Learning Experience - Strawberry Orange Tart

I have a love-hate relationship with cornstarch.  On one hand, it can help thicken a creamy pudding, or substitute for cake flour.  On the other, it's grainy when overcooked and grainy when undercooked, and I can't quite tell the difference between the two types of grainy.  Luckily, I found out in this pastry cream that 1) grainy pastry cream is less noticeable partnered with sweet tart crust and soft strawberries and 2) the graininess actually seems to dissolve after a day in the refrigerator.  Still, cornstarch is something I will play with cautiously.  

The other components of this dessert, however, seemed to work.  I borrowed Smitten Kitchen's Great Unshrinkable Sweet Tart Shell recipe, which requires close attention to detail.  And a food processor, which I do not have.  The foil that lines the inside of the crust must be pressed a little bit into the frozen crust in order for the crust side not to collapse, but where I did manage it, the crust was perfectly browned and sturdy.  This is another point about the crust; I actually prefer the folding method from Chez Pim's One Pie Dough to Rule Them All.  Although the Unshrinkable is sweet and sturdy, it leans towards cookie territory when I make it.  Next time, I would use the Unshrinkable recipe and the Lord of Pie (I love LOTR so much...) method, which is similar to puff pastry.  I have essentially tossed both recipes in a bowl and folded until they're evenly blended, and splashed in some metaphorical vanilla, to boot.

The strawberries, although oddly huge, were delightful.  Organic, sweet, flavorful from the farmer's market, the sugar was almost unnecessary.  I liked this, though, because the maceration resulted in a lovely strawberry syrup that worked its way into a lemon-orange cream later along the way. 

The pastry cream recipe was from Dessert First's beautiful strawberry tarts.  Aside from the cornstarch fiasco (my own curse....), it was delicious, and the perfect base for a touch of orange zest, which I strained out before cooling it for the tart.  I made about ¾ the recipe, which was about perfect.  I still have issues with pastry cream, curd and generally custard-like items being runny, but I think I just have issues with sweet items cooked on the stove.  Caramel, I can do.  Ice cream custards, just fine.  Anything else... shall we say, a work in progress...

Fresh strawberries, indulgent pastry cream, crisp pastry!

Strawberry-Orange Tart adapted from Smitten Kitchen, Chez Pim and Dessert First

Makes 1 9" or 10" round tart

Tart Crust adapted from Smitten Kitchen and Chez Pim

Ingredients

1½ cups all-purpose flour

¼ cup sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

9 tablespoons (1 stick + 1 tablespoon) cold butter (salted or unsalted, your choice)

1 egg (I use large)

Egg white for glazing (optional)

Equipment

1 large mixing bowl

1 butter knife

OR 1 food processor (I don't have one)

¼ teaspoon measure

¼ cup dry measure

½ cup dry measure

1 cup dry measure (optional if you can count to 3)

A refrigerator and a freezer

Hard, flat surface for the dough + rolling pin (optional)

9" or 10" round tart pan + aluminum foil to wrap the inside of the crust

Butter to grease the pan and foil 

Fork to prick the crust

Pastry brush or small spoon to glaze (optional)

Directions

1. Cut the butter into small pieces and put back in the fridge.  In the large bowl, mix the flour, sugar and salt.  Toss in the butter pieces and quickly rub into the dry ingredients until you have large flakes of butter, about the size of beans.  Crack the egg directly into the bowl and mix quickly, until the dough is vaguely cohesive.  Wrap the stuff in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, make the pastry cream.

If you have a food processor, lucky you!  Toss the butter and dry ingredients and whiz until you have chunks of butter the size of beans.  Add the egg and whiz a little more, until the dough is vaguely cohesive.  Wrap and refrigerate and proceed as usual.

2. Butter the tart pan.  Take the dough out and fold it in thirds.  Roll it out or press it down with your hand, then fold it in thirds the other way.  Pim has a great set of instructions and photos here.  If the dough becomes too soft at any point in time, pop it back in the fridge for about 30 minutes or so.  Once the dough is cohesive, roll it out or gently press it into the tart pan, prick it several times with a fork and freeze for at least 30 minutes.  The dough can keep for several days (possibly weeks, actually) in the freezer if wrapped well.  

3. Just before you take out the frozen dough, butter the foil.  Preheat the oven to 375°F.  Press the foil on top of the frozen dough, making sure to touch every bit of the tart crust.  The foil against the crust will work its magic, keeping the crust from falling down as it bakes.  Put it back in the freezer until the oven is at 375°F.  

