Pastries and Tarts

Week 3 The Basics Of Pastry

Author Rebecca McLeod

Edited by Anne-Marie Raymond

Copyrights and Disclaimers © 2019 by Bec’s Table.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any written, electronic, recording, or photocopying without written permission of the publisher or author. You are free to print a copy of this book to use as your own reference. Disclaimer: Affiliate links are used throughout this eBook. If you were to click a link and make a purchase, the author may receive a commission on the sale at no extra cost to you. Although my opinion is not for sale and I only recommend stuff I use and think will help you.

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Table Of Contents

Week 3 The Basics Of Pastry 1 How To Line Your Tart Tin 9 Blind Baking 10 Week 3 Tarts Recipes 13 Bec’s Quick Quiche Lorraine 13 Bec's Frangipane Tart 16 Chocolate Tarts 20 Coffee & Chocolate Tart with Mascarpone Cream 23 Pecan Tart 27 Roast Pumpkin, Onion and Feta Tart 30 Spinach, Onion and Feta Tart 33 Bec’s Wholemeal 124 Pastry for Pies and Pasties 36

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Week 3: Tart it up We’ve done a lot on Butter Cakes over the last two meetings, so I thought it was time to have a little break from cake and start learning about the wonder that is pastry.

That’s right, we’re all about pastry this fortnight and you’re going to love it! Once again, these will be building blocks which we’ll add to and delve deeper as time goes on.

Before You Bake This Week

I’d really like you to read a couple of sections or watch the videos before you go ahead and make any of the recipes this fortnight, especially if you’re new to making pastry. My methods might be something you’ve not seen before but trust me they are fantastic methods and REALLY work. You’ll never go back.

Blind Baking 1,2,4 Pastry

There are so many forms of pastry, and most of them require you to keep everything chilled (although there is a hot water pastry that we might have a go at in another term!). I love making pastry purists freak out with my unconventional methods, but once you know the rules it’s really easy - even laminated pastries like puff become very doable ;-)

The main types of pastry are

Shortcrust can be sweet (for sweet tarts, pies and flans) or savoury (used in savoury tarts, quiches and pies) Flaky Pastry is like rough puff but without the folds Rough Puff Pastry is a cheat’s version of puff pastry that includes the folds and turns Puff is used for both sweet and savoury, and when it comes to tarts or pies it’s generally used as a top or lid. Suet Crust Pastry (made with suet rather than butter) is a beautiful rich pastry usually used in pie making. More a traditional style of pastry and not used as commonly these days. Hot Water Crust Pastry is just that, made with hot water, breaks all the rules that one would generally apply with pastry. Usually made into pies. Choux Pastry is a very light pastry that is used for eclairs and profiteroles Filo Pastry is a super fine, stretched pastry. I think it’s fun to make, but I’ve had no takers at so far at Bake Club!

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All these pastries have variations, for example with the shortcrust you can have an enriched shortcrust (the addition of something like an egg) or can add nutmeal, yoghurt, sour cream… the list goes on.

I’m making it my task this fortnight to help you feel more comfortable and confident in making pastry.

I know we don’t do a lot of savoury at Bake Club (that’s not why most of you are here!) but I’ve added a few of my favourites for quick pies or tarts. I’m going to mainly focus on a specific type of pastry called 1, 2, 4 Pastry. This is the easiest pastry to make and I believe it's a great one to start building your pastry skills. In a Patisserie kitchen, chefs often refer to recipes by number, for example 1:4 Ganache or 1:3 Ganache, 1,2,3,4 Cake etc. It makes it easy for us to remember the recipe.

1,2,4 Pastry

Have you ever heard of 1,2,4 Pastry? In the culinary industry, we have all sorts of methods to remember recipes. Recipes are all about ratios, and once you’ve learned what the basic ingredients are for each type of recipe, you’ll be able to remember certain ones without looking them up. This one is a great example. You don’t need to remember much once you know the rules. Just like the Pound Cake, it’s a ratio formula.

Naturally we need some sort of flour for pastry and that’s going to be the most significant quantity in our recipe. So this will be the 4 parts. The next part is butter. Pastry needs a fat, and this one is butter, so 2 parts. The last single part is the binder, and we’re using water. 1 part.

Here’s how it works

Ingredients example

1 part water 50 g 2 part butter or fat 100 g 4 part flour 200 g

This quantity will give you enough pastry to make an 8” (20cm) savoury tart or pie base. Just add multiply the parts or add a percentage to the grams and you can adjust to the amount you need. I'f you have any problems email me. of course. Here's a link to a place that has loads of tins to chose from.

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Want the 124 recipe to be wholemeal?

Don’t go replacing the plain for 100% wholemeal, instead try using 50/50 (so 100 g plain, 100 g wholemeal). A lot of people don’t like the really earthy flavour and texture of full wholemeal pastry, so start with 50 / 50 and make adjustments to your liking.

My Rules for the Method

Rub together the butter and flour until it resembles bread crumbs (food processors are brilliant for this job) Add in the water and bring together Roll it out into clingfilm Rest it in the fridge Roll it out and press it in your tin Rest again Blind bake Fill and bake

Too simple! I don’t know what all the fuss about. ;-)

Here are the main things that can go wrong Butter too soft Dough not chilled and rested Dough overworked Oven not at temperature when you put your tart or pie in

That’s it!

