Fruit Tart

Fruit Tart

Fruit Tart

This classic fruit tart recipe eliminates the most time-consuming aspect by using a boxed pudding mix. Delicious and easy!

Makes

8-12 servings

Active time:

30 minutes

Total Time:

90 minutes

Good For:

Dessert

Inroduction

About this Recipe

Perfect, buttery-sweet pastry crust…creamy filling…fresh fruit bursting with flavor. What could be better on a bright summer’s day? Best of all, this fruit tart recipe is EASY! (Because, yeah, I cheated. And I’m not apologizing for it.)

As I was hunting for classic fruit tart recipes, I quickly decided that the time-consuming custard filling was the part making me not want to actually tackle the recipe. Then I thought, “Why get hung up on that? Just use a boxed pudding mix, silly!” And so I did. 😉

I chose a cheesecake flavored pudding (great choice, but vanilla would work too!), and it was sugar free, because that’s what my supermarket had in stock. As it happened, I also had sugar-free apricot jam on hand when I randomly decided to make this on a Monday evening over the summer…so I thought, why not embrace the no-sugar-added thing and use All Purpose In the Raw for the crust too? It turned out PERFECTLY, and I didn’t spill the beans on the sugar-free bit until AFTER the four adults, 1 teen, and 5 children had already devoured their initial servings and fought over the the last pieces. 😉

Making this in the summer meant I had some really delicious fresh berries on hand–I chose strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and some fruit-cup mandarins that I had stashed too. I’ve made it before with kiwi slices, which I love, and mango slices would work as well. The key to fruit selection is making sure they’re things that won’t juice too much or turn too brown, which rules out apples, bananas, pears, peaches, or sliced full-size oranges.

This recipe takes a bit of planning ahead, but most of the time is just chill time. Active time is really only about 30 minutes total. Plus, you get the joy of something truly beautiful and artistic with those berry arrangements! I promise you, this dessert LOOKS incredibly impressive and will get some oohs and ahhs from whomever you share it with, but it’s easy-peasy to put together.

Ingredients

Instructions

For the Crust

  • ½ cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
  • 1/3 cup sugar or substitute
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 egg yolk
  • Nonstick cooking spray and/with flour for the pan

 

Filling

  • 1 box vanilla or cheesecake instant pudding
  • 2 cups milk
  • ~4 cups fresh fruit (berries, kiwi, mandarin pieces, mango) assorted
  • ¼ cup apricot jam
  1. Using the paddle attachment in a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar or sweetener and salt until pale and creamy. This should take about 2 minutes on medium speed. Scrape the sides and then add the flower, mixing until it’s fully incorporated. It ought to resemble course sand. Add the egg yolk and mix again. Knead the dough into a ball with your hand. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 5 days.
    .
  2. Spray a tart pan with a removable bottom (anything from 9-11 inches in diameter will work for this recipe) with nonstick cooking spray; either use the kind that has flour in it already, or else flour the pan after you’ve sprayed.
    .
  3. Press the crust dough, bit by bit, into the pan in a thin layer, making certain it gets in all the fluted edges and covers the whole bottom. There will be enough, promise! Use a knife to trim any excess from the top edge and work it into the bottom. Freeze for another 30 minutes.
    .
  4. Adjust the oven rack to the center position and preheat the oven to 350˚. Bake the crust for 23-26 minutes, until lightly browned and golden. Let it cool completely on a wire rack.
    .
  5. While the crust is cooling, mix up your pudding with the milk according to package directions, making sure you get all lumps out. Chill while the crust cools.
    .
  6. Once the crust is COMPLETELY cool, spread the chilled pudding over the shell. Top with sliced strawberries, (unsliced) blackberries and/or raspberries, blueberries, mandarin orange slices, sliced kiwi, sliced mango, or other fruits that won’t juice too much or brown too quickly.
    .
  7. Melt the apricot jam in the microwave in 30-second intervals until it’s loose enough to spread. Use a pastry brush to brush it over the fruit, giving it a nice gloss.
    .
  8. Refrigerate until ready to eat. Slice like a pie into 8-12 servings and enjoy!

