Book Journal: Drunken Grape Tart

I have one thing, and one thing only, to show you. And I'm not going to show you a slice, because then you'd really catch on to what a doozie of a day I had yesterday.

This tart, this Drunken Grape Tart, is beautiful, sure. It even tastes great. And I'd never made anything like it before, so I felt pretty darn good about myself as I worked on the recipe and then executed it. This is not, however, how it went with the Banana Rum Tart, which looks like a car ran over it even though all I did was bake it. That's a definitely re-do. And today's third recipe? There isn't any. Between the blog and the book, I worked until ten and then collapsed.

Back to the Drunken Tart. If I showed you a slice, you might think I was drunk when I made it, because I used red wine in the custard, which produced an absolutely heinous brown color, a bit like chocolate pudding, but not. So the recipe was quickly altered to specify white wine.

Onward.

Recipes Tested: 47
Average Per Day: 3 and getting dangerously close to 2

Comments (7)

Snafus or no, what you're doing is quite impressive.

posted by maggie on 2006-07-20 10:59:58

You might enjoy reading Emily Lucchetti sing the praises of the color brown in "A Passion for Desserts", she's one of my favorite desserts cookbook author (ok, her and Dorie Greenspan).

Anyway, I know exactly what you mean about that color, it's a very ugly oxidized purple-brown. I always make sure to use some blue or purple berry or stone fruit when I bake with red wine to avoid that ugly color!

I hope you don't have to rebake it, and can just use a picture of the whole tart for your book.

regards,
trillium

posted by trillium on 2006-07-20 14:03:25

Trillium,

Oh no, there's no need to worry about my photographs being used for the book: I had them done professionally back in June. I blogged the process, if you're interesed, here's the last post in that series - it goes back to Friday, June 2nd.

http://kitchen.apartmenttherapy.com/food/book-update/book-update-seventeen-photos-down-one-to-go-009734

posted by Sara Kate on 2006-07-20 14:56:31

I remember. I assumed that you would take photographs of the stuff made from the actual recipe you end up with, not from an earlier version. I didn't realize you take the picture first and tinker with the recipe after. Or is it that you don't have a photograph of every recipe? Anyhow, best of luck!

You're brave to be baking so much in this weather. When I do my small-batch preserves during the dog days of summer, I always think of how back in the old-days you had to cook stuff over a wood-fueled fire, and it makes me feel better, if not any cooler, and connected to all my female ancestors.

regards,
trillium

posted by trillium on 2006-07-20 16:26:41

pie/tart crusts are my everest. i am so jealous.

posted by sparky on 2006-07-20 18:54:12

i'm confused...is there supposed to be a reference to a book or a recipe for this dish? looks dynamite.

posted by Sol on 2006-07-21 01:51:21

Who's eating all of your wonderful food? If you and Maxwell are the lucky consumers, how are you staying slim (ok, baby belly exempt). If you need help eating this food please feel free to let me know. I'm very accomodating that way.

posted by anne on 2006-07-21 23:20:50