K is for Kiwi

Keep your pants on...

I'm posting, I'm posting.

To tell you the truth faithful reader, I have had these pictures loaded on my computer for almost a week. The bakery has just been so busy. Holidays are madness! Everyone wants cupcakes and they all want them with extra decorations for the 4th. Anyway, I finally found a little down time, and here is the recipe.

Kiwi & Strawberry Tart

For pastry: 

• 1 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
• 1/8t of salt
• 1/2 cup of butter, softened
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2t of vanilla

 Cream the butter and sugar. Sift flour and salt together. Whisk the egg and vanilla together. Gradually add the flour and salt into the creamed butter and sugar. Add the egg and vanilla slowly and mix until a sticky dough ball forms. Empty the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, wrap it up, put it into the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

After 1 hour roll out the dough on a well floured surface to 1/4" thick.

Roll the dough onto the rolling pin and line up the tart pans in a straight line.

Lay the dough over the pans.

Press the dough into the sides of the pans and then roll the rolling pin over the pans to cut off the excess.

Place the tart pans on a sheet pan and place in the freezer for 15 minutes. While the tart pans are in the freezer cut squares of parchment paper 5"x5" and pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.

 After 15 minutes, place the parchment papers into the tarts and fill the shells with kidney beans. Bake the tarts for 5 minutes at 400 degrees and then turn the oven down to 350 degrees and bake for 15 more minutes. 

Brush the tart shells with a mixture of Apricot Jelly and water to keep them from disintegrating when you add the cream to the tart shell.

For pastry cream:

• 1 1/4 cup of whole milk
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 2T of all-purpose flour
• 2T of corn starch
• 1t of vanilla
• 1/4 cup of pureed strawberries
• 1/2 cup of whipping cream

Begin by scalding the milk on medium heat. Scalding is just a fancy term of heating up the milk just before the milk boils. A bit of steam will come up from the milk and small bubbles will form around the edge of the milk in the sauce pot.

While you are waiting on the milk to scald, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, flour, and corn starch. Make sure everything is combined. It should be thick, but runny.

Once the milk is scalded, pour a little bit of milk into the egg mixture and whisk. (If you pour it all in at once, your eggs will scramble and you'll have to start all over.)

Slowly pour the rest of the milk into the eggs and whisk vigorously for 1 minute.

 Pour the mixture back into the sauce pot, and on medium low heat whisk until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in strawberry puree. I added a drop of pink food coloring at this step. You don't have to and I won't blame you if you don't.

Cover the cream with plastic wrap by pressing the surface of the plastic to the surface of the cream and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Before serving, whisk the cream and whip up the whipping cream until fluffy. Fold in the whipped cream into the pastry cream.

For topping:

• 4 kiwis sliced
• 1T of apricot jelly
• 1t of water

Assemble the tarts by filling the pastry shell with the cream and arrange the sliced kiwi on top. Brush the sliced kiwi with the jelly mixture. 

  

Full disclosure: the Mrs. was not too Keen on the Kiwi-Strawberry Tart. She said that the tart filling was more like yogurt consistency than the thick tart cream that you want. Her mother said that her 6th grade teacher "ruined her from liking yogurt" by telling her she was eating bacteria. Knowing this, I will probably not put in the whipped cream the next time I make this. It is a tasty light summer dessert that can also be a delicious breakfast if you have a little left over. 

I'm going to try something else for K... who knows what will happen. Anyway, Happy 4th of July everyone!
and

Wish me lucK.

-J