The Complete Canadian Living Baking Book: The Essentials of Home Baking

Roasted Heirloom Tomato Tart
The colour contrast of large red and small yellow tomatoes is striking. However, red tomatoes in differing sizes are also quite attractive.

8 red or striped heirloom plum tomatoes, about 11/4 lb (625 g)
1 cup yellow teardrop or cherry tomatoes, halved lengthwise (about 10 oz/300 g) (250 mL)
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (25 mL)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt (2 mL)
1/4 tsp pepper (1 mL)
Half batch Quick Puff Pastry or 1 sheet frozen butter puff pastry, thawed and cold (from 450 g pkg)
1 egg, beaten
1 cup shredded Gruyère cheese (250 mL)
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme or oregano (or 1/2 tsp/2 mL dried) (10 mL)

Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper or leave ungreased; set aside.

Cut red tomatoes crosswise into 1/2-inch (1 cm) thick slices. In bowl, gently toss together red and yellow tomatoes, oil, garlic, salt and pepper; spread on one of the prepared pans. Roast in 400°F (200°C) oven until slightly charred and shrivelled, about 30 minutes. Let cool. (Make-ahead: Refrigerate in airtight container for up to 1 day.)

On lightly floured surface, roll out pastry into 10-inch (25 cm) square; transfer to second pan. Using fork, prick pastry at 1-inch (2.5 cm) intervals all over; refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Bake pastry in centre of 400°F (200°C) oven until light golden and puffed, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool slightly.

Lightly brush pastry all over with some of the egg; sprinkle with cheese, leaving 1-inch (2.5 cm) border. Arrange red tomatoes in overlapping rows on cheese. Scatter yellow tomatoes over top; sprinkle with thyme.

Bake until golden and puffed, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes; cut into squares. Serve warm or at room temperature. (Make-ahead: Let cool. Cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day. Reheat in 350°F/180°C oven for 5 minutes.)

Makes 6 to 9 servings.

per each of 9 servings: about 303 cal, 8 g pro, 20 g total fat (8 g sat. fat), 24 g carb, 3 g fibre, 54 mg chol, 346 mg sodium. % RDI: 13% calcium, 14% iron, 16% vit A, 20% vit C, 8% folate.
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Lemon Cheesecake Bars
A middle cream cheese layer makes these a change — for the better — from the usual lemon squares.

4 eggs
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar (300 mL)
2 tbsp finely grated lemon rind (25 mL)
1/2 cup lemon juice (125 mL)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (50 mL)
1 tsp baking powder (5 mL)
1 tbsp icing sugar (15 mL)

Cheesecake Layer:
1 pkg (8 oz/250 g) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar (50 mL)
1 egg

Base:
30 lemon social tea cookies
1/2 cup butter, melted (125 mL)

Line 13- x 9-inch (3.5 L) metal cake pan with parchment paper or grease; set aside.

BASE: In food processor, whirl cookies to make 2 cups (500 mL) crumbs; pulse in butter until moistened. Press into prepared pan. Bake in centre of 325°F (160°C) oven until firm, about 12 minutes. Let cool in pan on rack.

CHEESECAKE LAYER: In bowl, beat cream cheese with sugar until smooth; beat in egg. Spread over base; set aside.

In bowl, beat eggs with sugar until thickened. Beat in lemon rind and juice, flour and baking powder until smooth; pour over cheesecake layer. Bake in centre of 325°F (160°C) oven until edges are set and lightly browned, about 35 minutes. Let cool in pan on rack. (Make-ahead: Remove from pan; wrap and refrigerate for up to 5 days or overwrap in heavy-duty foil and freeze for up to 1 month.) Cut into bars; dust with icing sugar.

Makes 60 bars.

PER BAR: about 71 cal, 1 g pro, 4 g total fat (2 g sat. fat), 9 g carb, 0 g fibre, 24 mg chol, 33 mg sodium. % RDI: 1% calcium, 1% iron, 4% vit A, 2% vit C, 2% folate.

