Orange Tart
Tarts and Pies are always a hit-and-miss affair with me. I think I am just too impatient when it comes to all the chilling time needed for the pastry when making them. I remembered once when watching Delia Smith (I think it was her ‘How To Cook’ series?), she said you must be calm and think happy thoughts when making pastry, but when you are frustrated or angry, it is good time to make bread – how true that is!
Lemon Tart is delicious but I wanted to do something similar but not as tangy, so I decided to make an Orange Tart with a Sweet Shortcrust pastry as I always like the combination of the sweetness in the shortcrust in contrast with the slight tartness of the lemon-orange filling. This time I am determine to do it properly and for once try to make a success out of making tart, not just a hit-and-miss!
First of all, I began by measuring out all the ingredients for the Sweet Shortcrust carefully. Then with extreme patient and tenderness, I began to rub the butter into the flour mixture with my fingertips, lifting the mixture up high and letting them falls back into the bowl (exactly like what Delia said I should do), and trying hard to think happy thoughts… Hmmm, that’s easier said than done, because after a while, my mind was telling me – this is taking far too long, gluten, gluten, quicker, quicker… Well, that’s no good, all my happy thoughts began to evaporate away into the thin air, I could just see the shrinking pastry case again! I looked at the mixture, well, at least they were looking like coarse breadcrumbs, so I added in the egg yolk and lemon juice, and tried to press the mixture into a clump – it was still too dry, so carefully adding a little water and thankfully they came together. Phew… Finally time to chill the dough, wrapping it up and putting it into the fridge, I said a little prayer. Hmmm, that sounded like a song, la-la-la-la-la-la, happy thoughts coming back just when I don’t need them anymore!
After one hour I took out the dough, no, no, nooo, it had turned too hard to be rolled out! Be patient, be patient – I told myself, happy thoughts, happy thoughts, relax, relax, I let the dough sit on the counter to soften while I began to juice the oranges and lemon. After about a quarter hour, with my patience quickly running out, I put the dough between two sheets of baking paper and began to roll it out. It was still a bit hard, it is winter weather after all, so with a bit of force, I managed to roll it out to fit my tart tin. A sigh of relieve, I fit the pastry into the tin, trim off the edges and carefully pricked the bottom with a fork. Now, according to gospel of pastry making, I should put it into the refrigerator again to chill for another half an hour, so in it went! No more shortcut like before…
After the pastry had its proper chilling time, I took it out, lined it with a crumple piece of baking paper and filled it with baking beans. Now came the crunch time, I put it in the preheated oven to blind bake – after about 10 minutes, I checked it and, yoohoo, it looked OK, NO shrinking… So I removed the baking beans and the lining paper and finished baking the pastry case until light golden brown. Then I got a shock! The bottom of the pastry had puffed up like a balloon, oh, no, no, no, after all the work and time I put in to make it… I cursed, not that I would said it aloud, mind you, just under my breath, hehehe… I took it out of the oven, with resignation, I pressed it down… Well, what do you know, the puffed up bit actually sank back obediently and levelled back with the bottom of the tin, I almost danced with joy seeing that… Finally, finally I baked a good tart shell and it was not a hit-and-miss affair. So important lesson learnt, ladies and gentlemen, NEVER take shortcut when making pastry for tarts or pies… Now if only I could chisel that lesson into my brain…
Makes one 20cm tart
[Ingredients]
Sweet Shortcrust Pastry:
150g plain flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
50g caster sugar
100g butter, cubed
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3 teaspoons water, as necessary
Orange Filling:
125ml (1/2 cup) orange juice
40ml (2 tablespoons) lemon juice
1 whole egg
2 egg yolks
60g (1/4 cup) caster sugar
2 teaspoons custard powder
50g butter
1 teaspoon orange essence or 1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
http://cafeoftheeast.blogspot.com/
[Preparation]
1. For the Sweet Shortcrust Pastry: Sift flour, baking powder and sugar into a mixing bowl. Rub butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add egg yolk, lemon juice and just enough water to form a dough. Wrap in cling film and chill in the refrigerator for about 1 hour.
2. Roll out the pastry dough between two sheets of baking paper and line a 20cm tart (flan) tin. Ease pastry into sides of tin with fingers and press lightly into grooves. Roll rolling pin over top of tin to remove excess pastry. Prick base with fork. Cover with cling film and put back into the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile preheat oven to 200°C and start making filling.
3. For the Orange Filling: Dissolve custard powder in some of the juice. Add in remaining juices, sugar and lightly beaten egg and egg yolks. Strain into a saucepan and cook over medium heat for 5 - 8 minutes, or until the mixture thickens, whisking constantly. As soon as the mixture thickens, remove from heat and whisk in the butter and orange essence. Let cool.
4. Blind bake pastry case for about 10 minutes. Remove weights and bake for another 10 minutes, or until light golden brown in colour. Let cool.
4. Preheat oven to 180°C. Pour cold filling into cold pastry case and bake for 20 - 25 minutes, or until the centre of the filling jiggles slightly when shaken. Let cool then chill in refrigerator before cutting and serving. Serve with whipped cream.
[Tip]
You will need about 2 oranges and 1 lemon to get the required juices for the filling.
