Baking my way through writer's block...

Hazelnut Pound Cake with a Nutella Ribbon

Writer's block sucks.  I've been back from London for 10 days now, and am still "stuck" on what to write about.  There's no shortage of stories to tell, or topics to discuss - it's simply a matter of the words not coming.  I think I'm just over-thinking the whole thing.  Trying too hard and getting absolutely nowhere.

My whole routine has been slightly off kilter for the last couple of weeks.  Hubby has been gone on a couple of business trips and his absence has been very noticeable.  During the first trip, I was simply enjoying a bunch of "me" time - enjoying the silence in the house and being able to do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted.  If I felt like having a bowl of popcorn for dinner, I could.  Then I was off on my own excursion to the UK, discovering a whole new world full of people who are just as nuts about food as I am.  He arrived home while I was away, and got to enjoy some alone time of his own.  I returned a few days later and had just a few hours to spend with him before it was time for bed and right back to work the next day.  A word of advice: if you ever take and insanely short trip overseas and think you can handle going straight back to work 14 hours after you come home, you're wrong.  Don't do it.  Take a day off to figure out which continent you're on, do some laundry and just enjoy the post-holiday glow (something which wears off alarmingly fast at the office).  By Sunday, hubby was back on a plane and I was home alone again.  However, this time the house just felt... vacant.  All of the things he does around the house are now all on my plate, and the bed feels lop-sided with just me in it.  Sure, a couple of times I've let the dogs sleep on the bed with me, but I only wake to find myself pinned under two 60 pound dogs, clinging for dear life to edge of the mattress despite the fact that the bed is emptier than normal.  {sigh}  I miss my hubby...

Several times I have sat down at the computer to write a post, but it's like wading through wet cement.  Finally, I decided that I needed to get back in the kitchen (popcorn for dinner is only fun for so long).  I hadn't baked much since being home either - like I said, my whole routine is out of whack.  So, I shook it off and flipped through a couple of cookbooks for inspiration.  I settled on Toasted Hazelnut Pound Cake from Regan Daley's In the Sweet Kitchen - the first cookbook I ever sat down and read cover-to-cover, and still one of my favourites.  I put my favourite playlist of French music on the iPod (something else that always seems to help when I need inspiration) and got to work.

I happened to have a bag of hazelnut flour in the pantry, saving me the step of skinning and grinding up all those nuts, which was nice.  I didn't have any hazelnut oil though - something the book said was recommended, but not essential for the recipe.  Oh well - next time.  The batter was pretty straightforward and came together beautifully.  I did switch up the baking pan and the recipe a bit though.  Rather than baking it in a round spring-form pan, I baked it in my springform tube pan and added a generous swirl of Nutella through the middle of the batter.  Gorgeous smells were coming from the oven in no time - I just needed to be patient and wait for it to cool.  When it finally did cool enough for me to slice into, what did I see but a nice "smile" of chocolate-hazelnutty goodness in the middle of my cake.

Smile!

If you like hazelnuts, you will absolutely love this cake.  It's a bit lighter than a traditional pound cake, but toasty and nutty and moist, with a lovely crisp crust.  I will be baking this one again - and probably very soon.  I even picked up a bottle of hazelnut oil for next time - I can't wait to see how it enhances the flavour.

Delectable cake baked and tasted.  Pictures taken.  Post written.  I think I may just have finally broken through the wall.  Whew!

*A word about my new recipe format:  while I've always tried to list both metric and imperial measurements in the recipes I post, I've decided to change the layout to make it a bit easier to read - especially for the metric cooks out there.  It's not that the old-fashioned American cooks out there don't matter, but you are seriously outnumbered here.  C'mon already!  It really is time to get on board with the whole metric system like the rest of the planet.

Hazelnut Pound Cake (with Nutella Ribbon)

next time...