4. Bake at 375°F for about 15 minutes.  At this point, remove the foil and continue to bake for another 5-10 minutes, or golden brown.  If you like, when the crust is done, you can brush the hot crust with egg white to help seal it and prevent it from getting soggy when it is filled.  

The white bits are the cooked egg white, but you actually don't notice the
egg once the tart is filled.  Except that the crust is perfectly crisp :)

Orange Pastry Cream adapted from Dessert First

Makes about 1 cup or so of pastry cream (enough for a thin layer in the tart)

Ingredients

¾ cup whole milk (I used ½ nonfat, ½ evaporated.  We're a strange family :))

3 tablespoons sugar

Small pinch salt

2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon cornstarch 

3 egg yolks

½ teaspoon vanilla

Zest from 1 orange (more or less) 

Equipment

1 small saucepan

1 rubber spatula

2-cup liquid measure

½ teaspoon measure

1 teaspoon measure

1 tablespoon measure

Strainer

1 small mixing bowl

Plastic wrap to cover the bowl 

Directions

1. In the saucepan on medium-low heat, heat the milk until it steams, stirring most of the time.  Meanwhile, in the 2-cup liquid measure, mix together the egg yolks, sugar, salt and cornstarch.  Once the milk is steaming, pour a little into the egg yolks and mix.  Pour in a little more and mix, then pour the whole egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened.  Yay, you have tempered eggs!

2. Take the custard off the heat.  Add the vanilla and orange zest and mix thoroughly.  Allow to steep until around room temperature.  This will take a while.  Go finish and bake the pastry crust, then mix the strawberries and do your laundry or clean the kitchen (not at the same time!) while you wait for both the pastry crust to chill and the pastry cream to cool. 

3. Strain the cooled custard into the bowl, then cover with plastic wrap and let it sit in the fridge until cold, around an hour or so.  

Macerated Strawberries

Makes, well, as many strawberries as you put in

Ingredients

15 (about 2 cups) massive strawberries, sliced (more if you have normal strawberries)

1 tablespoon sugar

Equipment

1 large mixing bowl

1 tablespoon measure

1 rubber spatula

Directions

1. Toss the strawberry slices with the sugar.  Allow to sit.  Sneak one, they're tasty :)

Some Assembly Required

Equipment

Flat surface for serving (I used a nice wooden cutting board)

Metal spatula or knife for spreading pastry cream

Spread the pastry cream in the tart shell.  Arrange the strawberry slices on top.  If you like, take an extra strawberry with the stem still on it, carefully slice not quite all the way through it several times, and gently fan it out to be a strawberry flower.  You can also sprinkle some white chocolate flakes on top for garnish.  Enjoy!

 

Pie Crust Conquered - Homemade Pop Tarts

After many, many weeks (time moves 3x faster once midterms are announced, doesn't it for you?), I finally get around to bringing you one of my favorite triumphs: pie crust.  Now, this is not a tart crust.  When I tried to use it for a purpose not meant to be, it slumped and shrank and fell fearfully, sinking to the bottom of the pie pan in defeat.  However, it was still delicious.  Light and flaky, crisp and shattering under your teeth with ample buttery flavor, it nonetheless supports a filling perfectly.  Deb of Smitten Kitchen brought us this recipe years ago, but I think it's another one worth writing about again.  Besides, the scraps of crust brought us these delightful beauties :)

Yes, this recipe as written only makes 5.  They're entirely worth the work.

Although the pie crust is simple (I now understand the meaning behind, easy as pie!), it does require some forethought and space.  And if you follow the recipe as originally written (double this recipe, except the sugar), it requires quite a bit of butter.  Luckily for me, I now live in an apartment on campus and have a clean, empty, reasonably non-wobbly table available, but for those of you who do not, a large cutting board works reasonably well.  Put a damp towel underneath to prevent slippage.  This crust is most well-behaved after about 45 minutes of refrigeration, so try to plan accordingly.  

I immediately fell for these layers.  How could you not...?!

Crust adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Makes about 1 9" round crust, or about 5 Pop Tarts

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup (1 stick) cold butter

½ large egg, beaten well (save the other half for the glaze)

1 tablespoon milk

Equipment

1 medium mixing bowl

1 rubber spatula

1 whisk (optional, but handy)

1 sturdy butter knife (for cutting the butter)

½ teaspoon measure

1 tablespoon measure

1 cup dry measure

Directions

1. In the mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt.  Cut the butter into about 16 slices and toss them into the bowl, coating with the flour mixture as you go.  With your hands, quickly break the pieces of cold butter apart, until you wind up with some pieces and some crumbs.  Add half of the beaten egg and the milk, then gently fold to make a cohesive dough.  It will come together rather reluctantly, but rest assured that the less you mess with it, the more tender and flaky the crust will come out.  If the butter in the dough softens at any point, toss it in the fridge for 15 minutes or so.  Once the dough just barely comes together, refrigerate it for about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, put together the filling.

