I have lots of time to play in my kitchen in April. Instead of spending the whole time making muffins (my preferred way to spend my baking time), I branched out and decided to try and make something pretty. Something worth taking a picture of. I love those fruit tart things, with the pastry cream base and lots of fresh fruit on top with a glaze over top of the whole thing--so I figured, why not? I'll make a fruit tart. Keep in mind, I've never made pastry cream, and I hate anything to do with pie crusts, except eating them.
First, the pie crust. I've made plenty of pie crusts, but I really just hate making them. I'm probably just not a good roller-outer. I used the Joy of Cooking's recipe for a tart crust, with powdered sugar in it. I also incorporated (this might be the problem) some of Alton Brown's (of the TV show "Good Eats") wisdom, using a tablespoon of whiskey in the dough instead of straight water. His reasoning is that when you mix alcohol and flour, the flour doesn't bind as well with the alcohol, resulting in less gluten formation, whereas water and flour bind quite well and the gluten does it's thing and makes the dough all tough. So, I used some whiskey. Rolling out the dough wasn't that bad, but I didn't exactly make it look pretty in the pans, and surprisingly enough it didn't end up looking any prettier after baking. The recipe:
1-1/4C flour
1/3C powdered sugar
1/4tsp salt
4 tbs chilled butter, cut into cubes
1 tbs whiskey
4 tbs ice cold water
Mix the powdery stuff in a food processor, then add the butter and process until its in really tiny lumps. Add the liquid one tablespoon at a time until you can pinch the dough and it sticks together. Dump it in a pile on a table, and form it into a ball. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate 30-60 minutes. Roll it out, put it in whatever pan you plan on baking it in, and blind bake it until golden brown at 400F.
Next was the pastry cream. Again I turned to the trusty Joy of Cooking. Their recipe for pastry cream didn't seem overly complicated, so I gave it a try. Recipe:
4 egg yolks
1/3C sugar
2 tbs flour
2 tbs corn starch
1-1/3C milk
3/4tsp vanilla
Beat on high speed until thick and pale yellow, about 2 minutes, the sugar, flour, corn starch, and yolks. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, bring the milk to a simmer. Gradually pour 1/3 of the milk into the egg mixture, whisking to combine. Pour the egg mixture into the pan and cook over low to medium heat, whisking constantly and scraping the bottom and corners of the pan to prevent scorching, until the custard is thickened and beginning to bubble. Then continue to cook, whisking, for 45-60 seconds. Using a clean spatula, scrape the custard into a clean bowl. Stir in the vanilla. Cover the surface of the custard with a piece of wax paper to prevent a skin from forming. Cool, then refrigerate before using. This keeps, refrigerated, for up to 2 days.
I guess I didn't cook my custard long enough, because it was a little too runny. Somewhat custard-like, but definitely a runny custard. I also forgot to glaze my fruit, or put jam down on the crust to prevent leaking. The assembly is to spread some warmed jam on the crust, glop in some custard, and artfully arrange some fruit. Then you can pour some warmed (microwaved) jam on top that will work as a glaze.
So, my fruit tart definitely looked pretty. It tasted delicious, too, although I would much prefer my custard a little less runny. And don't worry, you can't taste any whiskey in the crust!
Experiment #2: Maple Walnut Sticky Bars!
These bars tasted amazing. But my filling stayed a little runny. Talking to Ed about it later, we realized that I had used maple syrup that is hand-bottled in a kitchen operation by his aunt Marion, just down the road in Newton. Now, her syrup is delicious, eaten straight, but our hypothesis was that it is not boiled enough with the same precision as a larger operation, meaning that adding more sugar won't cause it to crystalize like normal syrup would do. Just another reason to try these bars again with a different maple syrup!
Crust:
1-1/4C flour
2 tbs sugar
1/4 tsp salt
8 tbs butter (1 stick)
2 egg yolks
Filling:
1/2C maple syrup
1/3C brown sugar
1/2C heavy whipping cream
3 tbs butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
1-1/2C walnuts
Mix together the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the butter, softened, and mash it around with the back of a fork until the dough is all in little balls. Add the egg yolks, then press into a buttered pan and dock with a fork or add some baking beans. Blind bake at 400F for 20 minutes, until it is fully cooked and golden. Brush with another egg yolk and cook for another 2 minutes, until a hardened glaze is formed.
Combine the maple syrup, brown sugar, cream, and butter in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Boil for 30 seconds, then remove from heat and add the vanilla and nuts. Pour the hot filling into the crust and bake for 15 minutes, until the middle is bubbly. Cool, then chill for at least 1 hour before cutting it open.
This recipe was stolen from epicurious.com.
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