Best basic tart dough

As any sweets lover, I enjoy baking. I have been asked by friends and my boyfriend to bake often one of my specialties: the Italian Almond Tart. However, I often bake rustic tarts according to what fruits are in season. While I'll admit I bake once every other week that Italian Almond Tart for my boyfriend. Hence, I have tried various basic tart dough and will admit this one is my favorite.

I comprehend you can make dough using a stand mixer, a food processor though I always go with the old fashion way that my French grandmother taught me: by hand.

Basic Tart Dough (for one 24 cm (9 1/2") tart)

Ingredients:

1 large egg yolk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 Tbsp ice water (more if needed)
1/3 cup sugar (90g)
1 1/4 cups all purpose unbleached flour (200g)
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter (125g) (cut into small pieces

In a small bowl, mix together the egg yolk, ice cold water and vanilla (set aside). In a larger bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, then add the butter cut into pieces. Using your hands, mix the dry ingredients with the butter until the texture resembles coarse meals (like small peas). Then add the wet ingredients mixture. Using your hands, mix the dough together and add more water if needed until dough pulls together.

Tips: you can use dough right away or chill dough for easier rolling.

A little inspiration from my trip home to Paris: le goûter

In January, I went to France for 3 weeks. First, I stopped home in Paris to visit with my family then I went to Auvergne to meet my boyfriend's family and friends. As I, my boyfriend loves good food. Not only did we go on a quest for the best macarons, (which still today are in my opinion, Rose flavored at Pierre Hermé and coffee, chocolate, raspberry and pistachio at Ladurée) but we visited "les caves du Roquefort" where one of my favorite cheese is made: blue cheese. This was a trip for the palates, I stuffed myself on all my favorite sweets and cheeses including "Rocamadour", "bleu d'auvergne", "roquefort", "cabécou", "comté" and of course ate traditional delicious traditional french dishes such as "Petit salé" and "Confit de canard".... I could go on as it was so tasty.

I will admit, this inspired me to cook more traditional French meals. Hence, I will attempt each month to share one French recipe with you.

In the meantime, I will share a classic in my repertoire for a simple but typical French snack for "votre quatre heure" (4pm is our typical snack time: "le goûter"). Growing up in the latin quarter in Paris, and with a grandmother from Périgord, good food was a staple though simple traditional snacks too. One thing I will carry on from growing up in Paris and being French is my need for good bread. Each day, I was in charge to go to our local bakery and bring home the baguette for our dinner. But bread was not simply used for cheese at the end of our meal preceding desserts, it was also used for one of my favorite snack. While many of you might be familiar with "croissants" and or even "pains au chocolat", this snack is a typical twist to our traditional "pain au chocolat" (a croissant with 2 chocolate bars inside).

For anyone who wants to know what it is to grow up as a child in Paris (and in France), here is one of the most familiar but delicious snack known to almost all French children: "Bread with chocolate".

"Bread with chocolate"

Ingredients:

• French-style bread such as a baguette to your taste (I like a crusty crust)
• Chocolate (dark in my opinion, though my sister swears by milk chocolate)

Cut a piece of bread or as I do, tear it. Then remove "la mie", you can slice it on one of its side then remove the inside (white dough), insert a few pieces of chocolate to fit roughly the same length of your bread. Then "voilà" it is ready to be devoured: eat!

While, I am going to be soon 30 years old this year, this snack is my go to when I need a little something to pick me up. Yum...

Another variation of our traditional snack (pour notre goûter) is bread with "Nutella", our chocolate-hazelnut spread (which is our equivalent to your peanut butter). 

"Bread with nutella"

Ingredients: 

• French-style bread such as baguette or even country style bread (I enjoy "Pane Turano Italian Bread", a plus is it is already sliced)
• Nutella

Cut a piece of bread or take a slice and spread on it some nutella. Voilà, enjoy. 

Last, as some of you may know if you are francophiles, the French enjoy their "tartines". Hence, another popular snack is "la tartine au beurre" ou bien "la tartine au beurre et confiture".

"Tartine"

Ingredients:

• French-style bread such as baguette or any bread you enjoy though would not suggest a salty version such as rosemary and olive bread or even onion bread (which I don't like).
• Butter
• Jam of any fruit (I personally enjoy strawberry jam by Bonne Maman, my boyfriend enjoys Apricot as well as Raspberry jams (also available by Bonne Maman). If you wish to make it more British like, Marmelade jam is also very tasty (also Bonne Maman for me)).

Cut a piece of bread, slice it as two have two slices or as we call them "tartines", spread some butter on them, then follow with some jam. "Voilà! enjoy".