Tuesdays With Dorie: Quick Classic Berry Tart

Lately I feel like I've lost my kitchen mojo. Does that ever happen to you? Suddenly, the things you used to be good at don't come as naturally. I knew I was in trouble when I couldn't crack an egg properly anymore. I've been fishing tiny specks of eggshell out of my cracked eggs for weeks now.

And every so often, a recipe will turn out not quite as expected. I think it happens when I get more concerned with following a recipe than trusting my own intuition.

This week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe, Quick Classic Berry Tart (chosen by Cristine of Cooking with Cristine), was, unfortunately, more of the same. Of course, there were the bits of eggshell needing to be fished out. But the main problem was the pastry cream, which I overcooked. It looked just fine last night, but after taking it out of the fridge today, it remained a solid, springy jelly. The flavour was still fantastic - like custard - but the texture was quite off-putting. Oh, and doesn't it look silly? Almost like scrambled eggs.

With a crumbly shortbread-like crust - more proof my kitchen mojo's gone on hiatus? - and slightly sour strawberries, this tart was not a winner. Perhaps I'll try it again when I get my mojo back! For the recipe, visit Cristina's blog. And feel free to check out the other participating bloggers, who I'm sure fared much better than I.