From the category archives:

pies tarts and crumbles

Strawberry Rhubarb Tarts

June 8, 2010

strawberry rhubarb tart

Yesterday when I was at the market going through the usual vegetable section, I saw a lone pair of greenish stalks on one of the shelves. I almost didn’t pay any attention to it, thinking it was celery. And just when I went closer to pick up the box of endamame beans placed right next to it, I did a double take. Crimson stalks? And then suddenly all the images of rhubarb I had seen on the internet flashed through my head. A little scratching on the surface gave me the tangy smell that I safely assumed to be rhubarb. I still couldn’t believe my luck, so I went over to the shop attendant and he confirmed that it was indeed rhubarb. The joy, the joy!

And just like that, the fate of the last pair of rhubarb stalks was sealed: I’d go home and make strawberry rhubarb tarts!

I read up a little on how to cook with rhubarb. Should it be peeled? Should it be precooked? What proportion of strawberries to rhubarb should I use? I tried to keep my expectations as low as I could (though it was hard) because on many an occasion I’ve just ended up tossing the stuff that has got a backing of a hundred reviews.

strawberry rhubarb tart

So anyway, I chopped up gorgeous stalks of rhubarb, one green and one pink and tossed it with half a cup of sugar (you can adjust this depending on how tart your berries are and how sweet you’d like them to be) and frozen strawberries and let it sit for about 30 minutes. This way the frozen strawberries will soften and the tart rhubarb will absorb the sugar. This mixture tends to get watery, especially when using frozen berries, so just pick the filling up with the fork so the dough doesn’t get too mushy. Also, in the end you can top the syrup with some club soda and treat yourself to a strawberry-rhubarb fizz. It’s delicious.

For the tart base, I used the Ottolenghi recipe I used for the chocolate tart I made a while ago. To kick it up a notch, I used half vanilla bean sugar and half icing sugar. The dough smelled lovelier than any other dough I’d made before and looked so pretty with the tiny specs of vanilla in it. After this was refrigerated for a bit, I rolled it out into a large rectangle of about 1/8^th inch thickness. Then I cut that up into 4 equal parts and placed the filling in the middle and pinched the sides together and transferred them to the baking sheet. That’s it! No fluted tart pans. No buying multiple small pans to make individual sizes. No worrying about blind baking. And if someone has the nerve to complain about the jagged edges, tell them that’s the rustic look you were trying to achieve. Besides, I actually think this rustic look is kinda cute.

strawberry rhubarb tart

So did it meet my expectations? It sure did! Everyone at home loved it, although they weren’t really fascinated about the big rhubarb discovery (I know!). The baked tart is not too sweet, and it’s not too tart, and though it would probably be nice with some vanilla ice cream, I’d like to eat mine warm and just the way it is. I’m so happy that we finally get rhubarb here. Now I can start saving rhubarb recipes, which earlier, I only gawked at. Have you any suggestions?

Individual strawberry rhubarb tarts
Serves: 4

Tart base:
½ recipe of the Ottolenghi tart dough recipe.

Strawberry Rhubarb Filling:
2 stalks / 200 rhubarb, sliced with the skin on
200g strawberries, quartered fresh or frozen
½ cup / 100g caster sugar

Equipment:
Pastry blender and Bench scraper

Method:

In a bowl stir together all the ingredients for the filling and let it sit together for 30 minutes.
Roll out the dough into a rectangle of 1/8th inch thickness and cut through the centres to get 4 rectangles.
Now place the filling in the centre of these individual rectangles.
Try to work quickly, so the dough doesn’t get too warm and soft, making it harder to handle. Fold the edge of the dough toward the filling and up, to create a ruffled edge. Continue around the perimeter, until all of the filling has been held by the ruffled sleeve. Slide a bench scraper or spatula under the tart and transfer it to a parchment-lined baking tray.
Freeze or refrigerate this for 30 minutes, or until the dough has firmed up.
Bake in a preheated oven at 170C/340F for 25-30 minutes; until the pastry is golden and the juices are bubbling.
Serve warm!