Smooth, Even Fillings
Hold an offset or rubber spatula as parallel to the surface as possible as you spread the filling evenly over the base.

Cut Neat Bars and Squares
Let bars cool completely before cutting.
Lift uncut bars out of pan using parchment paper liner as handles.
Place on cutting board.
With long knife, trim off edges to neaten up.
A ruler is helpful so all pieces are the same size.
For 13- x 9-inch (3.5 L) metal cake pan, cut crosswise into quarters. Cut each quarter in half lengthwise, then cut crosswise into fifths to make 10 squares.
Keep a wet, wrung-out cloth handy to wipe knife clean between cuts.
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Quick Puff Pastry
Make your own puff pastry to use in any of the recipes that follow or buy the frozen butter puff pastry that is already rolled out into 10-inch (25 cm) squares.

1 cup cold unsalted butter (250 mL)
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour (400 mL)
3/4 tsp salt (4 mL)
1/3 cup cold water (75 mL)

Cut butter into 1/2-inch (1 cm) cubes; set aside 3/4 cup (175 mL) in refrigerator. In food processor, pulse flour with salt. Sprinkle remaining butter over top; pulse until indistinguishable, about 10 seconds. Sprinkle with reserved butter; pulse 4 or 5 times to cut into pea-size pieces.

Pour water evenly over mixture (not through feed tube). Pulse 6 to 8 times until mixture is loose and ragged (do not let form ball). Transfer to floured waxed paper; gather and press into rectangle. Dust with flour; top with waxed paper. Roll out into15- x 12-inch (38 x 30 cm) rectangle.

Remove top paper. Starting at long edge and using bottom paper to lift pastry, fold over one-third; fold opposite long edge over top, bringing flush with edge of first fold to make 15- x 4-inch (38 x 10 cm) rectangle. Starting from 1 short end, roll up firmly; flatten into 5-inch (12 cm) square. Cut in half; wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. (Make-ahead: Refrigerate for up to 5 days or freeze in airtight container for up to 2 weeks.)

Makes 1 lb (500 g).
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Crisp Seedy Cracker Bread
Truly an ancient form of bread, even without yeast, these crackling crackers add pizzazz to a bread basket. As you might imagine, they pair up beautifully with dips and spreads — and cheeses, too!

3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (approx) (925 mL)
1 tsp salt (5 mL)
1 1/2 cups water (375 mL)
1 egg white, beaten
1/3 cup sesame seeds or poppy seeds (75 mL)
1/2 tsp sea salt (2 mL)

Grease 2 rimless baking sheets; set aside.

In food processor, pulse 3 1/2 cups (875 mL) of the flour with salt until combined. With motor running, add water in steady stream until dough forms ball. Pulse in as much of the remaining flour as necessary, 1 tbsp (15 mL) at a time, until dough is no longer sticky. Whirl for 1 minute.

Turn out onto lightly floured surface; knead into ball. Cover with bowl or plastic wrap; let rest for 30 minutes.

Divide dough into 6 pieces. Leaving remaining pieces covered with plastic wrap, roll out 1 piece into very thin 14- x 9-inch (35 x 23 cm) rectangle; place on 1 of the prepared pans. Brush lightly with some of the egg white; sprinkle lightly with about one-sixth each of the sesame seeds and salt.

Bake in centre of 500°F (260°C) oven, turning baking sheet halfway through, until edges are browned and golden brown blisters appear all over, 7 to 9 minutes. Let cool on rack.

Repeat with remaining dough, egg white, seeds and salt. Break into long shards. (Make-ahead: Store in airtight container for up to 1 week.)

Makes about 48 pieces.

per piece: about 42 cal, 1 g pro, 1 g total fat (0 g sat. fat), 8 g carb, trace fibre, 0 mg chol, 66 mg sodium. % RDI: 4% iron, 10% folate.

Crisp Seedy Cracker Bread
Roll the dough as paper-thin as possible. It is still strong enough to lift onto a greased baking sheet. The thin layer of egg white pretty well anchors all of the seed topping. But do expect some sprinkles as you break the finished cracker bread into shards.