I absolutely love making fresh pie pastry and tart crusts at home. I go the way of the purists by using all butter, no shortening. I wish I was as dogmatic as those who seek to use lard, but I’m just not that determined. When I came across Paule Caillat’s no fuss recipe for tart crust at Food52, I was just as perplexed as David Lebovitz was on his own blog.

No worrying about chilled butter. Clear visual indication of when the dough has been properly mixed. No pie weights (or beans). What the hell kind of she-devil is this woman?

When plans to fill a tart with creme anglaise and fruit fell through, I opted for something more free form, taking the crust recipe to form long cookies, drizzling and dunking pieces in chocolate ganache, and serving them over a mint macerated berry salad with fresh whipped cream.

I’m admittedly not very creative when it comes to desserts or baked goods, but this was easy, light and turned out pretty elegant.