My husband and I have been so fortunate to have so many friends and family come and visit us during our first year in San Francisco. We love having company to explore this wonderful city with. Also, being new to a city…we haven’t had the opportunity to meet a lot of people, and therefore we spend most nights with just the two of us! Nothing wrong with that…he is my best friend and all..but you know..sometimes it’s nice to have friends and family to share a bottle of wine with.
One thing I love to do is make dessert for people when they visit. I normally try to pick their favorite flavors or types of desserts and make something special that they will love. Last weekend we had my brother-in-law and his wife visit us. It was so fun spending the weekend with them. They are not only family..but also great friends. We all went to dental school together and have so many fun memories that being together just feels like home.
My sister-in-law..and my husband… LOVE tarts. So what better than a raspberry tart with rose water pastry cream, a recipe straight from Tartine bakery cookbook. No alterations needed…because Tartine is perfection! But..just to make it my own..I added a thin layer of melted dark chocolate to the base of the crust, and then allowed it to harden in the refrigerator before adding in the pastry cream. I can only hope that my creation tastes as good as theirs…but I must admit, these tarts were delectable.
- 2 cups Whole milk
- ¼ tsp Salt
- ½ cup + 1 Tbsp
- ¼ cup Cornstarch
- 2 Large eggs, lightly beaten
- 4 Tbsp Unsalted butter
- ¾ cup Heavy cream, very cold
- Optional: Rose Water (to taste-approx 1 tsp)
- 2 small cartons of raspberries
- *Vanilla would be a good substitute if you do not have rose water on hand-just use sparingly so that you do not over shadow the rest of the pastry*
- 1 cup + 2 Tbsp Unsalted butter (room temp)
- 1 cup Sugar
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 3½ cups All-purpose flour
- Optional *for egg wash to create a golden tart you need 1 egg and a pinch of salt, lightly beat egg with salt to prepare the egg-wash*
- Optional *chocolate layer on base of shell is optional but quite delicious! You simply need dark or semi sweet chocolate and additional heavy cream*
- Powered sugar (for dusting the berries immediately prior to serving)
- Honey (drizzle over the tope immediately prior to serving)
- In a saucepan, combine the milk and salt.
- Place over medium heat and bring to just under a boil. You should see tiny bubbles forming around the sides of the pan.
- Once the milk just begins to have little bubbles along the sides of the saucepan, begin whisking to prevent milk solids from burning the bottom.
- Take the pan off the heat.
- Have a heatproof bowl ready for cooling the pastry cream, with a fine mesh or strainer resting on the rim.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar and cornstarch
- Add the eggs and whisk until all the ingredients are evenly blended (remember to slightly beat the eggs in a separate prep bowl before combining them with the sugar and cornstarch)
- Using a ladle, add about one-third of the hot milk to the egg mixture while whisking constantly. Add another ladleful of the hot milk to the eggs and whisk again.
- All at once, pour the egg mixture into the pan with the hot milk
- Put it back over medium heat, and whisk until it is as thick as lightly whipped cream.
- Take care not to overcook it or the eggs will curdle. The process should take about 3-5mins.
- Remove from the heat and pour through the mesh sieve or fine strainer into the waiting bowl.
- Let the pastry cream cool for 10 minutes. Meanwhile cut the butter into 1-Tbsp pieces.
- When the pastry cream is ready (cooled to room temp) add the butter bit by bit, whisking in each addition before adding the next one.
- When all the butter has been added, let the pastry cream cool for a few minutes.
- To prevent a skin from forming on top, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap directly onto the top of the cream.
- Let cool for about 30 minutes and then refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours
- Once the pastry cream is completely cooled (at least 2 hours), whip the heavy cream (NOT PASTRY CREAM) with a whisk (by hand or using a mixer) until it hold medium-stiff peaks (about 3-5 mins)
- Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the whipped cream into the chilled pastry cream.
- This is the time to add the flavor of choice (rose water or vanilla) add in slowly and taste to make sure it is the flavor you desire
- Be careful when whisking cold pastry cream, over-mixing will break down the starch and the cream will thin.
- Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugar, and salt and mix on medium speed until smooth.
- Mix in 1 egg
- Add the remaining egg and mix until smooth
- Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula
- Add flour all at once and mix on low speed just until incorporated
- On a lightly floured surface, divide the dough into 4 equal balls and shape each ball into a disk ½ inch thick.
- Wrap will in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours (honestly I only chilled mine for 45 mins and it was perfect...but if you have the time..then go with 2 hours)
- Place dough disk on a lightly floured surface and roll out approx ⅛ " thick
- Create or cut out circles 2" larger than the pan (I used tartlet, but a single tart pan works just as well.) Do not stretch dough or it will shrink during baking.
- Place the pastry shell in the refrigerator for about 15 mins
- Pre heat oven to 325F
- Using a fork, make tiny holes in the bottom of the tart shell
- Place in the oven for 5-7 mins for tartlet shells and 7-10 mins for single tart shells
- If using an egg wash, remove from oven after first phase of baking and brush entire shell with egg wash
- Return to oven until tart shell is golden (approx 5 mins-7 mins)
- Let cool completely on wire racks
- Once tarts are completely cooled melt chocolate and 2 Tbsp of heavy cream in the microwave in 30 sec intervals until thoroughly melted.
- Mix until smooth and creamy
- Place a think layer of chocolate at the base of each tart shell. Place in the refrigerator for 5 mins
- Scoop the pastry cream into the tart shell, filling the cream to the brim of the shell
- Cover the top evenly with berries
- Refrigerate until serving and serve cool
- Lightly dust the raspberries with powdered sugar and drizzle with honey immediately before serving
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