Coconut Cream Grapefruit Tarlets with Black Sesame Crust

If you’re racking your brain thinking about something sweet to finish off a dinner party, stop. You’ve found it here: coconut cream grapefruit tartlets with black sesame crust. It’s a twist on the classic coconut cream pie, in a good way, I think. I’ve got the recipe for this on the wonderful Common Table, Co.

First wedding of the season starts this weekend (to clarify, I am a wedding photographer). I’m so excited. So pumped. I admit to feeling a bit of cabin fever since the holidays. We’ve done numerous engagement shoots and just meeting up with clients, but it’s not the same as diving head-first into a wedding. They can be stressful, time-constrained, and crazy all at once, but that is honestly why we love photographing them. Plus, witnessing two people in love vowing to spend the rest of their lives together and celebrating with their friends and family is rewarding beyond measure. We can document that story, because it’s worth documenting. Can you tell I’m excited?

凤梨酥 [Feng Li Su] Pineapple Cake

凤梨酥 [Feng Li Su] is a Taiwanese pineapple cake made of a buttery shortbread-like pastry and a decadently rich pineapple jam filling. I’ve always loved this cake. My friends from Taiwan used to bring over fresh ones, and if you didn’t stick them in the fridge, they would go bad. You can buy all sorts of pineapple cakes in any Asian grocery store, but trust me, the fresh ones are always better. The pastry melts in your mouth and almost crumbles in your hands. I made the mistake of grabbing one fresh out of the oven, and it literally crumbled out and plopped onto the floor, much to my dog’s delight.

Honey Plum Tarts with Rough Puff Pastry

I made puff pastry for the first time, EVER! Before you get impressed and think that I’m an amazing baker, I will admit that I made a rough puff pastry. It’s different from a true puff pastry, but honestly, the result is phenomenal. I was skeptical at first, but the resulting puff pastry was flaky, light as air, and simply perfect for this tart!!

It’s November. I finally started to look at photos from our trip to China and Japan… back in July. How did this happen?! Actually, I do know the answer to that: wedding season. Since we returned to Boston from our trip, it’s been nonstop weddings, engagements, consultations, photo editing, and album design. What a great season it’s been – and it’s not over yet! We have our last wedding of the season this weekend, and I know it’s going to be a great wedding. Looking forward to it, and I know I’ll be wearing a beanie, finger-less gloves, and 10 layers of sweaters.

Lemon Blueberry tart with Vanilla Pastry Cream

I made this for a friend’s birthday party last week, and I’ll be making this for a work barbecue potluck next wednesday. With blueberries abound both in grocery stores and the farmers markets, it’d be a shame not to incorporate them into some sort of dessert. Fruit tarts have always been a favorite of mine. I know I’ve announced my love for pies over and over again, but chilled fruit tarts, especially in the summer, are a close second. It’s the crumbly crust paired with chilled vanilla pastry cream and topped with fresh fruit. Blueberries are (in my opinion) a superb choice because they are not too sweet and not too tangy. In fact, I remember years and years ago, when I was taking my SATs, my parents told me to bring blueberries, because they were “smart foods”. Ok. I know that’s nonsense and that blueberries will not suddenly boost my mental intelligence, but there was something comforting about bringing fresh blueberries as a snack during break. I still bring blueberries to work as a snack :).

I really love this because you can easily adapt it for ANY fruit. In fact, I’ve topped it with fresh peaches, mandarins, kiwis, strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries. It’s extremely versatile and easy to prepare. The reason I bring this to a lot of potlucks or barbecues is that it can be assembled and chilled beforehand. On a particularly busy day, I can plan it this way: make the pastry the night before to chill overnight. Make the pastry cream the night before as well. The morning of the potluck, bake the crust and set aside. Go and do whatever errands I have (like a family portrait session!). Come back, fill shell with pastry cream, throw some blueberries on, brush with syrup, quickly zest a lemon. Cover with foil and tell the husband to drive to potluck. 

Do you see how fat these are? Add a simple lemon syrup, sprinkled with lemon zest, and these blueberry tarts will give little bites full of sugary, tarty, creamy goodness. I had extra crust and cream, so I decided to fill these cute little mini-tart shells I had on hand. They were a good way to test the taste. And by test… I actually mean devour. These little ones did not last, let me tell you.