You're a tart, lets have a quiche!

I've been a lagger lately...Besides the usual weekly baking, we are planning for our upcoming group project. We've done bread week and my posts still stuck with tarts and pies. However, the pie and tart week posed such challenge for me that every recipe seems important and worth-mentioning. After a few attempts at both sweet short pastry and pie dough, I am happy to announce that I am getting better at making the doughs. However, there are a few important points while handling these doughs, especially sweet short pastry:

1. Use cold butter and cold water.
2. Before any liquid added to the crumbs like mixture from rub in method, monitor the consistency as you add the liquid. Even though a recipe called for 100ml liquid, you can't assume that it won't be too wet (non sticky) or too dry (non crumbly, no crackings)   
3. Let the dough has some R&R. Best if you could make the dough overnight and let it chill in a fridge or once the dough being laid in a pie ring, chill it again.
4. Work quickly with the dough. Roll them evenly and always floured the rolling pin and surface. Not too much flour tho.

Here are two simple tart recipes that we did which uses baking blind. Baking blind includes an initial baking of the pastry before the filling is added. Usually bake with beans/rice so the pastry remains in shape during baking. Such pre-baking technique used for pastry cases that are to be filled with an uncooked or precooked mixture.

Fruit Tartlets

In this recipe, we'll be using the sweet short pastry for the base. Using 3cm tartlet rings, roll the dough as thin as possible. Bake blind until golden but not brown. Cool over wire rack. Melt some cooking chocolate and brush the interior of the tart shells. Let them cool.

Pastry Cream (the custardy filling holds the cut fruits in the tart shells)

Milk...................................................250g

Vanilla Essence..............................Drops

Egg Yolk..........................................50g

Sugar...............................................50g

Corn Flour.......................................25g

Butter...............................................35g

1. Boil milk in a pot. Mix half the sugar and vanilla essence into boiling milk.
2. In a separate bowl, mix egg yolk and the remaining sugar with a whisk.
3. Add corn flour into the egg yolk and sugar mixture. Stir till smooth.
4. While whisking, slowly bear in hot milk into the egg yolk mixture. Stir constantly.
5. Return everything to the pot and cook until mixture thickens (medium heat).
6. Lastly, add in butter.
7. Fastest way to chill is wrap the pastry cream in a cling film and laid it flat in a fridge.

Fill the pastry cream in piping bag and pipe it in the chocolate covered tart shells. Decorate with variety cut/sliced fruits and berries. Glaze the fruit topping with apricot flavoured glaze.

Chocolate Coffee Tart

Since the filling is sweet, we'll be using the sweet short pastry for the base again. Using 8cm tartlet rings, roll the dough as thin as possible. Bake blind until golden and cool on wire rack.

Whipping Cream/Heavy Cream.............................................90ml

Milk............................................................................................90ml

Chocolate (medalions)...........................................................120g

Egg............................................................................................half of a medium sized egg.

Coffee essence........................................................................drops

1. Combine the cream with milk in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer and remove from heat.
2. Add chocolate and stir until chocolate completely melted and blended uniformly.
3. Add the coffee essence.
4. Beat the egg lightly in a bowl and stir in gradually in the warm chocolate mixture.
5. Pour the chocolate liquid into the tart shells.
6. Bake at 170 degrees C and let it cool. Best serve chilled.

Quiche Loraine

This recipe, surprisingly a hit amongst all of us. Probably most of the stuff we made previously were all sweet and we can use almost anything for the filling. Since the filling is savoury, it is better to use pie dough instead.

Prepare a pie dough and do a bake blind for 20mins at 180 degrees C. Once the pastry turn golden, remove the beans and bake for another 5mins. For 2 x 5 inches or 1 x 12 inches pie ring, here's the ingredients:

Eggs...............................................................3

Milk.................................................................50g

Cream............................................................100g

Salt, pepper, oregano and herbs to taste.

Sky's the limit when it comes to the rest of the filling. Vegs: capsicums, onions, tomatoes, spinach etc...Meat: ham, bacon (cook 1st), sausage, smoked salmon etc. Finally, tops with shreded/grated cheddar cheese.

1. 
   
   Set the temperature to 160 degrees C.
2. 
   
   Add some cheese in the pastry base and all vegs and meat follows.
3. 
   
   Combine the eggs with milk and cream in a bowl and season well. Pour over the meat and vegs. Sprinkle some herbs and tops with cheese.
4. 
   
   Bake for 30-40mins or until set.

Pear Streusel Tart

If you like it sweet and fruity, here's another sweet recipe for you. I like this recipe because it works on both sweet short pastry and pie dough but I find the original recipe is too sweet. So here are some changes.

1. Instead of canned pear, use fresh pear.
2. Reduce 20g off the icing sugar and honey.
3. Use pie dough instead.
4. Use maple syrup instead of honey.

Set the oven temperature at 170 degrees Celcius.


Struesel (or crumbles):
Butter..........................................................85g

Icing Sugar.................................................75g

Cake Flour.................................................140g

Walnut (coarsely chop)..............................50g

1. Rub in flour and butter until well combined.
2. Add in icing sugar and toss the mixture. Consistently rub in with fingers to form crumbly texture.
3. Add the chopped walnut and toss again until it is properly mixed.

Filling:

Maple Syrup/Honey..................................115g

Corn Flour..................................................22g (thickening agent)

Butter..........................................................30g

Glucose......................................................0.5g (a teaspoon)

Pear............................................................3 small pears (skinned, cored and halved)

Note: Cook the pears in water enough to cover the fruits and 50g of sugar. Avoid overly soft pears. Once the pears soften, drained and let it cool.

1. Again, on a 5 inches diameter pie ring, roll a 1mm thick pie dough (chill).
2. In a saucepan, melt butter and add in maple syrup and glucose. Once mixed, add in corn flour and bring to boil. Stir constantly until the liquid is smooth and let it cools.
3. If the liquid is lumpy, don't worry - do what I did, strained it off.
4. Slice pear into small wedges or fan shaped. Once the liquid is cool, soak the pear and arrange the pears in the pie ring. Add in the remaining liquid to cover parts which are exposed.
5. Generously, cover the pears with streusel (you need a lot since the butter and sugar in the mixture will melt as you bake).
6. Bake until golden brown.

Note: Do not poke the base with fork because the liquid will seep through during baking and demoulding (removing the tart from its ring) will be difficult.