I’ve received a most kind request for some of the recipes used at the Ladies’ Luncheon my sister Audra hosted a couple weeks ago. While “vastly happy to oblige” (too much Pride and Prejudice-watching), I’m afraid I do not have in my keeping all the recipes used at the luncheon. Those for the Tartlets, Sour Cream Spice Cake and Danish Puff I do have, however, and I will post them here for those of you who are interested in making them to share with your own friends and family. For starters, here’s the recipe for Chocolate and Orange Cream Tartlets, adapted from King Arthur Flour’s Baker’s Companion. Enjoy!

Chocolate and Orange Cream Tartlets

Makes approximately 3 dozen tartlets

For the Chocolate and Orange Pastry Cream* (see note at bottom)

Ingredients:
3 cups (24 ounces) whole milk
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) evaporated cane juice crystals (or granulated sugar)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup (1 1/4 ounces) cornstarch
1 tablespoon (1/4 ounce) unbleached all-purpose flour
4 large egg yolks
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick, or 2 ounces) butter
1/2 cup (3 ounces) chopped bittersweet dark chocolate
1 1/2 tablespoons orange zest
1 cup (8 ounces) heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks

Directions:
1. In a medium-sized saucepan, stir together 2 1/2 cups of the milk, the sugar and the salt. Bring this mixture to a boil over medium heat. Meanwhile, whisk together the cornstarch, flour and egg yolks with the remaining 1/2 cup of milk.
2. Whisk some of the boiling milk mixture into the egg mixture, the pour the egg mixture into the remaining milk mixture in the saucepan. Return to medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 30 seconds. Remove from heat and strain through a fine sieve into a large heat-safe bowl. Stir in the butter and vanilla extract.
3. Place half of the pastry cream in a second heat-safe bowl. Add the chocolate pieces to one half of the pastry cream, stirring until melted and smooth. Stir the orange zest into the other half of the pastry cream. Press a piece of plastic wrap onto the surface of each bowl of pastry cream (to prevent a skin from forming on top). Refrigerate the pastry cream until thoroughly chilled.
4. When the pastry cream is chilled, fold half of the whipped cream into each flavor and return to the refrigerator until you’re ready to fill the tart shells.

For the Cream Cheese Tart Shells

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (4 ounces) cream cheese
8 tablespoons (1 stick, or 4 ounces) butter
1 teaspoon evaporated cane juice (or granulated sugar)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) whole wheat pastry flour (or 5 1/4 ounces unbleached all-purpose flour)
Mini muffin-cup pans

Directions:
1. Cream together the cream cheese, butter, sugar and salt until smooth. Add the flour and mix on low speed until the dough has formed a loose ball. Shape the dough into a round disk, 1 inch thick, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
3. Remove the dough from the fridge. If it’s been chilling for longer than one hour, you’ll want to let it warm up a bit before attempting to roll it out. Roll the dough into a circle, 1/8″ thick, rolling outward from the center, rotating the dough every couple of rolls. Use a round biscuit or cookie cutter to cut out approximately thirty-six 3″ circles (you’ll have to gather up the scraps and re-roll the dough a couple of times to get this many; if the dough gets too warm and sticky, place it in the freezer for a couple of minutes while the first batch of tart shells is baking). To quickly and easily transfer the circles of dough to the mini muffin-cup pans, cut a slit halfway through each circle; overlap the edges of the cut, forming a little cone; press a cone into each mini muffin-cup, making sure the seam is sealed.
4. Bake each batch of tart shells for 6-8 minutes, until golden brown. Let them cool slightly in the pans, then use a butter knife to gently transfer the shells to wire racks to cool completely. Store the shells in an airtight container until ready to fill with pastry cream.

To complete the tartlets

Ingredients:
Orange zest
Chocolate curls or fine shavings (curls just weren’t happening for us!)
1/2 cup whipped cream
Chilled pastry creams
Tart shells

Directions:
1. Fill each tart shell with approximately 1 tablespoon pastry cream, making half chocolate and half orange.
2. Spoon a tiny dollop of whipped cream on top of each tartlet, and sprinkle each with a pinch of orange zest or chocolate shavings.
3. Refrigerate the tartlets until you’re ready to serve them — and you’d better serve them sooner rather than later; I think they won’t keep for much more than an hour or two!

* Note: This makes more pastry cream than you’ll need to fill 36 tart shells. Double the tart shell recipe, if you wish… Or find another use for your extras. We used ours as the filling for Grandma Berge’s amazing recipe for chocolate crepes.