Here are some tart recipes I posted on my previous blog from January 2010 till February 2015.
Chocolate Tart
Chocolate Tart
A delicious
Christmas cake
I know there
are hundreds of traditional, gorgeous Christmas cakes, but this one is such a
delicious treat, ideal for cold winter days and a guaranteed success as
everybody loves chocolate.
We usually
spend Christmas in Italy with grandparents but I always have a Christmas dinner
before leaving with candles, crackers, little presents for everybody and a
special cake.
You can buy
ready-made short crust pastry, or make it with 250 g of flour, 100 g of sugar,
50 g of butter, 2 eggs and 1 tsp of baking powder. Rub in the
ingredients, in a bowl, and knead the dough for about ten minutes, then
wrap it in a tea towel and keep it in the fridge for half an hour.
For the filling
you need: 50 g of flour, 4 tbsp of milk, 2 eggs, 300 ml of thick double cream,
4 tbsp of sugar, 100 g dark chocolate, 100 g milk chocolate and 100g nuts.
Grind the dark
and milk chocolate and the nuts in a blender, add all the other ingredients and
mix.
Roll out the
dough and place it in a round greased tin.
Pour the mixture on the short crust pastry and bake for half an hour at
180° C. When it is cold, sprinkle the
tart with half a tbsp of cocoa powder and half a tbsp of icing sugar.
Decorate with
holly, sugar stars or a special Christmas decoration such as poinsettias.
Ricotta and cinnamon tart
Here is a tart (in
Italian crostata, a tart with stripes
of dough on the top. The classic one is filled with jam) ideal for Easter time,
as it has ricotta in the filling. Also three alternatives good for all
occasions.
For the pastry you
need: two eggs, 100 g of sugar, 250 g of flour, one tsp of baking powder and 50
g of melted butter.
Mix the ingredients and
knead the dough lightly. Let it chill in the fridge for about half an hour
wrapped in a cloth.
For the filling you
need: 500 g of ricotta, 100 g of sugar, two egg yolks and one tsp of cinnamon.
Mix the filling
ingredients together well. Roll out the dough and line a greased 12 inch
round tart tin with it. Then pour on the
filling and spread it. Roll out the remaining dough and cut strips using a
cutting wheel. Lay the strips criss-cross over the filling, three across and
three down (see picture). Bake for half
an hour at 180° C. When ready sprinkle with icing sugar or a mixture of sugar
and cinnamon.
Alternative fillings:
1)
500 g of
ricotta, 100 g of raisins (soaked in warm water for half an hour then
squeezed), grated zest of an orange, 50 g of pine nuts, 100 g of sugar, 2 egg
yolks and one tbsp of liqueur.
2)
500 g of
ricotta, grated zest of two lemons, 50 ml of lemon juice, 2 egg yolks and 100 g
of sugar.
3)
500 g of
ricotta, 100 of sugar, 2 egg yolks and a milk chocolate bar (100 g) roughly
chopped.
You can serve the tarts with ice cream or whipped cream.
Have a good Easter!
Fruit tart
This is an ideal treat
for summer time: fruit tarts in different sizes, some small, called paste
or pastarelle in Italy (about 2
inches in diameter, ), or large (about 8-12 inches).
For the shortcrust
pastry you need: two eggs, 100 g of sugar, 250 g of flour, one tsp of baking
powder, 50 g of melted butter.
For the filling you
need to prepare a custard cream with two tbsp of flour, two tbsp of sugar, one
egg, 400 ml of milk and a piece of the zest of a lemon. You also need fruit of
different colours to finish: blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, kiwi,
grapes, blueberries, etc.
Prepare the shortcrust
pastry first, mixing all the ingredients in a bowl. Knead it gently, adding
flour if needed and let it rest in the fridge for half an hour covered by a
cloth.
Prepare the custard
cream by whisking all the ingredients in a pan and cooking them over a moderate
heat, stirring, till cooked through. The custard should become thick and
smooth.
For the pastarelle,
roll out the pastry and cut circles of about three inches (I used an upturned
glass). Lower them into cupcakes cases and trim the paper if necessary. Set
them in a muffin tray (photo attached). Bake for about 15 minutes at 180° C.
For the tart, roll out
a bigger circle of pastry and line a tin tart previously greased. Bake for 15
minutes, also at 180° C.
When they are ready,
let them cool then cover or fill with custard cream and decorate with fresh
fruit. Let them chill before serving.
Lemon tart
Here is a recipe I
found in a magazine and adapted it in my usual ‘Italian way’.
For the shortcrust
pastry you need: two eggs, 100 g of sugar, 250 g of flour, one tsp of baking
powder, 50 g of melted butter.
Mix the ingredients and
knead the dough. Let it chill in the fridge for about half an hour wrapped in a
cloth.
For the filling you
need: four lemons, four eggs, 150 g of sugar, 100 ml of double cream, 50 g of
flour.
Prepare the filling,
beating the sugar and eggs in a mixer for about 10-15 minutes. Add the lemon
zest and lemon juice (100 ml) and finally the double cream and flour. Keep
beating, slowly, for another five minutes.
