Bellocq is pleased to share this delightful fruit tart with chamomile cream! This will be a wonderful dessert for your next gathering! Have a wonderful event!
The chamomile cream also makes a delicious filling for cream puffs (pate a choux) or shortcakes!
Serves 6 / Makes one 9 1/2-inch tart or six 4-inch tartlets.
For the Dough:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons sugar
pinch of salt
2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten
4 tablespoons iced water, or as needed
For the Chamomile Cream:
1 cup (236 ml) whole milk
2 tablespoons fresh or dried chamomile blossoms
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
2 large egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup cold heavy cream
To Finish the Tart:
2-3 cups assorted seasonal berries such as strands of red and white currant berries, apricots, red and golden raspberries, blackberries, blueberries
fresh chamomile blossoms, for garnish
Prepare the Dough: Mix together flour, sugar and salt in a food processor. Add butter and pulse a few times to combine. With motor running, add egg yolk and ice water until combined. Gather dough into a ball, knead once or twice, and wrap with plastic wrap. Flatten into a circle; refrigerate 1 hour.
Prepare the Chamomile Cream: In a small pan, heat milk to a low simmer. Remove from heat, add chamomile blossoms, cover and set aside, 30 minutes. Strain milk into a clean saucepan; discard chamomile. Whisk in sugar, flour, salt, egg yolks and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Whisk in vanilla. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate with plastic wrap directly on surface until cold, about an hour.
Whip heavy cream to form stiff peaks and gently fold in cooled chamomile cream.
Finish the Tart: Preheat oven to 375ºF. Roll dough on a lightly floured surface 1/4-inch thick. Transfer to a 9-inch round tart pan with a removable bottom. Trim dough and refrigerate until cold, about 20 minutes. Blind bake the tart: prick dough all over with a fork, line with parchment paper, and fill with baking weights or dried beans. Bake 15 minutes. Remove parchment and baking weights and continue baking until tart shell is golden, about 18-20 minutes more. Set aside until cool. Fill cooled tart shell with Chamomile Cream; arrange fruit on top. Refrigerate 30 minutes or until ready to serve. Garnish with chamomile blossoms.
Serves 6.
Serve with small butter cookies or langue du chat.
Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Le Hammeau-Poached Apricots
1 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 vanilla bean, halved, scraped out with tip of knife, reserved
6 tablespoons sugar
very small pinch salt
Le Hammeau-Poached Apricots (recipe below)
Chamomile flowers, garnish
1. To prepare the panna cotta: Put gelatin in a small bowl with 2 tablespoons water; let soften 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a heavy-bottomed pot, bring cream, sugar, vanilla bean, and salt to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and add buttermilk and gelatin, whisking until completely dissolved. Transfer mixture to a spouted measuring cup, then divide mixture between 6 serving dishes or ramekins. Refrigerate until cold and firm, about 3 hours, or overnight.
3. To serve: add 3-4 slices of poached apricots and a few tablespoons of poaching liquid to each pannacotta. Garnish with chamomile flowers, if desired. ( To serve the panna cotta out of the mold, simply run a paring knife around the interior edge of the ramekin or dish. Invert the ramekin onto a serving plate and then, holding the ramekin to the plate, give a firm "shake", the panna cotta will release onto the plate. Proceed as above.)
Le Hammeau-Poached Apricots
Serves 6
4 cups spring or filtered water
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup Bellocq - No.12 Le Hammeau tea
6-8 smallish apricots, quartered
1. In a heavy bottom pot, bring water and sugar to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar has dissolved. Add the tea, cover, and steep 10 minutes. Strain into a clean saucepan.
2. Add the sliced apricots and poach, over low heat, until apricots are slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Let apricots cool in poaching liquid. (And store in poaching liquid if preparing ahead.)
The remaining poaching liquid can be used to sweeten iced tea or cocktails!
Enjoy! xoxo
It may have taken until the end of January, but winter has finally hit NYC. The Bellocq tea shop is just around the corner from the Design*Sponge office in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, but it was cold enough on Wednesday that Max and I were completely bundled up (there may have been some shrieking when the wind hit our faces) and ready for some hot tea. Since I’ve given up coffee, Bellocq has quickly become my favorite spot to visit. (See our tea shop tour here.) I’m always learning about a new way to use tea. (On my last visit, founder Heidi Johannsen Stewart taught me to add a little lapsang souchong to soup when it needs extra body.) So when we were looking for a drink that was warm and alcohol-free, we turned to Heidi. Heidi is absolutely passionate about tea, and she came up with a delicious tea recipe that is a little fancier than just dunking a tea bag in hot water. — Amy Azzarito
Bellocq Hibiscus-Ginger Warmer
Makes two 8-ounce drinks
Hibiscus is wonderfully refreshing and tart (and caffeine-free). The extra boost of vitamin C helps to bolster the immune system against the onslaught of winter colds and flus.
Ingredients
Preparation
1. Put the sugar and 3/4 cup water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring, until the sugar is dissolved. Add the ginger and clementine peel and remove from heat. Cover and set aside for 30 minutes. (The ginger-clementine simple syrup may be prepared up to a week ahead of time and stored in an airtight container.)
2. Bring the remaining 2 cups of water to a boil, add hibiscus tea and steep for 6 to 10 minutes. Strain the hibiscus and discard.
3. Add 4 to 6 tablespoons (or to taste) of the ginger-clementine syrup to the hibiscus tea. Divide between two generous mugs. Add rosewater, about 1 teaspoon or to taste.
4. Garnish with a slice of clementine peel.
Link to original article: Design*Sponge
Photos by Max TielmanThis elegant pairing is a gorgeous way to celebrate the return of outdoor entertaining season. Start with No. 47, The Queen's Guard (iced and garnished with lemon rind & scented geranium); Then serve with a plate of fresh radishes (raw with a side of firm butter & sea salt). Iced tea season is returning... and fresher then ever!
This combination is amazingly simple and yet... Absolutely Heavenly!!! xx @bellocq
http://www.bellocq.com/
This Bellocq cocktail is bound to be one of spring's bright and refreshing treats... to celebrate the retreat of winter serve over ice. xx @bellocq
Original cocktail publishing in the March 2012 Martha Stewart Living Magazine. Copyright 2012.
Photo: Anna Williams Photography Copyright 2012.
Après Feast:
Holiday feasting and the general bon vivant decadence of the weekend can admittedly leave one a bit sluggish and possibly unmotivated.
No.12 Le Hammeau, a lovely tisane of lemongrass, verbena, lavender, rose and mint is light, refreshing and invigorating and the antidote to overindulgence.
For palettes that prefer a earthier lean, No. 34 Roasted Kukicha is a light woodsy Japanese green tea of roasted tea stems. Perfectly suited for the fall countryside, the light brew is hydrating, soothing and restorative.
And voila! Weekend covered.
Bellocq's twist on the traditional Bloody Mary adds an edge of smokey goodness to the beloved brunch tipple. The markets are loaded with amazing pickles, turnips, okra, spicy beans…these days. We skewer a myriad of delicious nibbles and into our Caravan Mary's they go.