"The King was in his counting house counting out his money
The Queen was in the parlour eating tarts and honey."
Well, in the old nursery rhyme it was bread and honey.
I'm on the case right now - I have just tested tartlet no. 1, a 2-1/2 inch tart cut from Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry, baked at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. It has puffed a little bit and is palatable, but there is a problem with the apple filling. I chose to use finely chopped apple and placed about 1-1/2 teaspoons, mixed in brown sugar, on the tart shape. The filling has come out very dry.
So on to tart no.2 - I raised the temperature to 375 degrees and drizzled a half teaspoon of clover honey over the apple filling. And that is why the Queen is eating Tarts and Honey.
Tart no. 2 has done beautifully at 375 degrees for about 17 minutes; it's puffed up like a vol-u-vent case. Now I'm waiting for it to cool for the taste test; hopefully there will soon be lots of little tartlets sitting on a plate, waiting for their photo op.
A dozen Tart 3's are busy baking - Tart No. 2, although well risen, still didn't have any apple flavor, so, feeling a bit panicky by now, I put a blob of raspberry jam on each pastry, then the apple, then the honey. It surely had to taste nice now. Of course, I have identified the culprit - tasteless, "economy" apples I bought at the local supermarket. If only I had bought Granny Smiths, with their sour-sweet tang.
Oh dear! What happened to the beautiful vol-u-vent puffs for Tart no.2! Jam is oozing out all over and they are as flat as pancakes. The Queen will just have to get out of the parlour and go to work empty-handed.
I'm posting because I've been goofing off with TWD lately, making comfort cookies instead of following the schedule. I'm just going to have to browse through all the blogs tomorrow to see how things should really be.
However, I had a lot of fun with the puff pastry and want to say "Thank you" to Jessica of My Baking Heart for her selection. It has endless possibilities.
