5 secret tips to making the BEST tart
Tarts are not only pretty to look at but also delicious 🙂
I personally am a big fan of tarts as I LOVE the biscuit tart base. A good tart crust should only crumble when it is in your mouth and not when you try to cut or hold it. Also, look for fillings that complement your toppings. For example, a lemon filling would not taste very nice with peanut butter toppings. There are different ways to make the best tart and here are 10 of them 😉
1. Butter Cubes
Butter has to be cut into small cubes to prevent it from melting immediately. Also, it will make the crust smooth.
(i) Cut 125g of unsalted butter into small cubes
(ii) Cream the butter cubes with 120g of confectionary sugar
(iii) Add in 2 egg yolks and ½ teaspoon of salt into the creamed mixture
(iv) Mix in 300g of all-purpose flour to form dough.
(v) Refrigerate till firm before rolling out the dough.
2. Cake flour
Instead of 300g of all-purpose flour, you can replace 150g with cake flour. Cake flour bakes faster and traps moisture better which makes the tart crust softer on the inside with a cookie texture on the outside.
3. Cream/ Fillings
Instead of the normal custard fillings, try out these other fillings 🙂
- Almond cream (Not almond paste)
(i) Mix 125g of cubed butter with 80g of sugar
(ii) Add in 2 egg yolks and 220g of almond flour
(iii) To enrich the flavor, add in rum (amount depends on you)
Once baked, the almond cream would adhere to the crust protecting the crust from the moisture of the toppings.
- Pastry cream
Pastry cream is delicious with fruit tarts but it causes the tart to turn soggy. So, protect your tart with a thin layer of ganache (recipe at the bottom) and let it harden before filling it up with the pastry cream.
(i) Mix 80g of sugar with 1 egg , 3 additional egg yolks and 40g of corn starch
(ii) Simmer 500ml of milk with1 teaspoon of pure vanilla essence
(iii) Stir in half of the egg mixture into the simmered milk and mix well
(iv) Mix in the remaining half of the egg mixture and bring the mixture to a boil before letting it cool down.
(v) Wrap the pastry cream with a plastic wrap that touches the top layer of the cream to prevent a layer from forming at the top of the cream.
- Frangipane
Frangipane is a good alternative if you do not want something too heavy (such as almond cream) or too light (such as pastry cream). Frangipane protects the crust and gives the tart a creamy texture.
(i) Mix half the portion of the almond cream with half the portion of pastry cream
(ii) Mix well and refrigerate before use
- Fruit cream Mousseline
A fruit cream is great for fruit tarts.
(i) Boil 500ml of fruit puree
(ii) Mix 120g of sugar, 1 egg, 3 additional egg yolks and 5 tablespoon of cornstarch.
(iii) Pour half of the boiled puree into the egg mixture
(iv) Transfer the egg, puree mixture back to the other half of the puree mixture and cook until thickened.
4. Glaze
Glazing the toppings such as fruits for a fruit tart adds a shine and sweetness to the fruit.
(i) Create a glaze by microwaving any fruit jam(usually apricot jam is used) until it is a liquid
(ii) Brush the glaze over the fruit
5. Oven temperature
The temperature of the oven depends on the power of your oven. Usually tarts are baked till they turn golden brown.
Ganache recipe
1) Chop up 190g(6 Oz) of chocolate bits and mix it with 1 table spoon plus 1 teaspoon of shortening( Do not use butter, margarine or oil to replace shortening)
2) Set up a water bath and place the pan holding the chocolate on top of the bottom pan that contains the boiling water.
3) Heat the chocolate bits until smooth
Here, at Cup.Cakes Singapore, we offer a variety of different tarts and if you can’t wait to sink your teeth into one, CLICK HERE to order NOW!
For more interesting articles, check out our other blog post 😉