A Southern Grace: row, row, row your boat

August 11, 2009

row, row, row your boat

Yum

The benevolence of food bloggers continues to astound me.


After I commented on the uniqueness of her cute tart tins, the glorious Nic of the spectacular blog Cherrapeno promptly and generously offered to send me some! From England!

Once they arrived, I set to work immediately, and even though I’ve not used miniature tart tins very often, I was excited to try. I made the same sweet dough recipe that Nic used and filled my little tartlets with some cinnamon-spiced vanilla pudding (my first made-from-scratch batch!). To top 'em off, I nestled straight-from-the-freezer raspberries decoratively into the fluffy stuff.


You can still see the ice crystals! Don't fret, dears--they thawed in no time.

These creamy canoes were quite tasty, and I owe it all to Nic. Thanks again--it's great to have a friend across the pond!

Spiced Vanilla Pudding
(based on this recipe)

1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon butter

Combine sugar, cornstarch, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a small bowl. Heat milk in a saucepan over medium heat until bubbles form at edges. Pour dry ingredients into the hot milk a little at a time, stirring to dissolve. Continue to cook and stir until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Do not boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and butter. Pour into serving vessels and chill before serving.

78 comments:

Robin said...

Nic is so sweet to do this for you! They look grand indeed!

Donna-FFW said...

What a wonderful gesture!! And you made such delicious use of them right away! This look fantastic!!

Bunny said...

Aren't blogging friends the best! They're gorgeous Grace!!

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

What fun:D

lisa is cooking said...

What a nice gift! Your tarts look fantastic, and the cinnamon vanilla pudding sounds delicious.

BigSis said...

Those are adorable, Grace! Once it cools off here, maybe I'll make pudding again, but not for a while! That one sounds delicious!

kat said...

So cute & I bet cool & refreshing

♥peachkins♥ said...

pretty and delicious! Those raspberries are so mouthwatering. I love munching on frozen fruits..which reminds me... I have frozen grapes in the freezer.

Foodie with Little Thyme! said...

Oh you luck girl! What a great treat! The tarts looks too yummy to eat.

Albany Jane said...

I'm sure it's pastry/pie type dough, but it sure looks all light and fluffy like puff pastry. Yum!

shaz said...

What a wonderful present and you've presented the results extremely well too. Love the raspberries - I'm frequently caught with my hand in the box of frozen berries!

Ingrid_3Bs said...

I know! I can't believe how terrific foodie bloggers are! So generous with their praise and encouragement.
~ingrid

Kate said...

Oh, my! I don't think you should eat this. I think you should send it to me. Right away. I'll take care of it for you...

Thanks for posting this. I never would have thought of using a pudding in this. And I love the addition of the spices to it. Great idea!

vanillasugarblog said...

ohhh really? so then if I say I need a house in laguna beach, ca then perhaps someone might step in as they did in your case?
you know these are the perfect size to eat a ton, right? hello?

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

These look gorgeous! Oooh and don't forget you have a buddy across the pond in Australia too! :P If you ever need anything just holler!

unconfidentialcook said...

How nice is that?!?!?!? The tarts are beautiful, and I'm sure they're absolutely delicious with that spiced vanilla cream.

La Bella Cooks said...

The spiced vanilla sounds so appealing! What darling little tarts.

Half Baked said...

Food bloggers are the greatest! Your little tartlettes look so cute and spiced cream sounds divine:)

Lyndas recipe box said...

What a thoughtful thing to do; and you put the tins to such delicious use! Love the idea of spiced vanilla cream, especially the cinnamon...and the rasberries. :)

Jessica@FoodMayhem said...

Such adorable canoes! I am a sucker for tart tins.

Sharon said...

How sweet!! Yes, food bloggers are a wonderful lot if I may say so myself :) I'm just imagining all the yummy fruit variations...blueberry boats?! These are gorgeous.

Nic said...

Oh those look really scrummy and your pastry looks perfect!
Thanks for you nice words - I'll tell hubby that I am "glorious"!

(Heh heh, bet you were swearing when you made them though, fiddly little buggars for sure!!)
(Oh yeah, and aren't they weeny, LOL!!!)

Unknown said...

Wow that is so sweet and generous of her! Your tarts look delicious!

Cathy - wheresmydamnanswer said...

This looks wonderful what a perfect pastry!!
So very thoughtful!! Gotta love the foodie community!!

The Blonde Duck said...

Cinnamon canoes with berries too! I love it!

Melanie said...

Those are unbelievably cute! You are a tart master.

Unknown said...

oh my gosh! those are soooo darned cute. and the pudding filling sounds wonderful!

foodhoe said...

but where are the tart pans? are they little individual things? whatever, that berry topped custard looks delicious.

Pam said...

You had me at cinnamon spiced vanilla pudding. They look so tasty and cute too!

Chef Jeena said...

That was so kind of her you are lucky. I love what you have made with moulds it looks fantastic, very elegant like something you would see at a wedding.

Lori said...

That was very nice. I just went and visited the site.

These tarts are very cute.

Antonietta said...

Wow, these look amazing!

Leslie said...

Wow..I wish someone would send me some cool kitchen gadgets!!
These are just adorable!

oneordinaryday said...

That's so thoughtful! Yea for you!!

I love the sound of vanilla pudding laced with cinnamon. Yum.

