Tart Class

These recipes are complimentary from one of my friends, Heather, who is also a pastry chef. We taught these recipes to a group of church women and they were a hit!

Pastry Cream
Filling yields enough to fill two tarts. You can divide the pastry cream and add chocolate chips if you want the best of both.

2 c. whole milk (reserve 1/4 cup for slurry)
7 egg yolks
1cup +1 Tbsp. sugar divided
1 tsp. vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean split and seeds removed
2 1/4 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 oz butter
1 c. heavy cream (whipped and unsweetened)

Combine 1 3/4 c milk and half of the sugar in a medium sauce pan. (If you are using the vanilla bean add to saucepan to bring out the flavor. If you are using vanilla extract add it after the cream is finished.) Bring to an almost boil. While milk is heating, combine egg yolks and half the sugar with whisk in separate bowl. Stir cornstarch with a whisk and make a slurry using 1/4 cup of milk. Stir the cornstarch slurry into egg yolk mixture. Once the milk is hot, temper it into the egg mixture, by pouring a half of a cup at a time into the egg mixture and whisking. Do this until the egg mixture is warm. Pour all liquid back into the pot. Whisk constantly over medium heat until the mixture boils for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add vanilla and butter and whisk till smooth. Pour immediately into a sieve/strainer (ensuring no curdled eggs) resting on top of metal bowl that is sitting in an ice bath. After pastry cream is chilled gently fold in the whipped cream until evenly blended. Chill until ready to use. Fill tart shells with pastry cream until pastry is level with sides of the tart.




Chocolate Pastry Cream
Follow recipe above. After pastry cream is finished and strained, add chocolate chips and place over ice bath.**If you are dividing the pastry cream in half reduce chocolate chips to 1/4 c.** If you are using a full recipe add 1/2 c. chocolate chips. Garnish with chantilly cream aka whipped cream.


Cream Cheese Pastry Cream

Follow the recipe above and omit the butter and replace with an 8 oz package of cream cheese at room temperature.


Chantilly Cream1 pt of heavy whipping cream
1/4 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp of vanilla


Whip heavy cream in a bowl to soft peaks and add sugar and vanilla. Whip together until stiff peaks form.


Tips


Combine eggs and sugar together at the last possible minute. Sugar can burn the eggs and actually cook it.

To temper eggs use a ladle and pour milk mixture in a slow steady stream while whisking into the egg mixture. Ladle milk mixture into the eggs 2-3 times and until the eggs are no longer cool. Return milk mixture/saucepan to the burner and add the egg mixture and whisk constantly.

Strain hot pastry cream through a sieve, fine colander or cheese cloth to ensure there are no curdled eggs aka scrambled eggs. They can be very small. If this occurs, and the curds are very small you can still salvage it by placing it in a blender and blend until smooth.

Have your ice bath ready before you begin making pastry cream. Combine water and ice in a large bowl and place a smaller bowl on top. After pastry cream is finished pour into ice bath immediately to prevent the eggs from further cooking. Heather recommended metal bowls work best.

Heather recommends saucepans without teflon

Add fresh fruit on top of vanilla tart in a pattern or just random pattern. Pastry cream is not supposed to be shown on fruit tarts. Blueberries are excellent for covering holes.

Whole Foods generic chocolate chips are recommended. Also, Trader Joe's 1 pound Belgian chocolate is EXCELLENT and costs the same as chocolate chips.

Pastry cream is good for 5 days. If chilling the pastry cream, place a piece plastic wrap directly on top of it to prevent the pastry cream from forming a film/skin/crust. Be sure there aren't any air bubbles wither.

Tarts are best eaten within 2-3 days.

Pastry cream can be made the night before. Be sure to cover it as mentioned above.

Fill tarts with pastry cream so it is level with tart edges.

If you are interested in using vanilla beans Heather recommended the website http://www.saffron.com/.

To split vanilla beans place on a cutting board and using a paring knife and split it down the middle. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and add to the milk & sugar mixuture in the saucepan. Toss in the remaining vanilla bean pod to get the most flavor possible and remove before adding eggs.

If your milk mixture boils over a little simple add as much milk you think boiled over. If you lost too much...start over!


Tart Dough
Yields four large tarts.

1 lb. butter
1 c. sugar
4 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Cream butter and sugar. Add vanilla. Add flour and mix after each cup. Don't over mix, mix only till combined. Roll dough or chill until ready to use. After dough is shaped in tart pan dock the dough by pressing the end of a fork several times around the dough. This prevents bubbles during the baking process. Bake in tart shell for 20 minutes at 350 degrees until lightly golden brown. If using mini tartlet shells bake only 10 to 11 minutes.

Fill baked and cooled tart shell with chilled pastry cream. Top with desired topping. (e.g. fruit, whipped cream, or chocolate shavings. Serve.


Tips

Heather prefers to use a large measuring cup and press down on the baked tart while hot in the pan to help reshape the tart.

Roll dough out in between to sheets of parchment or wax paper to prevent adding more flour and toughening or drying out the dough.

After shaping dough in tart plan Heather suggests placing the unbaked tart dough in the freezer for 10 min before placing in the oven. This helps keep the butter from melting too quickly. (Butter melts while you shape it.)