Tag: crust

Just like the good manners your mother taught you (if you were lucky), knowing how to make delicious tart dough is an invaluable basic. It’s deceptively simple, but not always easy. Same as with any successful party, combine all the elements with a light hand and don’t over-beat the mix.

1. 6 tbs unsalted butter at room temperature
2. ½ cup confectioner’s sugar
3. 2 large eggs
4. 1½ cups all purpose flour
5. 2 tsp heavy cream

Use the paddle attachment on your electric mixer and set it to low speed to combine the butter and sugar

Add the egg yolks and continue beating until just combined

Still using low speed, add ¾ cup of the flour until blended, about 30 seconds

Add the remaining ¾ cup flour, plus the salt and cream; mix until the flour is no longer visible

Turn out the dough onto plastic wrap and shape it into a flattened disk

Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before rolling out.

That’s right, no salt. None. Not a grain. And okay, you can get anxious about all those things salt is supposed to do, like enhance the texture and the flavor, and strengthen the gluten protein in the dough but seriously, you’ll never miss it. And don’t you think sometimes the salt can make a pie crust kind of bitter? Just a little? Anyway, try this.

1. 2 cups flour
2. 2 sticks butter cut into pieces
3. 1 cup ice water

Pour the flour into the bowl of an electric mixer

Add the butter

Using the paddle attachment with the mixer on low, slowly add the water until the mix looks like crumble — 30 seconds is all it should take

The dough still has to be rolled out, so don’t overwork it. Less is less.

It’s so green! It’s so delicate! And so delicious, it will disappear as quickly as if it jumped away when you weren’t looking. And as for people begging you to make it over and over again, this pie has legs!

Chocolate Wafer Crumb Crust

1. 1 cup chocolate wafers (about 16)
2. ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
3. 1 tsp granulated sugar
4. 1 tsp all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 350°

Combine all the ingredients until well blended

Press the crust into a 9 inch pie plate (starting in the center and working outward and upward)

Bake for 15 minutes

Transfer to a wire rack to cool

The Filling

1. 1 ½ tsp unflavored gelatin
2. 1⅓ cup whipping cream
3. ¼ cup superfine sugar
4. 3 tsp crème de menthe
5. ¼ cup white crème de cacao
6. 4 large egg yolks
7. Mint chocolate candy bar, rough chopped

In a large saucepan, sprinkle the gelatin over ⅓ cup of the cream

Set aside for a few minutes

Fill a large bowl with ice and cold water

In the saucepan with the gelatin, whisk to combine the sugar, crème de menthe, crème de cacao, and egg yokes until the gelatin has dissolved

Pour the gelatin mixture into a metal bowl and set the bowl into the ice bath

Chill, stirring occasionally for about 15 minutes, until the mixture starts to thicken

With an electric mixer, beat the remaining 1 cup of cream until stiff peaks form

Gently fold the cream into the gelatin mixture, 1/3 cup at a time, until combined

Pour the filling into the cooled wafer crust and refrigerate for at lest 3 hours until set

Garnish with the chopped candy bar

As the warm weather approaches, you’ll want a collection of quick and easy no-bake pies ready to step out of the shadow of winter. Elegantly light and fresh, this raspberry chiffon Pink Flamingo is a natural beauty that doesn’t need working wings to fly off the table.

Light Crumb Crust

1. 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
2. 1 tbs unsalted butter
3. 1 large egg white
4. 1 tbs granulated sugar or honey
5. 1 tsp all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 425°

Combine all the ingredients until well blended

Press the crust into a 9 inch pie plate (starting in the center and working outward and upward)

Crimp the edges with a fork

Bake for 15 minutes

Transfer to a wire rack to cool

The Filling

1. 3 large egg yolks
2. 14 oz. can low fat sweetened condensed milk
3. zest of 1 lime
4. ½ cup fresh lime juice
5. 6 tbs superfine sugar
6. 2 cups fresh raspberries

Beat the egg yolks, condensed milk, lime zest and lime juice to combine

Pour the lime filling into the crust and bake for 35 minutes, until the center of the filling is set

Transfer to a wire rack to cool

Top the filling with the raspberries

Between the bright red rhubarb and the creamy cream cheese, Martha’s tart is no shrinking violet. In fact, you might as well forget dinner entirely and just serve this. No one will remember anything else anyway.

