...In other words, as I always seem to be implying, fruit tarts to make a
liiiiiitle before now. Or, tarts with strawberries and/or rhubarb of some sorts.
After two installments of what I started as the "fruit tarts to make now" series in editions Autumn and Winter, I fully intend on posting you what should obviously follow - Spring. Hopefully while it is still, well, spring. As I write this I've got all the photos sorted out, but haven't got enough time to do the writing bit, not for another week or so.
UPDATE: Post now (very belatedly) finished! Thanks and sorry if I've kept anyone waiting...
If you are willing to go back to around the beginning of March...
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/28/46/d0008146_23271050.jpg?w=360&h=540)
I
know, I know, who wants to think about the damp and cold when it is in
reality warm and glorious out? But if you can see it in your mind's
eye. Early March is still very much winter than anything else up here
in the mountains. That said, the snow that's stuck around for months on
end is finally starting to melt, gradually exposing the grounds.
Also,
the quality of the snow changes too. It tends to be light and powdery
in the deep of winter because the air is fairly dry. As the warmer
weather approaches, so does the humidity which makes the snow wetter and
heavier. Also, it melts more quickly.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/28/46/d0008146_23324330.jpg?w=360&h=540)
That's how we sense the advent of spring, even when it is all white out.
From the months of January through March or even April, our local green
markets are all but closed with very little on the shelves. All you may
find would be dried foods, root vegetables, and perhaps apples. Even
when the temperatures start going up and the day growing longer, spring
seems to be still far off as far as fresh produce is concerned.
So all in all, we mostly eat the remains of winter fruits for a little while longer.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/28/46/d0008146_23371288.jpg?w=360&h=540)
Such as
citrus fruit, for instance.
Although citrus are around more or less all year around thanks to the
imports, their season is predominantly winter. I made a lot of citrus
fruit tarts
in winter, and have kept making still more in the early spring using whatever is left of them.
First on the list:
lemons.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/29/46/d0008146_01004224.jpg?w=360&h=540)
I
think this lemon tart is distinctly more springlike than wintery, not
simply because it's got fresh strawberries on it, but also it uses lemon
thyme. It's one of the many joys of spring to go to garden shops and
pick up herb plants, even though little can survive in our shady and
damp corner of the woods.
Anyways,
lemon thyme and yogurt tart.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/29/46/d0008146_00461444.jpg?w=360&h=540)
I made this based on a recipe from
Flavor Flours: A New Way to Bake with Teff, Buckwheat, Sorghum, Other Whole & Ancient Grains, Nuts & Non-Wheat Flours by
Alice Medrich
(Artisan, 2014). It is originally for yogurt tart, with a crust made
using oat and rice flours, filled with a mixture of Greek-style yogurt,
sugar and eggs.
Here I took Greek-style yogurt and drained it
further of fluid, and replaced it with the equal amount of juice of
lemon, together with grated zest for good measure, to make a
lemon-flavored filling. I also added chopped fresh lemon thyme leaves.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/29/46/d0008146_00552533.jpg?w=360&h=540)
The
result was a most refreshing and light thing, with the fresh
strawberries adding another layer of freshness factor as well as the
colors.
Another lemon tart recipe I made was perhaps not particularly springy, but anyways...
Meyer lemon tartlets. The recipe is from
Love, Eric Revised: Delicious Vegan Macrobiotic Desserts by
Eric Lechasseur (
Japanese
ed. translated by Natsuko Sakai and Sanae Suzuki, Parco Publishing,
2007). It happens to be a macrobiotic recipe that uses
amazake to sweeten a mouth-puckeringly tart lemon filling. Although I'd made these before (don't seem to have posted about it here though...)
,
here I had a trouble with the crust, and messed up two batches (urgh).
In the end, I used another crust recipe and it worked out alright to my
great relief.
While lemons are around all year round, the same cannot be said of the
yuzu.
Yuzu and mint tart with coconut.
Of all kinds of citrus fruit, yuzu represents winter the most to me.
The last yuzu I had from the winter was here paired with fresh mint,
which carries a whiff of the warm weather around it.
I employed
basically the same tactics in making this as I did for the yuzu tart I
wrote about in the winter fruit tart post, which was a version of lemon
squares; just bake it in a tart pan. I liked the (mostly) vegan one I
used last time, but here I looked around for some other new recipes, and
settled on this.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/29/46/d0008146_00121248.jpg?w=360&h=540)
It
is free from wheat flour, refined sugar, and dairy although it does use
eggs. And coconut, a plenty of it too. I swapped the lemon for yuzu,
and added grated zest of yuzu and finely chopped fresh mint leaves in
both the crust and the filling. It was even dusted with coconut flour!