{ 17 comments }

Nutella Pop Tarts!

May 10, 2010

Nutella Pop Tarts

I have a confession to make: I have never bought a pop tart in my life, ever. And although I went ahead and made strawberry pop tarts after finding a gorgeous recipe online, I didn’t really have anything to compare them with. So I couldn’t say things like “Oh it was the even better than the store bought one that awfully dry and has a tonne of preservatives and whatnot.” And frankly, it didn’t bother me much because the ones I made got rave reviews from all the eaters and the cutesy photos garnered some Stumble love as well.

Today, with some leftover pie dough in my freezer and a bottle of Nutella staring at me from across the room, I realised it was high time I ripped open the seal of that bottle for some Nutella happiness. One spoon for me, one spoon for the pop tarts seemed like a good ratio when it came to dolloping the pie dough with the Nutella; and that’s exactly what I did.

All you need is some pie dough and Nutella.

Start by rolling out and cutting into 1×3 inch rectangles.
Next, dollop some Nutella chocolate cream on the dough, making sure it’s only on one of the short edges and not too close to it.
Then fold the other side over the Nutella and seal the edges by gently pinching the sides with your fingers and then crimping the edges with a fork.
Pop this into the fridge for about 15 minutes
Once that’s done, remove it and bake it in a preheated oven at 170C/350F for 10-12 minutes.
Next, pull it out to brush it with a little egg wash for a nice, golden sheen.
Pop it back into the oven for another 5-7 minutes.
Letting it cool afterward is optional because, well, it’s Nutella! The only thing I’d do differently is find a way to maintain the gooey texture of Nutella instead of letting it dry out into the pie dough. I thought not poking the tops with knives and forks might help keep the moisture in, but I was wrong. Maybe next time I will thin it down with a little cream. But then I’m afraid, everything will get too mushy. What do you think?

For reference:

Strawberry Pop Tarts

Pie dough 101

PS: I’ve just moved to WordPress over the weekend, so if you face any trouble or find any broken links, please let me know? Thank you!

{ 47 comments }

Rich Chocolate Tart

May 7, 2010

I had been craving a chocolate tart for the longest time before I actually made one for myself. I didn’t want something that was simply filled with a soft ganache, but something a little more wicked: something with lots of cream and butter and eggs.

To fulfill this long standing hankering, I found the perfect tart filling recipe on Traveler’s Lunchbox and used the tart base recipe from the Ottolenghi cookbook (a cookbook so colourful, and so refreshing, I wish I used it more often.). The filling turned out to be soft, silky, and intensely chocolate-y; I don’t think I’m going to need another recipe for a chocolate tart. The key to is blind bake the tart, cool it, and then add the filling and bake until the sides look puffed up and the centre is still mushy. I refrigerated mine because I wanted the centre to set, but if you’d like a soft centre, you can eat it while it’s still warm.

This basic recipe can be spruced up depending on what you feel like on a particular day, or what’s in season on your side of the world. I can imagine them tasting so good with fresh raspberries or strawberries and a dollop of softly whipped cream. Another option would be to use your favourite liqueur in the chocolate batter. I used some hazelnut extract I made which was fantastic.

But you know the best part about making this chocolate tart? Watching my petite grandmum (who has an apetite of a bird) polish off two slices of the tart after her dinner! She loved it so much that when I shared it with a few friends the next day, she made me bake some more.

Rich Chocolate Tart
Yield: 1 8-9 inch tart

Tart shell
Adapted from: The Ottolenghi Cookbook (USA | UK | India)

In case you’re looking for tips on making the perfect tart dough, head over to Pie Dough 101.

