea! The gallette dough was so easy to make and absolutely delicious. I'm sure I'll be using this dough again and again.
The second layer is jam and I used cherry preserves to spread on the cooled dough. All was going according to plan until I started whipping up the two egg whites for the final layer. I don't know if my beater didn't reach down to the bottom of the bowl as well as it should or if my egg whites were slightly cold or if I was impatient, but it took forever for the whites to whip up. Well maybe not forever, but about 10 minutes. They finally reached a passable stage and I mixed in the cranberries and spread it on the tart. No chance to make beautiful swirls with my limp egg whites.
I baked the tart and the meringue looked pretty and slightly crackly, as it should. For all it's simplicity, I was very pleased with how the Cranberry Crackle Tart tasted. We just nibbled away at it, a tiny slice at a time.
Almost every time I bake one of Dorie's recipes I learn something new. This time I learned:
- Dorie's very wonderful galette dough is easy to make and quite versatile
- a sweet trick is to trim the dough down in a pie plate if you want just a platform for a filling
- cranberries do indeed get soft when baked in a meringue
- make sure egg whites are at room temperature, especially if you are only whipping up two of them
- meringue toppings are very tasty
Be sure to visit the blogs of other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers and, if you haven't already done so, rush right out and buy Dorie's newest book, Baking Chez Moi.
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| I rolled out the galette dough between sheets of parchment paper. |
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| The finished tart. |
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| One of the first slivers! |
Looks great...and I love the photo on the side of you and Dorie. Nice little list of things you learned list...I was googling like crazy to find out if my egg whites should be warm or cold as I could not remember from before...lol. I had good luck with them at room temperature. It's good to be back baking before I truly forget everything I learned the first round of TWD!
ReplyDeleteYour tart looks wonderful! I also used the galette dough and loved it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your lessons learned!
ReplyDeleteLovely tart! I've used the galette dough too and it was great! I've made turnovers from the dough scrapes and this is one dough I'll be using again!
ReplyDeleteI was surprised that the cranberries softened too. Looks like it turned out great.
ReplyDeleteLooks perfect! I started with frozen cranberries, and they softened quite nicely!
ReplyDeleteLooks wonderful! I used my hand mixer since some had said the number of egg whites created issues with their stand mixer. It took forever and I did get impatient...but mostly because my arm was tired. I will definitely try the galette dough!
ReplyDeletePeggy I love your picture with Dorie. I am glad you got to meet her. Thanks for the complement on my tart. Next time I will bake the crust a little less.
ReplyDeleteI love Dorie's sweet tart dough too. I love that I don't have to roll it especially. Your tart looks great!
ReplyDeleteI felt like it was an eternity before the whites peaked! Definitely ten to fifteen minutes. Dorie's sweet tart dough is delish!
ReplyDeleteI used the sweet tart dough, but am curious to try this with the galette dough now, too. Yours turned out beautifully and I agree with all your observations. So lovely that you got to meet her! I was able to meet her when she visited Vancouver. Such a wonderful person.
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