Not
surprisingly when you see how much coconut that goes in the tart, the
dominant flavor of it was coconut. I think I could have used a little
more yuzu and mint, but the flavors played out really well all the same.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/29/46/d0008146_00192077.jpg?w=360&h=540)
Even though, it was more of a cross between winter and summer than spring itself, if you know what I mean.
As the yuzu makes an exit, arrives
amanatsu - another one of Japanese citrus fruit.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/29/46/d0008146_21493957.jpg?w=360&h=540)
These
amanatsu tartlets consisted of a simple sable cookie shell, baked with a
cream cheese-based mixture in them, then filled with an amanatsu curd
and topped with pillowy whipped cream.
I think it's safe to
say that this was one of the more elaborate recipes I ever make, but
the result was well worth the trouble. The recipe can be found
here (in Japanese).
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/29/46/d0008146_21535473.jpg?w=360&h=540)
Even here in Japan you
don't see too many amanatsu-based sweets outside of jams and gelatin
desserts. Maybe I should try possibilities beyond those!
And now, one of the most versatile citrus fruits -
oranges.
Once found almost exclusively imported, oranges are
increasingly more widely available domestically-grown in this country, which I think is
great.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/28/46/d0008146_23484433.jpg?w=360&h=540)
This
fresh orange tart with strawberry yogurt was
a reincarnation of the fresh orange tart I'd made
this past winter. We
enjoyed it so much I wanted to make it again while oranges were still
around. The recipe is from
here, and I replaced a portion of the yogurt with pureed strawberries.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/28/46/d0008146_23554199.jpg?w=360&h=540)
The
addition of strawberries tinted the yogurt filling faintly pink,
although you can't very well see it with all the orange slices covering
the entire surface of the tart.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/28/46/d0008146_23561658.jpg?w=360&h=540)
...Well,
you can't really see that even with it sliced up, either, in pictures -
but I assure you it really was pretty pink! Here I used two kinds of
oranges, namely Navel and blood, instead of three with the first one. But the
tart came out gorgeous and tasty again.
Another one with the two types of oranges plus strawberries...
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_17030394.jpg?w=360&h=540)
...Although,
I can't really say this one here was just as pretty, I'm afraid. I set
about the topping part with little idea of how to go with it, and ended
it still not knowing what I was doing. The result was this rather
haphazard-looking
strawberry orange tart. Sigh.
I used
this recipe,
and replaced spelt instead of regular wheat flour, mascarpone rather
than Neufchatel, and added some grated zest and juice of an orange.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_17094368.jpg?w=360&h=540)
It wasn't much to look at, but did taste fine! Honest!!
...Okay, moving on.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/29/46/d0008146_23201378.jpg?w=360&h=540)
Here's another one that featured blood oranges, in a form of
blood orange sablés Bretons with mascarpone and pistachios.
Sable Breton is a slightly cake-y cookie hailing from the Breton
region in France, renown for their superb dairy products such as cream
and butter. It is usually made with salted butter - and a plenty of
it, too.
You can find these salty-buttery-all-round-rich
cookies in Japan, both imported and domestically made. But not so often
in a way, as it is here, paired with fresh fruits and served as a tart.
I think I first came across it in
this book.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/29/46/d0008146_23514900.jpg?w=360&h=540)
Here I used
this recipe,
which adorns the sable with tart-sweet blood orange segments and a
cloud-like mascarpone-based cream. Sable Breton makes a quite soft
dough, and is usually baked in tart rings to hold shapes. Now I don't
own tart rings that were good for this purpose, but I refused to be
deterred by that and just baked them in a muffin pan.
...Which probably explains why my sable Bretons looked rather like cupcakes, especially with all the cream on top...
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/29/46/d0008146_23572171.jpg?w=360&h=540)
Both
the sable 'crust' and the cream were rich with butter and cream,
respectively, but the finished tarts managed to taste extremely light
and went down very easy - too easy, even!