Ingredients:

12 0z (330g) plain flour
3.5oz (100g) icing sugar
6 oz (180g) butter
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp cold water

Chocolate Filling

Adapted from: The Traveler’s Lunchbox

Ingredients:

8 oz (225g) dark chocolate
6 tablespoons (90g) butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup (80ml) heavy cream
1/4 cup (50g) sugar
1 teaspoon hazelnut extract
cocoa powder for dusting

Equipment:

a 9 inch (20-cm) tart pan
Pastry blender (optional)

Method:

Put the flour and icing sugar into a bowl and rub the butter either with your finger with gentle, quick movements or with a pastry cutter until you achieve breadcrumb like texture. Add the egg yolks and cold water until the mixture comes together.

Remove the dough from the bowl and knead gently. Flatten to form a thick disk and wrap it in cling film and chill it for at least an hour.

Roll out the dough to 3-4 mm (1/8th inch) thickness and line the tart pan, making sure you press it well into the pan. Prick the dough with a fork and fill it up with dried beans and bake in a preheated oven at 170C/340F for about 17-20 minutes until it looks slightly golden and firm. Let it cool.

For the filling: Melt the chocolate and butter in a saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth, then remove from the heat and cool for 5 minutes. Whisk together the eggs, cream, sugar, and hazelnut extract in a bowl. Whisk the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture until combined.

Pour the filling into the cooled crust. Bake until the filling 1 inch from edges is set and slightly puffed but center wobbles when pan is gently shaken, 20 to 25 minutes. (The center will continue to set as it cools.)

Dust with cocoa powder when cool. Eat!

{ 32 comments }

Strawberry Week! + Strawberry Tartlets and My Favourite Pastry Cream

February 15, 2010

I love strawberries. I wait all year just so that I can bite into the sweetness of this heart shaped deliciousness. Is there anyone who doesn’t love the burst of sweet, slightly tart juices in the mouth?

To celebrate my love for the fruit I thought it’d be fun to do a week of some of my favourite things to do with strawberries. So today I present to you my newest obsession: pastry cream. I tried making the pastry cream from Dorie Greenspan’s (no surprise here!) book: Paris Sweets. After reading some horror stories of people ending up with scrambled eggs, I was a little afraid, but I’m happy to report that I got it right in the first shot, and this recipe is a keeper. It is everything you’d want in a pastry cream: rich, dense, sweet smelling and speckled with vanilla caviar.

One thing I’d recommend doing in the recipe is using salted butter instead of unsalted. I just love how the subtle saltiness rounds off the flavour of pastry cream. I made individual tartlets filled with pastry cream and topped them with sliced strawberries. These are so easy to make and look so grand when set on a table: very high return on time invested! Make it with strawberries (of course!) or use your favourite fruit or whatever is in season.

Strawberry Tartlets

Yield: 24 tartlets

1 recipe tart dough from the chocolate tart dough

Pastry cream (recipe below)

3 cups fresh strawberries – hulled, washed and sliced

Pipe the pastry cream into the individual tartlets and arrange the strawberries over the top. Dust with some icing sugar. Serve!

Pastry Cream:

Adapted from Paris Sweets, Dorie Greenspan

1 1/4 cups (300 grams) whole milk

1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped or 1 tsp vanilla extract

