Coconut and Cranberry Tart

Bye bye 2015 and welcome 2016! It is a new year AGAIN. So, why not go and do some things you really want to do?! Don’t wait it. Don’t wait for the right time. There is no right time. Just do it. Make your dream come true. I am so happy for myself when I made decision to study in the UK. I have learned about lots of new things, learned about how to see who I am, what I want to do in the deeper heart, and learned about how to show your respect when there is another opinion. If I didn’t decide to step out and spend all my saving to study abroad, I will not get so much inspiration. Don’t hesitate! Just go and do it

Oven Temperature Setting: 160C/325F/Gas Marker 3

Baking Time: 20~25 minutes
Recipe: 12 Coconut Cranberry Tart

 



7" Shortcrust Pastry Link 

 

Steps of Coconut and Cranberry Tart

(1) Roll out 7” pastry thinly(around 0.2cm). Use a 8 cm round cutter to cut 12 round pastry. Line it into 12 cup bun tin. Send it to pre-heat oven at 200C/400F/Gas Marker 6 for around 20 minutes until the top turns golden. Then, set aside.

(2) Then, place 1/2 tea spoon of cranberry jam into the pastry case.

(3) Place butter and sugar in a big bowl. Whisk them until it turns light and fluffy.

(4) Stir coconut and egg into butter.

(5) Place around 1 table spoon over the top of jam.

(6) Send it to the oven at 160C/325F/Gas Marker 3 around 20~25 minutes until it turns golden.

 

This is an adorable little tart for someone who looks for some easy dessert. Enjoy it.

Apple Crumble Pie

X’mas is 22 days left. Are you ready? Taiwan is not a Christ country so that we don’t really celebrate X’mas. Of course, most of us have no ideas what the story of X’Mas. Why do people celebrate X’Mas? Although this is my second X’mas, I really understand the meaning of X’Mas this year. It’s good. People can go travelling every time. But, it is difficult to understand their culture and festivals in their countries. I know why we should be encouraged to go and see the world. Because you will know and learn more during the adventure.

Oven Temperature Setting: 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4

Baking Time: 20~25 minutes
Recipe: A 7” Apple Crumble Pie

Shortcrust Pastry Link

 

 

Steps of Apple Crumble Pie

(1) Prepare a sauce pan. Put sugar, chopped apple and blackberry in the pan. Switch the medium heat on. Cook around 5~10 minutes until it turns soft. Dry the filling. Set aside.

 

(2) Prepare crumble: Add Sugar and flour in a big bowl. Mix a little bit. Add cubed butter in the bowl. Use your finger tips to rub the butter into flour until it turns crumb-like.

 

 

(3) Get shortcrust pastry ready. Pour the apple filling over the top of the pastry. And then, cover the apple filling with crumble. Send into the pre-heat oven at 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 around 20~25 minutes until it turns golden.

 

 

 

I like this kind of pie a lot. It is not really a cake. It is more fruit dessert. Sweet and sour flavor… um… yum… yum… This pie was eaten out by 4 people. We ate with custard and ice cream. So, enjoy it.

Egg Custard Tart with Blackberry Apple

Last Saturday, It snowed in the UK. It is really unusually. Before coming to here, I always thought that it is very normal to see snow when countries at higher latitude. But, I was wrong!! Having snow depends on what kind of geography it is. Although here is at high latitude, but there is a few high mountains. So, it is unusual to have snow. Maybe in January. Just maybe. But, this year, having snow in November let me expect to have white X’mas. Oh… I definitely look forward to it. Anyway, it is very cold here. So, please keep warm.

My friend’s friend gave us some apples last week. I don’t really like to eat apple, but it like to use it in my cooking and baking. Although I just backed egg custard last week, I still want to eat more. I got apple and I want to eat Egg Custard. So, why not bake Egg Custard Tart with some apple filling?

Oven Temperature Setting: 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4

Baking Time: Around 20~25 minutes
Recipe: A 7" Egg Custard with Blackberry Apple

 

 7” Shortcrust Pastry Link

 

Steps of Egg Custard Tart with Blackberry Apple

(1) Place chopped apple and blackberry in a saucepan. And 20 g sugar in the pan. Switch the small heat on. Cook the apple until it turns soft. Dry it and set aside.

(2) Place eggs and sugar in a sauce pan. Switch the small heat on. Stir it until sugar is melted into the egg.

(3) Add milk and cream into the pan. Switch to medium heat. Keep stirring it. Cook until there are some bubbles floating up to the top. Switch the heat off.

(4) Pour the batter through a sieve twice. This movement can smooth your batter.