Filling from Smitten Kitchen

Makes about 9 tablespoons

Ingredients

3/4 cup jelly of your choice

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon cold water

Equipment

1 small saucepan

1 rubber spatula 

2-cup liquid measure

1 tablespoon measure

Directions

1. In the saucepan, mix the cornstarch and water to form a slurry.  Add the jelly and mix completely, then bring to a boil.  Set aside.

 

Assembly

Equipment

Sturdy countertop

Small, sharp knife for pastry (the cleaner the cut, the flakier the pastry edges)

Pastry brush or small spoon for egg glaze)

The other half of the egg you were wondering what to do with when you made the dough

Fork for pressing the edges of pastry

Toothpick for pricking the pastry (optional) 

Baking sheet

Parchment paper for lining

Directions

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Make sure this sheet fits in your fridge!

2. Divide the dough in half, then roll out each half to be rectangular sheets.  Patience, young Padawan.  Eventually, yours too will be even and flat.  Cut the sheets into pairs of rectangles.  With the half batch of pie crust I made, I had 10 rectangles, plus scraps, equaling 5 pop tarts in the end.  

3. Brush a bottom crust with some egg, then about a tablespoon of filling.  Not too much filling, or it will squish out the sides.  Put a top crust on... the top.  With a fork, gently crimp the edges of the pastry.  Gently lay the whole pastry on the prepared sheet, then brush a little more egg on top.  Carefully poke the top of the pastry several times to prevent the blimp effect.

4. Repeat with the remaining rectangles, then put the whole thing in the fridge for about an hour.  With about 15 minutes to go (or however long your oven takes to preheat), preheat the oven to 350°F.

5. Once the pastries are cold, bake at 350°F for about 20 minutes, or until beautifully golden on the top and the whole kitchen (maybe the house) is fragrant with toasted butter.  Allow to cool on the sheet for 5 minutes, then let them cool completely on a wire rack.  Enjoy!

Sweet, lightly salty, crispy, perfect bites...!

Dedication - Almond Tarts

My best friend turned 21 yesterday.  Happy Birthday in Oregon! 

Earlier this semester, she kindly gave me a set of 12 tiny silicone baking cups.  Colorful and adorable, I had to wait until I had some free time to play with them and finally give them the attention they deserved.  These almond tarts are for her, requiring her patience and thoughtfulness to put together and bake.  They also borrow a little of her creativity, made entirely from scraps of leftover dough.  Once I post the second yogurt recipe that I promised, I'll put up the reason for this delightful leftover dough.

I'd like to add another note: she is a stellar baker.  I think she'd like these.

Crust adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Makes about 1 9" round crust, plus scraps (this recipe only uses the scraps...)

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup (1 stick) cold butter

½ large egg, beaten well (save the other half for the glaze)

1 tablespoon milk

Equipment

1 medium mixing bowl

1 rubber spatula

1 whisk (optional, but handy)

1 sturdy butter knife (for cutting the butter)

½ teaspoon measure

1 tablespoon measure

1 cup dry measure

Directions

1. In the mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt.  Cut the butter into about 16 slices and toss them into the bowl, coating with the flour mixture as you go.  With your hands, quickly break the pieces of cold butter apart, until you wind up with some pieces and some crumbs.  Add half of the beaten egg and the milk, then gently fold to make a cohesive dough.  It will come together rather reluctantly, but rest assured that the less you mess with it, the more tender and flaky the crust will come out.  If the butter in the dough softens at any point, toss it in the fridge for 15 minutes or so.  Once the dough just barely comes together, refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes.

Filling straight from the flames of It's on Fire!!!

Makes about ½ cup truly addicting confection

Ingredients

3 tablespoons almond butter (my favorite is raw, crunchy, unsalted from Trader Joe's)

2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk

Equipment

1 tablespoon measure

1 small bowl or 2-cup liquid measuring cup, whatever's handy

1 sturdy spoon

1 rubber spatula (probably the one you used for making the crust...)

Directions

1. Thoroughly combine both ingredients.  Taste for flavor and texture, adjusting the balance and adding the tiniest pinch of salt if need be, and try not to inhale it before the tart crust is ready.  Refrigerate until the tart crust is ready.

Assembly

It looks like this, after assembly and before the glaze.