3 large egg yolks

1/2 cup / 100g. sugar

3 tbsp / (30g. cornstarch

3 tbsp / 45g salted butter

Bring the milk and vanilla bean (pulp and pod) to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cover the pan, turn off the heat, and set aside for 20-30 minutes. Or, if you are using vanilla extract, just bring the milk to a boil and proceed with the recipe. (You will need to add the extract before you add the butter to the hot pastry cream.). Bring it back to the boil after 30 minutes and then continue.
Working in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan (or your favourite Le Creuset!), whisk the yolks, sugar, and cornstarch together until thick and pale. Whisking enthusiastically all the while, drizzle a quarter of the hot milk onto the yolks very slowly. Continue whisking as you pour the rest of the liquid in a steady stream over the tempered yolks.
Put the pan over medium heat and, whisk enthusiastically (prefer using a positive sounding word like enthusiastic as opposed to the generally used ‘vigorous’) and without stopping, while the mixture comes to the boil. Turn down the flame and keep the mixture at the boil, whisking energetically, for 1 to 2 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat and scrape the pastry cream into a bowl. Allow the pastry cream to cool on the counter for about 3 minutes.
Stir the butter into the hot pastry cream, continuing to stir until the butter is melted and fully incorporated. Now the cream must be chilled thoroughly. Press a piece of plastic wrap against the cream to seal the surface and refrigerate for 3-4 hours.
Shelf life: 3 days when refrigerated and 1 month when frozen. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator and whip it up before using to return it to its smooth consistency.

{ 12 comments }

Fig Tart with Vanilla Scented Frangipane

December 12, 2009

So I did two adventurous things today: One – baked with figs, which I have never done before. And two – succumbed to my aversion for frangipane (fancy schmancy French name for a mixture of ground almonds, sugar, eggs and vanilla).

Now it has got to be something that looks absolutely spectacular for me to want to change my mind about frangipane. For whenever a recipe called for it, I’d cross it off my list instantly since I didn’t like almond paste (or so I thought). The photo in question that made me take the plunge was that of the fig tart I saw on Chez Pim. And out of nowhere, a fig tart made it to the top priority in my mental to-bake list.

And as you can sense already, I was mighty pleased with the results! I made this fig tart for breakfast today and between the two of us, dad was the one who raced me to the last quarter.

I tried a new pie dough recipe this time from the Ottolenghi cookbook. It’s very similar to my regular pie dough recipe that you can use or instead pick your favourite pie dough recipe. Make sure to go through Pie Dough 101 for quick tips for the perfect pie crust. I used the frangipane recipe on Chez Pim and added half a vanilla bean to it – smelled so, so good (thanks to my reader D. who sent the beans to me all the way from Bangalore)! Once you have your dough rolled out, just spread out the frangipane on it and place the sliced figs in concentric circles. Then fold the edges in and crimp it up. A little bit of egg wash and a little bit of icing sugar dusted, it’s ready for the oven. Now bask in the sweet smell that envelopes the house for 40 minutes. Once ready, serve with a dollop of mascarpone cheese or a scoop of rich vanilla ice cream. Such an elegant dessert, but more than that it is a breakfast of the champions, indeed!

Fig Tart with Vanilla Scented Frangipane
Yield: 1 9 inch fig tart
Adapted from: Chez Pim

Vanilla Scented Frangipane
(Just 1/4th going to be here)

½ cup / 75g whole almonds
1/3rd cup / 75g sugar
75g butter
1 large egg
½ a vanilla bean

Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Spread the almonds evenly on a baking sheet and place them in the oven. Roast them for about 10 minutes, or until slightly toasted and fragrant. Transfer to a plate and let cool to room temperature.
Put the cooled almonds and the sugar into a food processor and process until fine. Add the butter and the egg and pulse until well-combined. Stir in the innards of the vanilla bean. If you don’t want to use it right away, divide the frangipane into four equal parts, wrap each tightly in plastic. They will keep in the fridge for a couple of days, and upto a month in the freezer.

9″ fig tart
1 9″ pastry dough
about 10 large figs or about 15 small ones
1/4 the recipe of frangipane above
Preheat the oven to 400F (200C).

Roll out your pastry dough to about 10-inch diameter. Prick a fork through it every inch or so apart.
Place the dough on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
Spread about 1/4 of the quantity of frangipane on the dough, leaving about 1 inch perimeter around the outer edge of the dough. Slice the figs and place them from outside inwards to form concentric circles to cover the frangipane.
Fold the edges in, pinching a little to make sure they stick. Brush the dough with eggwash and give it a good shower of sugar. Bake for about 45-50 minutes, or until the pastry edges are golden brown.

{ 42 comments }

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