If you can keep this in mind while you’re making your pastry, then you’re on the right track.

Use butter straight from the fridge: if it gets too soft, put it back in the fridge to firm up If your kitchen is hot, use chilled water and keep your ingredients cold. Put them in the refrigerator after every step to re-chill. Don’t leave your dough sitting around on the bench in a warm kitchen. Pop it back in the fridge Between each process, wrap and pop it in the refrigerator to chill and relax (or chillax as my son might say!). If you’re not sure if your pastry is chilled enough or rested enough then, it should feel hard from the cold. So yes, if you’re not sure, chill after every process except for after baking.

So, get the picture? Keep it cold! ;-)

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There’s a vast range of pastries, in fact there are whole textbooks written on the subject. Some pastries are easy to work with, some are difficult. At the end of the day, you have to ask yourself what is it that you’re trying to achieve and choose the best one for that purpose. I’m sure most of you will say “something that tastes great, has a nice texture and is quick and easy to make”. I mean that’s what we want, isn't it?

If you’ve had some disasters in the past or are just a beginner in the art of pastry then start with the quiche. It’s brilliantly simple and I’m sure you’ll love the pastry.

I’m going to teach you the Blitz method (I just made that up so don’t go looking it up anywhere – haha!). It’s not really a method one is taught at culinary school, but if you’re time poor and need to get those damned quiches out for lunch you’d best have a look at this method.

So what is the Blitz method? Well, it’s where you put everything in the bowl of a food processor and blitz it! There are some rules however,

keep everything cold. You knew I was going to say that, didn't you? Don’t blitz for too long, just enough time for all the ingredients to be totally combined. It doesn't have to come together, in fact, if it does come together in your Thermomix, you’ve blitzed too long.

On the next page you can click on the video link to see how I use a processor or Thermomix to make the lightest shortcrust.

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How I make shortcrust in a processor

Why is that a problem? Having 4 blades running at high speed you’ll be chopping your pastry, that’s fine, but if you blitz too long you’ll warm your pastry, and the butter will soften, not to mention develop the gluten in the flour (which makes it tougher rather than short). So take it out when it’s still crumbly.

Here are the stages I use to make a light crumbly 1,2,4 pastry in a Thermomix or Food processor.

1. Weigh in the flour and butter. The butter needs to be cold and cut into small cubes 2. Process until you have what resembles bread crumbs. For the Thermomix blitz for 8 seconds on speed 6, or process on high in a food processor until your mixture looks like this. 3. Add the water and blitz again until the liquid is thoroughly combined, but no longer. Thermomix: for 3 seconds on speed 6 or in a food processor mix on medium-high. Remember: do not overwork the dough. 4. Tip the contents out onto a large sheet of clingfilm. Fold the clingfilm over to make a square and use a rolling pin to bring together. 5. Pop it in the fridge to rest and chill.

You shouldn't see lumps of butter (unless you’re wanting to make flaky pastry). Once you’ve done this a few times, you’ll know what texture your pastry should be.

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Here's the two most important images from the video. The butter and flour looking like bread crumbs and the added water in the pastry mix, it's all combined ready for rolling.

How To Line Your Tart Tin I thought it was best to show you here. This is the easiest method I've been able to devise for getting pastry into a mould. Especially if you have hot hands.

This is how I line my Tart tins

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Blind Baking What is it?

Blind baking is the name for a technique where we either partially or completely bake a pie crust before adding the filling. It might sound tricky but once you’ve done it you’ll find it’s actually a very simple step. The video I’ve made gives you some tips and will no doubt answer lots of questions – most of us learn better from seeing a technique demonstrated visually, so I strongly encourage you to watch all the short videos in these ebooks as they pop up.

When blind baking we need to weigh the pastry down with something and sometimes also prick holes or “dock” it to keep the pastry from lifting up as the steam forces it to rise in the oven. We want to keep the base flat so we can add as much filling as possible so this step is important.

Why blind bake?

First of all, if you don’t blind bake tarts and pies, most will end up with raw bases or soggy bottoms (and we all know how uncomfortable a soggy bottom can be so we avoid those at all costs!). I blind bake most of my tarts: it’s easy to do once you know how.

How can you tell if you need to blind bake?

Of course, if your filling is poured into a base and then set in the fridge to finish it off you’ll have to blind bake otherwise your pastry will be raw. Recipes like chocolate ganache filled tarts or fridge set cheesecakes are in this category.

Some pastry need to be partially blind baked and this is required when you’re adding a filling that has moisture and you want to prevent an undercooked or soggy-bottomed tart. If your filling won't take long to bake, however, (say 30 minutes or under) make sure you’ve pushed your partial baking closer to the almost-baked stage.

You generally shouldn't have to work out all of this for yourself, as most good recipes will tell you in the method whether or not blind baking is required and what temperatures and cooking times are involved.

Raw pastry or no blind baking is fine with pies or tarts that take a long time to bake. In these scenarios you usually have the oven turned down at a lower temperature and bake longer.

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How do you know how long to blind bake for?

Before removing the pastry weights, you want to see that the edges of your pie or tart have dried but are still pale in colour.

