Basic Tart Dough and Pear Custard Tarts
Tuesday December 27, 2011
The holidays are over. Is everyone else breathing a sigh of relief? Time to relax. I seem to have ended up with a backlog of recipes and now seems about as good a time as any to start posting them. I have been cooking and baking up a storm and have not had a spare second to post.
I make this tart more than any other tart recipe in my repertoire. Pears and custard. You really can’t go wrong.
Tarts are one of my favourite desserts because they have a bit of fruit in them (so healthy-er? Let's pretend) and they also only have ONE crust (unlike pie - aka less butter? Check.).. AND they look pretty.
I always make multiple batches of dough, which is why my recipe is for three shells. I figure if I am going to put the effort in to make ONE, I might as well just get a few more done and keep them in the freezer until they are needed. You never know when you'll need a tart!
Recipe: Tart Dough
Makes 3 9-inch round tarts OR 3 13.5-inch rectangular tartsIngredients:
3 cups flour
1/3 cup icing sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups cold unsalted butter cubed
1/3 cup ice water
Note: use tart shells with removable bottom
Method:In a food processor combine flour, icing sugar and salt. Pulse to mix. Add the butter and pulse 7-8 times until the mixture forms large, coarse crumbs the size of large peas.
Add the cold water while the food processor is running and pulse JUST until the dough starts to come together (it will look grainy still but when you pinch the dough it will hold together).
On work surface, shape dough into 3 equal disks and refrigerate until cold (30 minutes will do, or you can do this overnight).
Roll out tart dough 1 sheet at a time and ease gently into 9 inch tart pan with removable bottom, or section into small rounds of dough and using fingers, press into 3-4.5 inch tartlett shells.
Fold the excess back over the inside to create a double layer along the sides of the pan. Press dough into sides and trim off any excess. Poke air vents in the bottom with a fork.
At this point, I freeze my dough until I need it. Or if you need it sooner, freeze dough for at least 30 min. Line tart shell with aluminum foil and place pie weights inside (I use dried beans sometimes or forget the weights, it doesn't matter too much!). This will prevent the sides from slipping down while it is being baked.
Depending on your tart recipe, you will either need to fully bake your tart shell or par-bake it so it is not quite baked all the way.
Par Bake: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Bake from frozen for 10-12 minutes or until very lightly browned (I remove the foil after half the cooking time so that the bottom can cook a bit). Let cool completely before adding fillings and bake according to the recipes instructions.
Pre-Bake: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bake frozen tart shell for ~15-20 min or until golden. Let cool before adding fillings.
Recipe: Pear Custard Tart
Makes 1 9-inch round tart OR 1 13.5-inch rectangular tart
Ingredients:
par-baked tart shell*
2-4 bartlett / bosc pears
2 tbsp milk
2.5 tbsp butter melted
zest of 1 lemon
2 eggs
3 tbsp flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp vanilla
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cinnamon
Note: use tart shells with removable bottom
Method:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Peel and core pears. Slice into thin slices (1/8-1/4 inch thick) and arrange pear slices in partially baked tart decoratively. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs until pale yellow. Beat in sugar, melted butter, milk, lemon zest, flour, vanilla, and spices. Mix until combined. Pour mixture over pear slices evenly without letting it overflow over the sides of the par-baked crust.
Bake for 15 min at 425 degrees F, then lower temperature to 400 degrees F for additional 20 min or until top is lightly brown. Cool to room temperature before serving.
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2-4 bartlett / bosc pears
2 tbsp milk
2.5 tbsp butter melted
zest of 1 lemon
2 eggs
3 tbsp flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp vanilla
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cinnamon
Note: use tart shells with removable bottom
Bake for 15 min at 425 degrees F, then lower temperature to 400 degrees F for additional 20 min or until top is lightly brown. Cool to room temperature before serving.
