Tag: tart

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.

If this pie were a wedding cake, it would be perched on a silk-covered table surrounded by orange blossoms and set under an arbor on a vast lawn by a river. So if you’re single, you might think this is definitely not the recipe for you. On the contrary, if you use enough Chambord, you can drown your sorrows and forget all the idiots who wasted your time and caused you to be alone on a summer night eating your way through a pie that is not a wedding cake. Okay, maybe next time you should make the strawberry dacquiri pie.

The Crust

The Sweetest, Easiest Sweet Tart Dough

The Filling

1. 1 ½ tbs flour, plus more for dusting
2. 3 tbs unsalted butter, room temperature
3. 1 large egg
4. ¼ cup sugar
5. 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
6. 1 tbs Chambord
7. ¼ tsp salt
8. 8 ripe, firm nectarines

Preheat the oven to 375°

In a small saucepan, melt the butter until it starts to brown, 4-5 minutes, set aside

In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, sugar, lemon juice, Chambord and salt, about two minutes

Add flour and reserved brown butter

Whisk until combined and set aside

The Nectarines

Make thin slices of each nectarine. Curl them around each other to “stand” in a nice pattern in the tart shell, or arrange them in a concentric circle, or just thrown them in a single layer so the tart shell is covered

Whisk the filling again and pour over the fruit

Bake until the crust is golden brown and the filling is slightly puffed, about 40 minutes

A leisurely sail to a tropical island with pendulous women in printed sarongs is always a nice get-away, but the economy being what it is, maybe a short trip to the baking aisle for grated coconut and macadamia nuts makes more sense. If this pie doesn’t transport you, something with a prescription might be in order.

The Crust

Basic Tart Pastry for a single crust pie

The Filling

1. ½ cup unsalted butter
2. ¾ cup sugar
3. ½ cup heavy cream
4. 2 tsp grated lemon zest
5. 1 cup macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped
6. ½ cup packaged grated coconut, lightly toasted
7. 3 tbs bourbon or rum
8. 1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350°

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter

Add the sugar and bring to a boil, then boil for two more minutes (keep stirring)

Remove from heat and stir in the cream, lemon zest, macadamia nuts and coconut

Bring the mixture back to a boil

Remove from heat and stir in the bourbon (or rum) and vanilla

Pour the mixture into the cooled tart shell

Bake until the filling is bubbly and thick and the tart is golden brown, about 30 minutes

Cool for about five minutes

Remove the tart from the pan while it’s still warm

This dreamy pie likes to be presented in a tart pan. And speaking of dreams, if you really want to enjoy it in the right setting, consider planting a white garden like Virginia Woolf did at Sissinghurst. It’ll be the perfect place to enjoy this bright summer treat when friends drop around after a rousing afternoon of archery or sculling down the nearest lazy river. Okay, maybe just put on a white dress. Third choice — get a clean (white) t-shirt and call it a (summer’s) day.

The Crust

Chocolate Wafer Crumb Crust for a single crust pie

The Filling

1. 4 large egg yolks
2. ⅓ cup granulated sugar
3. ¼ cup cornstarch
4. ¼ tsp salt
5. 3 cups whole milk
6. 7 oz white chocolate (Lindt or Baker’s)
7. 2 tbs unsalted butter, softened
8. 1 tsp vanilla extract
9. 1 cup whipping cream, chilled
10. 2 tsp confectioner’s sugar
11. white chocolate shavings for garnish (a block of chocolate is easier than a bar)

Cream together the butter and vanillaIn the top of a double boiler, melt the white chocolate

Add the butter and vanilla mixture

Remove from heat

In a small bowl, beat the egg yolks

In a large saucepan, over medium heat, combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt

Slowly whisk in the milk

Continue whisking until the mixture reaches a boil

Cook for 1 minute, still whisking constantly

Quickly transfer half the milk mixture to the egg yolks

Whisk to combine, then return the egg yolk and milk mixture to the saucepan

Return to a boil and cook for 1 minute longer, still whisking

Remove from heat

Stir the melted chocolate, butter and vanilla mixture into the milk mixture

Cover with plastic wrap, press it directly onto the surface of the filling to prevent a skin from forming

Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for 2 hours to set

Pile the cooled filling into the pie crust

Chill for at least 6 hours

Using the whisk attachment of an electric mixture, beat the cream and confectioner’s sugar until stiff peaks form

Remove the pie from the refrigerator

Top the filling with the cream

Garnish with white chocolate shaving

The same way a new pair of jeans shrinks the first time you wash it, tart dough also gets smaller as it bakes. So just like you might buy your jeans a little bigger to adjust for size, press your tart dough up the sides of the tart shell, making it thicker at the top edge, then press it a little bit higher than the rim. That way when it shrinks, it should fit perfectly.

Low Sodium Snafu Pie Crust for a 10 x 13 inch baking dish

The Filling

1. 1 lb sour cherries
2. ½ lb fresh blackberries
3. ½ lb fresh raspberries
4. 2½ tbs cornstarch
5. 1 tbs balsamic vinegar
6. pinch salt
7. 1 large egg yolk
8. 1 tbs heavy cream
9. sanding sugar
10. 1 cup whipping cream

In a large bowl combine the cherries, blackberries and raspberriesAdd granulated sugar, cornstarch, vinegar and salt until evenly coated

Pour into a quart baking dish and set aside

Roll out the dough and trim into a 9 x 12 inch rectangle

Cut lengthwise strips ¾ inch wide, about 6 strips or to fill the dish

Cut remaining strips ¾ inch crosswise, about 8 strips

Transfer berries to a 10 x 13 inch baking dish, or keep them in the 1 quart dish

Weave a lattice crust over the berries, pushing the edges down into the berries, against the side of the dish

Put in the freezer for about half an hour

Preheat the oven to 400In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and cream

Brush the lattice top with the egg wash

Sprinkle with sanding sugar

Bake until crust in golden brown and the juices are bubbling, about 35 minutes, depending on the depth of the dish, but it could be up to 55 minutes. On this one, use your eyes more than your timer.

Cool on a wire rack

Whip the cream with 1 tbs confectioners sugar

Serve with the cobbler

The primaries may be ending, but a patriotic pie is always a thrillingly current event. In this election year, it’s more fashionable than ever to wrap your pie in the flag, which means a fresh, juicy tart in the colors of Old Glory (flag pin optional). Sweetest, Easiest Sweet Tart Dough Basic Pastry Cream

The Berries

1. 1 large egg, lightly beaten
2. 1 cup fresh raspberries
3. 1 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat the oven to 400°

Blind bake the tart dough for 20 minutes

Remove from the oven and brush the base of the tart with the egg

Return to the oven for another 10 minutes, until the eggs are brown and the base of the crust is golden

Cool on a wire rack

Whisk the cooled pastry cream and fill the tart shell

Smooth the top with a spatula

Arrange the raspberries and blueberries in a decorative pattern on top of the cream

Be sure to leave space so the pastry cream is visible