For a partially baked crust, you want the bottom to look dry and flaky but still pale in colour.

For a fully baked crust, remove the weights once the edges of your pie have dried out but are still pale then continue to cook until the bottom to turns lightly golden. The whole process shouldn't take more than 15 or 20 minutes.

How do you blind bake Bec’s way?

Watch the video or read below

How I line my tart tin for Blind Baking

Cut off a sheet of baking paper large enough to fill your tart or pie base, and with enough of an overhang to use as handles when you want to remove it later. Now scrunch up the paper, (now I mean REALLY scrunch it up, so it becomes soft and won't damage your pastry) then flatten it out again.

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Use the paper to line the base of your pastry case then fill with *ceramic baking weights.

Place on a baking tray and bake for 8 - 10 minutes (or even longer if you have a heavy tin). Remember you are looking for a blonde baked rim, don’t let it start to colour.

Remove the case from the oven and remove the baking paper and weights.

Place back in the oven and bake for a further 5 -10 minutes or until very lightly browned.

For particularly wet filling ingredients: You can make a wash of egg white and brush it on the raw base of your tart after you’ve removed the baking paper and weights. Place it back in to cook the base a little. There are also tricks with certain types of pies which involve adding bread crumbs to the base to help soak up the liquid rather than the pastry base. Once again, a good recipe (like mine..hehe!) will always instruct you on what to do but it helps to know the theory behind it.

To Dock or Not to Dock?

I prefer to use pie weights. I understand that it is much simpler to dock (or prick) a pastry base and sling it in the oven rather than go to the trouble of lining and weighing down, but there can be a couple of issues with this docking method for tarts. One is that docking sometimes doesn't work and the holes fill up too much due to the pastry expanding. This means you’ll still end up with a big bump in your base (never a good look!). The other issue is that if you’re using a really runny filling sometimes there a risk that the filling will seep into the holes and either stick the base to the bottom of the tin or make the base soggy.

Pie Weights: What Can I Use?

I really like using ceramic pie weights as I mentioned above, They’re heavy, clean, heat up evenly and you can easily add them to your baking paper and remove them. You can use rice, beans or similar, which is what I used for many years, but after sampling pie weights at home I’m sold on them. If you’ve ever accidentally got a few grains of rice caught in the bottom of your tart then you’ll get what I mean. You’ll be looking for tweezers!

If you have a tart tin you use all the time you can try this trick. Lines the empty tin with baking paper, and then get a piece of muslin and lie that over the baking paper. Tip your weights onto the muslin, then gather up the edges and tie it up with string. This makes it even easier to place your weights in and out of your shell and it’s ready to go each time.

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Week 3 Tarts Recipes

Bec’s Quick Quiche Lorraine Ingredients

For Bec's 1,2,4 short pastry

200 g plain flour 50 g water, cold or chilled 100 g unsalted butter 1 pinch salt (optional)

For the filling

100 g bacon 3 eggs 150 g milk 50 g cream 30 g cheddar cheese 1 Tbsp parsley or spring onion tops, chopped

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Method

Thermomix Method

1. Weigh the butter and flour into the TM bowl and with the MC in place mix for 8 seconds / speed 6 2. Weigh the water into the bowl and mix for 3 seconds / speed 6 to combine. If you can see any water left in the TM bowl, lift the mixture up off the base with a spatula and mix again for 2 seconds / speed 6. 3. Lay a large sheet of clingfilm on the bench and tip the contents of the TM bowl onto it. 4. Fold the clingfilm over the pastry (make sure you leave room all around to roll it out as per the video) and roll the pastry to bring it together. 5. Place the pastry in the fridge for 15 minutes to rest and chill. 6. Line the tart tin with the pastry. No need to butter if your pastry is combined well and especially if you’re using a non-stick tin. Then set the filled tart case aside in the fridge while you prepare the filling 7. Set Oven Temperature: 180°C 8. Cut bacon into lardons (short strips) and sauté in a frying pan. 9. Grate the cheese and set aside. 10. Remove the tart case from the fridge and blind bake (see my blind baking notes and video in this eBook for how to do this). 11. In a jug mix eggs, cream & milk together with the greens and season (of course you can do this in your TM bowl if you prefer no need to clean out from the pastry making) 12. Remove the tart shell from the fridge and sprinkle the cheese and bacon over the base. Take your jug of egg mix and carefully pour into the tin. 13. Bake at 180°c for about 30 minutes. (All depends on your oven and the depth of your pan, but you're looking for golden brown.) 14. Serve with a fresh garden salad.

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By hand Method

1. Sift the flour into a bowl. 2. Rub in the butter to resemble fine sand 3. Mix in the water to the flour and butter but do not work the dough to much. Allow to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes (or 15 mins if you've rolled out thin). 4. Line tart tin with the pastry. No need to butter if your pastry is combined well, and especially if you’re using a non-stick tin. Then set the tart case aside in the fridge while you prepare the filling 5. Set Oven Temperature: 180°C 6. Cut bacon into lardons (short side strips) and sauté in a frying pan. 7. Grate the cheese and set aside 8. Remove the tart case from the fridge and blind bake the shell (see my blind baking notes and video in this eBook) 9. Mix eggs, cream & milk together in a jug or bowl and season, then add the greens and mix. 10. Remove the tart shell from the fridge then sprinkle the cheese and bacon over the base. Take your jug of egg mix and carefully pour into the tin. 11. Bake at 180°c for about 30 minutes. (All depends on your oven and the depth of your pan, but you're looking for golden brown.) 12. Serve with a fresh garden salad.

