There are probably a couple of things I should tell you before you go on with the reading of this post. One: don’t hate me. Two: as I’m writing this live from a lounge chair, wearing my very favourite Burberry bikini.

Now, I know it’s not spring – let alone summer – yet, and the fact that some of my friends went skiing today should clearly prove me wrong, but something great is coming up. The air, the light. Everything just feels pretty pretty.

I’m busy. With life. With being happy.

My afternoons are lazily spent at the beach or in the mountains, sunbathing and dreaming about new entremets to make. A lovely dinner follows, after which I go to bed. Early. A few hours later, I wake up only to find my dreams have come true. Eight hours of pâtisserie. And I still feel excited and thrilled, just like I did on the very first day.

The nice sunny days that look upon us are definitely having an effect at the pâtisserie as well. Everyday, more and more refreshing pastries find their way out of the laboratoire. Fraisiers, macarons, entremets and… tartes.

Many beautiful fruit tarts. I love them. And I’m super*happy to be the one who gets to make them.

Amongst my favourites you’ll find the superb tarte aux framboises [raspberry tart] and the tarte tutti frutti [mixed fruits tart].
Both are a delight to make. I just love to arrange to fruits on top of a fluffly crème légère (vanilla crème pâtissière, lightened with whipped cream, sooo soft and fragrant), and see the colourful patterns become real.

The tarte aux framboises

The first time I made this, I almost cried from despair. My tart was anything but sweet. My chef even asked if the icing-sugar-dusted raspberries were rotten because they definitely looked a lot like it.

The crust was ok. But then, how could it not be?
The crème légère tasted delicious. Just as it does every morning.
But the raspberries! It might seem easy to arrange them into an neat pile, almost effortless; but trust me, it is not. Luckily, I think I got it right on my second try.

Now, I should really show you the tartes framboises individuelles (one serving tarts), which look so damn cute it hurts. Soon. Soon.

The tarte tutti frutti

Here again, things are a little more complicated than they might come out. This tart should look good from every angle. Three hundred and sixty degrees of them.

And, in order to achieve this, I strongly think there is only one thing you can do. Proceed with a method. First the strawberries, then the apricots, then the kiwis and the pineapple. And finally, the raspberries. Easy peasy, right?

This is it for now. The palmier [palm tree] that sits in front of my bedroom is calling my name. As for the rest of the week, well… working, sunbathing and a baguette bake-off with my sweetest friend Amanda!

Posted by fanny who loves berries, CAP pâtissier, french riviera, pascal lac, summer, tartes and pies, tropical fruits, words