"On July 20 Diana Coogle turns 70 years old," the party invitation announced. [Reminder: This was six years ago.] "What?!" I say on the next line. "I must have fallen down a rabbit hole!"
Thus I introduced my Alice in Wonderland party. Guests were to wear white, bring something for a croquet mallet and ball, and bring a contribution to the Mad Hatter's pot-luck picnic. Hats would be available.
Seventy people came to the party. Dressed in white, they cast an aura of magic through the woods, around the house, down the hill.
The croquet game was equal in dream-spirit to Alice's. If the wickets my son made were wacky—a rickety wicket, a lickety-splicket (a trough for getting the balls down the hill), a loud wicket (two tennis rackets), a walking wicket (a pair of blue jeans, stuffed with straw, standing upright),
—the mallets and balls were just as good: a long-handled duster and a small globe, a long flower-bedecked pole, a cat's squeaky-mouse ball, a mannequin leg and a skull, a hobby horse and an apple.
My son played his magical musical instrument, the Stamenphone, during the Made Hatter's dinner around the pond. There were toasts, then a ringing of the bell, seventy peals, as I read the significant events of my life during those years.
Then I, the Queen of Hearts, took my court—ten special women friends—to the house to get the tarts I had made for desserts. I had been making individual, four-inch tarts for more than a month, keeping up with the RSVPs. Then I thought I should make extra tarts because what if people came who had not RSVPed, and what if some of the tarts with tender crusts fell apart when people picked them up? Shouldn't I make enough to serve some at the dinner for out-of-town guests the night before the party? I should make sure that frozen tarts, once thawed, didn't have soggy crusts or wilted toppings, so I would have to make and freeze some, then eat them. After I made chocolate ganache cherry tarts, I worried that the ganache would melt in the extreme temperatures of July, so I made more tarts to replace them. In the end ninety-five tarts went in the freezer.
The morning of the party, the eighty-three tarts that had not yet been eaten were taken from the freezer, unwrapped from their double layers of plastic wrap, and set on trays and platters, awaiting their grand entrance.
And what an entrance it was! My court and I (all in white, remember) trooped down the hill through the woods, carrying our platters aloft as Ela, the party emcee, announced, "The Queen of Hearts with her tarts." Applause from the onlookers! The display was beautiful: seven nectarine-plum tarts with their stars of fruit, six delicate pink strawberry fool tarts, nine strawberry-topped lime mousse tarts, eleven deep-yellow orange custard tarts topped with sparkling red raspberries, seven dark red cherry jam tarts, nine light yellow lemon tarts with contrasting blueberries, six white mascarpone tarts with circles of orange sections and a sprinkling of pistachios, four pineapple tarts dusted with powdered sugar, eight chocolate brownie tarts with a square of white chocolate atop each, ten toffee cherry butter tarts that were so good I've forgotten how they were decorated, and nine creamy fruit tarts with white-white cream cheese fillings and toppings of green kiwis, red plums, and orange apricots—tarts the Jack of Hearts would have wanted to steal!
I went to sleep that night with a heart full of love for all my friends and family who had made my seventieth birthday such a very special occasion, especially all those who had come from long distances to be there. The beautiful, delicious, wonderland-worthy tarts were a thank-you to them all for all those years of love.
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| Me (the Queen of Hearts) with Chelsea Rose |
Next week: More recipes from "The Queen of Hearts"
Recipes from this post
Cherry chocolate ganache tartlets
Nectarine-plum tartlets
Strawberry fool tartlets
Strawberry lime mousse tartlets
Raspberry-topped orange custard tartlets
CHERRY CHOCOLATE GANACHE TARTLETS
Makes 4
Pastry
Ingredients
3/4 cup plain flour, sifted
A pinch of salt
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) chilled butter
7 tablespoons sugar
3 egg yolks
Preparation
Dice the butter.
To Make
Mix the flour and salt and cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add sugar. Make a well in the center, add the yolks, and mix into a soft dough (my source suggests doing this with your hands), adding a little water if needed. Shape into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill 30 minutes.
After chilling
Preparation
Preheat oven to 375º.
To make
Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and cut 4 circles to fit tartlet tins. Transfer to the tins, prick the bases with a fork, and bake blind for 7-8 minutes or until pale and golden. Cool on rack.