Roll out the pastry and
line an eleven inch round greased tart tin. Pour the filling onto it and bake
for 30 minutes at 180° C, until golden brown on top. Sprinkle with icing sugar
or cake sprinkles.
Pumpkin tart
This is an ideal treat
for Halloween when you have plenty of pumpkin flesh left. But you can also make
it all year round using butternut squash.
For the shortcrust
pastry you need: two eggs, 100 g of sugar, 250 g of flour, one tsp of baking powder
and 50 g of melted butter.
For the filling you
need: 300 g of pumpkin flesh, two eggs, 100 ml of double cream, 100 g of light
brown sugar, 50 g of flour, one tsp of
cinnamon and half a tsp of nutmeg.
First cut the pumpkin
flesh into little cubes and cook it in a pan adding some water and a tbsp of
light brown sugar. Let it boil till you can mash it.
Prepare the shortcrust
pastry mixing all the ingredients. Knead it gently, adding some flour if needed
and chill it for half an hour.
Whisk the eggs and sugar
in a bowl for about 10-15 minutes. Add the double cream, flour and spices.
Drain the pumpkin flesh and mash it. Add it to the mixture and whisk again.
Roll out the pastry and
line a greased round tart tin (about 12 inches). Fill it with the pumpkin mixture
and bake it for half an hour at 180° C.
Let it cool and
decorate it with vanilla icing fudge drawing a scary face, if you like, or
simply sprinkling it with hundreds and thousands.
Tarts Galore!
As I mentioned
previously, my mother, my daughter and I practiced our culinary skills during
the Christmas holidays. My mum had bought a brand new recipe book and she had
waited for us to help her make some tarts and cakes, not only for our pleasure
and satisfaction but also to give as a present to neighbours (they usually
exchange cakes during festivities).
We experimented with
two new kinds of shortcrust pastry, one with lemon and one with cocoa. Here are
the quantities.
For the lemon shortcrust pastry you need: 300 g
of flour, 100 g of sugar, a pinch of salt, 80 g of butter, one egg and two
yolks, one tsp of baking powder, the grated zest of a lemon plus two tbsp of
lemon juice.
For the cocoa shortcrust pastry you need: 300 g
of flour, 100 g of sugar, a pinch of salt, 80 g of butter, one egg and two
yolks, one tsp of baking powder and 50 g of cocoa.
Beat the eggs, yolks
and sugar, add the melted butter, the lemon zest plus juice (or the cocoa) and
finally the flour and baking powder. Knead the dough and let it chill for half
an hour wrapped in clingfilm.
Roll out half the dough
and line a greased tart tin of about 11 inches in diameter, then fill it with
one of these creams.
Orange cream: three egg yolks, one orange, 150 g of sugar, 70 g of flour; for the
meringue: 4-5 whites and 100 g of sugar.
Beat the yolks and
sugar, add the grated zest of an orange plus 200 g of its juice, finally adding
the flour. Pour it over the pastry and bake for half an hour at 180° C. In the
meantime prepare the meringue by whisking the whites and the sugar till stiff.
When the tart is cooked and cooled spread the meringue mixture on the cream and
bake for a further half an hour at 150° C till the meringue is crusty and
slightly brown.
Apricots (or peaches) and almond cream: 100 g of ground almonds, the grated zest of a
lemon, 100 g of sugar, two yolks, 50 g of flour, a tbsp of double cream, 250 g of tinned apricots (or peaches) cut in
halves, 200 g of the apricot juice and a tbsp of lemon juice.
Beat the yolks and sugar,
add the other ingredients (except the tinned fruit) and mix well. Pour the
cream into the pastry-lined tin and use more pastry to make stripes across the
tart like a crostata. In the squares
formed by the stripes place the apricot halves. Bake for half an hour at 180°
C. When cool sprinkle with icing sugar.
Lemon cream: two lemons (the grated zest and 100 g of juice), 50 g of flour, 100
g of sugar, 20 g of butter, two eggs, mint leaves (optional), one tbsp of
liqueur such as limoncello (optional) and one more lemon, sliced.
Mix the sugar, eggs and
the zest and juice of the lemons, adding the flour, the melted butter and any
liqueur. Pour the mixture onto the tin lined with pastry and bake for half an
hour at 180° C. Finally decorate with the lemon slices and mint leaves.
Mixed berries and ricotta: 200 g of fresh mixed berries, 100 g of sugar,
250 g of ricotta, the juice of a lemon and 100 g of whipping cream.
This time you need to bake the pastry first
and then prepare the filling. Let the blueberries soak in the lemon juice and one
tbsp of sugar for half an hour. Whip the cream and mix in the ricotta and
sugar. Spread the mixture onto the baked pastry and sprinkle the blueberries
over it. Chill for 3-4 hours before serving.
As for the pastry, you
can use the lemon or the cocoa one according to your taste. It’s a delicious
dessert and a more than welcome present.
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