Adapted from In the Sweet Kitchen by Regan Daley

Ingredients:

240g   hazelnut flour (finely ground hazelnuts)  1 1/2 Cups

201g   sugar   1 Cup

226g   unsalted butter, room temperature   1 Cup

100g   light brown sugar   1/2 Cup

4 large eggs, room temperature 

10ml   vanilla   2 tsp

284g   all-purpose flour   2 Cups

13g   baking powder   2 1/2 tsp

3g   salt   1/2 tsp

125ml   heavy whipping cream   1/2 Cup

15ml   hazelnut oil*   1 Tbsp

*optional, but recommended by chef

180g   Nutella   3/4 Cup

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350˚F and place rack in centre position of oven.  Butter a 9-inch tube pan or round springform pan, and set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine all purpose flour, hazelnut flour, baking powder and salt.  Whisk together, or sift ensuring there are no clumps.  Set aside.
In bowl of a standing mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and both sugars until pale & fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, making sure to mix well after each addition.  Stir in the vanilla.
Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated.  Pour in 1/2 of the cream, and mix on low speed to combine.  Mix in another 1/3 of dry ingredients, followed by the remaining cream, as well as hazelnut oil if you are using it.  Finally, mix in final third of dry ingredients and mix just until no traces of white remain.
In a bowl, gently warm the Nutella in the microwave for about 10-15 seconds, until it is just fluid enough to pour.
Pour approximately 1/2 of the batter into the prepared baking pan and spread evenly.  Pour a ribbon of Nutella over the centre (if using a tube pan, or in two concentric rings if using a round springform pan) of the first layer of batter, making sure to distribute it as evenly as possible.  Pour remaining cake batter on top of Nutella and even out the batter with an off-set spatula.  Make sure that no Nutella is peeking out anywhere - if it is, gently spread some of the batter over it to cover.
Bake for 60 minutes, or until the top springs back lightly when pressed.  Remove from oven and run a paring knife around the edge of the pan to release the cake.  Invert cake onto a wire rack and allow to cool for 20-30 minutes.
Well wrapped, the recipe says this cake keeps well for up to 5 days if refrigerated.  Kept on the counter at the office, it lasts about 2 hours before it's completely gone.

Happy Baking!


22 June 2010

RECIPE UPDATE:  I have since made this cake again, but this time I added the recommended hazelnut oil along with about 50g of flax seeds (see, now it's "healthy"! *wink* *wink*).  Let me just say that a) toasted hazelnut oil smells *amazing*, I could just sit there and sniff at it all day; and b) the added taste of the hazelnut oil is wonderful, it just adds a bit more depth to the toasty nuttiness.  Suddenly I am reminded of a line from one of my favourite movies, Rataouille (quel surprise), where Remy is tasting some food with his brother Emile...
     Remy:     Are you detecting a certain oaky nuttiness?
     Emile:     Oh, I'm detecting nuttiness alright...
Hahahaha - so cute!  I love that movie!

So, while you don't necessarily need the hazelnut oil, it's quite nice to have it in there.

Enjoy!

Nutella Biscotti

Growing up, Sis and I were probably considered luckier than most kids.  You see, when Mom went grocery shopping and bought cereal, she always allowed my sister and I to each choose one box of the "good" cereal.  You know, like Froot Loops, Lucky Charms, Franken-Berry, Count Chocula, or the mouth-shreddingly good, Cap'n Crunch.

Even today, my sister is a total and complete cereal addict.  To this day, she will happily have a bowl of cereal at any time of day - even for dinner if she doesn't feel like cooking.  As for me - sure I like cereal just fine, but I was always fascinated by the kids on the TV commercials who got to have Nutella for breakfast.  I mean c'mon!  It's chocolate on bread!  For breakfast!  How awesome is that?!?  To this day they still market it as "...part of a tasty balanced breakfast", yet Mom seemed to draw the line at Cap'n Crunch.  It would be many years later before I finally had my first taste of Nutella, and it was well worth the wait.

Now that I am all grown up, I can have Nutella for breakfast any time I want to (though I usually have some yogurt and a really good cup of coffee), but it still feels more like a dessert spread to me than breakfast food.  For this month's Nutella Challenge, hosted by Paula at bell'alimento, however, I am bringing this hazelnut-chocolate spread back to the breakfast table with Nutella Biscotti.  Technically, biscotti is a cookie and not breakfast, but it is meant to be served with coffee, and that first cup of the day is always my favourite.

