APPLE CHOCOLATE CRUMBLE TART and award (:

i've got CRAVINGS for tarts! this is one of the many variety that i plan to bake. more tarts coming! (:

i baked APPLE CHOCOLATE CRUMBLE TART! sounds good? taste good too (: does it look lovely? pls say yes :D
you've got to believe that the recipe for the tart is a KEEPER! for the filling, it goes extremely well with the tart. my family LOVE IT (:

Sweet Tart Dough

(recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé, written by Dorie Greenspan)

NOTE:
- Make this at least 1 day in advance because you need to chill and rest the dough for a minimum 4 hours or up to 2 days, before rolling and baking;
- You are encouraged to make the full quantity because lessening the measurements may not yield the best results.
- Unused dough can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 days or wrapped airtight and frozen for a month. Frozen disks of dough take about 45 minutes to an hour at average room temperature to reach a good rolling-out consistency. Baked crusts can be kept uncovered at room temperature for about 8 hours.

- 2 1/2 sticks (10ozs; 285g) 270g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups (150g) icing sugar, sifted
- 1/2 cup (lightly packed) (3 1/4ozs; 100g) finely ground almond powder
- 1/2 tsp pinch of salt
- 1/2 tsp vanilla bean pulp or pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
- 3 1/2 cups (490g) all-purpose flour

To make the dough in a mixer:

Place the butter in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on low speed until creamy. Add the sugar, almond powder, salt, vanilla and eggs and, still working on low speed, beat to blend the ingredients, scraping down the paddle and the sides of the bowl as needed. The dough may look curdled – that’s alright. With the machine on low, add the flour in three or four additions and mix only until the mixture comes together to form a soft, moist dough – a matter of seconds. Don’t overdo it.

Gather the dough into a ball and divide it into 3 or 4 pieces: 3 pieces for 10-inch (26cm) tarts, 4 for 9-inch (24cm) tarts. (Of course you can press the dough into one large disk and cut off as much as you need at the time that you need it.) Gently press each piece into a disk and wrap each disk in plastic. Allow the dough to rest in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, or for up to 2 days, before rolling and baking. (The dough can be wrapped airtight and frozen for up to a month.)

To roll and bake:
1. For each tart, place a buttered tart ring on a parchment-lined baking sheet and keep close at hand. Work with one piece of dough at a time; keep the remaining dough in the refrigerator.

2. Working on a lightly floured surface (marble is ideal), roll the dough to a thickness of between 1/16 and 1/8 inch (2 and 4mm), lifting the dough often and making certain that the work surface and dough are amply floured at all times. (Because this dough is so rich, it can be difficult to roll, but a well-floured surface makes the job easier. If you are a novice at rolling, you might find it easier to tape a large piece of plastic wrap to the counter and to roll the dough between that and another piece of plastic. If you do this, make sure to lift the top sheet of plastic wrap from time to time so that it doesn't crease and get rolled into the dough.) Roll the dough up around your rolling pin and unroll it onto the tart ring. Fit the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the ring, then run your rolling pin across the top of the ring to cut off the excess. If the dough cracks or splits as you work, don’t worry – patch the cracks with scraps (moisten the edges with water to "glue" them in place) and just make certain not to stretch the dough that’s in the pan. (What you stretch now will shrink later). Prick the dough all over with the tines of a fork (unless the tart will be filled with a runny custard or other loose filling) and chill it for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

3. When you are ready to bake the crust(s), preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Fit a circle of parchment or foil into the crust and fill with dried beans or rice. (i did not blind my tart)
4. Bake the crust for 18 to 20 minutes (this case, i bake it for 12 mins) , just until it is very lightly coloured. If the crust needs to be fully baked, remove the parchment and beans and bake the crust for another 3 to 5 minutes, or until golden. Transfer the crust to a rack to cool.
Keeping: The dough can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 days or wrapped airtight and frozen for a month. Frozen disks of dough take about 45 minutes to an hour at average room temperature to reach a good rolling-out consistency. Baked crusts can be kept uncovered at room temperature for about 8 hours.

Crumble:

50g unsalted butter (soften)

50g sugar

50g chopped almond

80g plain flour

Mix all ingredients until it resembles breadcrumbs & refrigerate before use.

Apple & chocolate filling:

2 apples

50g dark chocolate

Peel, core & chop the apples.

Chop chocolate into pieces.

Assembling:

Fill the apple dices on the tart shells, spread chocolate over it (i do it the other way. that is to lay the base with choc first then the apple dices and top with some choc to fill the space)

Spread the crumble mixture to cover the top, bake in preheated oven at 180'C for 30-40 min (until golden colour).

im submitting this to Aspiring Bakers #5 : Fruity March hosted by Jess

NEXT, i want to thank lena for giving me the award (: i appreciate her kind gesture! is my very first award and i feel so happy! (:

Here are the rules to abide in order to accept this award and they are:
1. Post linking back to the person that gave you the award
2. Share 7 random things about yourself
3. Award 15 recently discovered blogs
4. Drop them a note and tell them about it.

Here's the random things:

1. my family and i dont eat pork, beef and mutton. i dislike fish as well. BUT im a chinese (:
2. NEVER eaten nuggets since 5 yrs ago due to bad experience (vomitted till i almost need to go for drip) after eating it
3. ppl always tell me that my name is suitable coz i DONT drink jasmine green tea or green tea stuffs (psst, that means not eating  "my kind")
4. i LOVE twinstar! google it if you dont know.
5. roses, butterfly and ribbon stuffs are my favourite esp in PINK.
6. love taking polaroid photots!
7. hope that my mum will skip cooking dinner for a day so that i can cook instant noodles! not because the food is not nice but i seize all opportunity to eat instant noodles!

From here, i would like to forward these awards to the following bloggers, do visit their lovely blog (:

1. Roz from Home Kreation 
2. Spear from My Baking Milestone
3. Quizzine from Baking on Cloud 9
4. Lina from Crustabakes
5. Ah Tze from Away of Mind
6. Weng from I Heart My Bakes
7. Vivian from Vivian Pang Kitchen
8. Jen from My Cooking Experiments
9. Janine from Not the Kitchen Sink
10. Alan from Travelling foodies
11. Joyce from Chuncky Cooky
12. Cheah from No Frills Recipe
13. Nancy from Bake for a Queen 
14. Jane from Jane's Corner
15. 茄子 from 袅袅烘焙香