Lemon Tartlets

Before I came to North America I have never tasted lemon tarts or lemon meringue pie. We have great lemon desserts in Germany, too, but those were just not among them. I really love them now, the tartness of the lemon filling in a nice pastry crust is just really good.

The recipe I made today is adapted from "Luscious Lemon Desserts" by Lori Longbotham. Like her other dessert books, it has a wide variety of recipes and information on the subject. You will find among other things recipes for pies, cakes, tarts, creamy desserts, cookies and ice creams.

The tartlets are pre-baked before you put in the filling and bake them some more. Then, before serving you add a nice little brûlée top and some berries.

Valrhona Chocolate Mousse

On the quest for the perfect chocolate, I finally discovered Valrhona. This chocolate is widely recommended in various cookbooks and blogs. So, when I saw it in my favorite gourmet store lately I picked up a 200g block of the 70% bittersweet Valrhona chocolate called Guanaja.

The taste is really superb, it has a really nice bitter note. But honestly, I probably wouldn't buy it as a regular chocolate bar, as the price is really steep. Buying it as a block is definitely more economical.

I have to admit though that my favorite chocolate for baking and desserts comes from a German discount store. Don't get me wrong, I am not cheap when it comes to chocolate, but this brand is really good. It even won several awards for its excellent quality. It is called Moser-Roth and their bittersweet variety comes in 70% and 85%. It is available at the discount store Aldi. I always bring back a bunch of them when I go back to Germany. Aldi is expanding and even has several stores in the US now, so you might even get the chocolate there.

I didn't just eat my whole block of Valrhona though. Thinking what I could use it for, I went through the book "Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Herme" by Dorie Greenspan. This book is a chocolate lovers paradise with a wide range of recipes from the famous Parisian pâtissier. You will find cakes, cookies, tarts, custards and mousses, truffles, frozen desserts and chocolate drinks. Dorie Greenpan also gives great advice of how to do variations of different recipes.

I decided to make the Simple Chocolate Mousse. Usually when I made chocolate mousse I had always added whipped cream. This recipe doesn't call for any whipped cream, but it was very light and creamy.

If you don't have the book, you can also find the recipe at Serious Eats.

Rhubarb-Strawberry Crumble

Rhubarb and strawberry is a classic and always yummy combination. At home in Germany, we have a lot of rhubarb plants in our garden. When I was over there this spring I couldn't wait for them to be ready. I have just rediscovered my taste for rhubarb in recent years. I wasn't a big fan of it when I was younger, probably because of the tartness and also that your teeth feel funny after eating it. But nevertheless I love it even more now. In Germany the rhubarb season traditionally ends on June 24th, which is the same day as the white asparagus's. The reason is that the plants should be able to recuperate better until the next year.

The rhubarb season in Canada is longer and I made this crumble with some self-picked strawberries. The hazelnuts on top give a nice touch. I served it with some fresh whipped cream, but it will also be great with some vanilla ice-cream.