From the Books

Fruit tart plays a rather crucial role in A Beautiful Disguise when Lady Marigold’s “stunt double” makes the misstep of eating some when the lady herself never would have. For shame, Gemma! 😉

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Hollandaise Sauce in a Blender

Hollandaise Sauce in a Blender

Hollandaise Sauce in a Blender!

Hollandaise was once the most temperamental of sauces…but that was before blenders made it quick, easy, AND delicious!

Makes

8-12 servings

Prep time:

5 minutes

Total Time:

10 minutes

Good For:

Dinner, Breakfast, Side

Inroduction

About this Recipe

I’ll be honest. I hadn’t had Hollandaise sauce until a couple years ago…when I was inspired by my own writing to try it out, LOL. In The Lost Heiress, Brook is facing down a moody chef at Whitby Park, and he chides her for interrupting him when he’s making Hollandaise, the most temperamental of sauces. Which I chose by looking up “most temperamental dishes” or something like that. Back in the day, one whisked this sauce by hand, and you literally couldn’t stop or it would separate.

Well, thank heavens for blenders! Seriously. You can now make this “most temperamental of sauces” in half a blink, just by tossing it into a blender instead of using a whisk. Woot!

The recipe I first tried called for a tablespoon of lemon juice, and I found that to be WAY to sour for my family’s taste. I dialed it back to a teaspoon, and my husband said, “Yeah, little more than that, please.” So my instructions say to start with 2 teaspoons, but add more to taste. (I liked it with only 1 teaspoon, LOL.)

It’s also very important to note that the temperamental soul of the sauce is still there. You MUST drizzle–don’t pour all at once!–that melted butter into the egg base WHILE the blender is running! If you don’t, you’ll end up with a mess. (Ask me how I know.)

Serve over eggs benedict, aspargus, chicken, pork, or anything else that needs a jolt of salty, rich deliciousness! This recipe makes A LOT, so you’ll have plenty to try on a variety of things. 😉

Ingredients

Instructions

  • 10 tablespoons salted butter
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 2 teaspoons – 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • Dash of cayenne
  1. Melt the butter in a spouted measuring cup.
    .
  2. Put egg yolks and lemon juice in a blender. If using unsalted butter, add ½ teaspoon salt to it. Blend on medium high speed until the egg yolks lighten, about 30 seconds.
    .
  3. Turn blender to lowest setting. While running, slowly dribble in the butter. After butter is added, taste for salt and lemon juice, adding more of either if needed.
    .
  4. Transfer to a container you can pour it from and keep it warm (not hot) until you’re ready to use.

From the Books

Hollandaise Sauce is specifically mentioned in The Lost Heiress, when the Brook interrupts the chef while he’s making it and he’s none too happy about it.

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Belgian Beef Stew (Carbonnade Flamande)

Belgian Beef Stew (Carbonnade Flamande)

Belgian Beef Stew (Carbonnade Flamande)

This melt-in-your-mouth beef in a thick, hearty gravy will have your taste buds dancing and pairs perfectly with crispy fries!

Makes

4-6 servings

Prep time:

1 hour

Total Time:

4 hours

Good For:

Dinner

Inroduction

About this Recipe

Okay, I admit it. I went searching for Belgian recipes solely that I’d have some things to tie in with A Song Unheard and The Number of Love, my books that feature Belgian siblings Lukas and Margot. I found some lists, paged through until some things caught my eye, and decided to experiment. Boy, am I glad I did!

 

Carbonnade Flamande is a Belgian beef stew made with a Flemish Sour Ale…but it’s not beef stew like I know it. It’s more like stewed beef in a thick, hearty gravy. And it has bacon. Need I say more?

Well, I will, LOL. I found this to be a combination of beef stew and French Onion Soup in some ways, but with a rich, complex sauce more like a gravy than soup broth. You don’t fill a soup bowl with it. You instead do a serving size like you would if you were eating pot roast. It would in fact be fantastic served over pasta or rice.

