the big tarty post.

so many tarts. so many, MANY tarts. let's start at the top, shall we?

lemon cream meringue tart.

simple and sweet.

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pitivier.

this is made with puff pastry and almond cream. it's a royal pain in the ass to make, but looks impressive.

i don't think it's worth the effort.

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this chocolate tart has a decadent little secret... there's a flourless chocolate cake inside it.

it's topped with a chocolate nougat crisp kinda like a chocolate almond tuile.

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this is a classic french fruit tart.

this one just happens to have apricots.

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this one is a hoot.

it's called a st. honore.

it starts with a base of puff pastry which has chiboust filled cream puffs 'glued' to it with caramel.

next, you take the rest of your chiboust and fill in the rest of the tart.

is it wrong that i could eat half of this in one sitting?

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you've seen me make paris brest before.

oh yes you have... don't you remember?

yeah, but not one this HUGE.

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here's a take on an apple tart. normandy style.

this one starts with a thick 'cakier' dough called a pate breton, then there's a layer of caramel in there that sticks that vanilla cremeux to the dough.

next, you ring that with some caramelized apples.

personally, i prefer a classic apple tart, kinda like that apricot one up there, only with apples. see how that works?

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here's the apotheosis of the tarts we made.

this is a strawberry-rhubarb-pistachio tart.

let me break it down for you. there's a tart shell filled with pistachio cream. next you put a layer of strawberry gelee on that and a layer of rhubarb compote on that. then you cover that all up with pistachio creme legere and spray it a springy shade of green.

now, ring it with cut strawberries, cut, and serve.

a very nice pastry chef plated this up for us. she made it look as awesome as it tastes.

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