Equipment

12 mini silicone baking cups (or something similar, but butter and flour if you do)

1 rolling pin

1 good counter or other surface for tart crust dough

3" round cookie cutter

1 small, sharp knife for trimming tart crust dough

1 pastry brush or small spoon (for egg glaze)

1. Remove the tart crust from the fridge and gently roll it out to about 1/8" thick.  Carefully cut 3" diameter circles from the dough and lay them in the silicone cups, gently patting them down to fit.  Trim the tops flush with the cups if you need to. 

2. Fill each tart with about 1 teaspoon of almond filling.  I have found that the best way to do this is approximately roll it into a ball, then pat it into the crust.  When you are done, refrigerate all the tarts for at least an hour.  

3. Brush or spoon a little of the beaten egg on top of each tart and preheat the oven to 350°F.  While the oven preheats, put the tarts back in the refrigerator.

4. Once the oven is ready, bake the tarts at 350°F for about 15 minutes.  Remove when they are nicely browned on top and you detect a heady almond fragrance.  Allow to cool for a few minutes, then enjoy!

Also lovely topped with a little raspberry jelly.

Dreams of Grandeur - Coconut Mango Tart

I wrote this post in the summer, sometime after making the egg tart.  I've been taking more photos lately, simply of random things at school.  Close-ups are by far the easiest way for me to capture the beauty I find, and with all the rain we've been having, the sky gives a pleasantly soft, grey glow.  This one is probably the one I like the best, taken near the Bioengineering building on campus.  

Do forgive me, if you are so inclined.  It was windy that day.

Natural light is a fickle friend.  My mum insists on having all the bulbs in the kitchen on, leaving my photos to wait until after everyone is out, or to steep in yellow indoor glow.  I also generally bake in the evening to prepare a fresh dessert and avoid the chaos of preparing dinner.  This tart required an overnight stay in the fridge for the custard to firm up (not enough, as I later found) and created an opportunity to use afternoon light. 

I think the beginnings of this idea came from Crumb.  I read this post, thought it sounded delicious and promptly forgot all about it until a few days later when I was cooking on the stove.  I wanted some fruit, reached for a mango, and stopped.  After slicing into the mango and eating just the part around the seed, I sprinted to the back room and unearthed a single can of creamy coconut milk.  I immediately wanted to make a cool coconut custard, topped with wedges of bright mango and perfumed with vanilla bean.  

Tart Crust slightly adapted from Crumb (Honeyed Nut Tart)

Ingredients

1¾ cup all-purpose flour

⅓ cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon salt

10 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

5 tablespoons soymilk (I wanted to use mango nectar, but we ran out)

Equipment

1 large mixing bowl

1 sturdy butter knife

1 10" or 11" round tart pan with removable bottom (possibly substitute another pan)

1 rolling pin (optional, only if you want to have sharp, clean edges on your pastry)

Directions

1. Combine all the ingredients except soymilk in the mixing bowl.  Use your hands to quickly rub the butter into the flour mixture until it forms large flakes.  Add the soymilk by tablespoon, mixing with the butter knife until the dough forms.  Pat it into the tart pan, covering the bottom and sides.  Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

2. Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Prick the crust several times with a fork or toothpick to help prevent bubbles.  If desired, roll the rolling pin across the top of the tart pan for a crisp, professional edge.  Bake for about 30 minutes, until a pale golden.  The crust will bubble up, then sink back down when it finishes baking.

Coconut Custard by trial and error
 Makes about 2 cups, enough to fill a tart crust in a 10" round pan

Ingredients
1 can coconut milk (about 13 fluid ounces)
¼ cup soymilk (I simply used a little to rinse out the container into the measuring cup)
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 egg yolk

Equipment
1 balloon whisk
2-cup liquid measure
¼ cup dry measure
1 tablespoon measure

1 small pot for cooking custard

Directions:

1. Heat the coconut and soymilk over medium heat until steaming, stirring occasionally.  Whisk the egg yolk, sugar and cornstarch together in the measuring cup and set aside.  

2. When the milk is hot, turn the fire off.  Pour a little of the hot milk into the yolk mixture and whisk until thoroughly combined.  Turn the fire back on, pour all of the yolk and milk back into the pot and continue to cook.  Whisk constantly until the mixture is thick and leaves lines from the whisk, about 15 minutes.

3. Turn the fire off.  Split the vanilla bean lengthwise scrape the seeds into the custard.  Add the vanilla bean and leave to cool, stirring occasionally.

Some Assembly Required:

2 or 3 mangoes, depending on size
2 cups of custard (should be the entire batch, minus tastings)
1 10" round tart crust still in tart pan

Pour the custard into the crust.  Since it's still pretty liquidy, it should smooth out into an even layer.  Do not worry about this layer, since it'll be covered by mango slices anyway.
 
