12.14.16
That’s how the nursery rhyme goes right? No? Hm. Weird. Welcome to the second installment of Cranberry Week!!! I have to say, this week has been full of positivity and exciting news. You’ll have to wait for my big announcement at the end of this post (cut to everyone scrolling all the way down). And I also have a very fun collaboration I’ll be posting on Friday, and definitely not in the way you’d probably expect. Not to mention I had the pleasure of being part of a Leonard Cohen tribute concert in Brooklyn Monday night, am having a few close friends over on Saturday, and will get to enjoy a little holiday cheer at a Christmas party tomorrow night. Don’t worry, I still haven’t bought one Christmas present, I’m still a secret mess.
I haven’t even begun talking about the delicious Cranberry Tart I made. This was actually our Thanksgiving dessert. Because of my love for cranberries, when I saw this pop up on my Facebook feed I was actually intrigued, and decided to try it out. I took zero pictures of the process, not really sure if it was something I’d want to feature at the time. I decided to make it again, and since I had a friend’s Xmas party on Sunday, what better occasion to remake it then that?? The second time around I replaced the orange juice and zest with lime for a nice zing. And I think it was a change in the right direction. I also made the crust with almond flour instead of ground hazelnuts because honestly, hazelnuts are EXPENSIVE!!! It turned out just as tasty, and was almost completely eaten when I had to leave my friends party.
Florals are all over spring and summer. There is nothing new or inventive about warm weather florals. But what about taking that skirt or dress and wearing some florals in the winter? I think the more bitter cold it gets, the more we need some nice bright patterns of flowers. I wore this dress to a friend’s show (she was in the tour of Elf and was just wonderful) and I loved that I could put on some tights and my favorite cold-but-not-too-cold coat and be on my way. It was crazy windy when we took these pictures, so enjoy my hair, there are some epic outtakes that if I ever get super drunk, or maybe if you ask real nice, I’ll post somewhere.
I love that you can make this crust ahead of time. Freeze it for up to 5 days before you have to use it. It made time management much more…well manageable when I was figuring out when I’d make it the first and second time.
I think you could even squeeze half to a full lime extra into this and it’d still be great.
I’ve had this winter coat going on three years now, and not only do I love that it’s basically a big blanket and people always compliment it, but it also has a built in scarf. If it gets super windy or cold, I can just button up the top part and I have a huge collar that works as a scarf.
I’m a big fan of colored belts. My collection is still growing, but I definitely own at least five different colors, one of those being a leopard print that I wish I wore more often.
Are these shoes super cute? Yes. Can I wear them very often? No. They’re a bit too small and after too long in them, but feet hate me. But who doesn’t love a good smoking loafer with a heel?
Feeling flirty and already miss the warm? Grab your florals from the spring and summer and cold weather them up. Throw a cardigan over a dress, put on some great textured tights and a wedge or even some great knee high boots and head out into your day! A cold day, but a good day!
Wear It:
Tulle Navy Floral Dress (so similar!) (a splurge, but wow) / Ruche Hunter Green Skinny Belt (similar) / H&M Grey tights / Chelsea Crew Smoking Loafer (a great alternative) / THML camel winter coat
**Oh remember that fun announcement?? Today I filmed an episode of The CHEW!!!!!! I am so excited to have segment on the episode that will air on Monday, the 19th at 1pm Eastern Time. So check me out! Wanna see what I’m really like?? Here’s your chance. Ish. I’m sure my segment will be like a hot second long. But I can’t wait!!! **
UPDATE
12.17.18
I went all out for my Christmas party this year. I made a lot of new things, but I also made some of my holiday favorites from the blog and gave them a shiner new coat of paint (so to speak), like this Cranberry Curd Tart! Below you’ll find additional instructions on how to make a slightly different version with a riche ganache layer and some buttercream decorations to finish it off!
Cranberry Curd Tart
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 1 1/4 cups almond flour
- 1 cup rice flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
For the Curd
- 1 bag (12 oz) cranberries
- 1 cup sugar
- 5 Tbsp butter
- 2 eggs + 2 egg yolks
- zest and juice from one lime
For the Ganache and Decor (Optional)
- 3/4 cup chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 Tbsp reserved cranberry curd
- 2-3 cups Swiss buttercream
Instructions
For the Crust
- In a food processor, pulse together the almond flour and half the rice flour until mixed
- Add in remainder of rice flour and salt and pulse to thoroughly combine
- In a medium bowl, cream together butter and sugar with a wooden spoon, making sure they come together and almost get a little fluffy
- Add in rice flour mixture and mix together with wooden spoon until dough comes together. It will be crumbly, but if it’s hopelessly dry add in a tablespoon of water or so, mine didn’t need it
- Dump out dough into a 9″ tart pan with a removable bottom and with your hand press the dough evenly along the bottom and up the sides of the pan, removing excess as you push up the sides
- Freeze for at least 30 minute, or up to 5 days
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Place tart pan on a baking sheet, prick the crust with a fork all along the bottom, and par bake for 15 minutes, allow to cool
For the Curd
- While the crust is cooling, making the curd.
- In a medium sauce pan, mix together sugar, cranberries and lime zest and juice
- Allow to simmer until cranberries pop and turn soft, about ten minutes
- Pour the cranberries through a fine mesh sieve into a medium bowl and with a rubber spatula press the juice through, and catching the skins in the sieve, through skins away
- Once all is pressed through, whisk in butter, slicing it up to add it makes it easier and allows it to melt faster
- In another medium bowl, lightly beat the eggs and yolks, add in about one cup of the cranberry mixture slowly, whisking while doing this
- As soon as the egg and cranberry mixture is combined, return that mixture to the original bowl with the remainder of the cranberry sauce
- Whisk that all together and then add back into the original pot and over low-medium heat allow to just start to bubble, and thicken
- Remove from heat and allow to come to room temperature, placing plastic wrap directly on top to prevent a skin from forming
- Once cooled, pour into cooled crust and bake for ten minutes
- Allow to cool before enjoying, this dessert can be left at room temperature in an airtight container for two days
For the Ganache and Decor (Optional)
- Before baking curd in crust, remove two tablespoons of curd, cover in a small bowl and chill until needed
- Bake tart as instructed above and chill until cooled
- Place chocolate chips in a medium bowl, heat cream in a small saucepan over low-medium heat until the edges just start to bubble and a few whisps of steam appear
- Pour cream over chips and allow to stand 1-2 minutes, then gently stir with spatula until a smooth ganache is formed
- Pour ganache over curd in chilled tart and make sure to evenly cover entire surface, chill for at least 3 hours but overnight is recommended
- Once ganache is set, separate Swiss buttercream into three separate bowls
(I had extra buttercream from a separate project that I used. There are recipes online about making buttercream in smaller batches, but otherwise go HERE and follow my directions until adding in the flavor at the end. Swiss buttercream keeps extremely well in the fridge or freezer so having left over to use at a later date is never a bad thing!) - Keep one bowl of frosting as is (white colored), add 1/3 reserved curd to second bowl and remaining 2/3 of curd to the third bowl, mix together frosting and curd with a spoon until combined and a pink hue is formed
- Transfer frostings to piping bags with star tips of your choice and decorate the top of the tart as you wish. Enjoy immediately or chill until ready to eat, Although I’d recommend bringing to room temperature before slicing and enjoying!
P.S.
*pushing the cranberries through the sieve is a little tedious, make sure you get ALL the cranberry sauce out, and when you think you’re done, try one more time
Adapted from New York Times Cooking
