Any
mix of fruits will look attractive;
choose whatever is in season.
Chilling time
1 hr
Special equipment
8 x 4in (10cm) tartlet pans
Ingredients
11⁄3 cups all-purpose flour, plus
extra for dusting
4 large egg yolks
1⁄3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
6 tbsp unsalted butter, diced,
plus extra for greasing
For the filling
11/2 cups milk
1 vanilla bean or 2 tsp pure
vanilla extract
5 large egg yolks, at room
temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1lb 2oz (500g) mixed fresh fruit,
such as kiwi fruit,
raspberries, grapes, peaches
1⁄3 cup apricot jam or red currant
jelly, for glazing
Method
1 Sift the flour on to a work surface and
make a well in the center. Add the
egg
yolks, sugar, salt, vanilla, and
butter. Work
the ingredients in the well until
thoroughly
mixed, then draw in the flour until
coarse
crumbs form. Press the dough into a
ball
and knead for 2 minutes, until
smooth. Wrap
in plastic wrap and chill for 30
minutes.
2 Bring the milk to a boil in a medium
saucepan with the split-open
vanilla bean,
if using. Remove the pan from the
heat,
cover, and let stand for 10-15
minutes. In a
bowl, whisk together the egg yolks,
sugar,
and flour. Whisk in the hot milk.
Return the
mixture to the cleaned-out pan and
cook
over low heat, whisking constantly,
until
the flour has cooked and the cream
is thick.
Simmer over low heat for 2 minutes.
3 Transfer the pastry cream to another bowl
and remove the vanilla bean if
using, or stir
in the vanilla extract. Press
plastic wrap
over the surface to prevent a skin
from
forming. Let cool.
4 Grease the tartlet pans. Lightly flour
a work surface. Roll out the dough
to 1⁄8in
(3mm) thick. Group the pans
together, with
their edges nearly touching. Roll the
dough
loosely around the rolling pin and
drape
it over the pans so all are
covered. Roll the
rolling pin over the tops of the
pans to
remove excess dough. Press up the
dough
edges to form a deep shell. Set the
tartlet
pans on a baking sheet and prick the
dough with the fork. Chill for 30
minutes.
5 Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Line each tartlet shell with a
piece of foil,
pressing it down well. Bake for 6-8
minutes,
then remove the foil and bake for 5
minutes
longer. Transfer to a wire rack to
cool. When
cold, remove each shell from its
pan.
6
Peel and slice the kiwi. Peel and
slice
the peaches. Melt the jam or jelly
with 2–3
tablespoons water in a saucepan.
Work it
through a sieve. Brush the inside
of each
tartlet shell with the glaze. Half
fill each shell
with the cooled pastry cream,
smoothing
the top with the back of a spoon.
Arrange
the fruit on top and brush with the
jam glaze.
STORE These will keep in an airtight
container in the refrigerator for 2
days.
BAKER’S TIP
Creme patissiere is one of the most
useful
sweet recipes to master. Once you
get the
hang of it, it is very impressive
to serve.
For a lighter finish to the pastry
cream, fold
about 3.fl oz (100ml) whipped heavy
cream
into the cooled creme patissiere.
