What could be more delicious than buttery pastry filled with delicious sweet fruit.
Tarts can be served as dessert or as a tea time treat.
The difference between a pie and a tart is that in a pie, the filling is usually covered by pastry and in a tart a pastry case is filled with a filling, often of fruit. It is a great way of using up a glut of seasonal fruit.
If you feel making your own pastry is too much trouble, then ready made frozen pastry works perfectly well.
It is always important to bake the pastry base before adding the filling to prevent a soggy bottom. It’s a good idea to have a few pre-baked pastry cases in the freezer ready to be whipped out and filled at a moment’s notice.
Easy tart pastry
This is a quick and easy pastry which can be used for most sweet tarts. It eliminates rolling: just press the dough into the pan.
Ingredients
125g butter
125ml castor sugar
1 egg
5ml vanilla essence
500ml cake flour
pinch of salt
5ml baking powder
Method
Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and creamy. Add egg and vanilla and beat well. Sift flour, salt and baking powder and add to egg mixture to form a “stiffish” dough.
Wrap in cling wrap until ready to use.
Pear and almond tart
Serves 8
1 x easy tart pastry
Ingredients
FILLING
100g butter
125ml castor sugar
2 extra large eggs
2ml almond essence
100g ground almonds
15ml flour
TOPPING
2 large pears, peeled and sliced
juice of one lemon
Method
Roll out the pastry lightly on a floured surface, and then press into a 22cm loose-bottomed tart pan. Prick with a fork. Line with baking paper and fill with baking beans.
Bake blind at 180°C for 10-12 minutes. Remove beans and bake for a further 5 minutes.
Remove from oven and set aside.
FILLING
Cream butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well. Add almond essence. Mix in the ground almonds and flour. Spread the filling smoothly over the base of the pre-baked pastry case.
TOPPING
Top with pear slices which have been tossed in lemon juice.
Bake at 180°C for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Rhubarb strawberry crumble
Serves 8-10
1x easy tart pastry
Ingredients
1 egg white, lightly beaten
250g rhubarb, cut into 3cm lengths
15ml water
80ml sugar
250g strawberries, halved
10ml balsamic vinegar
80ml sugar
CRUMBLE
100g flour
60g butter
80ml brown sugar
pinch salt
Method
PASTRY BASE
Roll out pastry and line a 12cmx34cm loose-bottomed tart pan. Prick base and chill for 30 minutes. Line base with baking paper and fill with baking beans.
Bake blind at 180°C for 15 minutes. Remove beans, brush with egg white and bake for a further 5 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
FILLING:
Combine rhubarb, water and sugar in a saucepan and cook over low heat until soft.
Place the strawberries in a large bowl and sprinkle over balsamic vinegar and sugar. Allow strawberries to marinate for 30 minutes.
CRUMBLE TOPPING:
Put flour in a bowl and, using your fingertips, rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in sugar and salt. Set aside. To finish, combine strawberries with rhubarb mixture. Taste and adjust sugar accordingly. Spoon fruit into the pre-baked pastry case. Top with crumble mixture.
Bake at 180°C for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm with cream.
Angela Day, Sunday Tribune