Pink Grapefruit Tart

First let me say that I live in Rochester, NY, which is just south of Lake Ontario.  We generally have long winters with a lot of snow--we are the third snowiest city in the U. S.  But this has been one very cold, very snowy winter.  This picture of my house makes it almost look pleasant--sort of winter wonder-land-y.  But since that picture was taken on a cold, sunny day last week, we've had even more snow.  And it remains very cold:  today it is 7 degrees F with the wind blowing and it is expected to drop down to -8 F.  All I've got to say, is thank goodness for central heat, indoor plumbing, and baking!  Those three are keeping me sane.

The snow is building up.

I love baking tarts because they are so beautiful.  And because often I am able to make parts of it over a couple of days and then assemble it on the day I plan to serve it.  So it was with this tart.

Peeling and sectioning the grapefruit.  I improved with practice.

Straining out the zest before I blending the cream in the blender.

I wasn't quite sure what "set" meant, but I think I got it just right.    The layer of almond cream cooling.

The decorated tart.  I used the idea Dorie shared when she posted a picture on Facebook.

Getting ready to serve to our friends.  We had French Onion Soup with homemade baguettes.

There were lots of oooohhhs and aaahhhhs when my friends took a look at this tart.  And it was so delicious, that there wasn't a bit left!

Marquise au Chocolate

I love working with chocolate and cream and so this was a delightful treat to make and I ended up with a bonus . . . . . . leftover egg whites!

For the Marquise you beat up egg yolks and sugar, melt a LOT of chocolate, whip up some cream, and gently blend it all together, then freeze it in a loaf pan.  Then serve it up!

Mixing the cream and the chocolate and then . . . hours later, enjoying a slice.

After I popped this yummy loaf into the freezer, I wondered what I might do with the egg whites.  Usually I freeze them, but today I decided to make marshmallows!  I'd tried them twice before using the recipe from Baking from my Home to Yours, and while they were delicious, they were super sticky.  I suspected that the problem had been the humidity in the air while I was making the marshmallows.  Right now, it is super cold outside and with the furnace running frequently, the air inside is quite dry.  I think I was right about the humidity because this time the marshmallows turned out wonderfully well!

Marshmallows from the egg whites!

In hot chocolate.

They melted so wonderfully!

I wonder how the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers did this week?  And also, what happened to those leftover egg whites!  Check them out here.