PERFECT PASTRY
A chef has to keep cool
When I was training as a chef, I recall my Swiss tutor – who specialised in pastry – telling me I had hot hands.
At the time it seemed like an odd thing to say but as we ventured more into the intricacies of pastry making, I understood his point.
To prepare light and flaky pastry you need to keep the fat (butter, lard, etc) cool at all times before baking. This is to prevent the fat prematurely melting into the flour, which will result in a tough crumb.
The role of fat in pastry making is to create a barrier between the dry (flour) and wet (water, egg etc) ingredients.
To avoid my ‘‘hot hands’’ tainting the quality of my pastry, I now prepare it in a food processor, with as little mixing as possible.
If you prefer to prepare by hand, then do as I was advised by my chef tutor and first cool your hands in a mixing bowl with cold water.
Autumn fruit & creme fraiche tart
Serve 6 - 8 Preparation time: 20 minutes +
30 minutes resting Cooking time: 20 minutes
You will need to plan ahead to prepare the creme fraiche ahead of time.
Or use bought – as it may be thicker, start with four tablespoons, adding extra as needed until the pastry holds together. Just be sure not to over mix – less is best when handling pastry.
❚ 1 1⁄3 cups white flour
❚ 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
❚ 1 tablespoon sugar
❚ 100g chilled butter, cut into 1cm cubes
❚ 4-5 tablespoons creme fraiche (see recipe)
❚ 4-6 autumn fruit – blackboy peaches, pears, apples – stones/ core removed and cut into wedges
Creme Fraiche Custard
❚ 150g soured cream
❚ 1 egg
❚ 3 tablespoons honey or sugar
❚ Pinch of nutmeg
Place the flour, salt and sugar into a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the cubed butter and pulse half a dozen times to cut into the flour. Add four tablespoons creme fraiche and pulse briefly until the dough begins to clump together.
Test by squeezing a small amount, if crumbly add one tablespoon more creme fraiche and mix again.
Tip the pastry dough on to a sheet of baking paper and quickly bring together into a square – I use the paper to shape rather than my hot hands.
Wrap in the paper and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes for the butter to solidify again.
Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Place a pizza stone or heavy baking tray in the middle of the oven to heat.
Remove the pastry from the fridge. Lightly dust bench and a rolling pin with flour and roll the pastry out into a 30 x 30cm square, about 3mm thick.
Lift on to the baking paper and shape the tart by pleating the four corners and folding the sides to create a border – this will contain the thin layer of custard while baking. Arrange the fruit snugly in a single layer on to the base.
In a jug, whisk together the custard ingredients until smooth. Slowly pour the custard around the fruit.
Carefully slide tart into the oven – I use a flat cookie tray to transfer the tart on to the preheated stone/tray. Bake for 15 minutes, then turn the tart and bake for a further five minutes until golden.
Homemade creme fraiche
Makes 300g Preparation time: 18-24 hours
This is quite simply the easiest homemade cheese around.
Use it in place of sour cream to dollop on soup, etc. It’s also quite fabulous served with crepes and plum jam.
Pour 300ml of cream into a clean jar and stir through one tablespoon natural yoghurt. Cover with cheesecloth and secure with a rubber band.
Set aside on the kitchen bench for 18-24 hours until it’s thickened to the consistency of yoghurt and has a sweetly sour aroma. Cover the jar and store in the fridge, and consume within five days. Ensure the creme fraiche is chilled before using in pastry.
❚ Nicola Galloway is a Nelsonbased cookbook author and photographer, find more of her recipes at homegrownkitchen.co.nz