u/Curious-Move-1313

After these four weeks of me venturing into French pastry, I have gotten a bit better and decided to try and make a pistachio tart with chocolate shell.

I also had some leftover dough and decided to experiment with some different colouring ones- just for fun and see how it was. I think they look kinda cool and whimsical:)
I know I still need to become better at making them all the same thickness, but I think that will improve with experience.

For the tart:
Chocolate pâté sucrée
Frangipane with a tad pistachio
Feuilletine crunch made with homemade hazelnut praline and melted chocolate
Pistachio creumex made with cream, egg and pistachio paste (99% paste)
Chopped roasted and salted pistachios

I’m actually quite pleased, the frangipane isn’t as dense as it looks, maybe my hot knife slicing it made it look dense.
And, I finally found a piping tip I could use, even though I didn’t manage to make them all identical, I think my piping is improving.

I tasted a bare chocolate shell and I didn’t like it very much, but after I filled them- it was a delicious combination:)

This 3D printed container for my tart rings are so practical! I can take the whole thing out from the drawer, even if I remove some rings everything stays in place.
And, it’s made to fit my drawer, so it’s not wasting any space.

Thought maybe it was a good tip, and if anyone has other brilliant storage ideas- happy to hear about them:)

«Edit: all recipes added in a comment»

Question: what are your experiences with freezing different components in tarts? Do caramel/chocolate change more than lemon and fruit?
I’ve never noticed a difference in the ganache I use as decoration. But I feel the chocolate taste stronger after freezing and caramel sets a bit firmer.

I started baking tarts a few weeks ago, first time I made some lemon ones and some pecan ones. In the wonky shells in the last picture. I then ordered perforated tart rings, and atleast it was easier to make shells.

Decided to try making a caramel/chocolate tart, easier said than done. I had no clue what namelaka or creumex was, but reddit and google was helpful!

I made two batches, first one was with caramel and namelaka, and a whipped vanilla/coffee ganache.
I did have some issues with the namelaka, getting a dark circle- got some tips from here about using cocoa butter inside the shell:) (got the cocoa butter today, so haven’t tested that)
But, I felt the caramel was a bit too oozy and the namelaka maybe a tad too silky.

So for the next batch I tried to make the caramel slightly more firm, and I added a little chocolate in it, and made half of them with peanut in. Delicious! I then went for a medium dark chocolate creumex to avoid the namelaka discolour problem. I added whipped vanilla/coffee ganache to the caramel ones and whipped chocolate ganache to the peanut ones. I do need to practice piping and decorating.

I suddenly had so many tarts I froze some. When I thawed them I realised the caramel and chocolate had changed. The one with the namelaka that oozed suddenly behaved better and the one with the creumex on top was a bit firmer, even when thawed properly. I didn’t see that coming. So I probably need to distinct between whether I’m serving them fresh or if they’re going into the freezer.

(I also posted my first attempt on lemon tarts, and has made new ones, following the advice I got. I froze them with lemon filling, and thawed one- seemed to work fine.
I’m making meringue for them in the weekend, and hopefully they get even better than the first ones.)

Oh my, it’s getting a quite addictive hobby this baking thing I’ve started😂😇

I made a big pavlova with diplomat crème, I was very happy with the meringue and the diplomat crème was delicious for this.
Lots of berries and some drizzles of chocolate.
Brought it for a cake table, and not a single bit leftover, I assume it was approved :)

I’m new to pastries and I’ve started making some tarts.
I made one with caramel, chocolate namelaka and whipped coffee ganache.

I let the caramel set properly and poured the namelaka in when still liquid, but roomtemperature.
When it set I noticed a circle of darker colour around the edges. What can I do to make an even coloured one?
I’ve never made namelaka before, or any creumex so I don’t know if I should rather use creumex.
Thing is I wanted to pour it to get a smooth surface, if I pipe it I don’t get that texture. And I wasn’t planning on decorating the whole top.

Now I had to hide the darker circle with some nuts. It’s not as light as the first picture seems, and yeah, I made a dent and some bubbles in it.

Any help would be appreciated, or suggestions for something else to put in.

I used Matt Adlards recipe for the namelaka, only with some of it being 56% chocolate, but added some more chocolate to compensate:
Gelatin Chocolate Cream (Namelaka)
 
3 g Powdered Gelatin
Platinum or Knox Strength (or 1 Sheet Leaf Gelatin)
 
18 g Cold Water
 
100 g Whole Milk
 
10 g Liquid Glucose
 
135 g Dark Chocolate, 70% Cocoa Solids, Melted
 
200 g Double/Heavy Cream
 
Pinch of Flakey Salt

I encountered multiple issues, never made tart shells before, never made any of the fillings, nor Italian meringue.
I had to make three batches of tart before I got them right, turned out I used too many eggs.

Then my first try at the lemon filling was runny, so I had to make that one again.
My pecan pie filling got foamy, but since that was baked inside the shells I didn’t do it again.

I used the most crooked shell for tests, and atleast it all held up nice when I cut them.
And I didn’t set fire on my kitchen when torching them, so I call that a win!

They tasted amazing, and I really want to explore French patisserie more.
I have ordered tart rings, hoping that will be better than my muffin pan. And I will use a little more meringue next time.
And explore different fillings maybe.

