Vanilla Bean Sweet Tart Pastry Short Crust Food

SWEET TART PASTRY

Steps:

• Sift together the flour, sugar, and salt into a bowl.
• Toss butter through flour mixture to coat pieces. Using fingertips, rub fat into flour, working it until you have created a coarse meal with a few pea-size particles of fat.
• Empty crumbs onto a cool surface. Form mixture into a mound. Make a 4 to 5 inch well in center of the mound. Combine egg and vanilla and pour mixture into the well. Using a fork, draw crumbs into egg mixture, about 1 - 2 tablespoons at a time. When all crumbs are added, toss mixture a few times with a pastry blender to form large clumps, then scrape into a mound.
• Using the heel of your hand, push 2 - 3 tablespoons of the dough at a time, outward in 6 to 8 inch sweeps. This will blend fat and flour and give crust a delicate texture. If your hand becomes sticky, flour it as needed. Repeat process until all dough has been worked. Gather dough into a mound again. Repeat procedure 2 more times.
• After third time, flour your hands. Gently knead the dough 5 or 6 times to make it smooth. Shape into a 5 inch disk. Dust disk lightly with flour, score with side of your hand, cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate for 20 minutes before shaping. DO NOT LET DOUGH BECOME TOO HARD or it will be difficult to roll. If this happens, let pastry soften at room temperature.
• Roll out to 1/8 inch thickness. After dough has been rolled, position rolling pin 4 inches from top of the pastry. Lift dough over top of rolling pin and gently roll dough toward you. Lift pastry up. Make sure you keep a finger pressed against barrel of rolling pin to keep it from slipping. Position pastry, leaving about 1 1/2 inches of dough hanging over edge of pan on side closest to you. Then unroll pastry over an ungreased tart pan, moving pin away from you. Immediately lift overhang into pan to prevent sharp edge of the pan from cutting dough.
• Working a small portion of the dough at a time, mold it into crease of the pan. Trim excess pastry from top edge of pan. Chill pastry in refrigerator or freezer for up to 30 minutes. Tear an 18 inch square of tin foil. Make a buttered circle in center of foil 2 inches larger than size of pan. Place foil buttered side down, centering it into the baking pan. Using your hand, press foil flush against the sides.
• Heat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Position shelf in lower third of oven. Fill pan with enough dried beans or baking nuggets to just cover surface of pan. DO NOT OVERFILL. Bake pastry shell on a shallow pan with sides. Bake crust 15 to 18 minutes or until sides begin to brown. Remove pan from the oven. Let stand about 30 seconds. Gently remove foil and beans. Reduce oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Continue to bake crust for 3 to 5 minutes or until it is golden. If bottom of pastry shell puffs up, tap it gently with bottom of a fork to expel the air. Do this carefully so the pastry crust doesn't break. When crust is done, cool completely before filling.

SWEET SHORTCRUST PASTRY

Steps:

• Put 150g plain flour and 75g unsalted butter in a bowl and rub together with your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs.
• Mix in 50g icing sugar and a pinch of salt followed by 1 egg yolk. If the pastry feels too dry to form a dough, add 1 tbsp water. Shape the dough into a ball, flatten it out into a disc, wrap it in cling film, then chill for at least 30 mins before using in your recipes. You could try using it to make our apple & blackberry pies.

ELEGANT VANILLA BEAN BANANA CUSTARD WITH PASTRY

Steps:

• Make the pastry by sifting the flours and salt together in a mixing bowl. Add in the seeds, and husks.
• Cut-in half of the shortening with a fork or pastry blender until you have pea-sized pieces. Cut-in the remaining half.
• Add in the water, just a tablespoon at a time, and gently mix until blended. Don't over mix, but do get it nice and moist.
• Roll the dough out onto a floured surface or floured pastry mat. Cut into strips, place on a baking sheet and bake at 415 / 200 for about 10 minutes or until just starting to turn golden.
• Meanwhile start the pudding.
• In a small bowl, mix the egg yolks up with a fork and set to the side.
• In a medium saucepan mix the cornstarch, salt. Slice the vanilla bean lengthwise, and add it and the milk and begin heating over medium heat, stirring constantly.
• Once the mixture reaches a boil, let it boil for one minute.
• Then slowly add at least half of the mixture to yolks while whisking, being careful not to scramble the eggs. Carefully add it back into the pot and boil for one minute longer. At this point, if you didn't use a vanilla bean add in the vanilla extract.
• Allow pudding to cool for a few minutes, stirring so as not to get pudding skin. Add the bananas in and serve warm or refrigerate if you prefer to serve cold.
• Serve with the strips of pastry crisscrossed at the back and top with whipped cream.

SHORTCRUST PASTRY CASE

Steps:

• Tip flour into a mixing bowl. Cut cold butter into small pieces and add. Toss to coat with flour. Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour, lifting it in the bowl as you do so to keep it light and cool. Continue until it looks like breadcrumbs. Shake the bowl and any larger lumps of butter will come to the surface to rub in.
• Sprinkle in 2 tbsp cold water and mix with a round-ended knife until the mixture starts to come together. Gather the dough with your hands, wiping it round the bowl to pick up stray pieces. Put the dough onto a work surface sprinkled very lightly with flour. Knead lightly to form a smooth ball.
• Sprinkle the rolling pin lightly with flour. Roll out the dough using short sharp strokes to avoid stretching, giving the dough a quarter turn each time you roll to keep the shape.
• Set the flan tin on the baking sheet. When the dough is about 5cm larger than the tin, lift it up draped over the rolling pin and lay it across the flan tin. Press the dough into the corners of the tin using your fingers, don't trim off the edges. Chill for 30 mins.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Fill the pastry case with a round of baking paper and add baking beans (see tip) to weigh it down. Bake for 15 mins, then carefully remove the paper and beans and cook the pastry for 5 mins more (this is called baking blind).
• Carefully trim off the excess pastry using a small sharp knife and use as required, cooling if needed.