Pastry Cream For Grape Tart Food

GRAPE JELLY BREAKFAST TARTS

Steps:

• Make the tarts: Pulse the flour, granulated sugar and salt in a food processor until combined. Add the shortening and about one-quarter of the butter and pulse until they disappear into the flour, about 30 seconds. Add the remaining butter and pulse a few times, until the mixture looks like coarse meal with pea-size bits of butter. Add 1/2 cup ice water and pulse once or twice, until the dough just comes together. Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap, form into a disk and wrap tightly; chill at least 1 hour and up to 1 day. (For quicker tarts, use refrigerated pie dough and skip this step.)
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a 10-by-14-inch rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick. Cut out ten 4-by-3-inch rectangles using a toaster pastry press or a paring knife. Transfer to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Chill at least 15 minutes.
• Spread 5 of the dough rectangles with a heaping tablespoonful of jelly each, leaving a 1/2-inch border all around. Brush the edges with the beaten egg, then cover with the remaining 5 dough rectangles. Crimp the edges with a fork or use the toaster pastry press to seal. Chill at least 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Bake the tarts until flaky and golden, 20 to 25 minutes, brushing with the milk after 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.
• Meanwhile, make the glaze: Bring the granulated sugar, orange juice and liqueur (if using) to a simmer in a large skillet over low heat; cook until reduced by half, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the confectioners' sugar until smooth. Let cool. Brush the glaze on the tarts, sprinkle with the orange zest and let set, 5 minutes.

FRESH GRAPE TARTS

Steps:

• Puree 1 1/2 cups grapes in processor. Strain grape puree, pressing on solids to extract as much juice as possible. Pour 1/2 cup grape juice into large bowl; discard any remaining juice. Cut 4 3/4 cups grapes lengthwise in half; add all grapes to juice in bowl. Add sugar, 6 tablespoons flour, and lemon juice; toss to blend well. Let stand 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll out 1 pastry sheet on lightly floured surface to 11-inch square. Cut off just enough pastry from corners to form rough circle. Transfer pastry to 1 prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon flour over center of pastry, leaving 2 1/2-inch plain border. Spoon half of grape mixture, including juices, into center of pastry. Fold pastry edges up over grapes, forming 2- to 2 1/2-inch border. Dot grapes with 1 tablespoon butter. Repeat with remaining ingredients for second tart.
• Bake tarts until crusts are golden brown and grape juices are bubbling, about 45 minutes (crust border will unfold slightly). Cool tarts to room temperature. (Can be prepared 6 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)

PASTRY CREAM

Steps:

• In a heavy saucepan, stir together the milk and 1/4 cup of sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and egg. Stir together the remaining sugar and cornstarch; then stir them into the egg until smooth. When the milk comes to a boil, drizzle it into the bowl in a thin stream while mixing so that you do not cook the eggs. Return the mixture to the saucepan, and slowly bring to a boil, stirring constantly so the eggs don' t curdle or scorch on the bottom.
• When the mixture comes to a boil and thickens, remove from the heat. Stir in the butter and vanilla, mixing until the butter is completely blended in. Pour into a heat-proof container and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled before using.

STRAWBERRY TART WITH PASTRY CREAM

Steps:

• Make one 9 inch tart crust following the recipe here. Please note that the recipe makes two crusts, so keep the extra dough wrapped in the fridge for a different recipe.
• Brush the tart crust with egg wash before the last 5 minutes of bake time. If not, you can also brush the inside of the crust with melted white chocolate when the crust has cooled down. This creates a barrier between the crust and the filling to prevent the crust from getting soggy.
• Place the egg yolk and cornstarch in a bowl. Whisk the yolk and cornstarch well until you have a smooth paste. Set aside.
• Place the milk, sugar, salt, and vanilla in a saucepan. Heat over medium heat until the milk is steaming.
• Temper the egg mixture with some of the hot milk while stirring constantly. When the egg mixture is warm, add it back to the warm milk.
• While whisking frequently, warm the custard base until it comes to a boil. Make sure to whisk and scrape the bottom of the saucepan as the custard thickens to prevent the eggs from curdling.
• If needed, remove the pot from the heat to whisk the custard, then return it to the stove to continue cooking.
• The custard will start to release bubbles at the surface when it starts to boil. Remove it from the heat at this point, and whisk to make sure the custard is smooth and thick. When whisked, it should leave behind tracks from the whisk.
• Cover the custard with plastic wrap, making sure the plastic wrap is touching the entire surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming on top. Let it cool down to room temperature.
• Place the butter in a bowl and whisk the butter until light and fluffy. The butter should be very soft and airy.
• Add the cooled custard (a little at a time) to the butter, and whisk each addition really well, until you have added all of the custard. You should have a smooth and buttery custard mixture.
• Add the cooled butter custard mixture into the pate sucree shell. It's now ready to be topped with strawberries.
• Wash and dry the fresh strawberries. Slice the tops off of the strawberries (optional, since the green parts are edible too), and then halve the strawberries.
• Starting from the center, place the strawberry halves on the pastry cream topping in any pattern you like.
• When the surface of the tart is covered with strawberries, you can brush the top with jam (optional).
• To do this, warm the ⅓ cup of jam until the mixture has a liquid consistency. Using a pastry brush, brush the tops of the strawberries until they are all coated with the jam. Loosely wrap the tart with plastic wrap, and place the tart in the fridge for a few hours to set.
• Before serving, sprinkle chopped pistachios or garnish with mint leaves (optional).

PASTRY CREAM FOR GRAPE TART

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, beat egg yolks and sugar until thick and light; beat in flour and cornstarch.
• In a saucepan, bring milk just to a boil; whisking constantly, gradually add milk to egg mixture.
• Return mixture to saucepan. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly to prevent scorching, until mixture is thick and pulling away from sides of pan, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in vanilla.
• Using a rubber spatula, press mixture through a sieve into a bowl. Cover surface directly with plastic wrap, and cool to room temperature in refrigerator.

GRAPE TART

Steps:

• Make pastry cream:
• Whisk together yolks and 1/2 of sugar, then whisk in flour and a pinch salt. Stir together milk and remaining sugar in a heavy saucepan and bring just to a boil over moderate heat. Whisk 1/2 of hot milk into yolks to temper and whisk yolks into milk remaining in pan. Bring custard to a boil over moderate heat and boil, whisking constantly, until very thick. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and butter until incorporated. Chill hot pastry cream in a bowl, its surface covered with a buttered round of wax paper, until cold, about 1 hour.
• Make tart:
• Preheat oven to 425°F while pastry cream chills.
• Open puff pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface and roll out to a 14- by 12-inch rectangle. Quarter pastry to form 4 rectangles. Brush 1/3 inch of edges lightly with water and fold in borders. Brush off excess flour and press borders with back of a fork to seal. Brush borders lightly with water and sprinkle with sugar. Prick insides of shells all over with fork. Bake on a large baking sheet in middle of oven until crust is golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes, and transfer to a rack. Gently flatten puff pastry inside border to deflate, and cool completely.
• Halve and seed grapes if necessary. Melt jelly, stirring, and toss with grapes in a bowl.
• Spread pastry cream in shells with a spatula and top with grapes.

GRAPE FRANGIPANE TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F.Line a 10-inch tart pan with pastry. Arrange grapes snugly in decorative rings in pastry. In an electric mixer combine almond paste, egg, sugar, butter, flour, and salt until smooth to create frangipane. Carefully spread over arranged grapes and bake for 35 minutes, until the tart is golden brown and cooked through. If using a convection oven, bake at 350°F for 30 minutes. When tart is cool, remove from pan and dust with confectioners' sugar.