My 7 1/2 year old goofball🥰
Has no dignity if he sees a possibility for a belly rub. Can be a yoda lookalike. Knows how to poke his paw on us if we stop rubbing him, knows how to pack the essentials for us when going on vacation.
Loves being outside and contemplating about life, probably mostly where to find the best stick and when to get more bellyrubs😂😇

It’s crazy how much we love these little cute beings😍
If you have a favourite goofball moment or odd sleeping position, please share🙏🏻

I think this is the best pictures I’ve taken of an Pygmy Cory embryo inside an egg.
I used my phone with a clip on microscope lens.
The second picture is a bit noisy since there was something on the glass trying to get into focus, but it shows the texture of the egg membrane.

Gastrodermus pygmaeus embryo doing a somersault. Actually it’s two different eggs, last one is next to the first one after it hatched.

iPhone 17 pro
Apexel 120x microscope lens
Apple default camera app

Gastrodermus pygmaeus (Pygmy Corydoras) embryo inside the egg.
iPhone 17 pro
Apexel 120x microscope lens

Picture one and two are the phone camera app
Picture three the PI camera app.

I find the PI app better than the default camera app for macros, but the opposite for microscope lenses.
I think picture one is the best. Picture two the egg happened to be next to a piece of fish food, and something growing from that kept getting into focus.

It was incredibly difficult getting the focus right, the membrane of the egg has texture and it’s not clear, so I had to kind of ‘fake’ focus on the embryo- without making the embryo too blurry.

I am quite happy with the first picture.
The embryo was maybe 3 days, one day before hatching.

iPhone 17 pro
Apexel 100x microscope
Apexel 10-20x macro

It’s a Gastrodermus pygmaeus egg, 1 mm. Unfortunately it turns out these eggs aren’t really clear, but more opaque. But, it kinda looks like a moon🤓
To give some size reference, it’s on a leaf in a tiny egg hatching nursery I just made.

Celestial Pearl Danios have clear eggs, but I don’t breed them anymore. I did put a home made egg trap in their aquarium though, maybe I’ll get a few eggs to photograph later. The embryo shows better in clear eggs.

Gastrodermus Pygmaeus (Pygmy Corydoras) from egg to juvenile.
I usually keep a shrimp or two to clean the eggs.

It’s really fun watching them go from egg, to the small fry and see how their pattern change until they get their stripe!

I managed to capture Gastrodermus pygmaeus (Pygmy Corydoras) egg hatching a while ago. It was an egg in the main aquarium that happened to be on a leaf close enough to the glass for me to capture it with my old iPhone 13 mini with a clip on macro lens.

I thought it was kinda cool and wanted to share it.
I later placed some eggs in a nursery and managed to capture one more egg hatching, but I wasn’t able to put more than one video in here.

I felt very lucky when I happened to notice this first one😁

Newborn shrimplets- I managed to see the mum kick them out.
Lol, as soon as they get kicked out they kinda look like something the cat dragged home😂 In picture two it’s still soft and odd looking. They straighten out fast and already at day one you can see some pattern on them, some having more stripes than others.

It’s my first Calceo babies, so I am superthrilled🥹

Got a new microscope lens today, definitely need more practice, but I do love the colours on my Green Jade💚
Managed to somewhat get two tiny ones in focus😇

Tested the macro lens on a Philodendron squamiferum today, normally I only use macro for my shrimp aquariums.
I tried the led-light ring, as one can see in picture 2, works nice for plants and bugs and basically anything above water. In aquariums the led ring makes reflections, so it’s easier without.

Taken with my iPhone 17 pro and macro lens.

Last picture is just for size reference🙃

I just got my 100mm ultra lens. I have an iPhone 17 pro.
Unfortunately I somehow didn’t manage to put the 100x microscope one in the cart🙈 It would have been great for babies and eggs😁

Some of these are in quite dark places, under roots quite far into the aquarium.
A copepod on a piece of soil- it’s supertiny and quite far in.
Also, taking pictures in aquarium isn’t always easy, and I keep the lights rather dimmed. I don’t like to disturb my inhabitants until I am better with the camera and lenses😇😂

Two last picture is for reference- to show how tiny the shrimp on the brick are. The one with my finger is without any lens, and you get a feeling of how difficult it is to take pictures in a dimmed aquarium. The last picture is reference on size, but it also shows that the the lens makes the colours better and the quality is better.
I think I can reach atleast 15 cm into the aquarium with the 100 mm ultra lens, so I really appreciate that😁

I might try it on some plants/orchids one day. It is probably awesome in daylight/sunlight considering how impressive it is in aquariums😁👏🏻

Didn’t quite know if I should put shrimp or showing off as label😇

I used to have a small rack with some aquariums in my laundry room. Earlier this year I finally got a bigger rack with room for more shrimp aquariums.
I like the new setup with air and equipment is more hidden. And, of course, room for more aquariums🤩👏🏻
Last picture is my old setup, I somehow always ended up having an aquarium or two on the bench🙈
Yeah, and Gizmo, because I just love him and he’s supervising my shrimp room😇

Apexel macro zoom 10-20x
iPhone 13 mini
Camera app, no editing

I got asked for videos with the macro lens, I haven’t any with my iPhone 17pro.
But I have these of two shrimps molting and a Pygmy Cory egg hatching from my iPhone mini.

Normally I find it easier to film than take pictures, but the mini didn’t have very good quality on videos. So I will test with my phone in a week when I’m home from vacation😁