Archive for the ‘Tart’ Category
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I’ve been slow to make this post this week because I’ve been working hard on different projects from my externship. I’ve also been trying to get old issues of Gourmet. I’m sad to see that it’s being shut down and since I didn’t read it for very long, I’ve been trying to see if anyone had issues they would pass on. I’ve been very successful! So successful, in fact, that I managed to find someone willing to give me a collection dating back to January 1967! I’m excited to be able to see food trends, issues and debates shift throughout the past few decades thanks to the generosity of a woman who saved and clearly, read so many of the issues. I don’t know if you’re reading, but thanks for your generous gift!
That being said, I did manage to squeeze in one kitchen experiment this week. I first made an apple crumb pie. It’s the first pie I’ve made with a Streusel (crumb) topping. That pie however, wasn’t as good as it could have been. If you like your pies, not to sweet, then this is the pie for you. I felt it needed an accompaniment like some ice cream or whipped cream so that it really had nice sweetness and the flavors all would come through. The tart was a much better attempt at making a nice dessert with a streusel topping. Both used the same crust, a basic pate brisée and a combination of apples, spices and sugar.
Here’s my basic pate brisée recipe. It makes enough fora pie that has both a crust on the bottom as well as a crust on top. There will be some extra so you can also use that to make mini-tarts, mini-pies or whatever you like.
Ingredients:
- 1 lb all-purpose flour
- 1/2 lb cake flour
- 1 lb butter
- 1 tsp salt
- 6 oz cold water
In a large bowl, whisk together the flours and salt. Cut your butter into pieces and add to your flour. Then using your hands, move from the bottom of the bowl and break the pieces of butter. (It’s kind of like you’re a miner and you’re digging for nuggets, only you’re breaking up your butter. At least that’s how my pastry instructor explained it.) Once you have cranberry size pieces of butter throughout, add the cold water. Combine with your hands until it has come together. Then, turn out the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead until it has completely come together. Shape into a disk, wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes. If at any point while making this dough, you notice the butter is melting, put it in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes to firm it back up. You want to be able to see chunks of butter throughout the dough.
The dough was the hardest part of making either of these desserts and that wasn’t even very hard! So, here’s the recipe for the Apple Crumb Pie.
Ingredients for the Streusel topping:
- 1 cup flour
- 6 T butter
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- pinch nutmeg
In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and work with your hands until clumps form and everything is combined. Place in refrigerator while working on the rest of the pie.
Ingredients for the pie filling
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 6 apples, peeled, cored and chopped
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp all spice
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1 T cornstarch
In a large bowl, add the lemon juice and apples. Then add the sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, all spice, nutmeg and cornstarch. Combine thoroughly. Let the fruit sit and develop flavor while you roll out the dough.
Pre-heat your oven to 350. On a lightly floured surface, unwrap your dough. Use a bench scraper to cut the disk in half and shape each half into smaller disks. Wrap and refrigerate one of the smaller disks. Roll out the remaining disk to about 1/4 inch thick. Line a 9 inch pie pan with the dough and trim any excess. Add the fruit to the pie pan. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove pie from oven and uncover. Break the streusel topping into crumbs and use it to top the pie. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. Cool for at least 3 hours. To serve, slice the pie and serve with vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream or both!
Here’s a shot of my pie.
Apple Crumb Pie
Since I thought my pie could have used some improvement, I decided to try something similar. I then made an Apple Crumb Tart. I used the other half of the pate briseé to make this tart, so I didn’t have to make more dough. Here’s my recipe.
Ingredients for the Streusel topping:
- 1 cup flour
- 4 oz butter
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 T cinnamon
In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and work with your hands until clumps form and everything is combined. Place in refrigerator while working on the rest of the tart.
Ingredients for the tart filling
- 4 apples, peeled, cored and chopped
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp all spice
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 T cornstarch
- 1/4 cup raisins (or slivered almonds)
In a large bowl, add the lemon juice and apples. Then add the sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, all spice, nutmeg, cornstarch, and raisins or almonds. (I added the raisins since I thought a nice chewy texture would be a nice contrast to the crunch of streusel. If you want more crunch, I think slivered almonds would work nicely.) Combine thoroughly. Let the fruit sit and develop flavor while you roll out the dough.