Cream Cheese Tart Dough

1. 1 cup all purpose flour
2. 1 tbs sugar
3. ½ tsp baking powder
4. ¼ tsp salt
5. 6 tbs unsaltedbutter, cut into bits
6. 3 oz cream cheese, cold

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine

Add the butter, and pulse until the pieces are about the size of peas

Add the cream cheese, and pulse again until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs

Turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap

Use the plastic to schmusch (Penelope’s, not Martha’s technique) the dough together

Flatten into a square and wrap with the plastic

Chill the dough at least 1 hour before rolling out

The Filling

1. 1 ½ cups, plus 2 tbs sugar
2. 1 vanilla bean
3. 1 ½ lbs rhubarb, trimmed and sliced into 2-inch pieces
4. 4 oz cream cheese, softened
5. grated zest of 1 lemon
6. ¼ cup sour cream

Preheat the oven to 350°

In a large skillet, stir together 1 ½ cup water, 1 ½ cup sugar, and vanilla bean

Cook over medium heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved and the water is boiling

Add rhubarb, turn off the heat, cover and let stand until the rhubarb is softened(about 25 minutes)

Remove the rhubarb from the liquid

Spread in a single layer in a baking pan lined with several layers of paper towels

Strain 1 cup of poaching liquid into a medium skillet

Cook over high heat until the syrup has thickened, set aside to cool

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese and remaining 2 tbs of sugar and lemon zest

Using the paddle attachment, beat until smooth

Add the sour cream

Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the bottom of the cooled pastry crust

Arrange the rhubarb on top

Drizzle with the reserved cooled syrup

Chill the tart, loosely covered with plastic wrap until ready to serve

Just like the good manners your mother taught you (if you were lucky, so that now you can be relatively at ease in any situation) sweet tart dough is an invaluable basic. No matter what you make, you kind of can’t go wrong if it rests on simplicity and good taste. Like with any good party, combine the elements with a light hand and don’t over-beat the mix.

1. 6 tbs unsalted butter at room temperature
2. ½ cup confectioner’s sugar
3. 2 large eggs
4. 1½ cups all purpose flour
5. 2 tsp heavy cream

Use the paddle attachment on your electric mixer and set it to low speed to combine the butter and sugar. Add the egg yolks and continue beating until just combined. Still using low speed, add ¾ cup of the flour until blended, about 30 seconds. Add the remaining ¾ cup flour, plus the salt and cream. Mix until the flour is no longer visible. Turn out the dough onto plastic wrap and shape it into a flattened disk. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before rolling out.

For all those times when you were definitely NOT an angel, make this pie for mom. It’s all the things her kids forgot to be: sweet, light, and irresistible.

Preheat the oven to 275°

Butter a 9 inch glass pie dish

The Meringue Crust

1. 4 egg whites
2. ½ tsp cream of tartar
3. pinch of salt
4. 1 cup sugar

In a medium bowl, combine the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt

Beat until the egg whites stand in soft peaks

Slowly add the sugar, continuing to beat until stiff peaks form

Spread the egg whites over the bottom and sides of the pie dish, building them slightly above the rim of the dish

Bake about 1⅓ hours, until golden brown and firm

Turn off the oven and let the crust cool completely

You can even leave it overnight.

The Filling

1. 1 cup heavy cream
2. 1 cup lemon curd, chilled

Whip the cream until stiff peaks form

Gently fold in the lemon curd

Spread the mixture in the meringue shell

The Topping

1. 1 cup heavy cream
2. 1 tbs sugar
3. 1 tbs nonfat dry milk
4. 8-10 strawberries or ½ cup raspberries or, live it up, use both!

Combine the cream, sugar and dry milk in a bowl

Whip until stiff

Spread over the pie

Garnish with berries