Tate’s Bake Shop ~ Baking For Friends ~ a Chocolate Raspberry Tart and a Giveaway

“A destination … worth putting miles on the odometer” is what The New York Times said about Tate’s Bake Shop.  It is the recipient of multiple best bakery awards and is regarded as a “must-visit” Hampton’s destination.  There are more than 100 offerings for its customers to enjoy, from breads, muffins, cakes, pies, seasonal specialties, and of course, cookies!

Photo credit:  Forbes Traveler

Kathleen King is the baker and owner of Tate’s Bake Shop in Southampton, New York, and the author of Tate's Bake Shop Cookbook.  She started baking her chocolate chip cookies when she was 11, and sold them at her father’s North Sea Farms roadside stand, never looking back. 

Kathleen King - Photo credit:  New Haven Register

And, now, Kathleen King has done it again!  She has written another great cookbook, Baking for Friends, which is chock-full of incredible recipes, featuring exclusive baking tips and tricks, in her straightforward manner.  It is the ideal go-to cookbook for beginning bakers and professionals alike.

I was so happy to receive Kathleen’s Baking for Friends, and drooled my way through all the recipes, when it arrived in the mail the other day.  It consists of 7 chapters with over 120 easy-to-bake recipes; some of them even with “catchy” names, plus recipes for health and lifestyle baked goods also:  gluten-free, low-fat, vegan, and nut free recipes.   

Blackout Cupcakes

Cherry Chip Party Cake

Blackberry Galette

 

There are so many enticing recipes to try ~ Maple, Bacon, and Date Scones; Robin’s Blueberry Buckle - Julia’s Way, Coconut Custard Pie, Cutie Pie (using clementine juice), Chubby Tates (cookies!), Hurricane Irene Cookies, Caramel Cake (Ummm, mmm!), Cardamom Cake, Blackout Cupcakes, and Chocolate-Blood Orange Marble Cake (wow!).  And the recipe I chose to make first:  Chocolate Raspberry Tart!

 

The tart is decadent, and is a beautiful, almost black, sleek-looking dessert.  The filling is smooth and not too sweet, and is the perfect finish to a special occasion.  Leave it plain, top it with fresh raspberries, or add a dollop of whipped cream to the slices before serving.

Chocolate Raspberry Tart

For the filling:

1¼ cups heavy cream

8 ounces bittersweet (62% cacao) chocolate, finely chopped

½ cup seedless raspberry jam

Chocolate Pastry Tart Crust, baked and cooled (recipe below)

1.  In a medium saucepan, bring the cream to a boil over medium heat.  Remove from the heat.  Add the chocolate and let stand for 3 minutes to soften.  Whisk until melted and smooth.  Whisk in the jam.  Pour into the prepared tart crust.

2.  Refrigerate, uncovered, until the filling is chilled and set, at least 2 hours, and up to 1 day.

3.  Remove the sides of the pan, cut into wedges, and serve chilled.

Chocolate Pastry Tart Crust

Makes one 9-inch tart shell

10 tablespoons (1¼ sticks) salted butter, at room temperature

½ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

6 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder, plus more for rolling the dough

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1.  In a large bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer set on high speed until light and fluffy. About 2 minutes.  With the mixer on low speed, beat in the cocoa powder.  With the mixer on low speed, add the flour and mix until combined.  Shape into a thick dish and wrap in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours, or up to 1 day.  (The dough is easiest to roll out if chilled but not rock hard.  If it is very cold and firm, let stand at room temperature for about 15 minutes before rolling.)

2.  Dust a work surface with cocoa powder.  (Flour leaves marks on the dark cocoa dough that I don’t like.)  Roll the dough out into a 12-inch round about 1/8 inch thick.  Transfer to a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom.  Roll a rolling pin over the top of the pan to cut off the excess dough.  Freeze for at least 30 minutes.  (Or cover with plastic wrap and freeze for up to 1 month.  Thaw in the refrigerator before using.)

3.  Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

4.  Put the tart pan on a rimmed baking sheet.  Prick the bottom of the crust with a fork to vent it.  Lay a piece of aluminum foil over the entire surface of the dough and press so it conforms to the tart pan.  Fill the foil-lined shell with small dried beans.  Bake until the exposed dough looks set, about 20 minutes.  Lift off the foil with the beans.  Continue baking, pricking the crust again if it puffs, until the pastry looks crisp, about 10 minutes more.  Let cool completely on a wire cooling rack. 

Surely, after all of the above, the baking bug has bitten you!  To scratch that itch, head on over to Tate’s Bake Shop on Facebook ~ click here for details ~ and enter the Baking for Friends Bake-off contest, which is being sponsored by Tate’s Bake Shop and KitchenAid, in celebration of Kathleen King’s new cookbook. 