Pre-heat your oven to 350. On a lightly floured surface, unwrap your dough. Roll out the disk to about 1/4 inch thick. Line a 9 inch tart pan with the dough and use your rolling pin to trim any excess. Place your tart pan on a half sheet pan. Add the fruit to the tart pan. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove tart from oven and uncover. Break the streusel topping into crumbs and use it to top the tart. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. Cool for at least 3 hours. Slice to serve. You can accompany the tart with ice cream or whipped cream, but I thought this tart was great on its own!
Apple Crumb Tart
Sliced Tart
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So I took this class all on shortcakes, cobblers and crisps and I just really felt compelled to combine all my new found knowledge to make some creations at home. Since I’ve never worked with rhubarb, I decided to make a strawberry-rhubarb pie. This is my first lattice-top pie also, so this one is actually kind of special for me.
My strawberry-rhubarb pie was a basic pate sucre. And the filling was my strawberries, rhubarb, a thickener and some seasonings. Overall, I think it came out very good. However, I unfortunately forgot to egg wash the top, so it’s not as shiny as it should have been. Don’t forget this step! You want your lattice-top to be pretty and shiny!
Pate Sucree
This will yield enough for your bottom crust as well as your lattice. Save any leftovers in the freezer and use them for smaller projects. They should keep, well-wrapped for about 3 months. While this is not your usual pie dough, it is sturdy enough to hold a moist filling. It won’t be as flaky as most pie doughs, but it will still be delicious.
- unbleached, all-purpose flour — 1.5 lbs
- sugar — 8 oz
- baking powder — 1.5 tsp
- salt — 1 tsp
- unsalted butter — 8oz
- large eggs – 5
1. Combine flour, baking powder and salt.
2. Using your hands or the paddle of an electric mixer, rub in the butter. You want a mealy mixture that is still cool and powdery.
3. Beat the eggs and stir into your flour mixture until just incorporated.
4. Scrape the dough out of your bowl and shape into a 3-inch-thick cylinder. Wrap in plastic wrap and allow to rest for at least 30 min.
Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie Filling: (adapted from Epicurious)
- 3 1/2 cups 1/2-inch-thick slices trimmed rhubarb (1 1/2 pounds untrimmed)
- 1 16-ounce container strawberries, hulled, halved (about 3 1/2 cups)
- 1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
To assemble the pie:
1. Make your pate sucree and allow to rest.
2. Pre-heat your oven to 400F. Mix your filling items until well combined and set aside. This will give the fruit some time to macerate, release their juices, and all the flavors to come together.
3. Take out your rested pate sucree and cut the disk in half. Form the dough into a disk and roll it out into a circle large enough to line the bottom of a 9″ pie dish.
4. Using your rolling pin, wrap the dough around your rolling pin and unravel the dough into the pie dish.
5. Add your filling to your pie dish.
6. Roll out the other half of dough. Using a pastry cutter cut out strips about 1/2 inch wide and place in a lattice form on the top of the pie.
7. Crimp the ends to seal. (Any extra dough scraps can be saved for othe projects later.)
8. Brush with an egg wash of one beaten egg and 1 T water. Sprinkle with coarse sugar, if you like.
9. Bake at 400F for 20 min. Then turn down to 350F for 25-30 min. Cool on rack.
Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie
I then moved onto the tart. I made a nice pate brisee, pastry cream and I used fresh berries to top the tart
Pate Brisee
This is your basic flaky pie dough. I’m using it for a tart since I want a light and flaky crust. This will be blind-baked, meaning it will bake without the filling while weighted down by light weights (I use dry beans.) I then remove the weights, then continue baking until golden brown.
- unsalted butter — 1lb
- unbleached, all purpose flour — 1lb
- cake flour — 1/2 lb
- salt –1 tsp
- baking powder — 1/2 tsp (optional)
- cold water — 6 oz
1. Cut the butter into 1 inch pieces. If your kitchen is warm, you may want to store the pieces in the refrigerator.
2. Combine the flours, salt, and baking power.
3. Using your hands or the paddle of an electric mixer, rub in the butter. You want to continue until the butter is the size of cranberries.