Degree of Difficulty: Easy

Oven Temperature: 180°C

I don't really have any extra tips here, this recipe is very easy. Just watch some of the videos in this eBook if you get stuck.

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Bec's Frangipane Tart

Frangipane is the name given to the moist, fragrant almond filling in this beautiful tart.

Ingredients for the Sweet pastry 200 g plain or pastry flour 100 g unsalted butter (chopped into cubes straight from the fridge) 30 g caster sugar ¼ tsp salt (or 1/2 tsp flaked salt) 50 g cold water

Tart filling

130 gm unsalted butter 130 gm caster sugar 1 whole lemon (zest only) 2 eggs 130 gm almond meal (or blanched almonds) 60 gm plain or pastry flour 2 Tbsp jam or your choice A handful of sliced almonds for the top (you can also add fruit of your choice eg plums, pears)

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Thermomix Method

For the Sweet pastry

1. Weigh the sugar, flour, butter and salt and mix 8 seconds / speed 6 or until the mix resembles fine breadcrumbs. 2. Add water and mix 3 seconds / speed 6 or until the water is combined. 3. Tip the contents out onto plastic wrap and gently shape into a flattened disc, wrap and pop in the fridge

For the Tart filling

1. Weigh in almond meal and continue to step 2. (If using blanched almonds, add these to the TM bowl and mill 10 seconds / speed 8. Check to see if it is almond meal, if not continue to mill on speed 8 a few seconds longer). 2. Add flour to the TM bowl and sift along with the milled almonds for 3 seconds / speed 6. Set aside. 3. Add sugar and zest to TM bowl and mill for 10 seconds / speed 9 4. Add the cubed butter and mix 20 seconds / speed 5. You may need to stop intermittently and scrape down the sides. 5. Set the TM to speed 3-4 and add the eggs gradually through the hole in the lid 6. Add flour/almond mixture and mix 6 seconds / speed 3. Check, you may need to scrape down the sides and repeat. 7. Mix should be smooth but not aerated

Back to the sweet pastry.

1. Roll out sweet pastry to 3mm thick and line a buttered ring or tart tin. If your tart tin is non-stick you don't have to line it. 2. Blind Bake (Optional Blind Bake. See my blind baking notes and video in this eBook) 3. Pipe jam or use a pallet knife to coat a thin layer onto the pastry base. 4. Fill with frangipani mix, leaving space of about ¾ of a cm from the top. If you’re going to add fruit then only fill with frangipane mixture to two thirds then add your fruit on top. 5. Sprinkle with sliced almonds. 6. Start baking at 150°c for 20 mins then turn up to 170°c and cook until light golden brown 7. Do not over bake or the tart will dry out.

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Conventional Method

For the Sweet pastry

1. Set oven temp to 150°c 2. In a food processor place the sugar, flour, butter and salt and mix till it resembles fine breadcrumbs. 3. Add water and blitz till the mix has taken up the water. 4. Tip the contents out onto plastic wrap and gently shape into a flattened disc, wrap and pop in the fridge

For the Tart filling

1. Weigh your almond meal and flour and sift into a bowl and set aside 2. Zest your lemon into a mixer bowl 3. Add sugar and mix till incorporated 4. Add the cubed butter and cream and mix on medium to high speed till its light and fluffy. You may need to scrape down the sides in between. 5. Add eggs gradually one at a time 6. Add flour/almond into mix 7. The mix should be smooth but not too aerated

Back to the sweet pastry.

1. Roll out sweet pastry to 3mm thick and line a buttered ring or tart tin. If your tart tin is non-stick you don't have to line it. 2. Blind Bake (Optional Blind Bake. See my blind baking notes and video in this eBook) 3. Pipe jam or use a pallet knife to coat a thin layer onto the pastry base. 4. Fill with frangipani mix, leaving space of about ¾ of a cm from the top. If you’re going to add fruit then only fill with frangipane mixture to two thirds then add your fruit on top. 5. Sprinkle with sliced almonds. 6. Start baking at 150c for 20 mins then turn up to 170°c and cook until light golden brown 7. Do not over bake or the tart will dry out.

Degree of Difficulty: Easy

Oven Temperature: 150°C then 170°C

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Recipe Tips

This recipe only needs to be blind baked if you're going to use wet fruit or other ingredients in the tart. The recipe as is will cook evenly along with the pastry because you’ll be giving it time by starting at 150°C then moving to 170°C for browning.

You can do so much with this recipe, add whatever fruit you like, you can fold it in, add it on top or layer it in-between the frangipane paste.

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Chocolate Tarts

This recipe will make a 28 - 30 cm tart, so if you want to make it smaller reduce the ingredients

Ingredients

For the pastry

300 g plain flour 200 g chilled butter, chopped 45 g icing sugar mixture 35 g cocoa powder 70 - 90 g milk (this will depend on how dry your mix is so start with 70 and feel the texture after mixing).

