Test Kitchen #19: White Chocolate Fruit Tart

This week in The Spot, we created a White Chocolate Fruit Tart found on AllRecipes.com. This was in response to Dad's disappointment that he did not get a single piece of Mom's Peach Pie on the Fourth. So since he missed out, he was in the mood to make some type of fruit dessert.

Trying to remember how his father, a professional baker, made fruit tarts proved difficult. Dad has a few of Grandpa's cooking notebooks but they are hard to decipher. Written in half English and half German is a list of ingredients and that yields at least ten or so cakes. Grandpa was used to baking in mass quantities. Figuring out how to make just one of something was a different story.

With these lists, no instructions could be found anywhere. I suppose Grandpa didn't need to write down the procedures. He had them all memorized and the notes seemed to serve more as a grocery list than a recipe. If we were lucky, there might be a notation at the end that said something like, "and then bake". That's helpful. What temp? How long? According to Dad, Grandpa didn't really know. He would just watch it and then he just knew when something was ready. When asked how long something should stay in the oven, his reply was, "Til it's done."

So with little wisdom from years past to fall back on, we did we as always do and just figured it out as we went along.

This was really good and I was surprised I liked it as much as I did. The crust is very easy to make and reminded me of a thick shortbread cookie. Dad is used to his father baking a fruit tart so that fruit becomes soft, but I was happier with this version because I just can't like warm, mushy fruit.

If you want the entire recipe, hit the link above at allrecipes.com. We had a few modifications because Dad did not want to use canned fruit and we wanted to utilize what we already had in the house. So instead of instead of pineapple, mandarins and kiwi, we used nectarines, plums and strawberries.

We also cut the amount of white chocolate chips considerably. The recipe calls for an entire 10 oz bag and I think we probably used about a cup or so. I would highly recommend cutting the chocolate. The sweetness in combination with the cream cheese in the icing was just right. It would have been sickeningly sweet if we had used the entire bag of chips.

Since we didn't use the canned pineapple, we didn't have any pineapple juice leftover to make the glaze like the recipe instructs. Instead, we used orange juice and it came out fine. The purpose of the glaze is really just to keep the fruit from turning brown.

Dad's thoughts on the next go around for this recipe were to double the amount of cream cheese, delete all the chocolate, add 2 eggs, some vanilla and sugar. Then bake the whole thing with the fruit on top. I'm not so sure about that last step, but the alterations in the cream cheese filling might make it taste more like a cheese cake, so I'm cool with that.

I really thought Matt would like this one. He always seemed to like fruit desserts, but I found that apparently "fruit" is limited to the apple pie a la mode category only. Fortunately, I was in the mood for one more test and created something different for dinner that night.

Dinner Time Test Kitchen:
Chipotle Chicken Rolls with Avocado Dipping Sauce

Inspired by Rachael Ray: 365 No Repeats
I made a few edits to this because I didn't have ground chicken in the house and had already defrosted the chicken breasts. I also used two avocados instead of one because the dipping sauce was a little too tangy with just the one. The ingredients and steps below is the way that I prepared it.

Ingredients:
1 lb shredded chicken breast
6 scallions, chopped
1 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
3 tablespoons of chipotle flavored salsa
salt and fresh ground black pepper
8 sheets frozen phyllo dough, defrosted
1 stick unsalted butter, melted

Dipping Sauce
2 ripe Hass avocados
Juice of 3 limes
Handful of fresh cilantro leaves
1 tsp coarse salt
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil


1. Preheat oven to 400.

2. To cook chicken, boil a large pot of water. Submerge raw chicken breasts in boiling water and continue to boil for 15-20 minutes. Times may vary depending on the thickness of the chicken. (I usually just fish them out and slice them through to check. Obviously they're done when there's no more pink.)

3. Place cooked chicken on a cutting board and with two forks, pull the chicken apart until all is shredded.

4. In a bowl, combine shredded chicken, scallions, cheddar cheese, garlic, and chipotle salsa and season with salt and pepper. Squish the ingredients together like you would with a meatloaf. Set aside.

5. In a small sauce pan, melt the unsalted butter. Do not boil.

6. Arrange 1 sheet of phyllo dough with the long side closest to you on a sheet of parchment paper, brush liberally from edge to edge with melted butter, and season with salt and pepper. Place another sheet of phyllo on top, again brush liberally with butter, and season with salt and pepper. Repeat until you have four layers of phyllo.

7. Separate the chicken mixture in half, and with your hands, create a log of chicken sitting along the bottom edge of the phyllo sheet closest to you.


8. Roll the front edge of the phyllo sheet away from you, encasing the chicken mixture. Continue until you have completed a long roll. Tuck the ends in and then brush the entire outside of the phyllo log with more melted butter.

9. Transfer the first log to a rimmed cookie sheet, putting the seam side down. Repeat this process to make a second log with the remaining chicken mixture.

10. Bake 15 minutes or until the log feels firm to the touch.

Dipping Sauce:
While the phyllo-wrapped chicken is in the oven, cut the avocados in half lengthwise, cutting around the pit. Separate the halves and scoop out the pit with a spoon, then use the spoon to scoop the avocado from it's skin. Place the avocado in a food processor and combine with lime juice, cilantro, coarse salt, and about 3 tablespoons of water. Process until avocado mixture is smooth, then stream the olive oil into the dressing. Taste and adjust seasonings.

I actually made the dipping sauce ahead of time at Dad's because they have a food processor and I don't. Having made it, I think it's perfectly fine to make the sauce ahead of time and store it in the fridge until you're ready rather than be rushing around to make it during the baking time. I still have some leftover and it would be a great alternative spread for a turkey sandwich.

After the rolls came out of the oven, we each had a half with a dish of dipping sauce and a side of fat-free re-fried beans. The entire second roll was leftover for each of us to have a half for lunch the next day. Although working with phyllo can be nerve wracking because it's so delicate, this one was a winner that I would do again.