Cut the mangoes into slices.  I do this by locating the approximate position of the edge of the seed and cutting there, so I have a mango cut into thirds.  Hold one of the mango sides in your palm and carefully slice, cutting all the way through the skin on one of the cuts so you have about a ninth of a mango.  Slice between the mango and its skin, so you are left holding a small handful of very juicy and slippery mango slices.  Repeat until all the mangoes are sliced.  (This sounds complicated.  I'll take photos next time.)

Arrange the slices on top of the custard.  Work carefully since the slices are slippery.  A good pattern is to start from the edge and spiral the slices in like flower petals.  Use the smaller slices near the edge and progress until your largest slices form a spiral flower of sorts in the center of your tart.  

I just liked this picture :)

Here's what it's supposed to look like!

Refrigerate overnight, and enjoy!  If you'd like a firm custard, I recommend baking the crust, then coconut custard and crust, then layering the mango on top.  I'm not sure how long to bake the custard, but check after 10 minutes and then every few minutes after.

Egg Tart from Scraps

Remember the pinwheel cookies I made a while back?  Well, the recipe stated that it made 28 cookies and scraps.  While I gave about half the cookies away, I was still stuck with what to do with the scraps.  Making more cookies seemed like taking the easy way out, when here were a couple of chunks of premade tart dough!  I love pie crust, but am usually adverse to making pies since 1) my family isn't entirely fond of syrupy cooked fruit and 2) the pie crust is usually delicate, difficult to work with and requires so much butter.  The main problem is, my family (and, as it turns out, my roommate this year) absolutely loves pie crust.  Pie crust is best when moved from fridge to oven with the least distance possible.  This ideal is completely destroyed when your roommate's tiny fridge doesn't fit your pie and you live three flights of stairs away from the oven.  This coming semester I will be lucky enough to live only two flights away.  Maybe there will be more pies this semester.

Egg Tart by trial and error

Crust adapted from My Buttery Fingers

Ingredients
1½ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
½ cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk

Equipment
1 large mixing bowl
1 sturdy butter knife
1 cup dry measure
½ cup dry measure
¼ cup dry measure
1 tablespoon measure (optional, if chocolate dough is desired)
1 teaspoon measure 
1 8" x 4" loaf pan (or any small tart pan, I imagine a 6" round would do quite nicely)
Parchment paper to line the pan

Directions

1. Mix the flour and sugar together in the large mixing bowl.  If you prefer chocolate crust, replace 2 tablespoons of the flour with 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder.  Cut the butter into cubes and toss into the bowl.  Rub quickly until the mixture forms coarse crumbs.

2. Line the loaf or tart pan with parchment paper.  If using a loaf pan, make sure the parchment paper is left sticking out of the pan on the sides to assist with removal of tart.  If using a round pan, just cut a circle of paper and use that.  

3. Back to the shortbread dough: Mix in the vanilla and egg yolk, then press the dough into the loaf or tart pan.  Refrigerate for about 30 minutes to 1 hour, until thoroughly chilled.  

4. Preheat the oven to 350°F and bake the crust for about 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, mix the filling.

Filling by trial and error (over about 10 years or so... egg tart was one of my first bakes)

Ingredients

1 egg

½ cup milk

2 tablespoons sugar

Less than half a ¼ teaspoon of salt (tiny, tiny amount, just to enhance the sweet flavor)

Equipment
2-cup liquid measure
1 tablespoon measure
Tiny spoon or ¼ teaspoon measure
1 balloon whisk or rubber spatula

Directions

1. Crack the egg into the measuring cup and whisk or beat until thoroughly scrambled.  Add the milk to make about ¾ cup of liquid (around a ½ cup of milk).  Add the sugar and salt and mix until all is relatively homogenous and dissolved.

The cute whisk my boyfriend gave me for Christmas.  It mixes well without incorporating too much air, perfect for a smooth liquid recipe like this one.  Too many bubbles will mar the surface of the custard.

2. Bring the measuring cup of egg tart filling to the oven.  When the timer rings for the crust, carefully open the oven and pour the filling into the crust.  This will help prevent spillage of filling and ease removal of the tart.

Parchment paper is a beautiful thing.

3. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes.  Enjoy!

A new take on an old tradition.

Notes:


I actually just used the scraps from my pinwheel cookies, which is why I have a striped dough.  My dad called it the leftover tart.  You may have a very thick crust if you use all of the dough for this recipe.  Just make another tart or a bigger one.  Double or triple the filling amount accordingly.  If you do so, the filling may not all fit into the measuring cup.  You all have common sense, get a mixing bowl and a whisk.