For the filling

200 g good-quality dark chocolate, coarsely chopped or Callets. We use Callebaut 811 dark semi sweet 230 g thickened cream 2 eggs, lightly whisked

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Thermomix Method

1. Weigh the flour, butter, icing sugar and cocoa powder into the TM bowl and process the mix until it resembles fine breadcrumbs ( 8 seconds / speed 6) 2. Weigh in the milk and mix 3 seconds / speed 6. Check to see if everything has come together; you may need to scrape down and repeat this step. Then tip out onto a cling film sheet and bring together into a flattened disk. 3. Divide pastry into portions for the size tin(s) you're using (you should get 8 individual tarts) and with a rolling pin roll each portion to around 4 mm thick then line your pastry cases. Place in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes. 4. Preheat oven to 200°c. Cover pastry cases with baking paper and fill with pastry weights, rice or dried beans. Place on a baking tray. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove the paper and pastry weights, rice or dried beans. Bake for a further 10 minutes or until crisp. 5. Reduce oven temperature to 180°C.

For the filling

1. Weigh the chocolate and cream in the TM bowl and set to 50 °c for 5 minutes / speed 1 or till the chocolate has melted. Add the egg and with the MC in place incorporate for 8 seconds /speed 4. 2. Spoon chocolate mixture among pastry cases and place in oven. The time it takes to bake these will depend on the tin you've used. For small tarts start checking at 10 minutes. The centre of your tart should be a little bit wobbly when you remove it from the oven.

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Conventional Method

1. Place the flour, butter, icing sugar and cocoa powder in the bowl of a food processor and process until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the milk and process until dough just comes together. Turn onto a cling film sheet and bring together into a flattened disk. 2. Divide pastry into 8 equal portions if using individual portion tins. Use a lightly floured rolling pin to roll each portion to around 4mm-thick. Line a 3cm-deep, round 8cm (base measurement) fluted tart tin, with removable base, with pastry and trim any excess. Repeat with the remaining pastry. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest. 3. Preheat oven to 200°c. Cover pastry cases with baking paper and fill with pastry weights, rice or dried beans. Place on a baking tray. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove the paper and pastry weights, rice or dried beans. Bake for a further 10 minutes or until crisp. 4. Reduce oven temperature to 180°c.

For the filling

Combine the chocolate and cream in a medium saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring with a metal spoon, for 5 minutes or until chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool slightly. Add the egg and stir until well combined. Spoon chocolate mixture among pastry cases. The time it takes to bake these will depend on the tin you've used. For small tarts start checking at 10 minutes. The centre of your tart should be a little bit wobbly when you remove it from the oven.

Degree of Difficulty: Easy

Recipe Tips

When blind baking chocolate pastry it’s hard to tell if the pastry is cooked. What you are looking for is that the pastry no longer looks wet. 12 – 15 minutes with the beans then 10 - 12 minutes with the beans out should do the trick. But make sure it is cooked through the next stage won't take long in the oven.

If this pastry isn't sweet enough for you you can double the sugar.

Don't overcook the filled tarts or the filling will crack and become tough. You're looking for that wobbly centre with these ones. Just like a lemon tart.

This does make a large tart so reduce the recipe ingredients to adjust. I do this by using my percentage button on my calculator. I'm not great with math and I don't want that button to feel left out. heheheee

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Coffee & Chocolate Tart with Mascarpone Cream This is a Patisserie recipe and we chose to change up the ganache method a bit during our Bake Club meeting because of our time constraints. Read the tips below if you’d like to do the same.

Cacao Shortcrust: 200 g butter 5 g salt 80 g caster sugar 220 g plain flour 55 g cocoa powder 3 egg yolks

Almond Cream: 40 g butter 40 g caster sugar 40 g almond meal 40 g whole eggs 40 g thickened cream

Coffee Chocolate Ganache: *See alternative ingredients in recipe tips

150 ml whole milk 20 g roasted coffee beans 240 g milk chocolate 50 g dark chocolate

Mascarpone Cream:

150 g mascarpone cheese 150 g whipped cream

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Thermomix Method For the Pastry

1. Weigh the flour and cocoa into the TM bowl and sift with the MC in place for 4 seconds / speed 6. (The sifting here is to remove any lumps in the cocoa.) 2. Weigh in the cubed butter, sugar and yolk and mix for 8 seconds / speed 6 you may need to scrape down the sides and repeat for a couple of seconds here. 3. Tip the contents out of the bowl onto a large sheet of cling-film. Bring together with a rolling pin, cover and place it in the fridge. Chilling should be a minimum of 15 mins but 30 mins is better. 4. Remove and roll out the pastry, then press it in the tart tin. Sit the tart tin in the freezer for 15 minutes before filling.

