Fruit Tart

Mixed Fruit tart recipe: Of all tarts and pies, fruit tart is our family favorite. We love the custard filling topped with tasty fruits. Wonderful texture combination works well in this tart. The base of the tart is crunchy the inside filling is gooey and gives a cool experience when it enter in your mouth. With fruits really a party on the mouth. We just enjoy thoroughly when ever i make this tart.

Now all the fruits are in season so i thought of making it and we enjoyed each and every bit. Easy to make tart with limited ingredients with the custard filling with the fruits of your choice or seasonal fruits. Perfect for parties as it can be made prior a day before too and chilled in refrigerator.

INGREDIENTS:

To make short crust pastry:

All purpose Flour/ Maida- 1½ cups

Butter, cold unsalted- 3/4 cup (150 gms)

Sugar, powdered- 1/4 cup

Salt- 1/4 teaspoon

Cold water-1-3 tablespoons

To make Custard filling:

Eggs-3
Sugar, powdered- 1/2 cup

Corn Flour-2 tablespoons

Milk- 1 cup

Cream- 3 tablespoons (100 ml)

Vanilla extract- 1/4 teaspoon

Apricot(or) Pineapple Jam(or) Corn Syrup- for brushing fruits

PROCEDURE:

For the Short Crust pastry:

• Cut the chill butter in to small cubes. In a blender jar combine All purpose Flour, butter, powdered sugar, salt and 1 tablespoon of ice water. Pulse the ingredients until just combined like a wet sand appearance. If it looks dry add some more cold water and pulse again just to combine.

• Transfer the flour mixture on the work surface and knead to make a smooth dough.
• Make this dough in to a disc or ball shape and cover with a cling film and chill for 30 minutes to harden.
• Take the pastry from fridge and roll it as a thin sheet on a lightly floured surface (or) inbetween two cling film using a rolling pin.

• Remove the cling film from one side and invert the dough and line the tart tin (23cm-25cm) and remove the cling film on top of the dough.
• Trim off the excess hanging edges by pressing the edges of the tart tin.
• Chill this pastry with tin inside fridge for 30 minutes.

• Pre heat the oven to 180 degree for 15 minutes.
• Line the pastry case with wax paper and fill with any dry beans.(I used whole Channa)
• Place the tart tin on a baking tray and bake for about 15-20 minutes.
• Take out the tart tin from oven and remove the wax paper and the beans and bake for another 5-7 minutes to finish cooking the base.

• Leave it for 10 minutes and allow the pastry case to cool down.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 160 degrees and at the mean time prepare the filling.

For the Filling:

• In a big bowl add the eggs, sugar and corn flour beat well using a hand whisk. 

• Then add in the cream, milk and vanilla essence; stain the mixture to remove any lumps and set aside.

• Peel and cut the fruits and refrigerate till you use. 

Assembling:

• After cooling a gap forms in between the tart case and the tin. Insert a knife between the gap and slightly lift the base and remove from the tin carefully.
• Now keep the tart case over a baking tray and keep inside the oven slightly push the rack out and carefully pour the custard filling over the tart shell and place the rack at right place. (You could pour from outside but while transferring chances are more to spill from the case)

• Bake at 160 degrees for about 30 minutes (or) the centre of the custard has a jiggle and the edges almost set.
• Remove the tart from the oven allow to cool till room temperature and cover the top of the custard with fruits of your choice.
• Melt the jam or use corn syrup and brush over the fruits.

• Refrigerate the tart before serving atleast 30 minutes.
• Slice the tart and serve chilled.

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Apple Pie/ Apple Tart (100th Post)

        An apple pie is a fruit pie (or tart) in which the principal filling ingredient is apples. It is sometimes served with whipped cream or ice cream on top, or alongside cheddar cheese. Pastry is generally used top-and-bottom, making it a double-crust pie, the upper crust of which may be a circular shaped crust or a pastry lattice woven of strips; exceptions are deep-dish apple pie with a top crust only, and open-face Tarte Tatin.
 

      Here I have made apple pie in a basket look alike shape.  You can cover the filling with a normal rolled pastry and prick them at the centre to allow the steam to escape and allow the pie to cook inside. I have used Granny's Smith Green apples for this recipe you can make this with any apple which are crunchy and acidic.