Filling
Ingredients
3/4 pound fresh cherries
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon kirsch (or cherry juice or maraschino cherry juice)
Preparation
Pit all but 12 cherries.
To make
Simmer cherries, sugar, and kirsch (or cherry juice) until tender. Set aside.
Chocolate cherries and ganache
Ingredients
8 1-ounce squares dark baking chocolate
1 cup whipping cream
12 cherries, with stems
To make
For the cherries: Place the chocolate into a heatproof bowl and melt over a pan of simmering water. Do not let the base of the bowl touch the water. Dip the bases of the reserved cherries into the chocolate and place onto a sheet of baking parchment to set.
For the ganache: Heat the cream in a small pan until almost boiling, then pour over the remaining melted chocolate, stirring until smooth and glossy. Leave to cool until slightly thickened.
To finish
Ingredients
Baked pastry crusts
Cherry filling
Chocolated cherries
Chocolate ganache
To make
Divide the cherry filling equally into the pastry crusts, then add chocolate ganache to each. Leave to set slightly, then decorate with the chocolate cherries. Cut the stems off.
NECTARINE-PLUM TARTLETS
Makes 6 tartlets (4 1/2" diameter)
Pastry
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cups (1 1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter
Preparation
Cut butter into 1/2" pieces. Put some ice in a cup of water.
To make
Combine flour, sugar, and salt. Add butter, and, using either a pastry cutter or on/off turns of a processor, cut butter in until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 1/4 cup of ice water and continue the "cutting in" process until moist clumps form. Gather dough and divide into 6 equal pieces. Flatten into disks. Wrap each in plastic. Chill until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight.
After chilling
Preheat oven to 400º.
Roll out each dough disk on floured surface to 5 1/2-inch round. Transfer rounds to 4 1/2-inch-diameter tartlet pans with removable bottoms. Press dough onto bottoms and up sides of pans. Place pans on baking sheet.
Filling
Ingredients
4 firm but ripe nectarines, halved, pitted, cut into 1/3-inch-thick wedges
4 firm but ripe plums, halved, pitted, cut into 1/3-inch-thick wedges
3 1/2 tablespoons sugar
Preparation
Halve and pit all the fruit and cut it into 1/3-inch wedges.
To make
Toss nectarines, plums, and sugar in large bowl. Arrange fruit in crusts. Place tartlets on cookie sheet and bake 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350º and continue baking until fruit is tender and beginning to bubble and crusts are golden, about 40 minutes longer. Transfer tartlets to rack and cool completely.
Finish
Ingredients
Cooled tarts
6 blackberries
1/2 cup plum jelly
To finish
Place a berry in the center of each tart. Stir jelly in heavy small saucepan over low heat until melted. Brush warm jelly over tartlets.
STRAWBERRY FOOL TARTLETS
Makes 6 (4- or 4 1/2-inch diameter)
Crust
Ingredients
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter
1/4 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening
1/3 cup (about) ice water
Preparation
Cut nutter and shortening into small pieces. Put ice in one cup of water.
To make
Mix flour and salt. Add butter and shortening and either process using on-off turns or cut in with pastry cutter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Gradually add enough water to form moist clumps. Gather dough into 6 balls. Flatten into disks. Wrap individually in plastic wrap and chill 1 hour.
After chilling
Roll out each dough disk on floured surface to 6-inch round. Transfer rounds to 4- or 4 1/2-inch diameter tart pans. Fold overhang in, forming double-thick edges. Pierce crusts in several places with fork. Freeze 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 400º.
Baking
Line crusts with foil. Fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake until crusts are set, about 10 minutes. Remove foil and beans. Bake until crusts are golden, about 20 minutes. Transfer pans to racks and cool completely. Remove crusts from pans.
Filling
Ingredients
1 12-ounce basket fresh strawberries (or 2 cups frozen unsweetened)
1/2 cup sugar
1 lemon, for juice
1 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
Preparation
Hull and coarsely chop strawberries or thaw and drain frozen strawberries, then chop. Squeeze the lemon to make 1 1/2 tablespoons juice.
To make
Blend chopped strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice until almost smooth. Transfer to medium saucepan. Sprinkle gelatin over. Let stand 20 minutes to soften, then stir over low heat until mixture is just hot and gelatin dissolves, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Transfer to large bowl.
Cover and refrigerate until beginning to thicken, stirring occasionally, about 2 hours.
