A few weeks ago, while browsing the websites of Paris’s top pâtisseries, I spotted Hugo et Victor’s Tarte Fraise (strawberry tart). The pastry’s strawberry-red shell complemented its meticulously arranged strawberry slices superbly—I was quite inspired by its colour.
This weekend, I had a chance to experiment with adding food colouring to tart dough. The results were impressive. The trick is to use a food colouring that does not lose its pigment when baked.
Most, if not all, of the blog posts I’ve read about pavlovas begin by mentioning that the origin of the dessert is fiercely debated. Some argue that the pavlova is a purely Australian dessert, named after visiting Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, while others argue it originated in New Zealand.
I have found that the former is the generally agreed upon introduction to a post about pavlova. I hope it caught your attention like you never imagined a post about pavlova could.
This isn’t exactly a seasonal dessert. Unless you read this about half a year from now. If you’re reading this in the future, I have two things to say. First, congratulations – raspberries are in season and you probably have a few boxes in your fridge to make this right now and therefore you should make this right now. Your future (future) you will thank you. Second, you’re awesome.
If you’re not from the future well, that sucks. You’re going to get an awesome recipe for a raspberry tart in October though. I would’ve made it earlier but I was too busy with other things. Yeah, I know, it’s a pretty lame excuse. I was just so busy with sugar, schoolwork, and butter though. There’s something about creaming butter and sugar together that’s kind of mesmerizing (and tasty).