This winter, by the way I went
to town on produced-in-Japan oranges (and other citrus fruits). I
wasn't in a full-on candied peel or marmalade making mode, but I did
make something
sort of like candied slices - but in honey (like
these). Here's a tart that used some of them:
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/30/46/d0008146_00161800.jpg?w=360&h=540)
I made a rye tart dough from the recipe in
this book, rolled it out, sprinkled with some bread crumb, then piled the honeyed orange slices on it along with chopped rhubarb.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/30/46/d0008146_00381592.jpg?w=360&h=540)
Off it went into the oven and came out as an
orange rhubarb galette. Easy!
Now,
as April rolls around, the persistent snow finally melts, and gets
replaced by a hint of green that starts showing on the grounds and on
the trees.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/30/46/d0008146_00420720.jpg?w=360&h=540)
For
a few weeks from March to April, the mountains tend to be all in brown -
not the glorious kind of brown like in Autumn but a dull, monotonous
one. So any signs of new greens, however faint, make my heart dance
with joy.
As I've already said, sights of green come a little
later at our local green markets, and the absence of fruits are
especially conspicuous (except perhaps for languishing apples).
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/30/46/d0008146_00461707.jpg?w=360&h=540)
This year, I was totally thrilled to find
rhubarb at
our local market towards the end of April. You find fresh rhubarb a
lot here in Nagano, but they usually come around in early summer and in
autumn. This may have been the earliest in the year I saw them sold at
the market. Then, in early May, I came across a properly rosy red
specimens, which are really,
really hard to come by; most of rhubarb you
see here are half (or more than half) green. I am still totally happy
to bake with green rhubarb, but the red ones do make your sweets
definitely prettier.
Green or red, rhubarb is one of the very
few fresh fruits (ok, it is really a vegetable... but still) that are around in
early spring, so I tend to bake a lot of things with it, including, yes,
tarts.
Honey rhubarb tarts with ginger and brown sugar yogurt.
This is a kind of things I'd always wanted to make should I lay my
hand on thin, ruby-red stalks; and I finally did! hooray!
And
this one was pretty simple to make, which was like a bonus. All you need to do is roll out a
piece of (store-bought) puff pastry, place stalks of rhubarb on top,
drizzle with honey, and bake.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/30/46/d0008146_20082953.jpg?w=360&h=540)
While
the tart bakes, add a bit of grated fresh ginger, vanilla beans, and
brown sugar to some Greek-style yogurt. So simple, and so good. I've as
good as written it down, but you can find the original recipe
here.
Something a little different with red rhubarb and puff pastry...
Rhubarb and almond tart.
A sheet of puff pastry spread with almond cream and topped with pieces
of rhubarb that have been soaked in a rose- and vanilla-flavored syrup
before it goes into the oven.
The
recipe calls for store-bought puff pastry, but I had, on a whim, just
made a batch on my own, so that was what I used here. Mind you, it was
not the proper, folding a sheet of butter in a flour dough kind, but a
simplified version (so-called rough puff) - but I think it worked
perfectly fine for this kind of pastries.
The recipe is from
Annie Rigg's new book
Summer Berries & Autumn Fruits: 120 Sensational Sweet & Savoury Recipes
(Kyle Books, 2015). This was the first recipe I tried from this
beautiful book, and it wasn't until I started making the tart that I
realized I was making the
cover recipe. (Incidentally, the
second recipe I tried happened to be the one of the back cover. Funny how these things happen....) A simple and gorgeous tart at any rate.
While
I love how red rhubarb make the prettiest pink pies and puddings, red
ones are hard to find around here, so most of the things I bake with
rhubarb end up looking, well, NOT pink.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_02054297.jpg?w=360&h=540)
But that doesn't mean non-pink rhubarb sweets are any less delicious. Take this
rhubarb, almond and coriander tart
- a combination of an almond-rich, cake-y tart 'crust', chopped
rhubarb, and a sweet almond topping, spiked with ground coriander seeds
that you use in both the crust and the topping.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_02132685.jpg?w=360&h=540)
The recipe is from
小嶋ルミのフルーツのお菓子: 季節のジャムとコンポート、ケーキなど86品 ('Rumi Kojima's Fruit Treats')
(Shibata Shoten, 2014) (in Japanese). Rumi Kojima is a well-respected
Japanese pastry chef and baking book author who runs a pastry shop
called
Oven Mitten
in the west of Tokyo. A good friend of mine sent me this recipe, saying
that she thought I'd like this - and she proved to be absolutely right
(thanks!! x).
