Fruit Tarts Recipe

Two months ago Williams-Sonoma had a 15% off sale on bakeware so my mother and I purchased a Tartlet Baking Set with the idea that we could make tarts for our Daughters of the American Revolution meetings & activities. So the baking of tartlets commenced!!! 

I used a basic tart dough recipe from Williams-Sonoma and found a basic custard recipe online. The tart came out suuuuper buttery tasting and the custard was not too sweet. The custard complimented the natural sweetness of the fruits I selected, which were limited by Ralph's seasonal selection and my wallet.

Fruit Tartlets



Makes ~28 tartlets

Ingredients:
Fresh fruit
Lemon juice (to prevent fruit from browning)

For the dough:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
10 Tbs. or 1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten with 1 Tbs. water

For the custard:
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 cup milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract


Directions:

In a food processor, process the flour, sugar, and salt by pulsing once. Add the butter and process for 20-25 seconds in short pulses until small crumbs form. While pulsing, add and process for 10-15 seconds, the egg yolk and water mixture until large, moist crumbs form.

Place the dough onto a lightly floured surface, shape the dough into a ball, and divide it in half. Shape each half into a 5" round, flat disk on plastic wrap. Cover the exposed side with more plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and flour until thick and pale. Heat the milk in a saucepan until almost boiling then remove from heat. Slowly drizzle the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking continuously, until all of the milk has been added. Return the custard to a pot and cook over medium-low heat until custard has thickened and coats the back of a spoon, approximately 5-7 minutes. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of custard to prevent a "skin" from forming and allow to cool completely. Refrigerate once cool. Custard can be made ahead of time or while the dough is "maturing."

Position a rack in the center of an oven and preheat to 400ºF. Working with one disk of dough at a time, roll the disk to 1/4" thickness. Use the tartlet dough cutter to cut 12 rounds out. Place each round into the tartlet pan and use the tartlet press to evenly spread the dough into the pan's fluted crevices. Bake until the tart shells are evenly golden and crisp, 10 to 14 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool for 5 minutes. Remove the tart shells from the pan and cool to room temperature.

Cheung Yao Bang or Spring Onion Pancake Recipe

In the last post I wrote about making Chinese Onion Pancakes, or Cheung Yao Bang, so I wanted to follow up with the recipe. I got the recipe from a women who resembles my aunt and makes Youtube videos in Cantonese. I translated the recipe and directions into English and the U.S. measurement system.


Cheung Yao Bang = Spring Onion Pancake



Makes ~11 Pancakes

For the pancake dough:
225 gram = 8 oz. sieved all-purpose flour
150 ml = 5 fl. oz. warm water

For the onion filling:
2 spring onions, chopped
Some oil
Some salt

Directions:
Put flour into a bowl & add 2/3 of the warm water. Stir the mixture and add the rest of warm water. If the dough is too dry add some more warm water in small portions. Cover the bowl with a plate and let the dough rest for 10 minutes.

Spread some flour onto a flat surface & roll the dough to form a rectangle that is approximately 1/4" thick. Spread some oil onto the dough. Sprinkle salt and the spring onion onto the dough. Roll the dough and cut it into pieces, much like how you would prepare cinnamon rolls. Roll each piece into a ball and flatten it. The size of each pancake is an individual preference.

Heat some oil in a pan on medium heat. Cook the flat pieces of dough in the pan until both sides are golden brown and crunchy. Add salt to flavor. 

*I recommend only cooking what you will actually eat. Microwaving or toasting the cooked pancakes doesn't do them justice. You must make them to order!*