Almond Cream:

1. Weigh the butter, caster sugar and almond meal into the TM bowl and mix for 20 seconds / speed 5 2. Weigh in the eggs and cream and mix for 10 seconds / speed 5. Add the butterfly and with the MC out mix again for 10 seconds / speed 3 3. Pour the almond cream onto the un-baked, very cold or frozen tart, bake at 180*C until cooked

Coffee Chocolate Ganache: (we used an alternative method for this at our meeting, see tips)

1. Add the Coffee Beans and milk to the TM bowl and set to 100°c for 10 minutes / reverse speed 3. Next, drop the heat to 90°c and set for 20 mins / speed 2 / Reverse. 2. Pour the milk/beans into a strainer and discard the beans. Make sure you've strained it well then rinse out the bowl and weigh in both chocolates. 3. Set the TM back to 5 minutes/ 50°c / speed 3. Once it's finished remove the lid and allow it too cool a little. 4. Pour this mix into the baked tart then place in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up. Cut as desired.

Mascarpone Cream: (we didn’t make this at our meeting because of time constraints)

1. With the butterfly in place, weigh the mascarpone in the TM bowl and set to speed 2 for 3 seconds. We're just looking to loosen it up a bit. Set aside. 2. Without bothering to wash the bowl weigh in the cream, add the butterfly and set to speed 3 whisking until soft peaks form (watch carefully – will take from 20 seconds to a minute). Add back the mascarpone and mix though until combined. Don't over mix or you'll lose volume. Reserve in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before use. This will help form a nice quenelle.

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Conventional Method

Cacao Shortcrust:

1. Combine the butter, salt and sugar in a mixer with a paddle and start beating 2. Sift the flour and cocoa (in order to remove any lumps from the cocoa) then tip into the bowl along with the butter mix and continue to beat. 3. Add the egg yolk, then beat to combine. Remove from the bowl and bring together in cling film. 4. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes. After this time remove and roll out the pastry. Press it into the tart tin and sit in the freezer for 15 minutes before filling.

Almond Cream:

1. Add the butter and caster sugar to the bowl and beat to combine. When cleared, add the almond meal, then the eggs and cream the last beating to combine 2. Pour the almond cream on the uncooked tart shell, then bake at 180*C until cooked.

Coffee Chocolate Ganache:

1. Boil the milk and infuse the roasted coffee beans for 30 min, then strain and boil again. Remove from the heat and add both chocolates. 2. Stir with a spatula, then when the mixture has cooled but is still liquid, pour into the baked tart shell. 3. Reserve in the fridge for 30 minutes, then cut as desired.

Mascarpone Cream: (we didn’t make this at our meeting because of time constraints)

Loosen up the mascarpone a little with a spoon

Whisk the thickened cream to soft peaks, add the mascarpone gently and reserve in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before use. This will help form a nice quenelle.

Degree of Difficulty: Moderately difficult

Oven Temperature: 180°C

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Recipe Tips

This is a Patisserie recipe. It's not hard it just has layers so give it a go. ;-) Alternative ingredients and method for the Coffee Chocolate Ganache topping: 240 g Milk chocolate 50 g Dark Chocolate 20 g shot of coffee (or 1 heaped tsp of instant coffee in 20 g hot water mixed to a paste) 80g Milk Add all ingredients to the TM bowl or Bain Marie and warm up to 50°c until all the chocolate is melted. TM 50°c speed 1 until melted You can then pour them over your tart and place it in the fridge to firm up. This is a beautiful tart, very professional looking and not too hard to make. You wont need to blind bake this recipe due to the filling being so little in the base. The majority of the filling is a chocolate ganache and only requires setting in the fridge. Please use good quality chocolate for this one, it’s the major flavour and you want it to be nice.

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Pecan Tart

Ingredients

For The Pastry:

150 g unsalted butter 75 g caster sugar 35 g egg (whip with a fork and weigh, you can tip the left over into the filling) 225 g plain flour

For the Pecan Nut filling:

100 g treacle or molasses 50 g golden syrup 40 g plain flour sieved 60 g butter melted 3 eggs, beaten 250 g pecans

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Thermomix Method

For the Tart Shell

1. Prepare a tin with Pan Release or similar. This tart has a lot of sugar in the pastry which will caramelise and stick to almost anything. 2. Weigh the butter, flour and sugar into the TM bowl and mix for 8 seconds / speed 6. 3. Add the egg and mix for 3 seconds / speed 6. Scrape down the sides and repeat if needed. 4. Rest, covered, in the fridge for 30 minutes 5. Set oven temp to 180°c fan 6. Roll out the pastry to size and line the tart tin or tins. Place in the freezer for around 15 minutes.

For The Filling

1. Weigh the butter, treacle and golden syrup into the TM bowl and mix for 4 mins/ 60°c/ speed 1. 2. Add the eggs and with the MC in place set to 5 sec / speed 3 3. Weigh in the flour and mix to combine for 3 seconds/ speed 3 (scrape down and repeat if needed)) 4. Fold in the nuts and set aside. 3 seconds / speed 2/reverse 5. Blind bake the tart shell using beads for 10-15 minutes then remove them and continue to bake till the surface of the pastry is no longer raw. See my blind baking notes and video in this eBook. 6. Spoon the filling mixture into the pastry case and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the pastry and filling are cooked through. Leave the tarts in the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.

