I'm absolutely loving this climate prevailing in UAE currently.Cold mornings, shorter days and lengthy nights is something that we Desert people could ever dream of. . The effects of the changing weather could be seen with everyone I came across.We wait whole year for these few days of winter. We have not experienced such cold in the last two to three years. 17 degrees, of course, is another chilly summer morning to my friends there in UK, but we Mediterraneans make use of every bit of this winter. I wake up early in the morning these days for a hot cup of chocolate or mocha and my kids are ready to eat anything that come out of ma oven; and for them, I've tried to turn these Mini Tartlets to healthy by using wholewheat flour alongwhith white flour. & strawberry cheese filling on the top is an amazing duo to pair it up with.
Ingredients:
For Tart :
Wholewheat flour 6 oz
White Flour 2 oz
Butter 4oz
Caster Sugar 2 tbsp
Cold Water 3-4 tbsp
Method:
In a separate bowl, sift or whisk together both the flours and salt. Keep it aside.
Place the butter in your mixer and beat until softened.
Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
Add the flour mixture all at once and mix in required water until it forms a ball. (Do not over mix or the pastry will be hard when baked.)
Flatten the pastry into a disk, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 20 minutes or until firm.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry into a big circle of about 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick. To prevent the pastry from sticking to the counter and to ensure uniform thickness, keep lifting up and turning the pastry a quarter turn as you roll (always roll from the center of the pastry outwards to get uniform thickness).
To make sure it is the right size, take your tart pans, flip it over, and place it on the rolled out pastry. Cut the pastry leaving an inch more than the size of the pan.
Take these cut pieces and place it onto the top of tart pans. Never pull pastry or you will get shrinkage (shrinkage is caused by too much pulling of the pastry when placing it in the pan). Gently lay in pan and with a small floured piece of pastry, lightly press pastry into bottom and up sides of pan. Roll your rolling pin over top of pan to get rid of excess pastry. Prick bottom of dough with a fork(this will prevent the dough from puffing up as it bakes). Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes to chill the butter and to rest the gluten.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line unbaked pastry shell with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Fill tart pan with pie weights, rice or beans, making sure the weights are to the top of the pan and evenly distributed over the entire surface. Bake crust for 20 to25 minutesuntil crust is dry and lightly golden brown. Remove weights and cool crust on wire rack before filling.
For Strawberry Cheese Filling:
Strawberries 12
Cheese 8 oz
Lemon juice 2 tsp
Sugar 2 tbsp
Apricot Jam/glaze
Method:
Microwave strawberry for 2-3mts (depends upon your microwave) until it melts completely.Let it cool.
Beat Cream Cheese at room temperature along with sugar and lemon juice. Mix in the strawberry puree. Now, fill tarts with these and top it up with strawberries. If you want to glaze it, do it with apricot glaze.
Apricot glaze:
Apricot Glaze: Heat the apricot jam or preserves and water (if using) in a small saucepan over medium heat until liquid (melted). Remove from heat and strain the jam through a fine strainer to remove any fruit lumps. Let cool until it is only slightly warm.Variation: If glazing strawberries, raspberries or any other red fruit you can make a red currant glaze. Gently whisk 1/2 cup (125 grams) of red currant jelly over medium heat until melted. Let cool slightly and then lightly glaze the fruit using a pastry brush.
I've tried one Fruit Tart recipe adapted from Joy of Baking
Ingredients:
For Tart :
Wholewheat flour 6 oz
White Flour 2 oz
Butter 4oz
Caster Sugar 2 tbsp
Cold Water 3-4 tbsp
Method:
In a separate bowl, sift or whisk together both the flours and salt. Keep it aside.
Place the butter in your mixer and beat until softened.
Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
Add the flour mixture all at once and mix in required water until it forms a ball. (Do not over mix or the pastry will be hard when baked.)
Flatten the pastry into a disk, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 20 minutes or until firm.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry into a big circle of about 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick. To prevent the pastry from sticking to the counter and to ensure uniform thickness, keep lifting up and turning the pastry a quarter turn as you roll (always roll from the center of the pastry outwards to get uniform thickness).
To make sure it is the right size, take your tart pans, flip it over, and place it on the rolled out pastry. Cut the pastry leaving an inch more than the size of the pan.
Take these cut pieces and place it onto the top of tart pans. Never pull pastry or you will get shrinkage (shrinkage is caused by too much pulling of the pastry when placing it in the pan). Gently lay in pan and with a small floured piece of pastry, lightly press pastry into bottom and up sides of pan. Roll your rolling pin over top of pan to get rid of excess pastry. Prick bottom of dough with a fork(this will prevent the dough from puffing up as it bakes). Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes to chill the butter and to rest the gluten.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line unbaked pastry shell with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Fill tart pan with pie weights, rice or beans, making sure the weights are to the top of the pan and evenly distributed over the entire surface. Bake crust for 20 to25 minutesuntil crust is dry and lightly golden brown. Remove weights and cool crust on wire rack before filling.
For Strawberry Cheese Filling:
Strawberries 12
Cheese 8 oz
Lemon juice 2 tsp
Sugar 2 tbsp
Apricot Jam/glaze
Method:
Microwave strawberry for 2-3mts (depends upon your microwave) until it melts completely.Let it cool.
Beat Cream Cheese at room temperature along with sugar and lemon juice. Mix in the strawberry puree. Now, fill tarts with these and top it up with strawberries. If you want to glaze it, do it with apricot glaze.
Apricot glaze:
Apricot Glaze: Heat the apricot jam or preserves and water (if using) in a small saucepan over medium heat until liquid (melted). Remove from heat and strain the jam through a fine strainer to remove any fruit lumps. Let cool until it is only slightly warm.Variation: If glazing strawberries, raspberries or any other red fruit you can make a red currant glaze. Gently whisk 1/2 cup (125 grams) of red currant jelly over medium heat until melted. Let cool slightly and then lightly glaze the fruit using a pastry brush.
That looks totally yummy!! I wud love to grab one! Njoy the short winter:-)
ReplyDeleteLovely tart and I love the addition of whole wheat.
ReplyDeleteLove wholewheat! Good job girl :)
ReplyDeleteyummy tart....superbly done
ReplyDeleteThis looks so good..
ReplyDeleteAarthi
http://www.yummytummyaarthi.com/
Delicious looking tart, loved the usage of wheat flour :)
ReplyDelete