Monday, March 1, 2010

Tuesdays with Dorie - Toasted Coconut-Custard Tart




Beryl of Cinemon Girl chose this weeks Tuesdays with Dorie recipe. It's a Toasted Coconut-Custard Tart, if you didn't already know. If I knew where she was, I would go kiss her! Coconut is one of those things that I love, but seldom get to have because the hubby isn't crazy about it. He will usually eat a small slice of his Mom's coconut cream pie at Thanksgiving, but other than that, it's not one of those things he asks me to make. And, I really don't need to make something I will have to eat by myself. I keep losing weight, but darned if it doesn't keep finding me!

So, when I saw this weeks choice I almost passed.  But, I reasoned, a tart is much smaller than a pie (yeah, right!) and I could share some with my mother-in-law and father-in-law, since they both like coconut. My mother-in-law is recovering from hip surgery so I thought making it and taking some to them would cheer them both up, and keep me from eating the whole tart by myself. With all that in mind, I forged ahead.

I preheated my oven and read over the recipe. Decided to toast the coconut while I worked on the tart crust. I sprinkled coconut over a sheet of parchment paper I put on a baking sheet. I placed it in the oven, telling myself not to forget it was in there and burn it. Then I started mixing up the dough for the tart. After several minutes (or 5 or more, I don't know) I smelled something cooking and realized it was my coconut! Yanked open the oven door and there was my baking sheet, full of what had been beautiful coconut, now full of almost burnt coconut! I think the only thing that kept the whole cup and a half from going straight into the trash was that it had gone into the oven frozen. The outer edges of the coconut was too dark to use, but all the coconut in the center was almost perfectly toasted. Whew! Lucked out on that one. I do stuff like that all the time. Put something in the oven and say "Now don't forget this", and then forget it! :}

After that little mishap, everything went as smooth as glass. The tart dough came together perfectly. Baked it and set it on the counter to cool. Made the custard. The only deviation from the recipe I made was to add about 1/4 teaspoon of coconut extract, to kick up the coconut flavor.  It seemed a bit thick at first, but I added a little milk to it when I took it off the stove until it was the consistency I thought it should be, then finished it with the butter and coconut. Set that in the fridge to cool.

After the crust was cool enough I spooned the custard into it. Smoothed it out and then I whipped up the whipping cream and piped it on top of the custard filled crust. I sprinkled some toasted coconut on top and stood back to admire my work.

Perfection! I cut a couple of slices to take to the in-laws and then cut a sliver to taste. Oh. My. Goodness! It was divine. The custard was creamy, rich, full of bits of toasted coconut with just a hint of the dark rum coming through. The crust was tender, but crumbly, "sandy" is the description in the book, and it fits. The whipped cream on top, with a tiny bit of rum, light and airy, is the perfect compliment to the rest of the tart. I can't wait till after dinner when I can have another slice, a bigger one this time!

If you would like to see what all the other bakers thought of this fabulous dessert, head over to TWD and check them out. Excuse me while I head to the kitchen. I think I am going to have that slice before dinner...life's uncertain you know. :)

33 comments:

  1. Oh your topping is breathtaking..great job! I wish I would have took more time to add something fun on the top, but Im lucky I got the thing made!
    Im glad you enjoyed this recipe, I did too!

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  3. Beautiful design on top. How DID you do that?

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  4. Hi, Susan: I removed my post because of the funny signature but it left the signature. Hubby did some work on creating a new blog page for me :)

    This looks beautiful! I am not a big coconut fan but it looks delicious!

    Love the reason to eat dessert before dinner! I will be using that one.

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  5. I love the piping! Beautiful job!!!

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  6. LOL - yep you're right, another similar adventure! ;) Although my full cup of coconut toasted ok, it was just the handful of coconut at the end that I kept burning, the stuff to put on top. ;) Your piping looks wonderful!

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  7. We had the same problem when we were toasting our coconut! The outside part was sooo dark and I almost burnt my eyes when I took it out of the oven.
    Your coconut tart looks so lovely. I love the way you piped the cream on top!

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  8. I agree with everyone else- the piping makes this tart even that ore special! Your tart looks amazing!

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  9. Your tart looks absolutely amazing!!! I wish I had made this one! I am drooling over yours!

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  10. I have learned that I MUST set the timer when toasting something! There IS no other way around burning things for me. I do 3 minutes, then 3 more, then check every minute. Sometimes, I also toast nuts or coconut while the oven is preheating and they are usually perfect by the tie it beeps to tell me it's preheated!
    Your tart looks beautiful!

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  11. Wow your tart looks lovely and so well decorated- even if I don't like coconut!

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  12. Your tart is lovely Susan! I burned my first batch of coconut I was toasting too, even after repeatedly reminding myself it was in there. Oh well :) Glad you enjoyed the tart so much! The rum was a bit overpowering for me.

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  13. It is way to easy to forget about coconut toasting in the oven! Glad you loved this one- your tart looks great

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  14. Wow... love the piping. You've made it look so delicious! That coconut is so finicky to brown, but the whipped cream piping looks so much nicer! Beautiful!

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  15. Susan, your tart is soooo very pretty! It looks downright perfect. Just reading your description of making this tart made me wish I had some left to nibble on. What I really wish, though, is that I could've tasted yours! I'm not surprised that you & your in-laws loved this tart. It looks and sounds amazing.

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  16. Looks gorgeous!! I skipped this week, but may have to go back and do this one another time...

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  17. Looks gorgeous!! I skipped this week, but may have to go back and do this one another time...

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  18. YUM!!! I love coconut and I have been eyeing this recipe ever since I received Dorie's book for my birthday last summer. Your tart is beautiful and looks delicious.

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  19. Nice idea to share with your in-laws. I'm sure they will love it too - it's so good and I'm a huge coconut fan too. Your piped whipped cream looks lovely!

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  20. Your tart looks so beautiful! Great decision to bake it and share some with other coconut lovers.

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  21. Susan,
    Your tart is gorgeous. It's so nice to make something you love.
    Mimi

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  22. That is one beautiful tart. Love the piped whipped cream.

    I can never get my whipped cream to hold up long enough to do that.

    Next time I will add the extra coconut flavor too.

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  23. Oh! That happened to me while I was toasting my coconut, too! Great piping job!

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  24. Wow, your tart looks beautiful! My boyfriend feels the same way about coconut as your husband, so I rarely bake with it; I'm always happy to have an opportunity to.

    Oh, and LOL about the weight finding you. It always finds me, too.

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  25. I can't help thinking the tart is the perfect dessert to go with the Chicken Fried Steak, Gravy and Green Beans. Yummm! I'm so glad you liked it too. Its really beautiful with the piped cream. Great job.
    AmyRuth

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  26. Gorgeous pie! How generous of you to share it with your in-laws.

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  27. Lovely piping!! I just got my post up on this tart, this was sooooo amazing!

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  28. So creamy and delicious! Wish I had some right now!

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  29. I bet a lot of coconut was burned across the globe as TWD bakers tackled this last week! I know that I burned my share. It's one of those things that seems like it should lend itself to multitasking, but it really doesn't. In any case, your tart looks great! Glad it was a hit!

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  30. Hah, I do that all the time too! The best is when I actually set a timer and then, when it goes off, wonder what it's for. Funny how brief memory can be. :) Glad you loved it!

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  31. Love your new photo...very spring-y and I am so looking forward to anything spring-y! So far, nothing here, although I did see 23 robins, surely that means something. I love your tart, absolutely gorgeous the way you did all that special swirly. You win.

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  32. You decorated this cake beautifully. Looks like a masterpiece.

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