Traditionally, however, this Belgian Beef Stew would be served with Belgian fries…which are French fries, but the twice-fried variety. If you’re looking for a recipe for those, I already have one up in my Fish and Chips recipe! I used that same recipe for these and they turned out perfectly and paired perfectly too.

Curious about the sour ale? I’d never heard of it before, but we went hunting and found Monk’s Cafe Flemish Sour Ale, a red ale that has a certain kambucha thing going on. Definitely sour! My husband enjoys a nice hearty ale but had to sip this one for HOURS, it’s so sour. I don’t like much alcohol. I took a sip and puckered my lips. It really does remind me of kambucha, which I don’t love either, LOL. I was dubious, but it works really well in the stew! The brown sugar cuts the sour, and it adds a depth to it that had my husband labeling it one of the most complex-tasting and rich dishes I’d ever made, “restaurant worthy.” The beer is expensive though, making this a rich dish in more than one way.

It’s also time intensive, fair warning. None of the steps are hard, but definitely read the recipe to know how many hours you need for marinating and then simmering. I got started around noon and just got it on the table at 5. That’s not all active time, of course! But be prepared to go back to do the next step all along the way.

All that to say, it has its drawbacks, but it’s definitely worth it! We highly enjoyed it and plan to make it again!

Ingredients

Instructions

  • 1 pound chuck roast, trimmed and cubed
  • 1 11.2oz bottle of Flemish Sour Ale
  • 4 slices bacon, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 ½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup beef broth
  • ½ teaspoon dried thyme
  • ½ teaspoon ground mustard
  • 1 tablespoon dried parsley
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  1. Combine beef, beer, garlic, bay leaves, and a pinch of salt in a large Ziploc bag or bowl and marinate for at least two hours or as much as overnight.
    .
  2. When you’re ready to begin cooking, remove the beef, reserving the marinade, and pat it dry with paper towels
    .
  3. Using a dutch oven or big pot, heat the olive oil and then fry the beef until it’s browned on all sides and cooked through, around 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and put on a plate for later.
    .
  4. Using the same pot or pan, fry the bacon until crispy. Remove the bacon and add to the beef, leaving the grease in the pan.
    .
  5. Add the onions and a pinch of salt to the bacon grease and fry until they’re tender and brown, about 10 minutes.
    .
  6. Add the flour and stir to coat the onions, cooking for a minute.
    .
  7. Add the beef broth to the pan, whisking and scraping the bottom to create a nice gravy. Add the reserved marinade, the beef, the bacon, and the thyme to the pan.
    .
  8. Simmer for at least an hour, up to two.
    .
  9. Add the brown sugar, the parsley, the mustard, and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for another 30 minutes.
    .
  10. Serve with fries.

Notes:

This is more stewed beef than beef stew—consider it beef in gravy rather than a soup. It would be great over rice or pasta but is traditionally served with a side of twice-fried fries.

From the Books

This traditional Belgian dish would have been a favorite of the De Wilde siblings, Lukas (from A Song Unheard) and Margot (from The Number of Love). While they’re from the French portion of Belgium instead of the Flemish side, dishes like this would have been enjoyed all through the country, and I know the recipe would have traveled to England with their family too!

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Slow-Cooker Chicken Ziti

Slow-Cooker Chicken Ziti

Slow-Cooker Chicken Ziti

Is there anything better than noodles in a hearty red sauce with ooey-gooey cheese? How about making it in a slow-cooker with chicken?

Makes

8 servings

Prep time:

5 minutes

Total Time:

4 hours

Good For:

Dinner

Inroduction

About this Recipe

This recipe comes to us courtesy of Danielle Grandinetti, who is not only a membef of my Patrons & Peers group, but also a fabulous novelist! When I asked my ladies for recipes she promised me some Italian goodness from her family’s wealth of recipes to tie in with Shadowed Loyalty. Because, hello! The Grandinettis are not only Italian, they’re even from Chicago! They totally would have been near-neighbors to the Mancaris. 😉

 

Of course, like all good Italian cooks, Danielle soon realized the problem: she doesn’t have written recipes for this stuff, she just makes it. 😉 So our lovely friend made it again for us so that she could actually measure out the ingredients she uses for this delicious Crock-Pot dish and write it down.