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_02182717.jpg?w=360&h=540)
Other
than the fact that this is one of the few rhubarb recipes you see here
in Japan (save for jams), it is also pretty special in that it uses coriander seeds with rhubarb. I'm sure there are recipes that do just
that, but this was my first time trying this particular combination and I
was delighted to find that it worked beautifully. Because I used a
tart pan that wasn't the size specified in the recipe, the tart came out
thicker than it should be - but it was still really very tasty.
While
I don't terribly mind my rhubarb things dull green, when I do want to
make them pinkish, I do a bit of tweaking. Sometimes I just use redder
parts of the stalks. Other times, I cook it with some decidedly red
fruit, to 'tint' the rhubarb pink.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_01154957.jpg?w=360&h=540)
With these
rhubarb pistachio tarts,
I picked out bright red portions of the rhubarb stalks I had. I can't
remember which recipe I used (this is what happens when you are trying
to blog about something you made a few years ago... oops), but I
think they
were simple tart crust filled with a pistachio frangipane (namely, an
almond cream made using pistachios instead of, or in this case, in
addition to, almonds), and topped with lightly poached rhubarb.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_01184042.jpg?w=360&h=540)
You can't really tell there are pistachios in these, but I think they were just fine.
Another
rhubarb pistachio tart that I made a little more recently...
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_01232616.jpg?w=360&h=540)
This was a
nearly vegan version based on a recipe from
かんたんお菓子: なつかしくてあたらしい、白崎茶会のオーガニックレシピ ('Simple Treats') (Wave Publishers, 2012) written by
Hiroko Shirasaki
(in Japanese). Starting with some decidedly green rhubarb, I poached
it along with some strawberries and cranberries, as well as a bit of
honey, and left it to infuse overnight.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_01200894.jpg?w=360&h=540)
While
the color came out good, I should have been able to cut the stalks of
rhubarb a little more evenly. Well, I have never been known for
precision....
Meanwhile, for these
rhubarb brioche tarts, I used only red parts of rhubarb, AND paired it with a raspberry jam for a good measure.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_01324367.jpg?w=360&h=540)
I
love these simple 'tarts' using a brioche dough and fresh fruits.
Shame the color didn't pop up so well but rather blended into the
gorgeously browned brioche, and come to think of it, the brioches baked
up perhaps a little too round to be called 'tarts'. Never mind.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_01385365.jpg?w=360&h=540)
The brioche recipe I used was from
少しのイーストでゆっくり発酵パン こんな方法があったんだ。おいしさ再発見! ('Slow Rise Bread with a Little Yeast') by
Masako Takahashi
(Parco Publishing, 2007) (in Japanese). This is the book that helped
me overcome my fear of baking with yeast and become able to actually
enjoy making bread.
Another brioche tart...
Sugared brioche tart with rhubarb, apple, and raspberries.
A butter-rich brioche dough is covered with some creme fraiche and
dots of butter, topped with vanilla-sugared fruits, then dusted with
some more of the sugar. The
recipe uses only rhubarb, but I added some sliced apple and crashed raspberries.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_01300091.jpg?w=360&h=540)
Because
this brioche dough needs to be left to proof only once, the tart can be
put together fairly quickly, which is a bonus for a treat that looks
gorgeous and tastes great like this.
And then, I made something else where I 'colored' my rhubarb with raspberries.
Rhubarb, mascarpone and hazelnut tartlets.
Shortcrust pastry shells get baked, then filled with a mascarpone
cheese and hazelnut cream, and topped with stewed rhubarb, to which I
added a bit of raspberries, just enough to give the rhubarb a gorgeous
color.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_01572938.jpg?w=360&h=540)
I
think I may have cooked the rhubarb a little longer than I should have,
but the tarts tasted lovely all the same (phew!). The recipe is from
What Katie Ate: Recipes and Other Bits and Bobs (UK ed.) (Collins, 2013), the talented photographer and blogger
Katie Quinn Davies's first book; you can find it
here as well.
Later, I made another tart, taking particular care not to let my rhubarb turn into mush...
Rhubarb
cream cheese tart. A tart crust, a cream cheese mixture, and rhubarb
compote. I can't very well remember which recipe I used (again) (sorry...), but
I think it was something like
this. The thing is, again, I always wanted to make a tart like
these,
using pink, slim stalks of rhubarb. When I couldn't get hold of such
specimens, I decided to go ahead anyway, using some non-pink slim stalks
- and colored them in pink myself.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_03014500.jpg?w=360&h=540)
I
cooked my rhubarb in rose wine, with some hibiscus flowers thrown into
it for a good measure, as the rose alone didn't seem to be enough to
tame the greenness of the rhubarb. Considering how green it was indeed to begin
with, I think it turned out fine.
