I baked this tart while on vacation at The White Mansion. This is a remake tough. I thought of adding almonds and maple syrup on top after I tasted it.
I prefer not to bake the peaches with the tart dough, especially since they are in season and full of sweet juices. You don’t want that juice to evaporate, right? But with only the fruit on top, the tart looks naked. Just a drizzle of maple syrup and a handful of raw almonds make all the difference.
Some like it fudgy, some like it cakey. Some add walnuts, some don’t. Some prefer thin slices, some like it thick. No matter which, I believe every baker has a favorite brownie recipe of his own.
For instance, according to Dorie, Julia Child prefers them dark, fudgy and soft, whereas Katharine Hepburn likes them thin and chocolaty, prepared without much flour.
I like mine somewhere in between. Moist but definitely not gooey. And of course, intensely chocolaty. As far as nuts go, I prefer my brownie batter without them.
I confess. I used to hate Bodrum. Yes, I hated the city synonymous with perfect summer weather and magnificent coves. It was before The White Mansion with the cheerful cook existed.
My first visit to Bodrum was right after I graduated from high school. To reward us for our year-long hard work for the university entrance exam, our school crammed us in a bus and shipped us to its summer camp in Bodrum. After a 15-hour ride, we were welcomed by the vicious superintendent, the beige color of the sea and rooms that smelled damp. The camp’s cove was wide open to winds, which made the sand rise all the time and turned the beautiful blue color to that hideous beige. We had no choice but to escape every night and spend countless hours of booze and dance, until the deafening music killed all our senses. A week later, I returned home and never went back.
