Dried Fruit Tart With Brandied Crème Anglaise Food

BRANDIED-FRUIT TARTLETS

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, bring dried fruit and cider to a boil over medium-high. Reduce heat and simmer until liquid is almost absorbed, 8 minutes. Transfer fruit mixture to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped but not pasty. Transfer to a medium bowl and stir in pecans and brandy. (To store, transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate, up to 1 week.)
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to an 1/8-inch thickness. With a 3 1/2-inch cookie cutter, cut dough into 12 rounds, then press rounds into 12 standard muffin cups (dough should come 3/4 inch up sides). Divide fruit mixture among cups and brush edges with egg. With a 2 1/2-inch cookie cutter, cut remaining dough into 12 smaller rounds (reroll scraps if necessary). With lightly floured decorative cutters or a knife, cut out shapes from smaller rounds (or cut slits to vent). Place on tartlets, pressing lightly at edges to seal. Brush tops with egg and sprinkle with sugar. Freeze until firm, 10 minutes (or up to 1 day).
• Bake until tartlets are golden brown, 25 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. Let cool in pan, 5 minutes. Run a thin knife around each tartlet; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

DRIED-FRUIT TART WITH BRANDIED CRèME ANGLAISE

Steps:

• On a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin roll out dough 1/8 inch thick (about an 11-inch round). Fit dough into an 8-inch tart pan with a removable fluted rim and trim edge. With a fork prick bottom of shell all over. Chill shell 30 minutes, or until firm.
• Preheat oven to 375° F.
• Line shell with foil and fill with pie weights or raw rice. Bake shell in middle of oven 20 minutes. Carefully remove weights or rice and foil and bake shell until golden, 8 to 10 minutes more. Cool shell in pan on a rack.
• Make dried-fruit mixture:
• In a heavy saucepan simmer water with sugar and vanilla bean, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved. Halve apricots and add to syrup with prunes and cherries. Simmer mixture 10 minutes and pour through a sieve into a 2-cup glass measure (you will have about 1 2/3 cups syrup). Reserve fruit and vanilla bean.
• In a food processor purée 1/2 cup reserved fruit and 2 tablespoons syrup until smooth. Spread purée evenly over bottom of tart shell and arrange remaining fruit on top. In a cup sprinkle gelatin over cold water to soften 1 minute. In a small saucepan boil 1/2 cup remaining syrup until reduced to about 1/4 cup. Remove pan from heat and add gelatin mixture, stirring until gelatin is dissolved completely, and with a pastry brush brush glaze on fruit. Reserve remaining cup syrup for crème anglaise.
• Make crème anglaise:
• Have ready a metal bowl set in a larger bowl of ice and cold water. In a 2-quart heavy saucepan combine cream and reserved cup syrup. Split reserved vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape seeds into pan. Discard vanilla bean. Bring mixture just to a boil and remove pan from heat. In a bowl with an electric mixer beat together yolks and sugar until thick and pale. Add hot cream mixture to yolk mixture in a slow stream, whisking. Transfer mixture to cleaned pan and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until slightly thickened and a thermometer registers 170° F. (Do not let custard boil.) Pour custard through a fine sieve into metal bowl set in bowl of ice water. Cool crème anglaise completely and stir in brandy. (Crème anglaise may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, its surface covered with plastic wrap.)
• Serve tart with crème anglaise.

SALLY DARR'S UPDATED DRIED FRUIT TART

Steps:

• In a saucepan simmer dried fruit and cider, covered, stirring occasionally, until cider is absorbed, about 10-minutes. Cool fruit mixture and chop coarse. In a bowl stir together fruit mixture, walnuts, butter, and 3/4 cup sugar.
• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Roll out 1 pastry sheet into a 13-inch square and transfer to an 11-inch round tart pan with a removable fluted rim. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch and fold toward center of tart, pressing gently against edge of pan. Spread fruit filling evenly in shell.
• Roll out remaining pastry sheet into a 10-inch square and with a saw-toothed pastry wheel cut into 10-by 1/2 inch strips. Weave pastry strips into a lattice pattern over tart and trim overhanging ends to 1/4 inch, tucking them between pastry edge and filling. Brush lattice with egg wash and sprinkle with remaining tablespoon sugar. Bake tart in middle of oven 40 minutes, or until crust is golden brown, and cool in pan on a rack.
• Serve tart warm or room temperature with whipped cream or ice cream.