I, of course, love a great slow-cooker meal…but if by chance you didn’t plan so far ahead (which I also sometimes do), you could absolutely make this with shredded chicken from a leftover whole chicken, or just brown your chicken breasts in a pan first and then combine and pop into a 350-degree oven until bubbly, about 30 minutes. Whichever way you cook it, this will be a crowd-pleasing family favorite!

Ingredients

Instructions

  • 1 28oz can of crushed tomato
  • 1 15oz can of diced tomato
  • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
  • 5-6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 ½ tablespoons basil
  • 1 tablespoon oregano
  • 2 large bay leaves
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 15oz can chicken broth
  • 1 lb chicken breast (or chicken breast tenders), thawed
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 lb ziti pasta
  • 1 ¾ cup shredded mozzerella
  • 1 ¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese
    1. Combine tomato and seasonings in crock pot, stir.
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    2. Add chicken and broth. Cook on high for 3 hours (or longer to sure chicken is cooked).
      .
    3. Stir in pasta and water, cook on high for 15 minutes, stir. Cook an additional 5-10 minutes, until pasta al dente.
      .
    4. Turn off heat. Stir in cheeses. Serve.

    Notes:

    Cooking time may change for gluten free pasta, or other types of pasta.
    If using dairy-free cheese, make sure it is a kind that melts well.

     

    Optional Toppings:

    Grated parmesan cheese
    Fresh basil
    Cayenne pepper flakes

    From the Books

    This classic chicken and pasta dish could have graced the table of any of the families in Shadowed Loyalty. They would have had to make it via stovetop and oven rather than in a slow-cooker or Crock-pot, but the results would have been the same…and would have brought those Capecce boys home for dinner, for sure!

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    Chewy Easter M&M Cookies

    Chewy Easter M&M Cookies

    Chewy Easter M&M Cookies

    Spring colored candies make these ooey-gooey chewy cookies the perfect edition to your Easter table…or any table! Change out the colors to match the season!

    Makes

    24 cookies

    Prep time:

    15 minutes

    Total Time:

    40 minutes

    Good For:

    Dessert

    Inroduction

    About this Recipe

    I am a cookie lover…and also a cookie SNOB. I admit it. By my definition, cookies had better be soft and chewy, and while chocolate isn’t a must, it’s definitely worthy of some bonus points.

    I’ve spent much of my adult life in pursuit of the PERFECT chocolate chip cookie, and I’ve tried some very time-intensive recipes that claim they’ve found it.

    Nope.

    THIS is it. Oh sure, it claims it’s an M&M cookie…and it can be…but you can absolutely sub out the M&Ms for more chocolate chips. At Christmas I made this recipe with a mixture of milk and semi-sweet chips and chunks…then with white and milk chocolate chips…and at Easter, I used the M&Ms that were pretty pastels. You can absolutely use Christmas M&Ms for these in December, or any other color for any other season. Whatever your choice, these cookies are AWESOME.

    Why? Because they’re melt-in-your-mouth soft and have a fantastic chewiness. This recipe calls for big, generous scoops of dough that make a big, satisfying cookie.

    Looking to go sugar-free? I’ve made these with sugar-free chips from ChocZero and subbed the sugars in the recipe for Swerve Bown and All Purpose in the Raw, and they turned out great! The texture was slightly different, but if you weren’t doing a side-by-side comparison, you’d never know.

