I Can Eat A Rainbow

While we were doing our weekend grocery shopping at the supermarket, my elder boy stopped to read the sign boards that were on display at the fruits and vegetables section. There was some information on the different nutrients provided by the different coloured fruits and vegetables. Besides green, the other coloured fruits and vegetables are red, orange, yellow and purple. Each colour group of fruits and veg will give different nutrients. I make a mental note of it and told myself I should try to introduce more colours to our diets.


I had in my mind to make a pumpkin bread yesterday, but decided against it when it was pouring heavily early in the morning. Unless I want to use the full bread machine cycle to make the bread, I always think twice before making bread on a rainy day! It will take ages for the dough to proof. So, without knowing what to make for breakfast for the following day, I went off to the nearby wet market to get my fresh food supplies. I was glad that I managed to get a few varieties of fresh fruits from the neighbourhood fruit store...there were Korean pears, kiwi fruits, oranges and a punnet of strawberries in my shopping bags. After looking at the various coloured fruits, I decided that I should use them to bake something. What is more convenient other than a tart, which I can pile up with all the fruits I have. What more, it will be excellent if I can include all the 5 coloured fruits in the tart!


I followed a Strawberry Frangipane tart recipe that is from the same cookbook for the Peach Tart. The method is almost the same, just that the proportion of the ingredients is slightly different, and you don't bake the fruits together with the almond fillings. It took me almost a whole day to complete this tart! I made the tart shell in the morning, the almond filling just after lunch and I only managed to put the fruit toppings in the late afternoon! I've intended to make 3 rings of fruits, but I realised that the tart is too small (only 18cm), so I could only managed 2 rings, so I had to alternate the oranges and kiwi slices in the second ring. I tried to include all the fruit colours, and since I don't have any blueberries, I used blueberry jam instead of the strawberries spread called for in the original recipe. It was only after I completed my 'master piece', I then noticed that I have missed out yellow :,(


I made a strawberry fan after reading about it from a cookbook I just borrowed. The fan didn't really look like a fan, rather it looks more like a crane from a distant. It was only after I downloaded my photos that I noticed that it also looks like a rose or a tulip from this angle :)


Here's how to go about making the strawberry fan:
Clean and pat dry a large strawberry. Do not hull. Place the strawberry with the pointed end up. Cut several vertical slices very close to the stalk end, take care not to cut through so that the slices are still attached. Press the stalk end gently to make the slices fan out.

Needless to say, my family members like this fruity tart a lot...I could only save one small slice for my little for his afternoon tea today.


I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that Peony of My Culinary Journal has passed me this award! I have not received any form of awards for ages, and it definitely made my day! Thanks Peony! and I'll like to pass this award to:

Elyn of E's Joie for her creativity and passion in baking!
Anne of Simply Anne's for her great talents and amazing creations!
Mandy of Fresh From The Oven, she sure can cook and bake, and she makes great desserts too!
Anh of Food Lover's Journey, another talented cook and baker, and she's still so young!
Patricia of Technicolor Kitchen, well, she's a all-rounder, what more can I say :)

Thanks so much, gals, for sharing all your wonderful stories and great photos!!

Ingredients:
(make one 18cm tart)

pastry:
80g flour
20g ground almond
30g caster sugar
40g unsalted butter, soften at room temperature
1 tablespoon (15g) lightly beaten egg

filling:
2 teaspoon flour
40g ground almond
3 tablespoon brown sugar
30g unsalted butter, soften at room temperature
30g egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

some blueberry jam
fresh fruits of your choice, sliced and well drained
icing sugar for dusting

Method:
Pastry base:

1. Lightly grease an 18cm tart pan, set aside.
2. Toast ground almond at 100 degC for 10 mins. Stirring in between. Let cool.
3. Sieve flour and ground almond.
4. With a manual whisk, cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy.
5. Add in the egg, very gradually, whisking the batter till well mixed each time the egg is added.
6. Sieve over the flour/ground almond mixture in 2 to 3 additions into the batter. Fold the mixture gently with a spatula.
7. Form and shape the pastry into a round ball. Roll out the pastry in between 2 sheets of cling wrap or baking paper (I used two sheets of cut-out plastic bags) to about 23cm in diameter.
8. Remove one side of the cling wrap or baking paper. Place the pastry over the prepared tart pan. Mould the pastry into the tart pan, smoothing the edges and the rim carefully...if the pastry is too soft to handle, chill it in the fridge for 10~15 mins.
9. Chill the pastry in the fridge for 20mins.
10. Use a fork to poke holes on the pastry. Brush the top of the rim with egg wash. Bake in pre-heated oven at 180 deg C for 10 ~12mins until the edges are slightly browned. Let cool completely.
    
    filling:
    
11. With a whisk, cream butter and brown sugar till the mixture turns fluffy. Add in the egg gradually, mix well each time the egg is added.
12. Add in ground almond. Fold with a spatula till well incorporated. Sieve over the flour onto the mixture. Mix with a spatula. Add in vanilla extract and mix well.
13. Spread the filling onto the cooled pastry base. Ensure that the edges are filled up. Bake in pre-heated oven at 170 deg C for 15 ~ 20 mins, until the surface turn golden brown. Let cool completely. Spread the top with blueberry jam and top with fresh fruit slices, dust the edges with some icing sugar.
    
    Recipe Source: adapted from Delicious!! Baked Cakes, Ikuko Omori