Grape and Raspberry Cheese Tart

Don't you just hate those fancy cookbooks with the delicious looking high-end recipes that have expensive and hard to find ingredients? I find myself staring at the pretty pictures in those books knowing I will never be able to find or afford the equipment and ingredients needed to make them. This recipe started out as one of those recipes.

I found this recipe in my "Best-Ever Pastry Cookbook" I have been eye-balling it for several years now, waiting for the perfect time to make it. The recipe looked intimidating at first (that is why it took me so long to actually make it) with ingredients like "plain four" "vanilla essence" "apricot conserve" "farmer's cheese" and "caster sugar". But after deciphering the language it was rather easy: all-purpose flour, vanilla extract, apricot jam, cream cheese, and fine sugar.

I loved this tart. Usually I don't like tarts that much...they look beautiful, but they lack in the flavor department. This one has tons of flavor. The cheese filling paired with the raspberries and grapes is divine. It is a creamy and fresh filling contained in a flaky and buttery shell.

The original recipe is a bit different from what I actually made (as often happens when I cook). In the original it calls for individual tarts, only red grapes, and farmers/curd cheese (I still have no idea what that is). However, mine was delicious and I wouldn't change a thing...even if I could find and afford those fancy ingredients...

Grape and Raspberry Cheese Tart

* This is my simplified recipe based off Red Grape and Cheese Tartlets in the "Best-Ever Pastry Cookbook by Catherine Atkinson"


For the Tart shell
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2/3 cups butter (1 stick and 2 Tablespoons)
1 egg
1 Tablespoon chilled water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling
8 oz Cream Cheese
1/3 cup Milk
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1cup grapes**
1 cup fresh raspberries**
4 Tablespoons apricot jam***
1 Tablespoon water***

**You could use any fresh berry for this dessert but grapes and cheese go amazingly together.
***I didn't do the jam topping. Partly because I forget and partly because when I remembered I was too lazy to do it.

To make Pastry, put flour, cinnamon, and sugar into a food processor and mix. Add chunks of butter one at a time while the food processor is running until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs. Add the egg, water, and vanilla and keep processing until the mixture comes together into a smooth dough. Wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll out pastry and line your tart pan. Prick the base with a fork. Bake for 6 minutes or just until dough is lightly browned. DO NOT OVER BAKE. Nothing is worse than a hard and brittle pie shell. Remove from shell and cool.

For the filling, beat cream cheese, milk, vanilla, and sugar together in a small bowl. Pour into cooled tart shell. Top with berries and grapes.

Put apricot jam and water into a sauce pan and heat over medium high heat, stirring constantly until smooth and glossy. Spoon glaze over berries. Leave to cool, then refrigerate until ready to serve.

Raspberry Scones

This is my second attempt at writing this post. I had the entire post completed when my computer froze and I lost everything.

So the first recipe is completed. Raspberry Scones. It is New Year's eve and I chose to make this recipe because scones will be the perfect thing to eat after a late night. Scones are simple and you can make them in advance and freeze them until your ready to eat.

I like to make to scones, put them on a baking sheet, freeze, and then toss them into a zip-lock freezer bag for easier storage. Since they are frozen individually they won't all stick together. They will last months in the freezer. When you are ready to eat them take out as many as you like, place on a baking tray and bake in a 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes. The perfect lazy-man breakfast or afternoon snack.

The recipe that I used is from Tyler Florence. However, like with most of the things I make, I can't help but change it around a little. Tyler calls for fresh blueberries, I used what I had in the freeze: Red Raspberries. I also added more sugar to my scones.

Raspberry Scones
Adapted from Tyler Florance's Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze

Yield: 8 Scones 
Time : 20 min. prep/ 20 min. bake

Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 Tablespoons sugar
5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into chunks
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup frozen raspberries

Directions 
Put flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a food processor and blend for 5 seconds. Add the butter and mix until mixture resembles fine crumbs. While the processor is running slowly add in heavy cream. Stop when dough forms a ball. DO NOT OVERMIX!

Knead dough on a floured surface. Fold in raspberries. Try not to bruise the raspberries so they won't bleed too much into the dough. 

Roll out the dough into a 12 by 6 inch rectangle. Fold dough length-wise so you have a 12 by 3 inch rectangle. Cut the rectangle in half width-wise, and those halves in half again. You are left with 4 squares. Cut each square in a diagonal to make the usual triangular scone shape. Place scones on a baking tray.

At this point you can either bake the scones in a 400 degree over for 15-20 minutes. Or you can freeze them and bake them when ever you feel like it. Enjoy!