HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

For Valentine’s Day, I decided to do something elegant and beautiful but not in the vein of the traditional lover’s day treats. I wanted to create something light, joining the opposing forces of sweet and tart, presented on a bed of flakey crust that would pair seamlessly with a glass of champagne.

And after my recent trip to San Francisco to work on the cookbook manuscript, I felt it was perfect that I drew my inspiration from the painting of Blackberries, 1813, by Raphaelle Peale.

Raphaelle Peale, 1774-1825
Blackberries, 1813
Oil on Wood Panel, 18.4 x 26 cm
de Young Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco
First American Still Life Painter

BLACKBERRY SABLES

Serves 4

For the Sables:

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons glutinous white rice flour

¾ cup cornstarch
1/2 cup +2 tablespoons tapioca flour
¼ cup sorghum flour or gluten free oat flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 knife points of kosher salt
1 ½ teaspoons guar gum
16 tablespoons cultured unsalted butter
3 eggs

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the dry ingredients with the cultured butter and mix until the butter is the size of small peas. Add the eggs and mix just until the dough folds in on itself.

Using a plastic pastry scrapper, turn the dough out onto a clean counter that has been dusted with glutinous rice flour.

Knead with the palm of your hand several times until you have a leather smooth ball. Divide the dough into two sections, quickly shape each section into a semi-flat disk, and wrap tightly with cellophane.

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before rolling out the dough and up to three days or freeze for three weeks.

For this recipe, you will only need one disk of the dough, so store the second disk for your purposes.

If you don’t have a stand mixer, make the dough thusly:

Mix all the dry ingredients in a spacious bowl with a few turns of a whisk. Add the diced cultured butter and begin to cut it in with a pastry cutter, using a butter-knife to clean out the spokes when necessary. Repeat until the mix resembles a heap of damp, engorged seeds. Whisk the eggs and fold them in using two plastic pastry scrappers. Keep folding until you have a firm, somewhat sticky ball of dough.

Turn the dough onto a very clean surface that has been lightly dusted with glutinous rice flour and follow the above instructions.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a cookie sheet with a silicon-baking mat.

Roll out your dough on a counter dusted with glutinous rice flour and then take your 3” heart shaped cookie cutter and cut out 12-3” hearts.

Perforate the tops of the cookies with a wooden skewer. Transfer the cookies to the cookie sheet and bake for 8 minutes. The cookies are done when they just barely take on color.

For the Creme Anglaise:

Makes about 2 1/2 cups creme anglaise.

2 1/2 cups fresh blackberries
1 tablespoon water
6 egg yolks
1 cup granulated sugar
2 cups whole milk

In a non-reactive saucepan, heat the blackberries with the tablespoon of water and 1/4 cup of the sugar. Cook the berries down for 15 minutes. The berries will loose their color and begin to break down. Pass the berries through a fine-mashed sieve, pressing on the fruit to release the juices. Whisk in 1/4 cup of sugar to the reserved the juice. Set aside.

Now heat the milk until just before the boil. Whisk the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar into the egg yolks. Measure out 2/3 cup of the blackberry syrup and whisk it into the egg yolks. Temper the egg yolks with the warm milk, whisking the entire time. Return the creme to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until it coats the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from the heat and transfer to a glass bowl.

For the Filling:

Makes 1 1/2 cups whipped cream.

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/3 cup sifted confectioner’s sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups fresh blackberries

In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream until it begins to hold very soft peaks. Add the confectioner’s sugar and the vanilla and continue to mix until firm. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a #21 Wilton stainless steel pastry tip.

To Assemble:

Take one of your sable cookies and pipe the chantilly cream along the perimeter of the cookie. Pipe a dollop in the center of the cookie. Now fill the heart with four to five blackberries. Now take a second cookie and pipe cream on the bottom of the cookie. Gently press the cookie on top of the blackberries, being careful to line the cookie up with the first one. Repeat with the above instructions. Top the second tier with a third cookie. Carefully pour about 1/3 cup of the creme anglaise around the sable and serve with champagne and a mixture of blackberries and raspberries.

Photos by Knoxy of Knox Photographics