This brilliant idea of
cooking rhubarb with hibiscus, by the way, was first introduced to me
through this other rhubarb tart recipe:
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_03074332.jpg?w=360&h=540)
Simply called
rhubarb tarts by baker and author
Kim Boyce in her gem of a book
Good to the Grain: Baking with Whole-Grain Flours
(Stewart, Tabori, & Chang, 2010), there are a lot more to them,
apart from their rustic but striking look; the sunny yellow tart dough
made using cornmeal is one thing, and the crimson red rhubarb compote is
another.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_03143776.jpg?w=360&h=540)
The
rhubarb hibiscus compote is the fruit cooked down, some of it to a
puree-like state and other left chunky, with brown sugar and dried
hibiscus flower. It doesn't matter how green your rhubarb is; the
hibiscus takes care of it and paints everything in scarlet. The deep,
dark brown sugar flavor complement the tart rhubarb and hibiscus very
well too. I've been making the compote many times over, to go with
yogurt or other things.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_03194827.jpg?w=360&h=540)
But
here, it fills the cornmeal-based tart crust to make these little galettes.
The red and yellow make some really striking-looking tarts.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_03245072.jpg?w=360&h=540)
It's
been a while since I made these (back in 2012(!)), but thinking I might
make some again one of these days. You can find the tart recipe,
including the compote,
here.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_03290106.jpg?w=360&h=540)
I think I may have taken (and posted) too many photos of these tarts... couldn't resist! They are so pretty.
While
hibiscus wins the rhubarb-painting game hands down, there is one fruit
that is around at the same time as rhubarb is and tastes really well paired with
the latter, while giving it a pretty shade of pinky red.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_03361391.jpg?w=360&h=540)
Strawberries!
Rhubarb and strawberry go together like peanut butter and jelly, or
chocolate and banana. When you stop and think about it, about a half of
rhubarb recipes out there seem to use strawberries as well. The tart
rhubarb and sweet strawberries are a match made in (spring baking)
heaven.
And! Strawberries are generous in sharing their color with any green rhubarb that goes with them.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_13332854.jpg?w=360&h=540)
Take a simple
strawberry and rhubarb tart
like these. You cook rhubarb with just a bit of sugar, and when it's
cooked through, remove from heat and add some fresh strawberries to it. While
the mixture is still warm, serve it in pre-baked tart shells.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_13360443.jpg?w=360&h=540)
Because
the berries haven't been cooked through, you can enjoy the freshness of
them in these tart, which I like. A simple, lovely affair. Recipe is
here.
This
rhubarb and ricotta tart also pairs cooked rhubarb and fresh strawberries, in a different way.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_13372852.jpg?w=360&h=540)
A
sheet of puff pastry is spread with an almond cream, syrup-macerated
rhubarb, and ricotta cheese. Once nicely baked up, cut into slices and
served with vanilla ice cream and fresh strawberries.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_13391562.jpg?w=360&h=540)
The
recipe
suggests you serve it with honeycomb as well, but that was something I
didn't have knocking about, so I just used honey instead. Either way,
you can't very well see the green of your rhubarb; in fact, you can't
see much of rhubarb, green or otherwise. You can taste it, though, so
that's fine.
Another good example of strawberries making up for the lack of 'pinkness' of rhubarb:
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_13311800.jpg?w=360&h=540)
See? All nice and red/pink!
But before the tart got baked?
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_13435437.jpg?w=360&h=540)
Green. Yes, very green.
It
is likely to have escaped your notice in the first picture, but the
tart was covered with the dough cut into cherry blossoms shapes. I made
this two years ago, thoroughly inspired by a picture I found on
Instagram, of a
"flower pie" like this one; isn't it just so pretty?
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_14050525.jpg?w=360&h=540)
I
tried with sakura-shaped cookie cutters I had, but mine didn't turn out
as pretty as I'd hoped. I suspect the cookie cutters could have been
too large, or the tart pan too small. I could also have used more
flower pieces, covering the surface of the tart more thoroughly. Apart
from the topping, this was pretty straightforward kind of
strawberry rhubarb tart; a shortcrust pastry, and a filling made of strawberries and rhubarb mixed with some sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and cardamom.