~Michelle

pam said...

How nice! And you certainly did those tart pans proud!

Jennifer said...

How nice, I would love to have some cute little pans but I have nowhere to put them! BTW made your mamas biscuits, to DIE for!

Chef Fresco said...

Oh gosh - best looking 'canoes' I've ever seen!

Mrs. L said...

Oh man, those look delicious. What a great gift.

Delicious Dishings said...

That is adorable!!! I really want a ton of mini tart pans in different shapes. I'm planning to start buying them and collecting them little by little. Then I'm going to try your recipe.

jillian said...

Super cute tarts and the filling sounds so good!

Lindsey said...

These look adorable and fabulous!

Anonymous said...

ooh: yummy-scrummy cinnamon vanilla pudding in mini-tart shells! I love the little raspberry topper.

emily said...

Grace, these look so delicious! I have to admit I have a soft spot for anything miniature-sized, and I let out an audible "awww" when I saw these. So cute!

LilSis said...

Oh my goodness! I wish I could taste one of these now. I LOVE mini sized desserts and these look amazing.

That was so very nice of Nic to share some of those awesome tart tins.

Jacque said...

Ooooh, see, now you're getting fancy! They look like they came from a cute little French bakery... seriously. Love em!

Vera said...

These are adorable, Grace!

Rebeca said...

Looks amazing (as usual!)

Anita said...

I like the sound of the vanilla pudding... is it sort of like a vanilla mousse? I've been looking for a recipe like that :) Thanks

KJ said...

They do look like little boats. I don't think I could resist a game of battleships, ending of course with the complete decimation of the entire fleet, much to the satisfaction of my taste buds.

I love the idea of using pudding as a filling!

Barbara said...

I love it! So cute. I want to take a bite right now. And vanilla pudding- my favorite; Do you love vanilla as much as I do Grace?

Lisa said...

Nic is a sweetheart and an inspiration. I'm sure she trusted you'd do great things with them. And you have. Your tarts look smashing!

Katie said...

These look so cute and how sweet of her to do that!

Jennifer said...

What a SWEET thing for her to do!!!! These looks soooooooo good!!!

Anonymous said...

That was so nice of her!

And your tarts sound delicious, especially with the spiced vanilla pudding. I can totally see myself putting some strawberries or bananas on top.

Anonymous said...

This looks amazing grace! I'm going to make these but not for my southern party. I am going to make cornbread! thatnks for the suggestion.

Gloria Baker said...

Look amazing Grace I love this!!! so cute and yummy!! Gloria

Susan from Food Blogga said...

Nic is so sweet, but then so are you! What a lovely gesture on her part, and what a lovely thank you to her.

Anonymous said...

i love your title and how well it syncs with your pic!
its cute :)
awesome how raspberries always make desserts look so beautiful.
mmm. i could really use a treat now!

Maria said...

So lovely!

Jackie at PhamFatale.com said...

oh I could 2 dozens of those. They look so pretty. I made a similar version with a polenta dough, check it out at http://www.phamfatale.com/id_324/title_Frangipane-Petit-Four-with-Raspberry-Mascarpone-Frosting/

Penny said...

Those look so yummy. I love kitchen utensils that are new and different. Turn me loose in a kitchen store and I can spend hours (and money). Look what I just made with my biscuit cutter.

Anonymous said...

Awwww, how sweet! Those lil tartlets look so cute :) You've definitely put them to good use!

Teanna said...

Those are ADORABLE! Don't you just love the food blogging community? Sometimes, if I ever think that blogging is too much and I don't have time to keep it up, I think about all of the people I have "met" through this and it makes me want to keep on going forever! Gorgeous boats!

A Bowl Of Mush said...

Aww these boats are so cute and so delicious looking!

Cookie baker Lynn said...

Pudding canoes - love 'em! What a treat to get a care package from across the pond. Food bloggers are the best!

Amanda @ Mrs.W's Kitchen said...

How absolutely darling! What a perfect little dessert. Love it. Grace, you're so clever.

Pam said...

Absolutely beautiful. They look scrumptious! Such a nice friend.

Kerstin said...

Aww, they are adorable! What a great friend :)

Aleta said...

What a cool thing to do! Kuddos for sending them to you!

giz said...

Love the random acts of kindness - how special did you feel when you got the tart pans. So nice. AND you did them absolute justice.

pigpigscorner said...

The tins are really cute!

Laura said...

That looks gorgeous. Creamy, yummy, vanilla, cinnamon, I want some! Speaking of cinnamon, I finally used what you sent me--it will be up on Saturday.

Laura said...

Ergh first comment did not go through.

Looks wonderful--love the creamy vannila, love the cinnamon, love the tin, love it all!

Elle said...

Adorable! And how cool that she sent the pans? Little tarts are always so cute! And it helps that they're bite-sized, so you can eat more than one. ;)

Sophie said...

I love these. The filling sounds like it'd be ideal for fall. Yummy! Hope you've been having an awesome summer :)!

eatme_delicious said...

Oh delicious! I love mini tarts. And love that you call them creamy canoes!

Jaime said...

those are adorable!!!

Raspberry Cakes said...

Those look amazing...and I am sure they taste equally scrumptious! Great Blog and awesome photography too! I shall add this site to my favourites, and visit again to read more back posts!

Greetings from Ontario, Canada!