Boat Tart

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A tart is a baked dish consisting of a filling over a pastry base with an open top not covered with pastry. The pastry is usually shortcrust pastry; the filling may be sweet or savoury, though modern tarts are usually fruit-based, sometimes with custard.

The categories of 'tart', 'flan', and 'pie' overlap, with no sharp distinctions, though 'pie' is the more common term in the United States.

Early medieval tarts generally had meat fillings, but later ones were often based on fruit and custard.

Tarte Tatin is an upside-down tart, of apples, other fruit, or onions.

Savoury tarts include quiche, a family of savoury tarts with a mostly custard filling; German zwiebelkuchen 'onion tart', and Swiss cheese tart made from Gruyere

Here is a recipe unearthed from a long list of favorites due to a query made by a friend. Boat tarts are small pies I remember buying when I was in highschool. It is shaped like a boat thus the name.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 

1 tbl plus 1 teaspoon sugar 

8 tbl (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pea-sized bits 

1 piece egg beaten with 1 cup iced water 

Egg Wash: 

2 tablespoon water 

1 tablespoon flour 

1 egg yolk 

Cashew Filling: 

3/4 cup sugar 

4 eggs 

1 cup dark corn syrup 

2 tablespoon dark rum 

1 tablespoon vanilla extract 

4 tablespoon melted unsalted butter

2 cups (10 ounces) roasted unsalted cashews 

Procedure:

1. This is basically the same procedure as blind baking for pies.

Shaped pie crust ready for baking blind. Photo by missbossy

• In a large bowl, sift the flour and sugar together. 
• Using a pastry blender, fork or your fingertips, work the butter into the mixture until it resembles coarse meal. 
• Sprinkle on 3 to 4 tablespoons of the egg-water mixture, and mix it in with your fingers until the dough comes together into a ball. 
• Working on a lightly floured surface, take egg-sized pieces of the dough and smear them away from you with the heel of your hand into 6-inch streaks. 
• Scrape up all the streaks of dough and pile them on top of one another to form a disc. 
• Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. 
• Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. 
• Lightly butter your boat tart pans (Muffin cup molds will also do)
• On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough. Use a bowl bigger than your tart pan as a pattern. Press on the dough and get the cut circle.
• Fit the dough into the prepared tart pans.
• Trim the excess dough to a 1-inch overhang and double the dough over itself to reinforce the sides (save the trimmings for any emergency patchwork). 
• Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
• Line the tart shell with aluminum foil and weight down with dried beans or pie weights. 
• Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 5 minutes longer or until lightly browned. 
• Patch any visible holes in the shell with the reserved dough scraps. 
• Brush the shell with Egg Wash and return to the oven for 5 more minutes, until the wash is shiny and no longer runny. 
• Transfer to a rack to cool and lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees F or 160deg C.

2. Spread the cashews in the partially baked shell and cover with the Cashew Filling, making sure the nuts are covered.

3. Bake for 30 minutes or until little bubbles appear around the edges of the tart and the center looks barely set. 

4. Transfer to a rack to cool.

Egg Wash Procedure:

1. In a small bowl and with use of a fork, mix together the water, flour, and egg yolk. Cover and refrigerate.

Cashew Filling Procedure:

1. In a large bowl, lightly beat the sugar and eggs together. Add the corn syrup, rum, and vanilla and beat just to a blend. Mix in the melted butter.

Tips:

You can make your own homemade light corn syrup as substitute for the market brand. For this easy light corn syrup substitute, click here.

To learn the step by step baking blind procedure, click here.

Egg pie is also known as custard pie. Both the pie and filling for egg pie can be used for this boat tart recipe. For egg pie recipe, click here.

I myself find the idea of putting foil and baking beans on each boat tart pan so  tasking. What I do is I stack them all over each other. This works best also for silicon muffin molds. The top most dough is the only one in need of baking beans. Economical and practical.


Here is a video of how to make blueberry lemon tartlets (also known as mini tarts).

How to Make a Fluted Pie Crust

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Learn how to make a decorative border on your pie. 

1. Follow the instructions for making pastry and lining your pie plate. Save any dough scraps for patching cracks or for building up the edges, if needed.

• See Step by step,How to make a Pie Crust

2. Fold the dough under itself onto the flat rim of the pie plate. One of the advantages to making your own crust is that you can build up a higher edge of crust, to better contain the filling (or to hold more filling). Prepackaged crusts are flattened to the edges of the pan, so they don't break in transport.

3. Use the thumb of one hand as a base, and the forefinger and thumb on your other hand to crimp the crust.

4. Continue working your way around the crust, fluting the edge. If you find a spot where the dough's too thin to work with, tuck a piece of scrap dough underneath. Pinch the patched area to seal it together before crimping.

http://www.flickr.com/photos

5. You can also make a wider scalloped edge by using the back of a teaspoon as a guide instead of your fingertips.

6. Lightly cover the dough-lined pie pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least half an hour. This lets the dough relax and will help prevent it from shrinking in the oven when it bakes.