The fool
Ingredients
The chilled strawberry mixture
3/4 cup chilled whipping cream
To make
Beat cream in medium bowl until stiff peaks form. Fold whipped cream into strawberry mixture. Chill fool until beginning to set, about 30 minutes.
To finish
Ingredients
The baked and cooled cruists
The chilled strawberry fool
6 small fresh strawberries
Assemblage
Spoon fool into crusts. Refrigerate until set, about 4 hours. Garnish each tartlet with a strawberry.
STRAWBERRY LIME MOUSSE TARTLETS
makes 6
Crust
Ingredients
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup whole almonds, toasted
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter
2 teaspoons (about) cold water
Preparation
Cut butter into 1/2-inch pieces. Toast almonds in slow oven or over medium-low burner.
To make
Blend first 4 ingredients in processor until nuts are ground but some small pieces remain (or chop nuts very fine) and mix well with flour, sugar, and salt. Cut in butter with pastry cutter or using on-off turns of processor until mixture resembles fine meal. Blend in enough water by teaspoonsful until mixture begins to form clumps. Gather dough into a ball and divide into 6 parts. Flatten each into a disk and press it evenly over bottom and up sides of a tartlet pan. Freeze crust until firm, about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375º.
Bake crust until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool.
Filling
Ingredients
1-2 limes
1/2 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
3/4 cup chilled whipping cream
5 ounces good-quality white chocolate (such as Lindt or Ghirardelli), chopped
1 teaspoon grated lime peel
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons sour cream
Baked and cooled crusts
Preparation
Grate lime peel. Squeeze limes to make 1/4 cup juice. Chop the white chocolate.
To make
Place lime juice in small bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over. Let stand 10 minutes to soften. Bring 1/4 cup cream to a simmer in medium saucepan. Reduce heat to low. Add white chocolate and stir until melted and smooth. Add gelatin mixture. Stir to dissolve. Mix in peel. Chill until cold and beginning to thicken but not set, stirring often, about 45 minutes.
Beat sugar, sour cream, and remaining 1/2 cup cream to medium-stiff peaks in medium bowl. Fold whipped cream mixture into white chocolate mixture. Spoon mousse into crusts. Chill until mousse sets, about 4 hours.
Finish
Ingredients
1 12-ounce basket strawberries, hulled, sliced
1/3 cup (about) seedless strawberry jam
The strawberry lime mousse tartlets
To decorate
Decoratively arrange berries atop mousse. Melt jam in small saucepan over low heat, stirring often. Glaze berries with jam.
(I made these tartlets with my young baker friend, Mataya Zanger, a couple of years ago. Photos by Tracy Lamblin.)
RASPBERRY-T0PPED ORANGE CUSTARD TARTLETS
makes 6 tarts, 4 or 4 1/2-inches in diameter
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| Blueberries instead of raspberries |
Crust
(I used this crust recipe. It made 8 tart crusts, but the filling only filled 6.)
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter
1 egg
Preparation
Preheat oven to 375º
To make
Blend egg with 2 tablespoons of water. Mix flour, sugar, and salt. Add butter, and cut it in, either with on/off turns on a processor or with a pastry cutter. When the mixture resembles coarse meal, add egg and blend until moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball. Place scant 1/2 cup dough in each of eight 4 1/2-inch-diameter tartlet pans with removable bottoms. Press onto bottom and up sides of pan. Trim edges. Place on baking sheet. Chill 15 minutes.
Bake crusts until golden brown, piercing dough if bottoms bubble, about 15 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool.
Filling
Ingredients
1 cup milk (not non-far or low-fat)
3 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons orange juice
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange peal
Preparation
Grate or zest orange peel.
To make
Bring milk to simmer in heavy medium saucepan. Whisk yolks, sugar, orange juice, cornstarch and peel in large bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in hot milk. Return mixture to same pan. Whisk over medium heat until mixture thickens and boils 1 minute. Pour pastry cream into small bowl. Press plastic wrap directly onto surface of pastry cream. Cover and refrigerate until cold, about 4 hours.
To finish
Ingredients
Pastry crusts
Pastry cream
1 6-ounce basket raspberries
Spoon pastry cream into crust. Arrange berries decoratively on top. Refrigerate until well chilled, about 1 hour. Lightly sift powdered sugar over tartlets and serve.