Your creative spin on a recipe just might win you the Grand Prize of $1000, plus a copy of Baking for Friends.  Other prizes awarded will be KitchenAid stand mixers, more cookbooks, and if you vote, 6 voters will be chosen to win Tate’s Tower of baked goods. 

By the way, if you can’t wait to get your autographed copy of Baking for Friends in your possession; head on over to Tate’s Bake Shop.com, and enter the discount code “BAKEOFF” to receive $5 off the regular price of $24.95 ~ you can get the cookbook for only $19.95!  Talk about a sweet savings for you!

And, now for the giveaway here at Pam’s Midwest Kitchen Korner:  Tate’s Bake Shop has generously offered a Tate’s Bake Shop Cookie and Bar Tower for one of you wonderful reader’s. 

Tate’s Bake Shop Cookie and Bar Tower is chock-full of goodies:  three boxes of cookies:  one each of chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin and white chocolate chip macadamia nut, PLUS, two rich, buttery raspberry bars, two chocolate chip and walnut loaded blondies, and two rich, dense, and fudgy plain brownies ~ a $48 value.  

 

To enter, just leave a comment here on this page.  That’s it, that’s all you have to do!

But, if you’d like an extra chance, just follow Pam’s Midwest Kitchen Korner via Google Friends, as a fan on the Facebook page, or Facebook Networked Blogs, all on the right side bar of this blog, and leave a comment telling me you did so.

The contest is open through midnight CST, Wednesday, November 7, 2012.  The winner will be drawn Thursday, November 8, 2012 by a random number generator.

This contest is open only to U. S. residents. 

Thanks so much, Kathleen King, and Tate’s Bake Shop. 

And good luck to all of you who enter my giveaway!  I hope you win!

  

Disclaimer:  I was given a copy of Baking for Friends from Tate’s Bake Shop.  The Tate’s Bake Shop and Bar Tower for my giveaway, here on this post, is provided directly by Tate’s Bake Shop.  All opinions and thoughts are my own.

FYI:   Some of you are saying you're having a difficult time in trying to post a comment here for the giveaway.  This is being looked into, but in the meantime, I understand that it works fine using Google Chrome.  I hope this helps!

Tomato Tart Topped with Crumbled Roquefort Cheese

Do you still have a lot of tomatoes?  If so, then this recipe is a perfect way to use those juicy ripe tomatoes!  Do you like Roquefort cheese?  Any kind of cheese works for me ~ tangy, mild, sharp and stinky; with Roquefort cheese at the top of the list. 

The sharp, salty taste of Roquefort cheese pairs perfectly with the natural sweetness of tomatoes and makes a savory tart.  This tart is so easy to put together and colorful too.  It’s simply puff pastry, a little sour cream and mustard with tomatoes, dried thyme, salt and pepper and then baked until the pastry is golden brown.  Top it with crumbled Roquefort cheese after baking for a great dish.  Feta cheese is just as delicious also!

This makes a fantastic appetizer or side dish or is delicious when served with a salad for a meatless meal.   Once you try it, I bet you will be bringing it back for an encore! 

Tomato Tart Topped with Crumbled Roquefort Cheese

Ingredients:

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

1 tablespoon sour cream

1 teaspoon grainy mustard

Coarse salt and ground pepper, to taste

1 tablespoon butter

1/3 cup onion, sliced into small strips

½ teaspoon ground thyme

2 or 3 tomatoes, peeled and sliced 1/4” thick

2-3 ounces Roquefort cheese, crumbled

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Roll out puff pastry on a lightly floured surface to a 12-inch square.

Place pastry on a parchment lined baking sheet.

In a small bowl, combine sour cream, mustard, sprinkling of salt and pepper.

Spread mixture over pasty.

Fold the 4 edges over into a ½-inch border and press to seal.

Refrigerate for 10 minutes.

In a skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat.

Add onions and season with salt and pepper and ground thyme.

Reduce heat and caramelize onions until soft.

Arrange over sour cream mixture on puff pastry.

Top the pastry with the tomato slices and season with salt and pepper.

Bake until pastry is golden brown, about 25-28 minutes.

Let cool slightly.

Top with crumbled Roquefort cheese before cutting into squares.

Serve warm or at room temperature. 

It’s packed with flavor!

ENJOY!!!

Be sure to visit my friend, Linda’s blog, at My Kind of Cooking for her great recipes and cookbook giveaway.  She’s at the Clay County Fair in Spencer, Iowa now!