    Ingredients

    Instructions

    • 1 cup salted butter, softened
    • 1 cup light brown sugar or Swerve Brown
    • ¾ cup granulated sugar or All Purpose in the Raw
    • 2 large eggs at room temperature
    • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    • 3 cups all-purpose flour
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
    • ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
    • 1 cup M&Ms in your choice of color, or milk-chocolate chips
      1. Preheat your oven to 375°. Line two baking sheets with either parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
        .
      2. Cream together the softened butter and the sugars or sugar alternatives with an electric mixer until they’re fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until they’re just combines.
        .
      3. In a separate bowl or 4-cup measuring cup, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Slowly mix into the butter mixture.
        .
      4. Fold in the candy and chocolate chips.
        .
      5. Using a medium cookie scoop (2-3 tablespoons), drop the dough onto your prepared baking sheets. Don’t crowd them! These are big cookies, so depending on the size of your sheets, you may have to do them in two rounds.
        .
      6. To get that perfect presentation, press a few extra M&Ms or chocolate chips into the top of the cookies.
        .
      7. Bake for 7-10 minutes, rotating the pans (switching racks and front to back) halfway through to ensure even baking. When the edges are just beginning to brown, the cookies are ready to come out of the oven. The middles will still be soft.
        .
      8. Allow the cookies to cool for 3 minutes on their pans (this will help set those middles) and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

      From the Books

      Okay, okay…so I know chocolate chip cookies, and definitely M&M cookies, were not a thing in Biblical days. BUT…these two books both center around Easter. So why not include a modern Easter recipe in this collection, right? 😉 If Abigail and Magdalene were around today, they would absolutely be celebrating our Savior’s resurrection with celebratory foods. So curl up with one of these novels…and have a cookie or two too!

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      Classic Porridge

      Classic Porridge

      Classic Porridge

      Soaked or slow-cooked oat groats create a classic porridge with a satisfying bite and familiar oat flavor, a perfect base for your fixings!

      Makes

      6 servings

      Prep time:

      2 minutes

      Total Time:

      Overnight

      Good For:

      Breakfast

      Inroduction

      About this Recipe

      You can’t get more classic as a breakfast food than porridge! But…what is it? Oatmeal? Something different? Technically, the word “porridge” describes any hot cereal made from whole grains…but the most classic version does indeed use oats: whole oat groats!

      If you’re familiar with steel-cut oats, they’re the closest to groats, just already processed. But if you’re looking for a true WHOLE grain experience, grab a bag of groats, and then either soak or slow-cook them overnight. I’ve personally found the slow-cooker version to be preferable, but if you don’t like the chew of the whole grains, processing them in a blender or food processor after an overnight soak will yield a texture more like traditional steel-cut oatmeal.

      This creates a great base…that you can then dress up as desired! We’ve done peanut butter and banana…strawberries and cream…brown sugar cinnamon…even maple and bacon. All were equally delicious. If you’re a one-flavor type of person, you can mix the whole batch into that flavor. Since my family likes variety, I just make the base recipe and then we fix our individual bowls to our tastes.

      Ingredients

      Instructions

      • 1 cup oat groats
      • 4 ¼ cups water
      • Pinch of salt
      • Flavorings to taste

       

      1. Combine oat groats and water in a slow cooker the night before. Add a pinch of salt.
        .
      2. Cook on low for 8-10 hours.
        .
      3. Add cinnamon, maple syrup, brown sugar or alternative, fresh fruit, jam, cream, or any other toppings and stir-ins you desire! (Pictured with strawberry jam and fresh-cut strawberries, which pairs perfectly with a tablespoon of heavy cream.)
        .
      4. Store leftovers in the fridge.

      Alternate Instructions

      1. The night before, cover oat groats with 1-2 inches of water in a large bowl. Let soak overnight.
        .
      2. In the morning, drain the groats, then combine them in a food processor blender with 2 cups of fresh water. Pulse for about 30 seconds or until the groats have broken up and resemble steel-cut oats.
        .
      3. Add mixture to a pot, add an addition 2 cups of water, and cook for 20-30 minutes, until the oats reach you desire tenderness. Top or stir in your choice of flavorings, as above.

      From the Books

      Porridge would be enjoyed by all my English characters, and it gets a special shout-out in A Beautiful Disguise when (gasp!) the lord and lady make their own breakfast.

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