GBBO Challenge Week 5: Classic Vanilla Custard Tart

This is probably the first time that I have genuinely felt like a GBBO contestant. I set out to make a simple custard tart - the first time I had ever attempted one. Tart dough made - so far so good, I had done this many times. Rolling out the dough proved a little difficult, as the fat content of this dough was quite high. 

The first cracks started to appear in my confidence, as well as in the crust as I was lifting it into the tart tin. As I placed the tart shell in the oven, I told it to behave well, and not dare shrink on me. Of course, I had an disobedient tart shell and it decided to shrink on me anyway. As I saw the crust creeping down the sides of the tin, I felt this could never work out. 

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Apple Crumble Pie (Vlaai)

Autumn is drawing nearer, as signalled by my upcoming birthday, decreasing temperatures and increasing levels of university related stress. Just a few weeks and we'll be huddled together in front of (optimally and most cozily) fireplaces and (less optimally) gas-powered central heating. When most people around me start complaining about low temperatures and pouring rain, I know my time has finally come. Finally I'm able to layer my clothing again, finally sunscreen on my face will suffice and finally (and most importantly) it is acceptable to bake with cinnamon again. When our wood heater was blazing away, I felt it was not more than logical to bake some kind of apple pie and so this Southern Dutch style Apple Crumble Pie came into existence. For me it makes that dreary day all the more glorious and for those for whom it is less enjoyable more bearable!

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Linzer Cookies

My competition tart didn't leave me with any prizes, but fortunately I did have a great time and earned some money for charity which is always a fantastic bonus! I did have some ingredients leftover in the fridge and freezer and since I don't like wasting such fabulous homemade goodness I set out to make these linzer cookies!

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Orange Napoleons (Oranje Tompoezen)

If you have been watching the football World Cup at all, you'll know that the Netherlands has been doing pretty well.  Everybody but the coach and the team itself was skeptical at first, but "Oranje" started off pretty amazingly by beating Spain 5-1 and since that moment, Orange Fever (Oranjekoorts) has kept our country in its unfashionably colored grip. I have been watching pretty much every and any match and I have yelled at the tv a couple of times (okay, maybe more than a couple of times..). I guess you could say I'm a fanatic supporter! But then again, most Dutchies are. We are famous for our crazy, orange supporter outfits:  guys in Dirndl dresses, girls in beer dresses. None of the regular fashion rules apply during national football games. And what we do in fashion, we do in food as well. Every orange occasion calls for an orange foodstuff. Orange pudding, orange potato chips, orange liqueur ánd the most popular and ultimate of orange foods: the Orange Napoleon. And so it came about that I baked these before today's match instead of buying the gelatine-laden "tompoezen" that can be found in the supermarkets. Let's be honest, who wouldn't prefer a homemade Napoleon over a supermarket one (soggy bottoms, anyone)? 

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Soft Snickerdoodles

Today is the first day of spring! It was really fantastic weather here today, but looks like it will be the last warm day for a while - I did enjoy soaking up the sun tremendously. And you have to say, don't these snickerdoodles look like little suns? Okay, maybe I'm stretching it a bit, but they are pretty delicious I have to say. I had never had snickerdoodles so I didn't know what to expect. I'm sure every American has fond memories of this cookie, but I was a blank slate! I found that snickerdoodles are somewhat cake-like, with a huge dose of vanilla and cinnamon for extra warmth. I guess that's where my sun analogy came from! 

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