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Conventional Method

For the Tart Shell

1. Prepare a tin with Pan Release or similar. This tart has a lot of sugar in the pastry which will caramelise and stick to almost anything. 2. Combine the butter and sugar until smooth 3. Slowly add the egg (if the egg is added too quickly it will curdle) 4. Add flour and mix to a smooth paste (do not over mix) then divide into 2 5. Rest, covered, in the fridge for 30 minutes 6. Set oven temp to 180°c fan 7. Line the tart tin or tins and place in the freezer for around 15 minutes.

For The Filling

1. In the meantime melt butter, treacle and golden syrup and mix to combine 2. Add eggs to syrup mix beating to combine 3. Add the flour and mix to combine 4. Fold in the nuts and set aside. 5. Blind bake the tart shell using beads for 10-15 minutes, then remove them and continue to bake till the surface of the pastry is no longer raw. See my blind baking notes and video in this eBook. 6. 6Spoon the filling mixture into the pastry case and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the pastry and filling are cooked through. Leave the tarts in the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Bec's Recipe Tips

What’s the difference between treacle and molasses? I know it can be confusing that in different countries we have different names for things. I started to write the differences and found this great article. In it the author writes "Treacle is the British generic name for any syrup made during the refining of sugar cane. Therefore, theoretically, Treacle, Black Treacle, Molasses, Golden Syrup and Blackstrap are all treacles. In practice, however, there is a technical difference between “treacle” and “molasses” in that molasses is obtained from the draining of raw sugar during the refining process and treacle is made from the syrup obtained from the sugar".

It’s worth investing in good quality treacle or golden syrup as the flavour is much finer and will be reflected in the quality of the finished product. Look for English brand Lyle’s Golden Syrup and Treacle available in some supermarkets or specialty stores.

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Roast Pumpkin, Onion and Feta Tart

Ingredients For The Filling

500 g pumpkin peeled and cut into 2cm chunks 1 brown or red onion cut into wedges 8 – 12 olive oil (use liberally to coat the veg) 5 thyme sprigs 5 g ground cumin (or enough to taste) 100 g feta cheese 3 eggs lightly beaten 125 g pure cream 10 g chopped chives

For Bec's 1,2,4 short pastry

200 gm plain flour or a mix of 50/50 wholemeal/plain 50 ml water 100 gm butter

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Thermomix Method

For The Filling

1. Set the Oven to 180°c 2. Place pumpkin and onion on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with the thyme and cumin. Mix with your hands to coat well. Roast until soft. Allow to cool slightly.

For The Pastry

1. Weigh the flour and butter into the TM Bowl and mix for 8 seconds / speed 6 2. Weigh in the water and mix for 3 seconds / speed 6. Remove the dough onto cling-film. Press into a flattened disc and allow to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. 3. Line tart tin with the pastry (no need to butter if your pastry is combined well and especially if you’re using a non-stick pan). Rest in the fridge or freezer for 10 - 15 minutes. 4. Cut 100g of the feta into 2 cm cubes. 5. Combine eggs, cream and chives in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. 6. Blind Bake (See my blind baking notes and video in this eBook) 7. Remove the blind baked shell from the oven, add the pumpkin and feta then pour in the egg mix. Bake until golden brown.

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Conventional Method

Set the Oven to 180°c

For The Filling

Place pumpkin and onion on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with the thyme and cumin. Mix with your hands to coat well. Roast until soft. Allow to cool slightly.

For The Pastry

1. Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles fine sand. 2. Mix in the water to the flour and butter but do not work the dough too much. Remove the dough onto cling-film, press into a flattened disc and allow to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. 3. Line the tart tin with the pastry. No need to butter if your pastry is combined well and especially if you’re using a non-stick pan. Rest in the fridge or freezer for 10 - 15 minutes 4. Cut 100g of the feta into 2 cm cubes. 5. Combine eggs, cream and chives in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. 6. Blind Bake the tart. See my blind baking notes and video in this eBook 7. Remove the blind baked shell from the oven and add the pumpkin and feta then pour in the egg mix. Bake until golden brown.

Bec’s Tips

Blind Bake this tart for best results

Roast off the pumpkin using plenty of olive oil then drain before placing in the tart. You don’t get caramelisation without oil or sugar so adding the oil is really important for delicious flavour. Don’t believe me?

Put a piece of dry cut pumpkin on a separate tray while you bake off the rest and you’ll see it takes a lot longer to brown. It’s only the natural sugars that help it along, but it takes a long time. These little brown bits thanks to the caramelising effect of the olive oil give this tart so much more flavour.

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Spinach, Onion and Feta Tart

Ingredients

For the filling

150 g (approximately) spinach. 1 brown onion diced 1 Tbsp olive oil 2 cloves of garlic, diced fine 5 g ground cumin (or enough to taste) 150 g Feta cheese 3 eggs lightly beaten 100 g grated cheese 200 g ricotta

