tarts from pastry school

So, I did it. I took a leave of absence from my PhD program and I registered for pastry school. I've spent the last two weeks on tart rotation and I thought I'd share with you some of the fruits of my labors.

Pear-almond frangipane tart:


This is a pate sucree dough, with frangipane piped and spread over it, then two poached, sliced and fanned pears on top with sprinkled almonds. I didn't get to taste it since we sold the tarts whole.

Orange and pistachio frangipane tart:


This is also pate sucree (we use pate brisee for quiches), with a frangipane that is made with half pistachios. On top are cocentric circles of oranges, alternating regular with cara cara (which are more like grapefruit).

Rome Apple Tart:


This tart is Rome applesauce (which is the color of raspberries) under thinly sliced Rome apples. The whole thing is glazed with apricot glaze (apricot because the flavor is neutral and it's high in pectin, for gloss).

Meyer lemon meringue:


It's meyer lemon curd with swiss meringue piped on top (sloppily; still learning!) and then torched. Yes, I get to play with a blow torch.

my next rotation is doughs (viennoiseries): croissants, danishes, etc. I will finally learn to make pastry cream!