I found this recipe in a new cookbook I recently picked up: The Art & Soul of Baking by Cindy Mushet for Sur la Table - this book has recently picked up an IACP Award and was nominated for a James Beard Award.  Cindy's book is filled with a tonne of fantastic recipes, lots of step-by-step photos for different techniques, plus most recipes also have little sidebars of tips and tricks titled "what the pros know" and "getting ahead" tips for making recipes in advance.  One of the things that drew me to the recipe, aside from the use of Nutella, is that she describes these twice-baked Italian biscuits as having a slightly softer texture than traditional biscotti.  I love that idea, as so often biscotti can be rock hard when dry, only to crumble and break off when you dunk them in your coffee - and that ain't a pretty thing to find in the bottom of your cup.  These turned out perfect in my opinion: a nice firm, crunchy texture, but they completely hold together when you dunk them.  Delicious.  One change I did make to this recipe was that I used Lindt's Fleur de Sel Chocolate in place of just regular bittersweet chocolate.  Mostly because I love the depth of flavour that the sea salt brings to Lindt's silky, rich chocolate, and I thought it would be a nice addition in these cookies, and I was very pleased with the results.  Cindy also says you can substitute any type of nuts you want in this recipe, but since I was making her Nutella variation, I decided to stick with the classic hazelnut.

Nutella Biscotti with Hazelnuts and Chocolate
The Art and Soul of Baking by Cindy Mushet


Ingredients:
1/2 Cup (113g or 1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 Cup (134g) granulated sugar
1/2 Cup (172g) Nutella, at room temperature
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 3/4 Cups (390g) all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 Cup (75g) hazelnuts, skinned, toasted & roughly chopped
1 Cup (180g) chopped dark chocolate


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350˚F and position rack in the centre of the oven
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or in a medium bowl with a handheld mixer), cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the Nutella and mix until fully combined.  With the mixer on medium-low speed, add the eggs, one at a time, until well blended, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture all at once, and mix on low speed until there are no more patches of flour visible.  Add the chopped hazelnuts and chocolate, and mix on low until incorporated.  Remove the bowl from the mixer and mix the dough by hand, using a rubber spatula, to evenly distribute the nuts and chocolate.
Divide the dough in half, and turn out onto a lightly floured surface.  Gently squeeze and roll the dough into a log about 13 inches long.  Transfer to a parchment lined cookie sheet, and gently press down and flatten the rolls until they are about 2 inches across on the top.  Repeat with the second half of the dough, allowing 4 inches of space between the logs.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the logs are firm to the touch and lightly golden brown.
Transfer logs to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely (if you slice the cookies while they are still warm, the chocolate will smear and you'll have ugly biscotti).
Reduce oven temperature to 275˚F, and position 2 racks in the oven, dividing the oven into thirds.
Once the logs have completely cooled, using a sharp, serrated knife, slice the logs on a slight diagonal into individual cookies about 3/8 thick (I sliced mine much thicker).  Place the sliced biscotti, cut side down, onto two parchment lined cookie sheets and place them back in the oven for another 30-40 minutes, rotating the cookie sheets about halfway through.  The biscotti should be dry and lightly golden brown.
Transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
These cookies will keep in an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to 2 months... that's assuming they don't all get eaten right away.

The Fastest Dessert You WIll Ever Make

Recently, I received a flattering invite from the fabulous Mardi at Eat.Live.Travel.Write., asking me to join in the fun for Hay Hay its Donna Day.  Denise at ChezUs, who organizes this monthly challenge group) announced Mardi had won April's HHDD event, and therefore gets to host May's challenge, and she selected Blackberry Cheesecake Pots.  It wasn't a hard decision to join in the fun - I love cheesecake (or pretty much anything with cream cheese) and I love blackberries - it's a win-win situation!

I will admit, I've seen Donna Hay Magazine on the racks at the bookstore, but I've never picked one up.  I think it's because I've heard she's been referred to as the Aussie Martha Stewart, and, well, I'm kinda Martha'd out  (don't get me wrong, there are a tonne of wonderful ideas in her magazines, and I admire her shrewd business-sense, but I just wish she'd give more credit to her talented staff and ease up a bit).  Shame on me for judging Donna so quickly on such a comparison, inflicted on her by others.  I've learned my lesson though; now that I've tried out one of her recipes, I think I'll have to pick up a copy and give her a shot.  For one thing, this is definitely the quickest recipe I have ever made!  I swear, it takes longer to scoop out a bowl of ice cream - "I don't have time, so I'll just pick up a dessert at the grocery store" has now become nothing more than a weak excuse.  It's also delicious, and ridiculously versatile - you could make this recipe with just about any seasonal fruit you happen to have on hand.  In fact, once I discovered that this dessert took longer to read than in did to make, I proceeded to whip up another batch using the bright red strawberries I had on hand - and it was equally delicious.