And so, with spring comes sakura, both in a form of food and the real thing, on the trees.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_16090696.jpg?w=360&h=540)
At
around the end of March, you start seeing pictures of cherry blossoms
posted by everyone in Tokyo and the west/south of the country. Here in
the mountains of Nagano, it isn't until I
have spent a few weeks feeling envious of everyone else that the blossoms finally start blooming. For us, it
happens usually towards the end of April.
We
have a few cherry trees along our street up here, and while they aren't
as extravagant as a lot of them you'd admire at the country's more
famous sakura sights, we cherish them all the same.
This spring I didn't go for
hanami
anywhere, nor did I made many sakura sweets as I had done in some other
years. But I did try and make a sakura-themed flower tart - again.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_14124623.jpg?w=360&h=540)
Taking
into account the lesson I'd learned from my previous flower tart
experiment, I made the tart in a larger pan, and increased the amount of
cookie 'flowers' for the topping.
Off it went in the oven...
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_14144126.jpg?w=360&h=540)
...and
it came out looking even less flowery than before (uuuuurgh). For all
that mushy topping I got, I might as well hadn't stayed up late
'drawing' lines and dots on each of the cookie blossoms. Perhaps I
should just use some other flower-shape cutter. Oh well.
For
those who are wondering, I used strawberries and apples for the
filling, spiced lightly with cardamom and nutmeg. The crust was made
using corn flour (i.e. very finely ground cornmeal), based loosely on
this recipe. Hence a
strawberry apple tart with cornmeal crust.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_14161003.jpg?w=360&h=540)
It was, strictly speaking, a pie rather than a tart - but we don't quibble over trivialities, do we? Good.
So, as you can see,
strawberries have a very important role to play in spring fruit baking, either together with other fruits or on their own.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_16094944.jpg?w=360&h=540)
I've
mentioned this countless times, but over the past few decades
strawberries seem to have turned into a winter fruit in Japan, judging
by their appearances at grocery stores nationwide. Still, here in
Nagano the locally-grown kinds don't arrive until March, and they last
through June (or sometimes August).
Considering that
strawberries are around since late November, you may think we'd be tired
of seeing them by March or so. But somehow, they never fail to thrill
me when I see them in early spring - and invariably I find myself
picking up a punnet or two. So, more strawberry baking is in order.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_17563078.jpg?w=360&h=540)
Now it
may not be fair, but I tend to get tired of apples a lot quicker than I
do with strawberries (sorry, apples!), and by February, I wouldn't touch any - for snacking anyway. In my opinion, apples aren't worth eating fresh
past January. (Or December, even.)
But that doesn't mean
I'm averse to baking with apples in the dead of winter and early spring.
In fact, here in Nagano where everyone seems to either grow apples on
their own or receive a whole bunch from folks who do, we often find
ourselves left with more apples than we know what to do with; so I've
got to bake, and things like these
apple and strawberry tarts can turn some of your dull apples into something delightful.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_17594001.jpg?w=360&h=540)
You
make a buttery, flaky tart dough, roll it out, top the rounds with thinly sliced
apple and strawberries, dust them generously with sugar, and pop them in
the oven. A very simple one that lets the flavor of your fruits shine,
accentuated by butter and sugar. You can find the recipe
here.
And for a little while in early spring, I bake with nothing
but strawberries...
Sakura and berry tarts.
I made these when cherry blossoms were around, and here I actually
used cherry blossoms to flavor the tarts. I didn't follow any
particular recipe but just used what I had around and went with it.
Namely: a graham cracker crust; a mixture of pureed
strawberries, peaches (in syrup - the last of those I'd made in the
previous autumn), and heavy cream set with a bit of gelatin, for the filling; and for the topping, whipped heavy cream flavored with some of the puree from the
filling.
I wish I could say these tasted as good as they
looked pretty, but alas, not really. Funny how, a lot of times,
something you make halfheartedly tends to taste, well, halfhearted?
This was one of such instances, but they tasted ok enough.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_16442969.jpg?w=360&h=540)
And
oh, where is sakura, you ask? I scattered some freeze-dried cherry
blossom flakes (yes, there is such a thing in Japan) over the finished
tarts. You can't see them in the pictures, but they were there.