7. A note about ingredients: 

Butter vs. Shortening

Shortening (Crisco®) and lard are good for flakiness; they hold their shape better than butter, so your beautifully crimped crust won't sag in the oven. Shortening also makes the dough easier to handle and less prone to cracking. Butter is best for flavor. A combination of the two fats works very well.

How to Bake a Pie Crust

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Learn how to pre-bake a crust for quiches, custard pies, and cream pies.

Follow the instructions for rolling out your dough and lining a pie pan in our Step by Step Making a Pie Crust article.

Chill the crust, loosely covered with plastic wrap, for at least half an hour. This lets the dough relax and will help prevent it from shrinking in the oven.

This process is also called "blind baking"

Place a baking sheet on a lower oven rack and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 C). Once the dough is chilled, it should be firm to the touch (shortening won't firm up as well as butter, so transfer shortening crusts to the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes). Pierce the bottom and sides of the crust with a fork to prevent air pockets from forming.

Line the crust with a double thickness of aluminum foil, making sure the foil is all the way to the edges of the bottom of the pan.

Fill the foil with pie weights or dried beans. Make sure they're distributed all across the bottom and partly up the sides of the foil-lined crust. The weights ensure that the crust holds its shape during baking and doesn't slump in the pan or bubble up.

Put the pie plate on the preheated baking sheet and reduce the oven temp to 400. Bake until the edges of the crust are starting to turn golden and the bottom of the crust has lost its translucent "raw" look, 10 to 12 minutes (carefully pull up the edge of the foil to take a peek). Remove the baking sheet and pie pan from the oven. Lift up the edges of the foil and set the beans aside. Return the pie and baking sheet to the oven. Save the beans for the next time you bake a pie, or discard them; they're no good to eat once they've been baked.

If you'll be baking the crust once it's filled--for a quiche, pumpkin pie, Key lime pie, or others--bake the crust until the bottom is just beginning to color, 6 to 8 minutes. If you're making a cream pie or refrigerated pie, bake it until the entire crust is golden brown, about 15 minutes longer.

Remove the pie shell from the oven. To help prevent soggy pie or quiche crusts, brush the inside of the crust with egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water) to create a seal. Return the crust to the oven until the egg wash is dry and shiny, about 3 minutes.

If you're making a cream pie or icebox pie, let the crust cool completely before proceeding with your recipe. For pies that will go back in the oven, like lemon meringue pies, egg pies or quiches, the crust can still be warm when you add the filling.

Step by Step Making of Pie Crust

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1. There are four ingredients in a standard piecrust: flour, fat, liquid, and salt. Flour forms the structure and bulk of the crust, fat adds flavor and creates a flaky texture, liquid binds the dough and keeps it pliable, and salt enhances the flavor and helps brown the crust.

2. Always chill the fat (butter, margarine, shortening, or lard) and liquid before you begin. This prevents the fat pieces from getting creamed into the flour.

• Stir the flour, salt, and sugar (if using) together in a large bowl. 

• Cut the chilled butter or shortening into the dry mixture using a pastry cutter or by pinching the fat into the mixture with your hands. 

• You can also use a food processor: pulse the flour with half the shortening until it's the texture of cornmeal. Add the remaining shortening or butter and pulse until it's the size of small peas. Turn the mixture into a bowl. 

3. Add the chilled water one tablespoon at a time, mixing gently with a fork after each addition. You should be able to gently press the dough into a ball. Handle the dough as little as possible; overworking will make it tough.

4. Split the dough in half. Pat the dough into balls, flattening them slightly, and wrap them in plastic wrap.

• The dough needs to rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. This allows the flour to absorb all of the liquid, lets the dough relax and become more elastic, and keeps the fat in discrete pieces which will give the crust a lighter texture when it's baked. 

5. Generously dust a clean, dry surface with flour; remove and unwrap one of the discs of dough from the refrigerator.

• Flatten the dough slightly with your hands and dust the dough lightly with flour before rolling the dough out with a rolling pin. 
• Start rolling at the center of the dough and work outwards. If you're a beginning pie-maker--or prefer easier cleanup--you can roll out the dough between sheets of waxed paper. 

6. Working quickly, roll the dough into a circle ¼-inch thick or smaller.

• As you roll it out, lift up an edge or move the dough to ensure it's not sticking to the counter. Add flour as needed. 

• The dough round should be two to four inches wider in diameter than your pie pan. Use a dry pastry brush to sweep away any excess flour. 