So then I got to thinking, what if you didn't happen to have any fruit on hand?  Or what if you weren't in a fruit-dessert kinda mood?  Well, a quick trip to the grocery store for more cream cheese and I was ready to rock in my cheesecake pot extravaganza.

First up (actually third up at this point), was my no-fresh-fruit-on-hand scenario.  I added a 1/2 Cup (125g) of cherry jam to the cheesecake base mixture.  The result?  YUM.  It's absolutely delectable and has a much more intense fruit flavour than the fresh fruit versions.

Finally, I went ahead with the not-in-a-fruity-kind-of-mood scenario, and replaced the fresh fruit or jam with 1/2 Cup (125g) of Nutella.  Another tasty flavour option has been discovered.  mmmmmm....good stuff.  If you're one of the few people on the planet that don't love the taste of Nutella, you can switch it out for an equal amount of room temperature chocolate ganache, and you'll end up with a lovely 5-minute chocolate cheesecake.

So if you find yourself in a pinch because of last minute dinner guests, or you just want to enjoy a fabulous dessert that takes little to no effort, then this is the recipe for you.  You can whip this up as soon as you receive the phone call or walk through the door, and it can firm up in the fridge while you cook and enjoy your dinner.  Voilà!  Elegant dessert is served!

Oh - and if you really want to see how to turn this into a dessert that will wow your guests, head on over to Jamie's blog Life's A Feast... yes it took her more than 5 minutes to prepare, but it was definitely time well spent!

So here you go: simple, elegant, delicious and ridiculously quick to prepare:

Donna Hay's Name-Your-Flavour Cheesecake Pots
serves 4, but is very easily doubled

Ingredients:
1 Cup (250g) cream cheese
1/4 Cup (55g) superfine sugar (aka "berry sugar" in Canada)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 Cup (60ml) whipping cream
and 1/2 Cup (125g) of any one of the following:

• fresh or frozen berries of your choice
• jam or fruit preserves
• chocolate ganache (room temp)
• Nutella (room temp)

Directions:
In the bowl of a food processor, blend cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and cream together until smooth.  Add in about 1/2 of the berries and process until just crushed, using 1-second pulses.  Spoon into 4 small 1/2 cup dishes and refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm.  Serve with remaining fresh berries.

Give this recipe a try and let me know what flavour you made!

Happy Pie Day!

23 eggs

1.6 kg of butter

7 lemons

400 g of chocolate

800 g of Saskatoons

600 g Nutella

1.2 kg flour

500 g sugar

14 pies for Pi Day

(for those of you questioning my sanity, you're not alone...)

Pi Day is finally here!  Yes, it is officially a day observed by math geeks around the world (I use the term "geek" with nothing but affection - I consider myself to be a food geek), but I don't see any reason why a lousy "e" should keep me from observing the day in my own way.  Interestingly enough there is an actual National Pie Day in the US, on January 23rd (raise your hand if you missed it, too), as declared by the American Pie Council (raise your hand again, if you didn't know there was an American Pie Council).  Well, I'm a Canadian girl and in Canada we don't have a national pie council to speak of, so, just as we celebrate our Thanksgiving in October instead of November like our neighbours to the south, I figure Canadian Pie Day should be March 14th.  Any objections?  No...?  Alrighty then, I hereby declare March 14th as Canadian Pie Day.  But whatever your nationality, you're invited to celebrate along with us.

So in honour of 3.14, I baked a variety of pie shells in many sizes; treats to package up and give to friends and co-workers.  Ironically enough, I ended up with a total of 14 pie shells, so I thought it only fitting that I make 3 types of pie; Nutella Tart,  a Lemon Meringue (hubby's favourite) and Saskatoon Pie.   The Nutella Tart is a recipe I've had my eye on for a while - ever since I bought my copy of Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé, written by Dorie Greenspan.  The idea of an entire tart with the taste of chocolate and hazelnuts had my mouth watering as soon as I turned the page, and as luck would have it, I had a nice big jar of Nutella in my pantry.