[Note]
1. Please note this recipe uses 1 standard cup of 250ml, 1 tablespoon of 20ml and 1 teaspoon of 5ml.
2. The size of egg used is about 60g (includes shell) unless otherwise stated.
Lemon Tart is delicious but I wanted to do something similar but not as tangy, so I decided to make an Orange Tart with a Sweet Shortcrust pastry as I always like the combination of the sweetness in the shortcrust in contrast with the slight tartness of the lemon-orange filling. This time I am determine to do it properly and for once try to make a success out of making tart, not just a hit-and-miss!
First of all, I began by measuring out all the ingredients for the Sweet Shortcrust carefully. Then with extreme patient and tenderness, I began to rub the butter into the flour mixture with my fingertips, lifting the mixture up high and letting them falls back into the bowl (exactly like what Delia said I should do), and trying hard to think happy thoughts… Hmmm, that’s easier said than done, because after a while, my mind was telling me – this is taking far too long, gluten, gluten, quicker, quicker… Well, that’s no good, all my happy thoughts began to evaporate away into the thin air, I could just see the shrinking pastry case again! I looked at the mixture, well, at least they were looking like coarse breadcrumbs, so I added in the egg yolk and lemon juice, and tried to press the mixture into a clump – it was still too dry, so carefully adding a little water and thankfully they came together. Phew… Finally time to chill the dough, wrapping it up and putting it into the fridge, I said a little prayer. Hmmm, that sounded like a song, la-la-la-la-la-la, happy thoughts coming back just when I don’t need them anymore!
After one hour I took out the dough, no, no, nooo, it had turned too hard to be rolled out! Be patient, be patient – I told myself, happy thoughts, happy thoughts, relax, relax, I let the dough sit on the counter to soften while I began to juice the oranges and lemon. After about a quarter hour, with my patience quickly running out, I put the dough between two sheets of baking paper and began to roll it out. It was still a bit hard, it is winter weather after all, so with a bit of force, I managed to roll it out to fit my tart tin. A sigh of relieve, I fit the pastry into the tin, trim off the edges and carefully pricked the bottom with a fork. Now, according to gospel of pastry making, I should put it into the refrigerator again to chill for another half an hour, so in it went! No more shortcut like before…
After the pastry had its proper chilling time, I took it out, lined it with a crumple piece of baking paper and filled it with baking beans. Now came the crunch time, I put it in the preheated oven to blind bake – after about 10 minutes, I checked it and, yoohoo, it looked OK, NO shrinking… So I removed the baking beans and the lining paper and finished baking the pastry case until light golden brown. Then I got a shock! The bottom of the pastry had puffed up like a balloon, oh, no, no, no, after all the work and time I put in to make it… I cursed, not that I would said it aloud, mind you, just under my breath, hehehe… I took it out of the oven, with resignation, I pressed it down… Well, what do you know, the puffed up bit actually sank back obediently and levelled back with the bottom of the tin, I almost danced with joy seeing that… Finally, finally I baked a good tart shell and it was not a hit-and-miss affair. So important lesson learnt, ladies and gentlemen, NEVER take shortcut when making pastry for tarts or pies… Now if only I could chisel that lesson into my brain…
Makes one 20cm tart
[Ingredients]
Sweet Shortcrust Pastry:
150g plain flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
50g caster sugar
100g butter, cubed
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3 teaspoons water, as necessary
Orange Filling:
125ml (1/2 cup) orange juice
40ml (2 tablespoons) lemon juice
1 whole egg
2 egg yolks
60g (1/4 cup) caster sugar
2 teaspoons custard powder
50g butter
1 teaspoon orange essence or 1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
http://cafeoftheeast.blogspot.com/
[Preparation]
1. For the Sweet Shortcrust Pastry: Sift flour, baking powder and sugar into a mixing bowl. Rub butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add egg yolk, lemon juice and just enough water to form a dough. Wrap in cling film and chill in the refrigerator for about 1 hour.
2. Roll out the pastry dough between two sheets of baking paper and line a 20cm tart (flan) tin. Ease pastry into sides of tin with fingers and press lightly into grooves. Roll rolling pin over top of tin to remove excess pastry. Prick base with fork. Cover with cling film and put back into the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile preheat oven to 200°C and start making filling.
3. For the Orange Filling: Dissolve custard powder in some of the juice. Add in remaining juices, sugar and lightly beaten egg and egg yolks. Strain into a saucepan and cook over medium heat for 5 - 8 minutes, or until the mixture thickens, whisking constantly. As soon as the mixture thickens, remove from heat and whisk in the butter and orange essence. Let cool.
4. Blind bake pastry case for about 10 minutes. Remove weights and bake for another 10 minutes, or until light golden brown in colour. Let cool.
4. Preheat oven to 180°C. Pour cold filling into cold pastry case and bake for 20 - 25 minutes, or until the centre of the filling jiggles slightly when shaken. Let cool then chill in refrigerator before cutting and serving. Serve with whipped cream.
[Tip]
You will need about 2 oranges and 1 lemon to get the required juices for the filling.
[Note]
1. Please note this recipe uses 1 standard cup of 250ml, 1 tablespoon of 20ml and 1 teaspoon of 5ml.
2. The size of egg used is about 60g (includes shell) unless otherwise stated.
posted by SeaDragon @ 21.6.05
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