Old Time Pear Tart

My weekend in Daylesford! Food, wine, friendship and a challenge to bake something that I've always wanted to bake but hadn't yet...'Old Time Pear Tart'! This recipe was part of a 'Tarts and Pastry' demonstration class I went to at 'The Essential Ingredient Cooking School' conducted by pastry chef of 'Bakery D Chirico', Louis Vaussenat.

This French style tart has a beautiful rich buttery almond patee sablee short crust shell, with a creamy custard and caramelized pear filling and is topped off with ground cinnamon adding a perfect spicy smell and taste to the tart. I will definitely be making this superb classic sweet tart again and again.

A big thank you must go out to Bec (Kecca), for her help, the beautiful photo's she took of my creation and for the use of her kitchen...the best kitchen I've cooked in.

All in all a great weekend and a challenge successfully completed!

'Old Time Pear Tart' (made with almond pate sablee) - Louis Vaussenat
Makes 1 tart
100g pure icing sugar
300g eggs
1/2 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
500ml thickened cream
liqueur to taste optional
4 pears halved, poached in a light sugar syrup then cut into small pieces
100g castor sugar
2 tbls unsalted butter
1 tablespoon good quality honey
1/2 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped (or you can use a few drops of vanilla essences)
300g almond pate sablee
cinnamon powder
icing sugar for decorating

Almond Pate Sablee - Makes 1 tart shell
300g butter, softened
200g pure icing sugar, sifted
300g eggs
500g plain flour, sifted
50g almond meal, sifted
5g salt

Mix together the butter, icing sugar and salt until combined and light. Incorporate the egg, a little at a time, then the flour with almond meal. If dough is still to sticky add a little more flour but don't overwork. Bring together to form a flat disk, wrap well in plastic wrap and refrigerate over night to rest.

Light sugar syrup for poaching pears
1cup castor
3cups water
halved pears

Combine sugar and water in a large pot and heat on medium until sugar has dissolved. Add peeled and halved pears, reduce heat to low and gently poach the pears for about 15mins. Allow pears to cool in syrup before cutting into smallish pieces discarding stems and core.

Method
To make the vanilla cream - Place the icing sugar, eggs and vanilla seeds in a stainless steel bowl whisking to combine. Pour in the cream, whisking further to thicken. If desired, add liqueur to taste. Set aside until required.

To make the caramelised pears - Firstly poach the pears in a light sugar syrup (see recipe above). Melt butter in heavy based pan, add sugar and allow to caramelise until it becomes a light golden brown colour. Add the vanilla, honey and pears, continue to cook and caramelise a little further, then remove the pears from the caramel and set aside until ready to use.

To assemble the tart - Pre heat oven to 180c (fan forced). Roll out the rested pate sablee to 4mm thickness. Line and grease a cake ring or flan tin and bake for 20 minutes. Once par-cooked, set aside to coll. Reduce oven temperature to 150c.
Note - lip pastry over ring or tin so it does not shrink

Once cool, arrange the caramelised pears in the base of the pastry shell, top with the vanilla cream, filling the entire pastry shell. Sprinkle with cinnamon powder, then cook in the warmed oven for 40mins or until just set. Allow to cool before dusting with icing sugar.

Chocolate & Coconut Balls

This one is for the kids!

The first time that I made 'Chocolate & Coconut Balls' was at primary school in Grade 3. It's a classic, kid friendly recipe that the little ones will enjoy making. And well lets be honest as an adult I still like 'Chocolate & Coconut Balls'.

Recipe - Chocolate & Coconut Balls
250 gm Marie Biscuits (1 packet)

1 tin (395g) sweetened condensed milk

1 1/2 tbs cocoa

desiccated coconut for rolling.

Crush biscuits with a rolling pin till fine crumbs, then place into a large mixing bowl with condensed milk, cocoa and mix well. Take heaped teaspoons of mixture, roll into balls then roll in coconut. Refrigerate till firm (about 30mins).

Orange & Date Scones

Scones, jam and cream is how I grew up having scones. Then after going to a cafe in Malvern called 'Our Kitchen Table', I discovered these flavoursome scones which were a combination of orange and date.

Unlike the traditional round, dainty scones my mother made, these scones have a very sticky dough, are cut into squares (so the dough is worked less), are large in size and have a very light and slightly crumbly texture.

A few tips directly from Natalie Jefferson, the owner of 'Our Kitchen Table' are a) to make sure your hands are wet whilst mixing the dough, as it is quiet sticky and this will help give a smoother shape in the end and b) to make sure you zest the oranges directly into the mixing bowl and over the cooked scones so that the flavoursome oils fall onto the scones and are not wasted on the chopping board.


