It's MeMe time!

I have recently been tagged..by two fellow bloggers: Mrs B of Mrs Bs Baking and Bridget over at bake at 350, thank you!! :)

Here are the MeMe rules:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. Share 5 facts about yourself.
3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
4. Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

I spent quite a fair bit of time trying to come up with 5 interesting facts about myself...I almost wanted to give up as I am really quite a boring person, yawn...zzzZZZZ

I guess most of my readers have the same common interesting in baking, so I would like to share with you things that are related to baking, blogging and photography:

1. I own a small 'desk-top' size Tefal oven. It's only big enough to put in a tray not bigger than 12 by 10 inches! Due to the limited space in my kitchen, I have to keep it in the kitchen cabinet after each use.
2. I am using a bread maker which is considered cheap and economical...the brand is Bluesky, and it cost only S$69.90...a cheap deal as compared to other brands which are in the range of a few hundreds. So far it has really served it's basic purpose.
3. We live in a flat that has got 3 bedrooms and 1 study room...and the 4 of us occupy only 1 bedroom! I take most of my recent photos in one of my empty bedrooms!! It is the best or let's just put it as, the only, spot that I could get fair amount of natural light.
4. I use a Canon Powershot G3 (4 mega pixel)to take all the photos I have posted here. So far, I could only manage to set the camera to the auto-mode, turn on the macro function, turn off the flash and shoot away.
5. I use a free software, Picasa 2, to crop, adjust the contrast and sharpness of my photos. It's quite an idiot proof software...excellent for people like me ;)

Now I will like to tag the following 5 fellow bloggers:

1. Aimei at Baking Cottage
2. Ovenhaven at Epicurean Escapism
3. Mandy at Fresh from the Oven
4. My Home Kitchen
5. Cocoa at Maskan Istimewa


and here's a tart that I will like to share with all of you out there...thank you for taking the time to visit my humble blog. I truly enjoy reading all your comments and feedback :)

I shall name this the Triple Almond Tart...


here's a closer look...the tart was made with ground almond or almond powder (which means the same thing) for both the pastry base and the fillings...the top was then sprinkled generously with almond slices. I adapted the same recipe as the Peach Tart. As usual, I used a 18cm disposable foil tart pan, since I have only a normal 16cm tart pan...as a result I wasn't able to make nice scallop effect on the rim :(


the sides was ok though...thanks to the foil tart pans that I got from Phoon Huat...that has got the side scallop on the pan...I do noticed that those available in supermarkets come in straight edges/sides only.


Here's sending you a 'virtual' slice of the tart...trust me, this is really good stuff! Enjoy ;p

Ingredients:
(make one 18cm tart)

pastry:
40g unsalted butter, soften at room temperature
30g caster sugar
1 tablespoon (15g) lightly beaten egg
80g flour
20g ground almond

filling:
60g unsalted butter, soften at room temperature
50g brown sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
80g ground almond
10g flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (the original recipe calls for 2 tbs of rum)
50g almond slices (as toppings), lightly toasted

Method:

1. Lightly grease an 18cm tart pan, set aside.
2. Toast ground almond (do it for both the pastry base and filling) at 100 degC for 10mins. Stirring in between. Let cool.

Pastry base:

3. Sieve flour and ground almond together, set aside. If the ground almond is too coarse for the sieve, don't worry, just dump it with the rest of the sieved mixture.
4. With a manual whisk, cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy.
5. Add in the egg gradually, whisk the batter till well mixed each time the egg is added.
6. Add the flour/ground almond mixture in 2 to 3 additions into the batter. Fold with a spatula.
7. Form and shape the pastry into a round disc. Roll out the pastry in between 2 sheets of cling wrap or baking paper or two sheets of cut-out plastic bags, to about 23cm in diameter.
8. Remove one side of the cling wrap or baking paper. Place the rolled out pastry over the prepared tart pan. Mould the pastry into the tart pan, smoothing the edges and the rim carefully...if the pastry is too soft to handle, chill it in the fridge for 10~15 mins.
9. Chill the moulded pastry in the fridge for 20mins.
10. Remove from fridge, use a fork to poke some holes on the pastry. Brush the top of the rim with egg wash. Bake in pre-heated oven at 180 degC for 10~12mins until the edges are slightly browned. Let cool completely before adding the filling.

filling:

11. With a manual whisk, cream butter and brown sugar till the mixture turns fluffy. Add in the egg gradually, mix well each time the egg is added.
12. Add in ground almond. Fold with a spatula till well incorporated. Sieve over the flour onto the mixture. Mix with the spatula. Add in vanilla extract and mix well.
13. Spread the filling onto the cooled pastry base. Ensure the edges are all filled up. Sprinkle the surface with almond slices.
14. Bake in pre-heated oven at 170 degC for 30~35mins, until the filling and almond slices turn golden brown. To prevent the almond slices from overly browned, bake the tart at a lower rack position for the first half of the baking time, then shift it up to the middle rack position...alternatively, you may cover it with foil halfway between baking.

Recipe Source: Delicious!! Baked Cakes, Ikuko Omori