Pi Day Pear Tart

3.1415926535...March 14th has not been the same since the induction of Pi Day. Although it is a mathematical constant, Pi Day is also a great excuse to bake a pie (or tart). Given the limited availability of reasonably priced goods, the Pi Day pie / tart had to be made with limited ingredients to produce the finest result. Also, one of the potential Pi Day pie / tart eaters has an aversion to egg so none could be used in any part of the recipe. Hence, the Pi Day Pear Tart. It is simple, attractive, and incredibly tasty.

The pear-poaching and tart recipes came from David Lebovitz, both by a chance Google search. The tart dough recipe was quite impressive, allowing the baker to feel like a chemist as the hot, liquid mixture of butter, oil, sugar, salt, and water hissed and foamed at the addition of flour. The dough held together extremely well and produced a lovely, firm tart shell. After trying this method out, there is no need for cutting cold butter into flour anymore (this will eventually be mastered for that flaky pie crust). Even on the first try, the tart shell came out perfectly golden and without any cracks.

The resulting pear tart looked very pretty from its design of concentric pear slices and glistening surface. The pears used could have been more ripe and sweet as the ones available were relatively flavorless. Overall, the pear tart was a success being not too sweet and subtly elegant.

Poaching Pears (adapted)
1 quart (1 liter) water
1 cup (200 g) sugar
4 large pears; peeled, cored, and quartered

In a large saucepan, heat the water and sugar until warm and the sugar is dissolved. Add any of the additions that you wish. Slide in the pears and cover saucepan partially. Keep the liquid at a very low boil and simmer the pears until cooked through, about 15 to 25 minutes, depending on the pears. Remove from heat and let the pears cool in their liquid.

(I did not have enough sugar. The original recipe called for about 256g sugar, but only about 200g was used.)

French Tart Dough (adapted)
90 g (3 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (I used canola)
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
150 g (5oz, or 1 slightly-rounded cup) flour

Preheat the oven to 410º F (210º C). In a medium-sized ovenproof bowl, such as a Pyrex bowl, combine the butter, oil, water, sugar, and salt. Place the bowl in the oven for about 15 minutes, until the butter is bubbling and starts to brown just around the edges. When done, remove the bowl from oven (and be careful, since the bowl will be extremely hot and the mixture might sputter a bit), dump in the flour and stir it in quickly, until it comes together and forms a ball which pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Transfer the dough to a 9-inch (23 cm) tart mold with a removable bottom and spread it a bit with a spatula. Once the dough is cool enough to handle, pat it into the shell with the heel of your and, and use your fingers to press it up the sides of the tart mold. Reserve a small piece of dough, about the size of a raspberry, for patching any cracks. Prick the dough all over with the tines of a fork about ten times, then bake the tart shell in the oven for 15 minutes, or until the dough is golden brown (10 minutes for a golden, partially cooked tart shell as the crust edges may get too brown in the second baking). Remove from the oven and if there are any sizable cracks, use the bits of reserved dough to fill in and patch them. Let the shell cool before filling.

Pear Tart
1 tart shell
4 large poached pears
Apricot jam or preserves

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Thinly slice pears and arrange whatever decorative design you like in the tart shell. Make sure that the layers of sliced pear overlap. Put in oven and bake for 50-60 minutes. The tart crust should turn a deep golden brown. Remove tart from oven. Bring to a boil apricot jam with two tablespoons of water in a saucepan to create a glaze. Spread glaze over the surface of the tart using a pastry brush.

Momofuku Milk Bar Compost Cookie

When I heard that a friend planned on bringing me back one of the infamous Momofuku Milk Bar compost cookies from the United States to China, I was absolutely ecstatic. The Momofuku compost cookie created by Christina Tosi held promises of sweet, salty, savory, and decadent all rolled up into a cookie. It is made of pretzels, potato chips, coffee, oats, butterscotch, chocolate chips, butter, unbleached wheat flour, sugar, brown sugar, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, graham crumbs, pretzels, potato chips, glucose syrup, eggs, whole oats, cream, milk powder, coffee grounds, salt, leavening, and vanilla. The milk powder is an interesting addition, but its distinguishing properties in a cookie is somewhat of a mystery.

Granted its enjoyment would not occur until a few days after its delivery, anticipation was still building. My friend gave me one lone cookie enclosed in cellophane. Having read a recipe (among the many variations) on how to make my own compost cookie, I started to think the calories alone could be a meal in itself. The first bite was one of buttery decadence. There is so much butter in this cookie, your teeth and tongue could feel its baked texture and presence. The cookie was also incredibly sugary with the slightest hint of coffee. There were small bits of saltiness from the pretzels (the crunch from the potato chips probably baked away), but the cookie was overall sweet. Almost too sweet. The compost cookie was still very tasty. My stomach could have managed another one had there been one available. Now, if only I could sample a compost cookie fresh out of the oven...

**The cookie photos may not be of the entire cookie, but the excitement from the idea of its consumption may have caused a lapse in memory.**

Momofuku Milk Bar. Multiple locations in New York City. www.momofuku.com/milkbar

Yogu-La!

The frozen yogurt phenomena surged from California and hit the shores of Shanghai, receding and leaving a few shops behind. Yogu-la is a new frozen yogurt shop in the affluent Xintiandi boasting Italian roots and fresh fruit toppings reminiscent of those you would find at Pinkberry minus the Captain Crunch cereal. Why not? Xintiandi is an ideal place to wander around browsing shops and sitting outside during warm days. It has proved itself a location that several love to photograph. The walk through the re-created Shanghainese architecture would only be heightened with the accompaniment of a refreshing, sweet treat. Yogu-la is a word that the Chinese would use for the yogurt, ending it with "-la" because it sounds all so cute and endearing. Chinese love using "la" at the end of statements. It just makes everything sound a lot better.

