rookie_mistake tender_square if you put tarts in the oven before its reached temperature, the bottoms will burn. i justified this yesterday thinking i'd just keep a closer eye on things, what was the harm when it was cooking below where i needed it to be? alas, i didn't realize the oven pumps out a higher degree of inconsistent heat, in an effort to reach the level needed. luckily, my tarts weren't a total char show, but i did spend a good half hour grating their toasty bottoms in an effort to shave the browned bits off. 221221 ... epitome of incomprehensibility It's hard to know what things are and aren't finicky in cooking. I had cookies last year turn out way too crumbly because I mixed the ingredients in the wrong order. That's right - the order mattered, apparently. It was listed on the recipe, but not the consequences for messing up. That's the experiential part, the part that can't always be written down. 221222 what's it to you? who go blather from