Another no-recipe strawberry tart - but this time, one that actually tasted good.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_16472389.jpg?w=360&h=540)
Simple
strawberry and cream tartlets.
I baked up some leftover dough and filled them with a mixture of
mascarpone and whipped heavy cream. and topped with sliced strawberries.
This is a type of tarts I often make when I have an abundance of fresh
fruits in season - hard to go wrong with something this simple, as long
as you've got good ingredients to start with.
And now
this one, I actually do remember what recipe I used!
Strawberry pistachio tart. When I saw the photo for the
recipe, I knew I had to make it.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_16584907.jpg?w=360&h=540)
And
luckily for me, it was a(nohter) simple one to make. You grind some
pistachios and sugar in a food processor (or, if you don't have one like
me, a sturdy blender(!) and a bit of patience do the job), sprinkle it all over a sheet of store-bought
puff pastry, and bake in the oven. When it's done, arrange sliced fresh
strawberries and chopped pistachios on top.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_17002635.jpg?w=360&h=540)
This is a true showstopper - and tastes great too! A wonderful one to showcase the good fresh berries.
In
general, I prefer my fruits fresh to cooked, particularly so with
strawberries. (My worst enemy is strawberry jam; but interestingly, I
can enjoy roasted strawberries - often with olive oil and/or balsamic
vinegar. Go figure.) But once in a while, I don't mind baking with
them if the occasion calls for it - like, when I happen to have hell a
lot of them in the house.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_17451163.jpg?w=360&h=540)
This
roasted strawberry and ricotta tart was
something I baked to make a dent in the overload of berries on hand,
but judging by how sparse a layer of them this one had compared to the one in the photo for the
recipe, perhaps I didn't have such an overload of berries to begin with? Who knows...
Another reason I may want to bake with strawberries: when I've found a recipe that I just HAVE to try.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_18532165.jpg?w=360&h=540)
I was positively smitten with the photo of these
mini strawberry tarte tatins when I first saw it in
donna hay magazine
(issue #60, Dec/Jan 2012), and was determined to try my hand at them,
even if I don't particularly like cooked strawberries. Or tarte tatins,
for that matter.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_18574886.jpg?w=360&h=540)
As
you probably know, an authentic tarte tatin is made with apples. Yet
you find a lot of non-apple variations these days. This particular
version is one of the simplest you can do, as you don't have to cook the fruit before the final baking, and just use store-bought puff
pastry. That said, I
happened to have some homemade puff pastry (rough puff) around, so that
was what I used.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_19025399.jpg?w=360&h=540)
When
you turn out the baked tatins onto a plate, a flood of caramel, now
mixed with strawberry juice, comes out and you'd want to save as much of
it as you can collect, to serve alongside the tarts, which are buttery,
juicy, and caramel-y all at once. A bliss!
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_19074439.jpg?w=360&h=540)
You can find the recipe online,
here - and can you tell I tried valiantly to mimic the styling up there? A gorgeous one to look at, and a lovely one to eat.
And I was left with a LOT of strawberry caramel after the tarte tatins,
and it was so good there was no way I could just throw it away. So I
used it to make yet another strawberry tart.
Strawberry caramel cheesecake tart.
It probably sounds over-the-top, but man, it was SO good. You can't
see it in here, but the goodness that is a strawberry caramel is hidden
beneath the cream cheese filling.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_19182056.jpg?w=360&h=540)
...Well,
turned out, we still couldn't see the caramel even when I cut the tart
into slices. In fact, the caramel I'd spread over the crust mostly seeped
into the cream cheese filling and got indistinguishable. BUT you could
still taste the caramel, and as I just said, it was SO GOOD. I loosely
followed
this recipe
for the cookie crumb crust and the filling, using things I had around.
I definitely won't mind making it again, if only I could recreate the
exact thing!
Meanwhile, come May the mountains become greener by day, quite literally.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_19261671.jpg?w=360&h=540)
I shot this in the beginning of May this year. It's not
an exaggeration to say that, this time in the season, the leaves on the trees would be larger this
morning than they had been yesterday afternoon, and would be still more so by this
afternoon.
The light can feel almost summerlike, but it's still on the cool side of warm up here.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_20111988.jpg?w=360&h=540)
Ten days later, our corner of the woods were properly all green.
