Almond rasberry tart

There is an old saying that if you want anything done, ask the busiest person in the room...

I think, right now, I may qualify. I am in midst of finalising arrangements for my book tour, am gearing up for the Smalls end of school and the endless celebrations that seem to come with that, building a house, organising a fundraiser in Westport on June 15th to launch Promises to Keep, the new book, going to London next week for the UK publicity tour, and...and...oh GOD! I'm getting palpitations just writing it.

Yesterday, we were invited to a neighbor's for one of those tremendous last-minute impromptu supper and drinks with kids nights - which, by the way, I love. I didn't want to show up empty-handed, and so yesterday afternoon I stopped everything and started baking. God only knows where I found the time, but I loved it - it felt almost meditative to stop running for an hour or so and simply work with my hands.

I started with a recipe for almond-apricot tart from Martha Stewart's current magazine, but I didn't have any apricots, nor amaretto, and I don't like using corn syrup, which I sort of think is the root of all evil, so I adapted it into a rasberry almond tart, and it came out beautifully. I didn't have fresh rasberries, so used frozen, which wasn't ideal. The juice ran everywhere, and I'd recommend covering the entire top with plump fresh rasberries. However, it didn't affect the taste terrifically - I loved it because the filling is fairly thin, so you don't feel horrendously guilty. After I'd made it, I found a bag of coconut flour, and I wish I had used that for the pie crust, or added some finely shredded coconut, because I think that would have made it sublime.

Speaking of coconuts, I also decided to make some coconut meringues with the leftover egg whites from the tart. I took the photograph before I drizzled chocolate over the top, but these were shockingly good. Crisp on the outside, and dense and chewy on the inside. I actually made them for the kids, but we adults ploughed through them in record time.

Almond rasberry tart

For the crust:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup blanched almonds, toasted
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup confectioners sugar
1 large egg yolk
salt

For the filling:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 large egg yolks
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water, stir, bring to boil, then simmer for 20 minutes)
3 tablespoons light-brown sugar
2 teaspoons almond essence
3 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilly extract

Top with fresh rasberries. Alternatives are baby apricots, halved and pitted, or peach slices, arranged in a circle.

Preheat oven to 325

Make the crust: pulse flour and almonds in a processor until fine. Beat butter and sugar with a mixer until pale and fluffy, about five minutes. Add flour mixture, yolk and pinch of salt. Mix until dough comes together. Press into bottom and up sides of a greased tart pan with removable base. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Make the filling: Heat butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat until browned, 3-4 minutes. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
Beat egg yolks, syrup and sugar with a mixer for 3 minutes. Mix in browned butter (with bits), almond and vanilla essence, and cream.

Pour filling into tart shell, and bake until crust is golden brown and crisp, and center is set. 40-45 minutes. Let cool.

Press fruit into tart in a circle, and dust with confectioners sugar through a fine mesh sieve. Serve with whipped cream.

Chewy Coconut Meringues

6 egg whites, room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups granulated sugar
3 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chocolate chips, semi-sweet

Beat egg whites with vanilla, cream of tartar and salt until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, about 1 tablespoon at a time. Beat until very stiff peaks form. Gently fold coconut into the meringue. Drop mixture from a tablespoon 1 1/2 inches apart onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake in preheated 275-degree oven for 30 minutes or until set. Immediately remove cookies to cooling rack.

When cool, melt chocolate chips VERY slowly and carefully in a microwave. Check after every 30 seconds until melted - you do NOT want to burn the chocolate. When melted, pour into small baggie, and snip a tiny corner off so it becomes an icing bag. Drizzle chocolate in a fine zig zag pattern over each meringue...