Brioche Plum, Nectarine, Peach, and Apricot Tart (Tuesdays with Dorie)

Happy Bastille Day! I went to the Los Angeles Bastille Day festivities in Elysian Park on Sunday, and today Tuesdays with Dorie celebrates with brioche!

For this week's Tuesdays with Dorie selection, Denise of Chez Us picked Brioche Plum Tart on pages 54 and 55of Dorie's book, Baking: From My Home to Yours.

The tart is a brioche dough topped with fruit. Yes, a combination of buttery, rich bread and summer fruit. We were destined for success!

I missed the Farmer's Market this week (again!!) and picked up some nectarines, peaches, red plums and black velvet apricots at my local store. I've never had the black velvet apricot (pictured above)...but its skin is sorta velvety! The inside is like an apricot.

I made the dough last night and got up at 3:20 am to make this tart! If I fall asleep while answering reference questions later today, just feed me a piece of this and I'm sure I'll perk right up.

A layer of peach jam was spread on the brioche dough. Then my various stone fruits were placed on top.

And what happens when you make something before dawn? You "misread" the directions. I thought I was supposed to mix the fruit and sugar together (like a pie) and let things macerate for 30 minutes during the 1st rise in the pan cycle. However, when I reread the directions after the tart was in the oven (yes, this IS the best time to reread the directions!), it turned out the sugar was supposed to go on top of the fruit. Thus, I got no caramelization. Oh well, it's still yummy!

The Brioche Fruit Tart.
It's worth getting up early.

Be sure to check out the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers! I can't wait to see everyone's take on this - I'm sure there will be a whole farmer's market of fruit and jam!

Recipe:
Find the recipe on Denise's blog Chez Us or buy Dorie's great book, Baking: From My Home to Yours!

Chocolate Bread Pudding (Tuesdays with Dorie)

Chocolate Bread Pudding

For this week's Tuesdays with Dorie selection, Lauren of Upper East Side Chronicle picked Four Star Chocolate Bread Pudding on page 410 of Dorie's book, Baking: From My Home to Yours.

I've never made bread pudding! I've devoured it in restaurants but never made it! What a delight that Lauren selected this recipe.

I picked up this lovely and huge brioche from my local Italian deli (and had to pick up their famous sandwich while I was there...you know, stimulating the local economy and all). Isn't it a beauty? After weighing it, I figured I should use half of the brioche (AKA butter delivery device).

After toasting the brioche pieces for 10 minutes at 350 degrees, I just wasn't sure how much bread you should have in a bread pudding! :) Once I poured the custard mixture on the bread, I felt they were swimming and cut up another quarter of the brioche (so I used a total of 18 ounces or 3/4 of the loaf).

Only after 30 minutes did I realize I probably didn't need the extra bread as the bread is a super sponge that absorbed most of the custard mixture. (See, I told you I haven't made bread pudding before...)

I brought it into work and suggested a 10 second zap in the microwave. Those 10 seconds made all the difference in the world. It softened the custard a bit and just made the whole bread pudding sing.

Carbs + Butter + Chocolate = Yum

Be sure to check out the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers! And look for the recipe on Lauren's Upper East Side Chronicle blog or page 410 of Dorie's book, Baking. Also, did you know Dorie Greenspan is on Twitter? Follow the most wonderful cookbook author online!