Recipe - Orange & Date Scones ('Our Kitchen Table' 134 Burke Rd, Malvern)
Makes 15 large scones

1100gm sieved plain flour
100 gm caster sugar
50 gm baking powder
100gm butter softened
2 oranges
2 cups pitted dates roughly chopped
500ml cream
500 ml whole milk
icing sugar to dust

Sieve flour, sugar, baking powder and fine zest of one orange into a large bowl. Rub the butter using your whole hands, to work the butter evenly through the flour mixture. Add the dates and mix through. Then make a well in the centre.

Add milk and cream into the centre of the well and using your hands, mix together quickly, then knead very briefly to stiffen the mix. The mix will be moist/sticky, and you'll need to clean your hands when finished.

Using a stiff scraper, remove dough onto a well greased large baking tray, then with damp hands shape into a 5cm high by 15cm wide by 25cm long rectangle.

Using a large damp knife cut dough into 5 x 3 (15 scones) squares and by sliding the knife under each scone separate the scones by at least 5cm from one another.

Bake in pre heated oven at 180c for 30mins until golden. Remove from the oven, push together immediately, dust liberally with icing sugar, then using a zester, zest the remaining orange directly over the top of the scones.

Best eaten warm with a big slab of butter.

Note - this recipe can be halved. If so cut the dough into 2 x 4 (8 scones)

Afghan Biscuits

Afghan biscuits are a classic New Zealand recipe, popular amongst Kiwi's and my family alike. They are a crunchy thick biscuit, flavoured with cocoa powder, topped with chocolate icing and traditionally walnuts. I was making these for a friends birthday and thought smarties wold make them more fun and colourful. Very addictive and simple to make.

Afghan Biscuits - 'Our Kitchen Table' 134 Burke Rd, East Malvern, Vic. Aust.

200g butter softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups plain flour

4 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 cup corn flakes, slightly crushed

1/2 cup desiccated coconut

Chocolate ganache or icing

Roughly chopped walnuts

Pre heat oven to 180c and line baking trays with non stick baking paper.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Sift together flour and cocoa and mix into butter mix. Fold in coconut and corn flakes. Roll into balls and place onto baking trays. Bake for 15-20mins. Remove from oven and allow to cool on wire racks.

Once biscuits have cooled, ice with a good dollop of chocolate ganache or chocolate icing and decorate with chopped walnuts or smarties (as pictured).

Note - I used approximately 40-50gms of mixture for each biscuit which yields about 12 biscuits. Alternatively, roll heaped teaspoons of mixture into balls which will yield about 30 biscuits.

Baked Quinces

Quinces are not the prettiest of fruits, they're knobbly, difficult to peel, rock hard and have a tendancy to turn brown very quickly once peeled. Having said this they are one of my favorite Autumn fruits and with a little patience and preparation, baked quinces have an unbelievably intense, delicious flavour and will go from being similar in colour to that of a pear, to a gorgeous deep ruby red colour.

When I say patience I do mean patience. It's only over a long, slow cooking time that quinces will soften and develop a deep ruby red appearance. The magnificent sweet and spice aroma's that will fill the house during this lengthy baking process are a reward in itself.

I first tried these particular baked quinces at 'Getrude Street Enoteca' in Fitzroy, served as part of a cheese platter. They are extremely versatile in that they can be used in various desserts, Middle Eastern dishes, as an accompaniment to meats such as pork or duck, or one of my favorite ways to enjoy them is simply with muesli & yogurt or porridge during the winter months.

Baked Quinces - Bridgett Hafner (Owner - 'Gertrude St Enoteca' Fitzroy)

4 cups sugar

8 cups water

6 star anise

2 cinnamon quills

peel of 1 orange

2 vanilla beans, split in half

1 tsp cloves

6 quinces

Combine the sugar and water with spices and orange peel, bring to the boil and stir. Turn off heat when sugar has dissolved. Pre heat oven to 16oc.

Peel, core and quarter the quinces, but do not discard the skins and cores. Lay the quartered quinces in a deep oven proof dish and pour over the sugar syrup. If you have a muslin cloth lay it over the quinces, then scatter over the peel and cores to save picking them out when cooked and cooled. The peel and cores will help set and colour the quinces.

Cover with baking paper and a sheet of foil, tucked in at the sides. Cook 4-5 hours or until the quinces are a deep rosy red.

Cool in syrup, then place the quince quarters in jars without the skins and cores and cover with the strained liquid. They will keep in a fridge for weeks.