Posts Tagged ‘July 4th’

I love having a nice berry tart of some kind for the 4th of July. Fresh blueberries, strawberries, and whipped cream are perfect for themed cookouts and dinners. However, I want to mix it up and do something unexpected with the berry tart. So, why not add some coconut and go gluten- and dairy-free?

Coconut Almond Berry Tart via Delish.com

I can’t wait to give this one a try! You can find the full recipe and reviews of it at Delish. It looks like they might have snagged this one from Martha Stewart.

INGREDIENTS:

Crust:

* Vegetable-oil cooking spray

* 2 cup(s) unsweetened shredded coconut

* 1/2 cup(s) granulated sugar

* 2 large egg whites

* 1 tablespoon(s) vanilla extract

* 1/4 teaspoon(s) salt

Filling:

* 1/2 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise

* 1/2 cup(s) vanilla soy milk

* 1/4 cup(s) granulated sugar

* 2 large egg yolks

* 2 teaspoon(s) arrowroot or cornstarch

* 2 tablespoon(s) almond paste

* 1 cup(s) almond flour

* 1/2 cup(s) soy cream cheese, preferably Tofutti

* 5 tablespoon(s) apricot jam

* 4 cup(s) assorted berries

DIRECTIONS:

1. Make the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-inch fluted tart pan with cooking spray. Combine remaining ingredients. Press into bottom and up sides of pan.

2. Make the filling: Scrape vanilla seeds into a small saucepan, and add pod. Stir in soy milk and 2 tablespoons sugar, and bring to a boil. Whisk yolks, arrowroot or cornstarch, and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in a bowl. Add hot soy milk in a slow, steady stream, whisking until combined. Return to pan, and whisk over medium heat until thickened, about 2 minutes. Discard vanilla pod.

3. Beat milk mixture and almond paste with a mixer on medium speed for 5 minutes. Beat in almond flour and cream cheese. Spread into tart crust. Bake for 15 minutes. Cover edges with parchment, then foil. Bake until set, 15 to 25 minutes more. Let cool completely in pan on a rack. Unmold. Spread jam evenly over the tart. Arrange berries on top.

I’m happy to report I finally found a decent carpenter to construct my kitchen cabinet.  Not only did he show up on time to do the estimate last Friday, but he sent it to me via email first thing yesterday morning.  The price is about what I expected, and he’s able to start as early as next Monday!

Now I have to

1. order the cooktop, oven, kitchen sink, and microwave
2. finalize the granite installation
3. call my electrician to see if he can be here next Monday too.

Hopefully, my kitchen renovation will be completed before the end of June – just in time for a lovely 4th of July celebration at Maison du Childfree Chic!  If so, I’ll be attempting to prepare these Red, White, and Blue Tarts by Martha Stewart for the holiday:

Red, White, & Blue Tarts

My old stove’s oven isn’t quite so handy with the baking these days due to uneven heating.    However, we have a bounty of fresh berries at the Farmer’s Market, and I’m itching to do something with them besides make fruit trifles and smoothies.