7. Gently fold the dough in half, and then into quarters.

• If it seems too brittle to fold, try another bakers' trick: roll up the pie crust around the rolling pin and unroll it over the pie plate.

8. Carefully pick it up and place it into the pie plate so the center point of dough is in the center of the pan.

9. Unfold the dough, letting the weight of the dough settle it in the bottom and edges of the pan. Without stretching the dough, press the pastry into the pan with your fingertips.

10. Use kitchen shears or a paring knife to trim the dough to about a half-inch overhang. Save the scraps; you can use those to bulk up thin areas of the crust when you're fluting the edges.

11. If you're making a single-crust pie, fold the dough under itself onto the flat rim of the pie plate. Flute the edges of the crust, loosely cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before baking.

• For a double-crust or lattice-top pie, refrigerate the bottom crust while you roll out the top crust. Transfer the top crust (it doesn't have to be a perfect circle) to a parchment- or wax paper-lined sheet pan. Cover loosely with plastic, and refrigerate while you prepare the filling.

12. Once the pie is loaded with filling, lay the top crust over the top.

• Trim it to leave a half-inch overhang. Fold the dough under itself and crimp to form a seal.

• Cut vents with a sharp paring knife, or use a fork to prick a decorative pattern on the top crust. Small cookie cutters are especially nice when baking apple pies: these need to be well vented so that the crust doesn't end up as a solid dome over the cooked-down fruit.

13. Want to get fancy? Lattice tops, decorative top crusts made with cut-out shapes, braided edges, and other artistic touches all make a pie stand out. Use mini cookie cutters to make cut-outs from extra dough; brush the cutouts with water to help them stick.

Egg Pie

                              Photos by Sheryll Ann Deluz


Egg Pie is a sweet Filipino dessert that resembles an egg custard. Though famous in the Philippines and can be seen even in local bakeries, this delicious dessert has not made its own identity outside of the Filipino circle. Basically, it is a custard as based on its definition. Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on a cooked mixture of milk or cream and egg yolk. Depending on how much egg or thickener is used, custard may vary in consistency from a thin pouring sauce (crème anglaise), to a thick pastry cream used to fill éclairs. The most common custards are used as desserts or dessert sauces and typically include sugar and vanilla. Custard bases may also be used for quiches and other savoury foods. Sometimes flour, corn starch, or gelatin is added.

For all of us outside the country who misses this sweet soft pie that could only be called our very own, here is a simple recipe that you can easily prepare at home.

PIE CRUST

1/2 cup butter (cold and cut in cubes)

1/3 cup + 1 tbsp sugar

1 2/3 cup flour

1 egg beaten

1 tsp salt

1/8 cup cold water

Procedure:

1. Mix with fork (or pastry knife) butter, sugar and flour. Add beaten egg and continue mixing. Add 1 tbsp at a time of cold water until lumpy. Form into a ball with your hands and wrap with clingwrap. Refrigerate for 30 mins. 

2. After 30 mins, dust mixing table and rolling pin with flour. Flatten the dough starting at the middle til the end. Do quarter turns till the whole dough has been rolled flat (at least 1/4 inch thick). 

3. Roll the dough on the rolling pin so as to carry it over the pie pan. Unroll and fit the dough making sure not to tear it. Leave 2 inches on all sides. Use kitchen shears or a paring knife to trim the dough to about a half-inch overhang. Save the scraps; you can use those to bulk up thin areas of the crust when you're fluting the edges.

4. Fold the dough under itself onto the flat rim of the pie plate. One of the advantages to making your own crust is that you can build up a higher edge of crust, to better contain the filling (or to hold more filling). Prepackaged crusts are flattened to the edges of the pan, so they don't break in transport. (See topic on how to flute the pan). Put back in fridge for 30 mins to settle the butter within the mixture. 

5. Do blind baking (there are some good tips in youtube). Prick sides of dough with fork to prevent bubbles. Put parchment paper on top then the baking beans. Bake for 200deg C for 15 mins. Remove baking beans and bake for 5 mins more. 

EGG PIE FILLING

2 1/3 cup evap milk

4 eggs separated

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 tbsp cornflour

Procedure:

1.Mix flour, sugar, egg yolks and slowly add in milk.

2. On a separate bowl, whip egg whites until soft peaks form. Add this to the flour/milk/yolk mixture using cut and fold technique. Make sure there are no bubbles. 

3. Bake for 180deg C for 20 mins then lower temp to 110deg C for 1 hr. Ready once inserted toothpick in the middle comes out clean.

**Tip: Never use plastic mixing bowl in whipping egg whites for there is always a chance of oil residue left in the bowl. any oil, liquid or yolk will diminish chance of having a nicely whipped whites. ceramic / glass or aluminum mixing bowl is recommended.

Guten Apetit!

Thanks Shirley C-R for the recipe. ;-)