Apple and Sour Cream Tart

Tart is one of the most versatile and attractive ways to serve up a delicious and nourishing meal. You may serve it hot or cold, at a picnic or party. The most important part is its crust, it is not easy to make a good pastry, the pastry base should be light and crispy.

I discovered a good tip from this round of baking experience, the dough was too sticky and kept sticking on the rolling pin, I knew the pastry would be tough if I continued adding flour to the dough. What I did was placed the dough directly to the tart pan and used the hands to gently press the pastry into a thin layer to cover the base and sides of the pan. Form the decorative edges by pushed the pastry up the sides and used fingers to nip round the edge. The end result was amazing, it was really delicious!


Recipe for Apple and Sour Cream Tart

Ingredients:
Crust:
250 gm plain flour
1/2 tsp of salt
50 gm fine caster sugar
60 gm unsalted butter chopped into cube
2 tbsp vanilla essence
2 tbsp iced water
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp olive oil


Filling:
250 gm lite sour cream
20 gm butter, melted
2 tsp cornflour
3 tbsp fine caster sugar
2 eggs lightly beaten
2 green apples cut into thin slices
3 tbsp apricot jam
2 tbsp vanilla essence

Tools:Rolling pin
rice paper
9 inch tart pan with removable bottom
1 pack of green beans


Method:1. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degree C. for 15 minutes.
2. For the pastry crust:

3. For the filling:

• Beat the eggs, add in the sugar, vanilla essence, sour cream and cornflour beat the mixture until smooth.
• Pour in the mixture on the pastry case and arrange the apple slices over.
• Brush the melted butter on the apple, bake for 25 minutes until apples are lightly golden.
• Remove the apple tart from oven, brush it with the apricot jam to give it an attractive gloss.
• Cool for 5 minutes before remove from tart pan.

• Add flour and salt, sift into a mixing bowl.
• Add sugar and cubed butter, use butter knife to cut the butter and use fingertips to lightly rub the butter with flour until the mixture look like fine breadcrumbs.
• Add vanilla essence, egg yolk and ice water, beat with low speed for 30 seconds.
• Knead the dough to comes together into a ball.
• Wrap dough with plastic film and chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.
• Apply the olive oil on the tart pan.
• Roll out the dough evenly on a floured surface (or you may place rice paper on the worktop) and put the rolled dough on the tart pan, press it in.
• Use fork to prick the base and chill in the firdge for 20 minutes.
• Line the pastry case with rice paper and fill with green beans. Decrease oven temperature to 160 degree C. Bake for 15 minutes.
• Take out the pastry case, remove the rice paper and green beans, put back pastry case into oven and bake for another 15 minutes until golden brown.
• Remove from oven, cool completely.