Home baking is making a great comeback and the young specially are taking time off and making the effort in between their busy schedules to try out new dishes. It is rewarding, relaxing and somehow a home baked product tastes much better than the shop version.

Tarts and pies consist of just 2 components – a pre baked crust which could be sweet or savoury and a filling which could be cooked or uncooked- sweet or savoury. To make the perfect tart shell you have to measure out the ingredients accurately, chill the dough and then roll the dough on a lightly floured surface.

I remember sitting at the table with the family specially mom after lunch and wanting something sweet and suddenly out of the blue mom would say “I want a chocolate tart,” she does have a soft corner for lemon and chocolate tarts even today. How sweet is that!

Rolling out the dough to get a tart shell of uniform thickness requires a little practice but it’s not impossible. I did practice the short crust pastry a couple of times before I got it right, and once you get the hang of it you can always bake a Lemon pie, or a cheese quiche- even a chocolate flan.

After all-  baking is bliss in every bite.

Short crust pastry:

Ingredients:

• Flour- 1 cup
• Butter-1/4 cup chilled
• Water-3-4 tbsp (chilled)
• Powdered sugar-1/4 cup

Method:

• Take flour and sugar in a bowl, add chilled butter and rub with fingertips to breadcrumbs consistency.
• Add chilled water (measure out quantity in a bowl) to form a sift dough. Chill for 15 minutes.
• Roll out on a lightly floured board and with a cutter, cut and line the greased tart shells.
• Prick with a fork all over and bake in a preheated oven for 10-15 minutes.

Filling:

• Dark chocolate – 150 gms
• Cream- 150 ml (3/4 cup)

Method:

• Melt chocolate (cut into small pieces) in a double boiler.
• Add cream and blend well.
• Heat the mixture till bubbles appear at the sides of the pan.
• Cool and fill tart shells, chill for 1/2 an hour and serve with roasted cashewnuts/ walnuts.

Chefs tips

• Instead of roasted cashewnuts, you can use raspberries or fresh strawberries.
• Blanched almonds / halved pecans is also an option.
• Always measure out the chilled water and keep aside.
• If you’ve got a caramel dessert topping, decorate the tarts and serve.
• Makes 6-8 chocolate tarts.

All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.   –  Charles M. Shutz.

Till my next post

Cheers,

Rose