Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Rum Raspberry Tart #ChristmasWeek

Welcome to Day Two of Christmas Week. This event is hosted by Kim of Cravings of a Lunatic and Susan of The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen. We hope to inspire you to break out those holiday sprinkles and get your bake on!

The holidays are crazy hectic for all of us, but for someone like me who feels compelled to make everything from scratch, it can turn into a giant mushroom cloud of insanity.

I still have vivid memories of the holiday dinner when I had a near-meltdown a couple hours before company arrived. I figured out what had to be done before they showed up and my timeline said that I'd be done vacuuming and setting the table two hours after they arrived.

That was also the first year I bought a bagged salad and brought home a cake from a charity auction. I felt so guilty about that cake, but after the guest had gone, I realized that if I had taken the time to bake, frost, and decorate a cake, I might have been eating dinner in a straightjacket.

Since then, I've decided that it's important to pick one's battles, and if someone sends me a box of gloriously delicious cookies, it's perfectly find to plate those up. I don't need to churn my own butter, make my own cheese or bake my own brea - uh, wait a minute. I do bake my own bread. Never mind on that one.

This recipe speaks to all of us who are flat out of time. Many years, I make a rum cake for the holidays, so I had to add rum to this dessert. While it starts with a mix, it's gussied up just a little bit for the season.

And, best of all, it's quick, easy, and can be made well ahead of time.

While this has enough rum to add a hint of flavor, it's not enough rum to get anyone tipsy, and the filling bakes, so you're going to burn off alcohol in that process, anyway. If you want to make this an adult-only dessert, use some rum for the glaze instead of just water.

As for that pearl sugar, if you can't find it locally, it's available online from a number of sources. It's a round white puffed sugar that's often used for decorating pastries. It doesn't melt or brown when baked, and keeps its bright white color.

Rum Raspberry Tart

1 box Krusteaz Raspberry Bar mix
1 stick of butter, melted
1 tablespoon rum
1 cup powdered sugar
Pinch of salt.
5-10 drops green food coloring (optional)
3-4 teaspoons water
1 tablespoon pearl sugar

Heat the oven to 350 degrees and have a 9-inch square tart pan with a removable bottom standing by.

Mix the flour portion of the bar mix with the melted butter, just until all the flour is moistened. Put about 3/4 of the mix into the tart pan, pressing it into the bottom. If you have enough to go a little above the sides, that's great. It seems thin, but it will puff.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, until the edges are just barely brown.

Meanwhile, mix the rum with the raspberry filling from the bar mix.

When the 15 minutes are up, remove the baked tart shell from the oven and spread the raspberry filling over the top of the tart. You can leave the outer edge uncovered, if you like, but it will likely spread that far during baking, anyway.

Use a fork to break the remaining dough into crumbles and sprinkle on top of the raspberry filling. You won't have enough to cover the filling - just scatter it randomly across the top.

Return the tart to the 350 degree oven and bake until the top crumbs are turning golden and the raspberry filling is bubbling around the edges.

Remove the tart from the oven and let it cool on a rack. As soon as it's cool enough to handle, remove the tart from the pan. Leave it on its bottom at this point - we just want to remove it from its ring. If you wait to remove it until it's completely cool, any raspberry filling touching the rim of the pan will be really sticky.

Let the tart cool completely on the rack.

Meanwhile, mix the powdered sugar with the salt. Add about half of the drops of green food coloring, if you're using it. Add the water, a teaspoon at a time and mix. If you like, you can substitute rum for some of the water. Continue adding water to the mixture until it's a thick, but easily pourable consistency. Add more green food coloring if you prefer a darker shade, but keep in mind that most food colorings don't taste great, and the drizzle will darken a little bit as it dries.

When the tart is completely cooled, drizzle with the green icing, then sprinkle with the pearl sugar.

Slice into squares to serve.

 More about CHRISTMAS WEEK!!!

Swing by all the participants to see what they've been whipping up for the holidays:

Plus 1 Copy of each of these cookbooks:

Giveaway is OVER.

I was not provided product or incentive for participating in this event.
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