Martha Stewart Thin Pear Tart

Hey there. Writing these posts have become somewhat of a little battle. Primarily because I tend to eat all of what I bake and that does no wonders for my waist-line, unless I have people round to share it. I have to sample my creations, of course – but I'm not really the type of person that can stop at just 'two' of those delicious Brownies or those cookies.

I exercise regularly and all, but what I really need is an in-house taster! Someone that can help me polish off the remaining slices or handful of biscuits! I currently don't have one of those, but I'm on the look out! In the meantime I just have to cleverly bake when I'm expecting friends or when the parents come round. I would love to hear from other food bloggers – How do you stop yourself from devouring all of what you bake?

Kiwi Strawberry Banana Tart

        

         

Today everything seemed like hard work. It's Sunday and I got stuck in a house-work rut. One chore led to another. And before I knew it I'd spent my whole morning and afternoon doing house-work. Even just going to the next room to use my computer is feeling like an effort for me, as I lay on my bed writing this post from my iPhone.

Maybe it's just 'lazy-itis' today.
However I did make the time to photograph today's creation. The final product tasted delightful, the fruit was sweet and the custard was light. My friends put in a 'special request' for this one to be made again.

This creation was more of a lesson for me. I made my own pastry here. And I can't deny I did find it a wee bit of an effort today. I've always made my own, but whilst battling with the evil dough, a small voice popped in to my head: "maybe using shop-bought pastry instead of making my own isn't so bad?" Gasp! Oh gosh, who said that?! Now, such an idea is a bit controversial coming from some one who is meant to be "baking" in every sense of the word! I know, I know. Seriously, after the way I feel today, if you try this recipe and decide to forgo the pastry-making part and use shop-bought stuff instead, I completely understand!

Perfect Apple Crumble

Where It All Began

You may (or may not) know that apple crumble is where it all began for me. That is, where my baking life began. So its only fitting I have a dedicated post to it, right? Right.

So this post, imagine it's like the Queen! And all the others are mere servants! Get the picture?
No, seriously, I don't know what it is about this dessert that I love it so. The last twelve months alone has seen it appear from my oven eleven times. Gosh. maybe I need to get out more. And d'you know what? It's even more fitting now, being winter and needing the right sort of comfort food.

But I cannot fail to mention, mine always has to come with custard. This is unnegotiable. Some of you out there may favour the likes of cream instead of custard (that's okay, I'll let you off, we can still be friends). But I need custard.
(n.b: not sure if custard over here in the UK is the same world wide. Check out pic for a visual).

I must also stress, the recipe below is for those, that like me, enjoy apple crumble with sweet apple filling. Not the tart taste you get from cooking-apples stuff I've suffered before. To help me get that result, I either use Cox's or Braeburn apples.
....Cox's or Braeburns? This article, 34 Science-Backed Health Benefits of apples examines the varieties of apple and their fantastic health benefits among anything!