There are six yogurt machines that were serving different flavors of yogurt: original, chocolate, passion fruit, mango, blueberry. The menu rotates depending on what batch is being made that day, but the full menu of the flavors are above the yogurt dispensers so if you miss something there is a sign that reminds you what you have to come back to. I still must try the pistachio, which is hopefully not too sweet. The blueberry was the best out of the flavored yogurts. The passion fruit flavor could have been stronger and not as tart, but it was promising. The original was also really nice, a bit on the tart side and not too sugary. The fruit toppings were all very fresh and not under-ripe adding a fresh texture to the creamy yogurt. There was kiwi, dragon fruit, mango, watermelon, cantaloupe, and papaya to choose from. At the time of tasting, the manager was present and readily welcomed all constructive criticisms to make the Italian-style frozen yogurt all the better. The prices are completely reasonable for the large serving of frozen yogurt you get - 25RMB for a regular cup and 45RMB for the big cup. The fall opening of Yogu-La baffled me as winters come too quickly in Shanghai offering less incentive to seek out frozen yogurt.


Yogu-La. Xintiandi, Shanghai, People's Republic of China

Rujak Es Krim - An Array of Tastes

Hot, sunny, midday heat in Yogyakarta weighs you down with beads of sweat forming on your forehead. Water does not suffice this urge to cool down as your body craves greater substance as it slowly dehydrates. Enter rujak es krim toted around by a kaki lima or street cart, most likely found in the morning and early afternoon. Rujak es krim is made of rujak, the assortment of fruits including sour mango, papaya, apple, cucumber, and pineapple that is combined with es puter, traditional Indonesian ice cream. Es puter means "stirred ice cream" and is made of coconut milk and sugar. The sauce is made of palm sugar, lime juice, salt, and chilies, though I could have sworn there was a hint of tamarind in there. Mixed together, the combination of ingredients creates a cornucopia of flavor inviting sweet, sour, bitter, spicy, and salty to this party. The vendor makes it fresh in front of you chopping up the fruits and grinding the spicy paste using a wooden mortar. The onslaught of flavors satisfies hunger (and dehydration to a point) while thrilling your tongue.

Rotiboy

The smell is captivating. Warm, fresh from the oven baked goodness tickles and tempts olfactory glands. The sweet aroma makes your stomach growl and the queues at the stand for the buns pulled directly from the oven show reflect how tasty it is. Rotiboy is a bakery chain that serves only one thing: Rotiboy. There are other variations to choose from, but you can only get the original Rotiboy bun hot from the oven about any time of day. The Rotiboy chain also offers other types of pastries and sandwiches, but what made it famous is the Signature Rotiboy Original Bun, which is also likened to the "Mexican Bun." Butter, milk, flour, water, sugar, salt, and coffee are combined and baked resulting in a sweetly divine, round bun with a hint of coffee and an artery clogging buttery center. Rotiboy was founded in Penang, Malaysia and has expanded to stores in Indonesia, South Korea, and Thailand.


I stood in line patiently as the bakers expertly removed the buns from the oven in pairs putting one each into a bag. There are directions on the bag on how to enjoy your Rotiboy at home like it was fresh from the oven (pre-heat oven to about 180°C and heat for about 10 minutes) and where else to find it in Indonesia. Each bun cost 7000Rp. The smell was thrilling and comforting at the same time. The first bite was warm and the spongy, sweet cake melts along your tongue as you chew. The crust is barely firm and hints of coffee linger along your taste buds and nostrils. Reaching the center, you bite into a sinfully buttery middle that is slightly gooey. It is fabulously doughy. Yum. What a great start to the day. What a great part of the day for my stomach!

If you are looking for a recipe, try this one from House of Annie or this one. I do not recall seeing a topping (someone commented about this in the posts) piped onto the dough, but rather the dough resting and waiting for baking in temperature-controlled storage units. Maybe this was added right before baking.

Rotiboy. Multiple locations. www.rotiboy.com

Manzara - Borek

En route to Portobello Road, the window displays at Manzara catch the eye with its varieties of pide and borek lining the window shelves. Turkish borek at Manzara is a pastry made of phylo dough filled with spinach and feta cheese. Outside, borek may be found with a number of differnt fillings. It is a simple food made for take away for easy consumption while walking.

£2.95 will get you an order of borek for take away. They will stick it back in the oven for you to heat up nicely and put it in a paper bag with a napkin. The filling is adequate and tasty, though the dough is not necessarily cooked the way through (the least bit soggy or uncooked closer to the filling) while delicately flaky on the outside. Very tasty and light.

Manzara. 24 Pembridge Road, Notting Hill, W11 3HL

Lokum At Its Best

Where else is the best place to get quality lokum than its native country, Turkey? Every corner at every sweet food stall and confectioner vendors are proudly displaying their variety of Turkish delight. The difference between the Turkish delight made in Turkey (Istanbul, in this case) and other countries, such as the United Kingdom, is that the confection is not too sweet. Another difference is the significance in flavor. Instead of being "lemon-flavored" or "rose-flavored" where the taste implies a sweetner that happens to have a tinge of lemon or rose, the lokum is infused with the essence of the lemon or tastes exactly like the scent of a rose. As just sweet enough, the proper flavor intended comes through. Other Turkish delight varieties which are popular are pistachio, hazelnut, and walnut. Some stands offer varities that combine flavors such as rose and pistachio (particularly good) or pistachio with milk or walnut and lemon. If you do happen to find yourself in Turkey, make a point of sampling the local Turkish delight. If or when you decide to bring some home, be sure to make your own box instead of the pre-packaged boxes to ensure freshness.