Sweet Pastry Dough
- 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon [130 g] unsalted butter at room temperature, cut into small pieces
- 1/2 cup [125 mL] sifted icing sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 cups [280 g] all-purpose flour
- 1/8 teaspoon [0.5 mL] baking powder
English Cream
- 2 1/4 cups [560 mL] milk
- 1/2 cup [125 mL] heavy whipping cream
- 3/4 cup [150 g] sugar
- 5 tablespoons [75 mL] cornstarch
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon [5 mL] vanilla
Almond Paste Red Prune Filling
- 1/2 cup [125 mL] almond paste
- 3/4 cup [150 g] sugar
- 1/2 cup [115 g] unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/2 cup [70 g] cake and pastry flour
- 8 to 10 unpeleled red prunes, pitted and sliced vertically
- 1/4 cup [60 mL] apricot jam
- 3 tablespoons [45 mL] thin blanched almond slices, roasted
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- At least one hour before preparing the tart, prepare sweet pastry dough; prepare English cream.
- Butter and flour a 10-inch [25-cm] fluted tart pan with a removable bottom.
- Onto a lightly floured surface, roll sweet pastry dough into a 1/8-inch [3-mm] thick circle.
- Delicately transfer dough into prepared tart pan; press dough delicately over bottom and sides of fluted tart pan.
- Cut and remove any excess dought all around the sides of the pan.
- Refrigerate tart shell until ready to use.
- Preheat oven to 375°F [190°C].
- For the almond paste red prune filling, mix together almond paste and sugar into a bowl.
- At medium speed of an electric beater, well beat together all ingredients, for approximately 2 minutes.
- Add unsalted butter and beat at medium speed for 6 minutes more, until smooth and creamy.
- One at a time, well beat in whole eggs.
- Add egg yolk beating until smooth, for approximately 30 seconds more.
- Beating at low speed of electric beater, mix in cake and pastry flour until just combined.
- Add reserved cold English cream beating at low speed of electric mixer until blended, for approximately 1 minute.
- Evenly spoon filling into tart shell.
- Arrange prune slices cut side down pressing slices really lightly into mixture all around the outside of the filling near the crust.
- Arrange remaining prune slices into a circle leaving just a little space between the first circle of prune slices.
- Transfer tart onto a baking sheet.
- Bake tart into preheated oven, until English cream is set in the middle and pastry shell is golden brown, for 35 to 45 minutes.
- Transfer tart onto a wire rack; leave tart to cool for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Remove ring around tart pan and slid tart onto a serving plate.
- Into a small casserole, melt apricot jam oven medium heat.
- Using a pastry brush, brush top of tart all over with hot melted apricot jam.
- Garnish tart all over with a few of roasted thin blanched almond slices; fill the middle of the tart with remaining roasted almond slices, and serve.
Sweet Pastry Dough
- Mix together cold unsalted butter pieces and icing sugar.
- Using an electric beater, beat mixture until smooth, for approximately 3 minutes.
- Break in egg and beat until creamy.
- Mix together flour and baking powder.
- Using a rubber spatula, fold flour mixture into first mixture until just combined.
- Using an electric beater, beat dough until all ingredients are well mixed et stick together, for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Shape dough into a ball, wrap dough into plastic wrap and refrigerated dough until ready to use, for at least 1 hour but not more than 2 weeks.
- Remove from the refrigerator and leave dough to warm-up to room temperature before using.
English Cream
- Into a heavy casserole, mix together 1 1/2 cups [375 mL] of the milk, heavy whipping cream and sugar.
- Bring to mixture to a boil over medium heat whipping once or twice to dissolve the sugar.
- Meanwhile, into a small bowl, pour 1/2 cup [125 mL] of remaining milk over cornstarch stirring until dissolved.
- Stir in remaining 1/4 cup [60 mL] milk, egg, egg yolk and vanilla.
- Whip mixture until smooth.
- Pour into boiling sweetened milk and cream mixture whipping until really well blended.
- Heat mixture stirring until boiling and thickened, of the consistency of custard.
- Remove English cream from heat and pour it into a bowl.
- Cover English cream with plastic wrap, directly over the cream to prevent a 'skin' to form on top.
- Leave to cool completely; use immediately or refrigerate cream until ready to use, but not more than 1 week.
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