For the Lemon Meringue pie, I decided to switch things up a bit after thumbing through Dorie Greenspan's Baking.  If you've ever been disappointed by a store-bought lemon meringue pie that was nothing but rubbery meringue covering a transluscent, but tasteless yellow gelatine, then this is the lemon pie recipe you've always dreamed of.  "The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart" is nothing short of lemon luxury.  She writes about Pierre Hermé's Lemon Cream - his take on the traditional lemon curd most of us know and love.  I was intrigued by her description of the taste as well as the preparation method, and decided this was the perfect opportunity to test drive it.  Well, let me put it this way;  I made one batch of lemon cream (enough for a 23 cm/9 inch tart shell), and after licking the spoon completely clean, immediately whipped up a second batch.  It is deliciously light and super lemon-y.  I still decided to top a few of the smaller tarts with meringue, and leave a couple of them unadorned.  I'm interested to see which one everyone prefers.

Finally, I happened to have a couple of bags of Saskatoons in the freezer from my trip to the u-pick berry farm last summer, which is great, since we are many months away from this year's harvest.  If you've never had Saskatoons, you're not alone; they're indigenous to western Canada, and nearly impossible to find outside that area; even my uncle in Toronto, tells me how much he misses Saskatoon pie every summer.  They have a wonderful and very unique taste to them, not really like any other fruit; mildly tart, reminiscent of purple grapes, but with a distinctive almond aftertaste.  They're very similar in appearance to blueberries, but have a chewier texture.  Ultimately, they're delicious and very popular in the summertime; jams, pies, ice cream, syrup, smoothies, even sparkling wine are made using these unique berries.  If you ever find yourself in the Canadian Prairies in late summer, you shouldn't have trouble finding something saskatoon.

Saturday, I spent making batch after batch of pie pastry and blind-baking an assortment of sizes and shapes of shells to fill with these tasty fillings.  Even in their naked state, the smell of flour & butter baked into golden shells filled the entire house with their fragrance; a fragrance I happen to love.  I also dove right into making the Lemon Cream, since it needs to chill and be poured into the shells right before serving.  Sunday morning I woke up to the lingering smell of bright, juicy lemons, so I donned my apron and got to work combining berries with sugar, lemon juice and just a hint of cardamom, and mixing bowls of melted chocolate with so much melted butter it should be illegal (seriously, don't even read the recipe if you're on a diet).  By the time hubby got out of bed for breakfast, there was no room to eat at the kitchen table; it was covered with desserts, cookbooks, camera and laptop.  We carefully reconfigured everything to allow enough room for coffee cups and a backgammon board so I could take a little break and enjoy a bit of the morning with him, before getting back to my sugary witchcraft.

All that's left to do now is wrap up all the goodies and get them the heck out of my house - save for 1 medium lemon cream tart, 1 small saskatoon pie, and 1 mini nutella tartlette.... after all this work, I should at least get a taste.


Here are the recipes:
~~~
Pâte Brisée (Flaky Tart Pastry) from In the Sweet Kitchen by Regan Daley
makes enough pastry for one 10-11 inch tart shell

1 1/2 Cups (156g) all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 Cup (113g) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3-5 Tbsp (45-75ml) ice water

In a food processor, combine flour, salt & sugar.  Add the butter and using short pulses, cut in butter until the largest pieces are about the size of large peas.  Add the ice water through the feed tube, and pulse just until the dough comes together.  Stop the machine and feel the dough - it should hold together well when squeezed.  Add a little more water if dough feels too dry.  Be careful not to add too much water - or you'll end up with tough pastry.

Editor's note: Although it is recommended to press this into a disk, wrap and refrigerate before rolling out and placing in tart pan, I seem to have intermittent luck with shrinking pie dough.  So, I immediately press this dough directly into the tart pan, starting with the edges, and then fill in the bottom and smooth out the base by covering it with parchment paper and then running the flat side of my meat pounder over it.  Works every time.

Preheat oven to 375°F.  Line cover tart pastry with parchment paper and fill with pie weights.  Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the edges are just starting to colour and the bottom is starting to bake.  Remove weights and parchment and continue to bake for 10-12 minutes longer for a completely baked shell.






