Tuesday, July 14, 2009

TWD - Nutella Cherry and Peach Brioche Tartlets



Dorie, I've been unfaithful to you.

It was laziness, pure and simple.

I was making brioche from The Bread Baker's Apprentice, and I didn't want to double up on brioche with just two of us. So I cut off two little pieces and used them for tartlets instead of making your brioche.

I'm sorry.

I'm not a plum lover, but I know you like it when we play around with the recipe, so I made one tartlet with cherries and Nutella and one with white peaches from my tree and Christine Ferber jam I bought at your favorite pastry shop in Paris. Yes, that one. I sampled a few pastries and swooned while I was there, too.

Are we OK?

Good.

I should have checked the tartlets sooner, because after 20 minutes, they were very brown, even underneath (I popped them out to peek at their little bottoms). I cooled them on a rack, then regretted not having any of your vanilla ice cream to have with them. But at the same time I was pinching myself-I couldn't believe I was making this recipe. When the July recipes were announced, I noticed that one of them required a yeast dough. Yeast and I have never been friends. So I finished the other three recipes by June 30th so I could have the entire month free to stress about making a yeast dough.

Then I made Anne's yeast rolls, which were easy and delicious. And then I started tackling The Bread Baker's Apprentice. So making brioche was not the angst-ridden event I had anticipated.

The tartlets? They were fabulous, with the Nutella cherry tartlet the absolute favorite. The Nutella kept the cherry juice in check and the brioche formed a crisp and tender crust under it all. Perfection. The peach was delicious as well. I might as well admit we split the two tartlets for dinner one night. Very decadent, but doesn't that say "Paris" to you? It does me, and it does to the man I love.

Thanks for giving us a dessert that made us remember our trip just two months ago.

*******
Once the brioche dough was made, this is an ultra-easy and impressive dessert. I honestly did very little according to the recipe because M. had just gotten home from a trip and I didn't want to spend a lot of time away from him. So all the rising and slapping down of the dough didn't happen. I let the dough rest in the fridge, then put it in the tartlet pans and added the fillings and let it rise before baking it off. I can't express how wonderful the Nutella tartlet smelled while it was in the oven. I think the next one I try will have a Nutella filling and be served with ice cream or creme fraiche.

We have Denise of Chez Us to thank for selecting this delectable tart for us to make. I'm sure I wasn't the only TWD baker who looked at this one with trepidation, but I again learned that the ones I want to opt out of are the ones I need to make. They're the ones that surprise me, teach me new skills and give me an appreciation of new desserts.

37 comments:

Cakelaw said...

LOL - Dori will forgive you for uasing cuckoo's brioche, as you used her general idea ;) The nutella cherry looks so good - from your description, I can almost smell it from here.

Marthe said...

Your tarts look gorgeous!!! I still have to make mine... been a bad TWD-baker this week ;)

Hindy said...

Yeast hates me too. Mine didn't rise as much as others, but wasn't it delicious!
Love your little tartlets!

Amanda said...

I did the cherry and Nutella combo too! Love your tartlets and your Dorie commentary is a hoot LOL!

Audrey said...

Ooooh. Nutella. And, by the way, I am 1000% certain that if you were a chic Parisian lady that's exactly how you'd make your tarts - with some leftover brioche dough you just happened to have lying around. So that was tres fab!

Steph said...

I think your mini tarts look cute. I love the cherry and nutella combination.

Isabelle said...

Your mini tarts look delicious!
Cherry and nutella, what a great idea.

Megan said...

Holy moly - cherry nutella? That puts my plain chocolate version to shame. :)

Michele said...

Your little brioches look delicious!

Teanna DiMicco said...

Nutella and Cherry?! What time am I coming over???

vibi said...

Oh! Leslie! ...Nutella and cherries... lethal, indeed!

Anne said...

Wow the nutella looks amazing! Yum! It seems to me you don't have anything left to fear from yeast breads- way to go!

Anonymous said...

Multitasking is not something you need to apologize for ; ) I love the nutella idea!

Anonymous said...

Nutella!! I love your mini-tarts. I love the cherries and of course nutella. YUM.

dharmagirl said...

yay! your tartlets look absolutely delicious, and i love your flavor combinations!!!

Anonymous said...

What a fun(ny) post! I was totally stressing about using yeast for the first time! You Brioche Cherry/Peach Tartlets look fabulous! I'd love to try one with nutella instead of jam, in fact your suggestion of just nutella sounds perfect! =)

Tammy said...

I thought the nutella was the best part of mine. Yours looks lovely

farah said...

Wow, very impressive! Good job for tackling the yeast dough. I was a little nervous too but so glad i did it. The cherries and nutella sounds divine and i'm so jealous you have your own peach tree! Great job :)

Soy*Baby said...

Will you make me a nutella and cherry one? Please. That sounds so good. So does the peach one. Too cute.

AmyRuth said...

How did you become so smart.. ..? Right you are about facing your fears. Guess that applies to little ole me too. I do a few things with yeast. Just not that much. So this will be a good one to learn on. Thinking about apricot.
AmyRuth

Thanks for stopping by and we did sell lots of cookies and brownies. The folks liked it.

Cathy said...

Oooh - you are so smart! Had I been thinking/planning ahead, I totally would have used BBA brioche for this! Yours really looks beautiful. And the nutella had to make them beyond incredible. In fact, now I want to head to my pantry with a spoon and attack my Nutella. Sigh.

Unknown said...

haha, brioche tarts for dinner. I love you :)

sara/imafoodblog

Kayte said...

You have such a way with a post...I smiled my way through this whole thing. And the combos you used were very nice, as is the little tartlet version. Always fun to see what's up over here each week!

Unknown said...

I'm sure Dorie will understand :) Your tartlets are gorgeous and I love the combinations you used! I'm glad you enjoyed them.

Katrina said...

Now you've done it, Leslie. I wasn't able to visit very many blogs yesterday, and I didn't make the brioche at all (Went for a TWD rewind cookie I'd missed). I have cherries to use up, I always have Nutella on hand and I have somewhere to take this tomorrow night. Better go get the brioche started!
Great job (even if you "cheated" a little.) ;)

TeaLady said...

They look great to me. I think I would have gone with peaches too.

Thanks for coming by. When do I find time. Remember - I AM NOW RETIRED!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Cherry + Nutella = pure genius.

Karine said...

I love this!!! Nutella cherry and peaches... MmM

Jacque said...

Oh, how nice that you could double up on recipes... it's nice to save some time and still be able to participate.

I'm glad they turned out so well for you. I'm thinking minis would have been better than full size... so... good call!

PheMom said...

Those look like such wonderful variations! Especially the nutella!

Nancy/n.o.e said...

I love that you wrote this post as a missive to Dorie, and so appropriate, because conquering a fear of yeast is truly a letter-writing worthy experience! Now that you still have half a month left, just think of the yeast baking you can do!! Beautiful job.

Marta said...

Oh gosh, brioche topped with Nutella!??! Have you discovered my ideal perfect dessert? This is a dream!

spike. said...

nutella! love it

Pamela said...

I think the Nutella was brilliant! I wish I'd thought of that one!! Great job.

Rachel said...

Cherries and Nutella??? That sounds AMAZING! What a brilliant idea!

Jules Someone said...

So cute! Delicious!

Jaime said...

glad you didn't skip this one! nutella sounds like a great addition