For Bec's 1,2,4 short pastry

200 gm plain flour 50 ml water 100 gm butter

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Thermomix Method

1. Weigh the butter and flour into the TM bowl and with the MC in place mix on speed 6 / 8 seconds. 2. Weigh the water into the bowl and mix on speed 6 / 3 seconds to combine. If there is a lot of water on the base of your TM, lift up the mixture with a spatula and mix again on speed 6 / 2 seconds to combine. 3. Lay a large sheet of clingfilm on the bench and tip the contents of the TM bowl onto the clingfilm. 4. Fold the clingfilm over the pastry (make sure you leave room all around to roll it out – see video in this eBook for a visual) and roll the pastry to bring it together. 5. Place the pastry in the fridge for 15 minutes. If it’s too cold to roll out after resting just leave it a few minutes on the bench, it won’t take long to soften. 6. Line the tart tin with the pastry. No need to butter if your pastry is combined well and especially if you’re using a non-stick tin. Then set the tart case aside in the fridge while you prepare the filling 7. Set Oven Temperature: 180°C 8. Wash and blanch spinach (but read my tips below first). 9. Sauté onion and garlic drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with cumin. 10. Add the spinach and a good squeeze of lemon and allow to cool 11. Cut the feta into cubes or crumble. 12. Combine all the ingredients for the filling in a bowl and mix 13. 13Blind Bake the tart. See my blind baking notes and video in this eBook 14. Remove the tart from the oven. Add the filling to the tart and bake until golden brown, around 20 - 30 minutes.

Conventional method by hand

1. Sift the flour into a bowl. 2. Rub in the butter to resemble fine sand. 3. Mix in the water to the flour and butter, taking care not to work the dough too much. Allow to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. 4. Line the tart tin with the pastry. No need to butter if your pastry is combined well, especially if you’re using a non-stick pan. Then place it in your freezer to rest. 5. Wash and blanch spinach (read my tips below first). 6. Sauté onion and garlic, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with cumin. 7. Add the spinach and a good squeeze of lemon and allow to cool. 8. Cut the feta into cubes or crumble. 9. Combine all the ingredients for the filling in a bowl and mix 10. Blind Bake the tart. See my blind baking notes and video in this eBook. 11. Remove the tart from the oven. Add the filling to the tart and bake until golden brown, around 20 - 30 minutes

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Bec’s tips:

It's up to you how much you break up the cheese for this tart. Both bake club meeting they crumbled the fetta although you could cube it like in the pumpkin tart.

Wilting spinach in the microwave is really easy for this recipe. If you purchase washed picked spinach in a bag from the supermarket, look over it to make sure it’s clean, put it in a microwave safe bowl and pop on a lid or cling film then set for 1 minute 30 seconds or 2 minutes depending on your microwave and it’s done. No need to boil water, squeeze water out or drain. Easy.

How to wilt your spinach

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Bec’s Wholemeal 124 Pastry for Pies and Pasties

Ingredients

50 gm water

100 gm butter

200 gm flour (50 / 50 split of wholemeal flour and plain flour = 100g plain 100 g wholemeal). Try this ratio first then you can adjust to your liking, some people don’t like too much wholemeal.

We hadn't planned to make these pasties this week but I thought it might be nice to show you what the wholemeal might look like. They're very tasty and easy to make too.

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Thermomix Method

1. Weigh the butter and flour into the TM bowl and with the MC in place mix on speed 6 / 8 seconds. 2. Weigh the water into the bowl and mix on speed 6 / 3 seconds to combine. If there is a lot of water on the base of your TM lift up the mixture with a spatula and mix again on speed 6 / 2 seconds to combine. 3. Lay a large sheet of clingfilm on the bench and tip the contents of the TM bowl onto the clingfilm. 4. Fold the clingfilm over the pastry (make sure you leave room all around to roll it out – you can see how I do this in the video in this eBook) and roll the pastry to bring it together. 5. Place the pastry in the fridge for 15 minutes. If it’s too cold to roll out after resting just leave it a few minutes on the bench and it won’t take long to soften.

Conventional Method by hand

1. Sift the flour into a bowl. 2. Rub in the butter to resemble fine sand. 3. Mix in the water to the flour and butter but do not work the dough too much. 4. Place the dough onto a sheet of clingfilm, flatten a little and wrap. Allow to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

For our Pasties on Monday we used

2 potatoes cubed into 1cm dice 1 sweet potato cubed into 1cm dice Salt and pepper to taste. 1 homemade sausage removed from the skin and broken up

You can add what ever you like here, we just grabbed what we had. Ideas would be onion, cheese, capsicum. whatever you like or have on hand.

Tuesday Night we just used some of the left over spinach and cheese mix that we couldn't fit into the pie tin.

What we did

We softened the veg by cooking it off a little in the microwave. No need to soften too much, just like you would for potato salad.

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Break the sausage up and place it in the bowl with the partially cooked veg, it can go in raw as it will cook through in the oven while baking. Allow the mix to cool before putting it in the pastry

Once the mix is cooled and the pastry has rested in the fridge you can start the assembly.

Roll out the pastry to the desired thickness. We used a large cutter to cut out our shape, but if you don’t have one you can use a plate and knife. Or do like my nan used to do and use the top of a clean vase that was the right size for her Cornish pasties.

Add some filling to one side of your pastry, brush a little water around the rim, not too much, just enough to make the pastry tacky.

Fold the pastry over in half and gently squeeze out any air pockets. Press around the edges. You can use a fork here to seal or the method we used at bake club (see the video in this eBook).

Starting at one side of the pasty use your thumb and forefinger (left hand) to gently squeeze to crimp. With your right thumb and forefinger fold this crimped section over and press into place and repeat in with the next section.

Pinching and folding pasties

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