(5) Place the blackberry apple filling over the top of pastry. And then, pour the batter over the top of filling. Send it to the pre-heat oven at 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Bake it around 20~25 minutes until it is set but still slightly wobbly in the middle.

 

I think I like this fruit egg custard more than egg custard. It has more flavor for the tart. If you eat pure egg custard too much, sometime, you will feel too much. But, adding with some fruit, it balances. Um.. it is YUM.. Enjoy it.

Egg Custard Tart

I have baked a mini egg custard this year for a party. On the party, my friend told me how much she likes egg custard. Her mother always baked lots of egg custard for her when she was a little girl. What a coincidence, egg custard was very popular in Taiwan when I was a little girl. I remembered we always had some in the weekend.

HaHa… my friend and another friend will go traveling so that I decide to bake a egg custard for her to eat during the traveling.

Oven Temperature Setting: 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4

Baking Time: Around 25~30 minutes
Recipe: A 7" Egg Custard Tart

 

7” Shortcrust Pastry Link

 

Steps of Egg Custard Tart

(1) Place eggs and sugar in a sauce pan. Switch the small heat on. Stir it until sugar is melted into the egg.

(2) Add milk and cream into the pan. Switch to medium heat. Keep stirring it. Cook until there are some bubbles floating up to the top. Switch the heat off.

(3) Pour the batter through a sieve twice. This movement can smooth your batter.

(4) Pour the batter over the top of pasty. Sprinkle some nutmeg over the top of egg custard batter. Send it to the pre-heat oven at 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Bake it around 25~30 minutes until it is set but still slightly wobbly in the middle.

 

 

Um… YUM YUM… Another friend visited our house yesterday. She saw the egg custard and said, “WOW… I want it… I want it… It is what I always had when I was a little girl.” Hee… I think egg custard is our SWEET memory when we were a little girl. So, enjoy it.

Chocolate Shortcrust Pastry

Some people will say that it is too bother to bake chocolate shortcrust pastry. So, people use oreo as the replacement. I tried it, but using oero as the base is very sweet. However, the taste of homemade chocolate shortcrust pastry is totally different. It is not sweet at all. I highly recommend to bake it at home. We just the time at baking, don’t we?

 

Oven Temperature Setting: 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4

Baking Time: Around 20~25 minutes
Recipe: A 7” Chocolate Shorecrust Pastry

 

Steps of Shortcrust Pastry

(1) Place flour and chocolate powder in a big bowl. Mix all ingredients well

(2) Add butter into the bowl. Rub butter into the flour. It will be crumble-like

(3) Add water into the mixture. Lightly knead it into a ball.

(4) Put it into a food storage and leave in the fridge for around 30 minutes.

(5) Move the dough to a working table. Roll it into a round shape, around 0.5 cm.

(Selena’s Kitchen Talk: Covering with wrapping film is easier to roll the pastry.)

(6) Place it over the top of the baking tray. Line it with the baking pray. Use a fork to poke holes on the pastry.

(7) Cover pastry with baking stone and send it to the pre-heat oven at 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 around 10 minutes. Then, get rid of baking stones and bake another 10 minutes until the top turns golden.

(Selena’s Kitchen Talk: I am lazy so that I will leave it in the freezer around 20 minutes. Then, you don’t need to cover the pastry with baking stone. And it takes around 20 minutes to bake it.)

Shortcrust Pastry

Shortcrust is a basic pastry for cooking and baking. If you would like to have some savory foods, you can use it on Quiche, Tart, or Meat Pie. Or, if you want to have some sweet things, it can be used on different kinds of fruit tarts, egg custard pie, apple pie. Homemade shortcrust pastry is very easy and simple. And it is definitely more delicious than frozen one.

 

Oven Temperature Setting: 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4

Baking Time: Around 20 minutes
Recipe

 

 

Steps of Shortcrust Pastry

(1) Place flour, sugar, and salt in a big bowl. Mix all ingredients well

(2) Add butter into the bowl. Rub butter into the flour. It will be crumble-like

(3) Add water into the mixture. Lightly knead it into a ball.

(4) Put it into a food storage and leave in the fridge for around 30 minutes.

(5) Move the dough to a working table with light flour. Roll it into a round shape, around 0.5 cm.

(6) Place it over the top of the baking tray. Line it with the baking pray. Use a fork to poke some holes on the pastry. And then brush some whisked egg over the top of pastry.

(7) Cover pastry with baking stone and send it to the pre-heat oven at 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 around 10 minutes. Then, get rid of baking stones and bake another 10 minutes until the top turns golden.

(Selena’s Kitchen Talk: I am lazy so that I will leave it in the freezer around 20 minutes. Then, you don’t need to cover the pastry with baking stone. And it takes around 20 minutes to turn the top into golden.)