By mid May, while still busy baking with strawberries and rhubarb, I'd start spotting some other fruits at the store.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_20141023.jpg?w=360&h=540)
Like
loquats,
for instance. They aren't a fruit we get grown locally (they thrive in
a warmer climate, I suppose), and it's not a particular favorite of
mine in the first place. But still, they are one of the first stone fruits that
arrive in the year, and when I spot the first loquats on the store
shelves, it feels to me that summer is not too far off.
I
just said that the loquat isn't my favorite fruit, but in the last few
years I came to realize that I tend to enjoy them cooked rather than
eaten fresh. And even more importantly, I treasure their seeds more
than the edible flesh; loquat seeds have an aroma that's strongly
reminiscent of amaretto, just as apricot kernels do, without the fuss of
cracking open the tough shell required with the latter.
I've used loquat seeds to make a liqueur, and flavor things like custard and panna
cotta, to an excellent result.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_20184306.jpg?w=360&h=540)
So here I made
loquat tarts,
by infusing a mixture of cream and milk with a few loquat seeds (peeled
and chopped) to make a custard, and poaching the loquat flesh in a syrup
with some vanilla bean.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_20235836.jpg?w=360&h=540)
As
you can tell from the picture, I made the custard a little too thin to
fit the purpose, but the tarts still tasted delicious and smelled
deliciously sweet.
Another stone fruit that arrives in late spring:
Mangoes!
Well, somehow I don't really see them as a stone fruit, and besides,
they tend to be available all year round due to the fact that a vast
majority of them you find here are imported from various parts of the world. But still, they are generally in season in late spring and
summer, so there.
A few mango tarts I made last spring:
Mango galettes.
Baking mangoes wouldn't be the first thing I'd do with the fruit
unless I got them on the cheap side, but roasted mangoes do have their
own things going on, with their texture turning velvety and the
sweetness even more pronounced.
These are another one of
simple tarts that take advantage of store-bought puff pastry and
involve very little preparation. The
recipe has you serve them with a berry cream, but here I just had them with vanilla ice cream.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_20402694.jpg?w=360&h=540)
The
warm tarts were lovely with cold ice cream. I wouldn't mind making
them again if/when I've got a plenty of fresh mangoes around.
Another one, with unbaked mangoes:
Mango lime tart. A shortcrust pastry filled with lime-scented custard and topped with sliced mango cheeks. Recipe is from
here.
I
think I made the crust a little too thick (a pitfall I fall into rather
often), but the luscious mangoes and the fragrant cream were more than make up for it.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_21015929.jpg?w=360&h=540)
Mangoes should be around throughout the summer, so I'm definitely planning on making some more tarts with them.
And that's a wrap for my spring fruit tart galore...
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_21221185.jpg?w=490&h=1713)
Some 30 kinds of tarts, more than half of which use either rhubarb or strawberries. Or both.
And both rhubarb and strawberries may be found well into early summer, so there might just be a few more coming.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_21250043.jpg?w=360&h=540)
Maybe.
Before I sign off, here's one last bit...
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_21263536.jpg?w=360&h=540)
Rhubarb
and cherry gingerbread tart. I made this a few years ago when the
first-of-the-season bing cherries showed up. It was a galette-type tart
using a dough that's been liberally spiced with ginger and nutmeg.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_21290265.jpg?w=360&h=540)
Much like strawberries, cherries do an excellent job of tinting rhubarb.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_21305740.jpg?w=360&h=540)
The original recipe is for a pear tart that I found in one of the back issues of
donna hay magazine.
Both cherries and rhubarb went really well with the spices, and the
tart was no doubt tasty - but whatever you do, you couldn't help but
feel it was a wintertime tart, with the strong gingerbread flavor
that dominated the whole thing. Oh well.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160415073642im_/http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201505/31/46/d0008146_21372571.jpg?w=360&h=540)
And
so, this was the third installment of my 'fruit tarts to make now'
series that I started last autumn (to be more precise, the idea started
back in the summer of 2012(!)). Next up is the fourth and last of the
tetralogy: summer. Now the summer is the season when the fresh fruits
are most abundant, and I've already got a
huge backlog of photos
for summer fruits tarts that have accumulated over the course of three
summers and counting. I dread a mere idea of putting them all together,
but hopefully, I'll manage before the summer's end. Or thereabout.
Perhaps.
Lastly, my apologies for taking
so long to finish up this
spring post
that I first posted at the end of May (which was already late for a
'spring' story). Thanks for putting up with me and my regrettable
blogging habit and I hope to see you all here soon-ish...!