DRIED FRUIT TART WITH WHIPPED EGG WHITES

Steps:

• Mix following ingridients with your hands:.
• 3 eggs yolks, 1 cup sugar, 3 cups margarine, 1 tablespoon sour cream,.
• 1 tablespoon oil, 3 cups flour
• Push it down on the cookie sheet(put foil underneath). Bake 15-20 min until somewhat dry. Then mix:.
• 1 cup raisins, 1 cup apricot preserve, 1 cup walnuts cut into small pieces and optional 2 Granny Smith grated apples
• Whip 3 egg whites with 0.5 cup of sugar
• Cover dough with filling and top with whipped egg whites . Bake until done 30-40 minutes at 350°F.
• When cold cut into small bite size brownie pieces.

WALNUT PASTRY DOUGH

Steps:

• Cut butter into pieces and soften to cool room temperature. In a food processor pulse walnuts until finely ground. Add confectioners' sugar, flour, and salt and pulse until combined. Transfer mixture to a large bowl and add butter.
• With your fingertips or a pastry blender blend together flour mixture and butter until most of mixture resembles coarse meal with remainder in small (roughly pea-size) lumps. Stir together yolk and ice water and add to mixture. With a fork toss mixture until liquid is incorporated. Gently form mixture into a ball and on a lightly floured surface smear dough in 3 or 4 forward motions with heel of hand to help distribute fat and make dough easier to work with. Form dough into a ball and flatten to form a disk. Chill dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, 1 hour, or until firm but not hard. (Dough may be covered and chilled 1 day ahead or frozen 1 month.)

DRIED-FRUIT STAR-LATTICE TART

Steps:

• On a lightly floured surface, roll disks of dough to 14-inch rounds. Place 1 round on a parchment-lined baking sheet; refrigerate or freeze until firm, 30 minutes. Fit other round into an 11-inch fluted tart pan. Trim dough flush with rim. Refrigerate or freeze until firm, 30 minutes.
• Make the lattice: Using a ruler, cut chilled round into sixteen 1/2-inch-wide strips with a sharp knife or pastry wheel. Lay 6 strips on another parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet in parallel lines slightly longer than diameter of tart pan. Lay 6 more strips on top, almost perpendicular to first strips. Starting in center, weave 1 new strip diagonally through existing grid, under bottom layer of strips and over top layer. Push diagonal strip into corner of each square (where strips meet) to create a tight fit. Weave a second strip 1 inch away, this time over, then under. Repeat weaving strips across half the tart. (If dough strips become too soft, freeze until firm.) Return to center, and repeat with remaining strips to form a 6-point star pattern. Freeze until ready to use.
• Bring the water, Cognac, sugar, vanilla seeds and pod, cinnamon, zest, and cloves to a boil in a medium saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add apricots, prunes, and cranberries; reduce heat, and simmer gently until fruit softens but has not broken down, about 20 minutes. Strain through a sieve into a measuring cup; reserve fruit and liquid separately. Let both cool. Discard vanilla pod, cinnamon stick, orange zest, and cloves. (If you have more than 2 cups liquid, simmer in a small saucepan until reduced; it's fine if you have slightly less than 2 cups.)
• Spread cooled fruit mixture evenly in tart shell, and brush with 1/2 cup reserved cooking liquid. Combine egg yolk and cream; brush along top edge of tart. Carefully slide frozen lattice on top of tart, centering over filling, and press edges to seal. Trim excess dough. Brush top of lattice with egg wash. Refrigerate, uncovered, until firm, about 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Transfer tart to a rimmed baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 375°F, and bake until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling, 40 minutes more. (If crust browns too quickly, tent with foil.) Brush tart with 1/2 cup more cooking liquid. Let cool on a wire rack. Unmold; serve with crème fraîche.