Cuban strawberry mousse tart

I never thought I'd be one of those people who photographed their dessert before they ate it, but here we are. A yummy tart I sampled while in Cuba.

Pa-tiv-e-ay

That's how you pronounce: Pithiviers. This puff pastry dessert is from the town Pithiviers, outside Paris. Puff pastry is rolled out and cut into two circles, one a 1/2-inch larger than the other. Almond filling {the same as was used for the Frangipan} is spread into a dome shape in the center of the smaller circle and garnished with apricots. The larger circle is placed over top and the edges are sealed together {after being brushed with egg wash} and trimmed into a scallop shape.

A pinwheel pattern is scored into the pastry with the dull side of a paring knife and a slit is cut into the center to allow steam to escape. This is baked at 200 degrees for about 30 minutes. The sides should puff up {um, almost} to create an even surface.

Yet another dessert I've never heard of

Last night was my last pastry class - no more baking school until the end of September! Frangipan is a French Almond Tart made with sweet pastry {butter, sugar, eggs, bread & pastry flour and vanilla} and almond filling consisting of: butter, almond paste, eggs, flour and sugar. Once the pie shell is filled with a thin layer of raspberry jam and the almond mixture, pear slices are fanned on top and the tart is baked at 375 degrees for about an hour.

Once cooled, it is brushed with apricot glaze. Instead of raspberry jam, this could be made with sour cherries or cranberries. I thought this would smell/taste Amaretto-ish {which I hate} but high quality almond paste {at least 60% ground almonds} is good! Not artificial-tasting at all and it barely has a scent.

What's a galette?

It's basically a French free-form pie, traditionally made with an apple filling. Milk pastry {pastry flour, salt, butter, cold milk} is rolled into a square shape and a mixture of apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, butter and lemon juice is laid out flat in the middle. The dough is then folded around the filling until a circle is formed. This is an open-faced version, but it's possible to make this in a closed style as well.

After being baked for about 35 minutes, the galette is glazed {icing sugar & water}. The pastry tasted almost shortbread cookie-like - very buttery - and because the filling didn't contain cornstarch, it tasted more natural than a typical apple pie filling.

Chocolate truffle

Two of my most favourite words. Better yet: Bittersweet Chocolate Truffle Raspberry Flan. Chocolate ganache {bittersweet chocolate and cream} was poured over the raspberries laid out in the bottom of a chocolate tart shell. There's no way this wasn't going to taste good.

As if that wasn't enough, white chocolate was drizzled over the top and garnished with more raspberries.