INGREDIENTS:

For Short Crust Pastry:

All-purpose flour- 2 cups

Salt- ¼ teaspoon

Icing sugar- 4 tablespoon

Unsalted butter, slightly cold-200 grams (1 cup)

Egg yolk- 1

Cold water- 4 to 5 tablespoons or as required

For the Apple Filling:

Apple, chopped -2 (crisp and acidic cooking apples like Grannys Smith, Golen Delicious…etc)

Raisins- 3 tablespoons

Brown sugar- ½ cup (can use normal white sugar also)

Cinnamon powder- ½ teaspoon

For Brushing the shell:

Egg white-1

Apricot Jam, melted - ¼ cup

PROCEDURE:

• Combine together, all-purpose flour, salt and icing sugar. Add butter and mix gently using your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs. For a well inside the crumbs and add egg yolk and sufficient quantity of ice water, mix gently until the dough just comes together. Knead the dough until you get a smooth dough. Divide the dough into two parts and wrap with cling film and chill in refrigerator for 15-20 minutes.

• Preheat oven to 180^oC.
• Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface until 3 mm thick and keep inside the base and cut the extra hanging pastry. 

• In a bowl mix the chopped apple, raisins, brown sugar and cinnamon.
• Fill the base with the apple filling up to the top and level with this using a spoon.

• From the remaining pastry using pizza cutter or knife cut some long strips, to keep on top of the base to shape a fruit basket like appearance. 
• Brush the top with egg wash using a pastry brush. Transfer the tins to oven and bake till the surface turns golden.

• Melt the apricot jam in oven for 30seconds or in a small pan over the stove heat till the jam melts. Brush the baked apple pies with melted jam using a pastry brush.
• Serve with whipping cream, ice cream or cheese.
• Makes 1 large pie or small 4 pies.

 

      

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Star Topped Mince Pies/ Mince Pies

A mince pie, also known as minced pie, is a small British fruit-based mincemeat sweet pie traditionally served during the Christmas season. Short crust pastry filled with rich, sticky and spiced fruit filling. The fruit filling mainly made using dry fruits such as sultanas, raisins, currants, cranberries etc. They have not full casings but little stars as lids, which makes them look beautiful and taste flatteringly light.

You can use good shop-bought mincemeat  and ready to roll short crust pastry if you want, to make it in a jiffy. But I'm hoping you might give my new Cranberry-Studded Mincemeat a go, which is made from scartch. It tastes both rich , boozy, fresh and fruity.

INGREDIENTS:

For Short Crust Pastry:

All-purpose flour- 2 cups

Salt- ¼ teaspoon

Icing sugar- 4 tablespoons

Unsalted butter, slightly cold-200grams

Egg yolk- 1 large

Cold water- 4 to 5 tablespoons or as required

For the Dry Fruit Filling:

Mixed dry fruits- 2 cups (raisins, cranberries, sultanas…etc)

Apple juice- ¼ cup

Brown sugar- ½ cup

Orange zest- 2 teaspoons

Orange juice- ½

Cinnamon powder- ½ teaspoons

Mixed spice powder- ¼ teaspoons (coriander seeds, cinnamon, clove, dry ginger, pepper, nutmeg - each 1 teaspoon powdered)

PROCEDURE:

• Combine together all the ingredients for the filling in a saucepan and bring it to a boil.

•  Reduce the flame to medium and allow to simmer until the dry fruits turn soft and the water content is almost completely absorbed. Allow this to cool completely.

• Combine together, all-purpose flour, salt and icing sugar. Add butter and mix gently using your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs.
• Form a well inside the crumbs and add egg yolk and sufficient quantity of ice water, mix gently until the dough just comes together. Knead the dough until you get a smooth dough.
• Divide the dough into two parts and wrap with cling film and chill in refrigerator for 15-20 minutes.

 

• Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface until 3 mm thick and cut the base using a round cookie cutter.

• Take one round base in the hand and fill with 1 to 2 tsp of the fruit filling. Press the stuffing with fingers and form cup shape. Gently press this into the muffin tin. Cut star shapes also from the remaining dough and keep on top of the pies.
• Preheat oven to 180^oC.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes until the base hardens and the base cooks well.
• Allow to cool and dust with icing sugar on top if you like.
• Makes about 15-18 mini pies.

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