I finally tried a recipe from this book I bought a while ago {Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey}, the delay being that the recipes are INSANE: we're talking chocolate, caramel, butter, etc, etc...seriously sweet stuff.
So these "Heart of Darkness Brownies" not only contain butter, semi-sweet and unsweetened chocolate, pecans, but chopped up Snickers bars too. Wow. PLUS, they are topped with marshmallows and drizzled with a caramel sauce made of those little Kraft caramels, heavy cream and vanilla. I'm going to test them out on my family tomorrow but I'm sure that these will be a hit.
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.
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. 
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. 
