october. over?
i sit in my living room.
i pick pineapple off the pizza.
i rub my eyeballs.
i squeeze the cellulite on my leg.
i watch political things.
i rewatch episodes of girls.
i search the bag for the fruity tootsie rolls.
i dream of better things.`
i make a tart.
maple cream, pretzel crust.
whips of cream. valhrona carmelia crunchy balls.
i'm so into it. especially the crust. and maple.
and the balls.
Maple Cream Tart with Pretzel Crust
crust adapted from food & wine, maple cream from here
for the crust:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups coarsely crushed thin pretzels
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 large egg
maple cream:
4 cups whole milk
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
1 1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp cornstarch
6 egg yolks
4 tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened, cut into pieces
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
splash of vanilla
to make the crust: in a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the butter with 3/4 cup of the pretzels and the confectioners' sugar at low speed until creamy. beat in the flour and egg. add the remaining 1/2 cup pretzels. flatten the dough between plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 30 minutes.
preheat oven to 350. roll of the dough between sheets of parchment (or just press in the crust as i did) into a round or rectangular tart pan. (you may have dough leftover depending on the size of the pan you're using.) refrigerate the shell for 30 minutes until firm.
line the shell with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans. bake for about 30 minutes, until nearly set. remove the parchment and weights and bake for 10-15 minutes longer, until the tart shell is firm; cover the edge with foil if it darkens too much. let it cool completely.
for the maple cream: in a large heavy-bottomed pot set over medium heat, add the milk, the vanilla bean, the maple syrup, and the salt. bring to a simmer, then remove from heat and steep for 10 minutes.
in a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and the corn starch to a thick paste. bring the milk back to medium heat. once the milk just comes to a simmer, ladle a few cups of it into the egg mixture, whisking constantly to combine. pour the egg mixture into the pot of milk, whisking constantly. cook until custard thickens, about 5-8 minutes. once thick, remove from heat and continue stirring to cool. once the custard has cooled a bit, add the softened butter pieces, stirring after each addition. the custard should be smooth and thick. if there is any trace of lumps in the custard, pass it through a fine mesh strainer.
pour the maple cream into the cooled tart shell. this recipe makes more maple cream than needed to fill one tart shell, so if saving for later, press plastic wrap on the surface of the cream so it doesn't form a skin and refrigerate.
whip cream with sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks form. spoon or pipe onto tart.