~~~
Nutella Tart from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé, written by Dorie Greenspan
makes one 9-inch tart

one pre-baked tart shell
2/3 Cup (200g) Nutella
400g dark chocolate, chopped
7 Tbsp (200g) unsalted butter
1 large egg, at room temperature and stirred with a fork
3 large egg yolks, at room temperature and stirred with a fork
2 Tbsp (30g) sugar
1 Cup (140g) hazelnuts, toasted, skinned and cut into large pieces

Centre a rack in the oven and preheat to 375°F.
Spread the Nutella evenly over the bottom of the tart crust and set aside while you make the ganache.
Melt the chocolate and the butter, each in separate bowls - either using a double-boiler or a microwave oven.  Allow them each to cool until they feel just warm to the touch (140°F on an instant-read thermometer is perfect)
Using a small whisk or rubber spatula, stir the egg into the chocolate, stirring gently in ever-widening circles and taking care not to beat any air into the ganache.  Little by little, stir in the egg yolks, and then the sugar.  Finally, still working gently, stir in the melted butter.  Pour the ganache over the Nutella in the tart shell.  Scatter the hazelnut pieces over the top.
Bake the tart for 11 minutes - that should be just enough time to turn the top of the tart dull, like the top of a cake.  The centre will shimmy if jiggled - that's just what it's supposed to do.  Transfer the tart to a cooling rack and allow it to cool for at least 20 minutes or until it reaches room temperature - the best temperature at which to serve it.

~~~
Lemon Cream from Baking by Dorie Greenspan
page 331, "The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart"(I consider this to be a understatement by Ms. Greenspan)

1 pre-baked 9-inch tart shell
1 Cup (201g) sugar
grated zest of 3 lemons
4 large eggs, room temperature
3/4 Cup (180ml) fresh lemon juice (4-5 lemons)
2 sticks plus 5 Tbsp (299g) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into tablespoon-sized pieces

Have an instant-read thermometer, a strainer and blender (preferred) or food processor at hand.  Bring a few inches of water to a simmer in a saucepan.
Put the sugar and the zest in a large, heatproof bowl that can be set over the pan of simmering water.  Off the heat, rub the sugar and zest together between your fingers until the sugar is moist, grainy and very aromatic.  Whisk in the eggs, followed by the lemon juice.
Set the bowl over the saucepan and start stirring with the whisk as soon as the mixture feels tepid to the touch - you must whisk constantly to keep the eggs from scrambling - you'll see that the mixture starts out light and foamy, then the bubbles will get bigger, and then, as it gets closer to 180°F, it will start to thicken and the whisk will leave tracks.  Heads up at this point - the tracks mean the cream is almost ready.  Don't stop whisking or checking the temperature, and have patience - depending on how much heat you're giving the cream, getting to 180°F can take as long as 10 minutes.
As soon as it reaches 180°F, remove the cream from heat and strain it into the container of the blender (or bowl of the food processor); discard the zest.  Let the cream stand, stirring occasionally, until it cools to 140°F, about 10 minutes.
Turn the blender to high (or turn on the food processor) and, with the machine running, add the butter about 5 pieces at a time.  Scrape down the sides of the container as needed, as you incorporate the butter.  Once the butter has all been added, keep the machine going - to get the light, airy texture of lemon-cream dreams, you must continue to blend the cream for another 3 minutes.  If your machine protests and it gets too hot, work in 1-minute intervals, giving the machine a little rest between beats.
Pour the cream into a container, press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface to create an airtight seal and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.  The cream will keep in the fridge up to 4 days  (HA! Not once you taste it, it won't!)
When you are ready to assemble the tart, just whisk the cream to loosen it and spoon it into the tart shell. Serve the tart immediately or chill until needed.

~~~
Saskatoon Pie
makes 1 deep-crust pie or 2 open-faced tarts

pre-baked pie or tart shell
6 Cups (750g) Saskatoons (thawed if frozen)
1 Cup less 1 Tbsp (185g) sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
3 Tbsp Minit Tapioca
1/8 tsp ground cardamom
2 tsp unsalted butter, room temperature

Preheat oven to 375°F and place rack in centre of oven.
In a large bowl, combine the berries with sugar, salt, lemon juice, zest, tapioca and cardamom.  Mix well until juices start to dissolve the sugar.  Don't be afraid to crush a few of the berries for a better texture in the pie.
Fill the tart shell with a heaping mound of the mixture (the berries will shrink considerably during baking).  Dot with butter, and bake for 25-35 minutes, until the berry mixture is bubbling.  Transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool for 30 minutes to an hour.  Serve warm with vanilla ice cream, or at room temperature with fresh whipped cream, lightly sweetened.
If you prefer a covered pie, fill the pre-baked pie shell with the berry mixture, top with second layer of pastry - either latticed, or vented to allow steam to escape.  Brush top crust with a beaten egg, and sprinkle lightly with sugar before baking.  Bake until crust is golden brown.  Cool and serve as above.