4. Stir in the water until the dough holds together.
5. Scrape the dough out of the bowl and use your bench scraper to put the dough together. It should appear broken and you should be able to see chunks of butter in the flour.
6. Once the dough has come together, wrap in plastic wrap and allow to rest.
7. Once the dough has rested, cut the disk in half. Store the half you are not using in the refrigerator, tightly wrapped.
8. Roll out the dough so that it is large enough to line a tart pan.
9. Wrap the dough around your rolling pin and unroll it into the tart pan. Use your hands to place it in the corners.
10. Dock the tart dough. Use a fork to poke holes in the bottom of the dough. This will ensure a place for steam to escape.
11. Line the tart with parchment paper and place dry beans to keep it down. (You can also use coffee filters if you don’t have parchment paper.)
12. Blind bake for 20-25 minutes at 350F.
13. Remove the beans and parchment and bake another 15-20 min or until golden brown. Cool.
I then made my pastry cream. I never knew that pastry cream is basically pudding! It’s creamy and delicious and you can add flavors to change it, like liquor or chocolate. This should yield about one quart and will keep in your fridge, in a well-covered container for about 3-4 days.
Pastry Cream
- milk — 1 quart
- cornstarch — 3.5 oz
- sugar –8 oz
- eggs — 2
- egg yolks — 8 (Save your whites! You can always freeze them and use them for omelettes or meringues!)
- butter — 4 oz
- vanilla — 1/2 fl. oz
1. Dissolve the cornstarch into 4 oz of the milk.
2. Combine the remaining milk with the sugar in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Stir occasionally to ensure your sugar does not burn.
3. Whisk the eggs and egg yolks into the cornstarch mixture.
4. Once your milk has come to a boil, take it off the heat. While whisking vigorously, slowly pour in the egg-egg yolk-cornstarch mixture until it has thickened.
5. Return the mixture to a boil and keep whisking until you start to see bubbles come to the surface.
6. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter and vanilla.
7. Cool in an ice bath and place plastic wrap right on the surface of the cream to prevent it from forming a skin.
To assemble the tart:
1. Spread your pastry cream in the tart shell to fill it completely.
2. Top with whatever berries you like. I used raspberries, blackberries and blueberries.
3. Glaze your tart with 1/2 cup boiled and strained apricot preserves. (This is referred to as nappage.) This will make the tart very shiny and pretty!
Mixed Berry Tart
I then moved onto my peach-blueberry cobbler.
Peach-Blueberry Cobbler
Filling:
- 2 3/4 pounds peaches, halved lengthwise, pitted, and cut into 3/4-inch-thick wedges (about 6 large peaches)
- 1 pint blueberries
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons packed light-brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon finely grated, peeled fresh ginger
- Salt (pinch)
Crust
This is also a great way to make delicious biscuits!
- 1 lb of self rising cake flour
- 1.5 sticks unsalted butter
- 1 cup buttermilk, milk or heavy cream. (I LOVE the tang of buttermilk and the richness of the heavy cream, so I tend to use either one of these.)
1. Peel and chop the peaches into 3/4 inch thick wedges. To peel them, cut an “x” in the bottom of the peach and place in boiling water for 30 seconds. Immediately, place the peach into an ice bath. The peels should come right off.
2. Mix all your other ingredients and combine well.
3. To make your crust combine the flour and butter. Rub the butter into the flour with the paddle of your mixer or with your hands. You want a homogenous, mealy mixture.
4. Add your milk or cream or buttermilk and stir until just combined.
5. Scrape the dough out of the bowl and roll it out to about 1/2 inch thickness.
6. To assemble the cobbler, you can fill individual ramekins with the filling and top with round cut-outs of the dough. You can also use a large round gratin dish. You can fill the gratin dish with all your filling and top with all the dough. I like the ramekins since it makes a nice presentation and you can then add a few spoons of ice cream right to the ramekin when serving!
Peach Blueberry Cobbler
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