Bake delicious crusty tart shells with the Bakemaster Perfect Crust collection
I was keen to try out Bakemaster’s new range of Perfect Crust baking trays and pans, in particular the 12 cup shallow pan. With Christmas not too far away, I was looking for a mince pie tin and I think this could be the one.
The Bakemaster Perfect Crust 12 Cup Shallow Pan is made from heavy duty carbon steel with perforated holes that provide better air circulation while baking. I had a theory that in addition to ensuring a nice brown base, the perforated holes might stop the pastry from shrinking. I did a test where I didn’t weigh down one of the tartlet shells with baking beads. The shell shrank a tiny bit but not too much so if you don’t feel like lining the tins with paper and baking beads, I think you could get away with that step. Just make sure the pastry shell is very cold or even frozen before placing in the oven.
The baking tin has rolled edges which makes it very durable and it’s also dishwasher, fridge, and freezer safe. Because pastry is butter heavy, I never grease tins while baking pastry and as this tin has a double non-stick coated surface, I knew I’d have no trouble removing the pastry shells from the tin. They came out so easily and the tray cleaned up well.
To try out the tin, I decided to make a batch of blueberry tarts with lemon curd. You could use a good brand of frozen shortcrust pastry and buy the lemon curd if you like, but I’ve given you recipes for both. If you’re going to make your own lemon curd, you’ll need to make this first to allow time for it to set. The almond pastry makes more than you need for the recipe but it freezes very well.
Here’s the recipe for you which makes 12 small tarts. For all my recipes I use a 250 ml cup, a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60 g eggs. I use a conventional oven so if you have a fan-forced oven, you may need to reduce the temperature by 20°C.
Blueberry Tarts and Lemon Curd Recipe
Ingredients:
- ½ quantity almond short crust pastry
- ⅓ cup lemon curd
- ½ cup cream
- 1 tbs caster sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 punnet blueberries, washed
- Optional - a few sprigs of mint leaves, washed
How to make the Lemon Curd
Ingredients:
- 2 egg yolks
- ½ cup caster sugar
- ⅓ cup lemon juice
- Finely grated rind of 1 lemon
- 60 g (2 oz) softened unsalted butter
Method:
Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, juice and rind in a heatproof bowl until just combined. Place the bowl in the microwave and cook on medium high for 5- 6 minutes, whisking every minute, or until the curd thickens to the consistency of whipped cream. Strain the curd through a fine sieve. Add butter to the lemon curd a little at a time, whisking well between additions. Cover the curd with plastic wrap and refrigerate to chill and set (at least 4 hours or overnight).
How to make the Almond Shortcrust Pastry
Ingredients:
- 1⅓ cup plain flour
- ¼ cup almond meal
- ¼ cup icing sugar
- Pinch salt
- 110g/4 oz unsalted butter, coarsely chopped
- 1 egg yolk mixed with 2 tablespoons of iced water
Method:
1. Place flour, almond meal, icing sugar, salt and butter in the bowl of a food processor and blitz until it resembles breadcrumbs. With the processor still running, gradually pour in enough of the egg mixture until the pastry starts to form a ball. Stop the processor, tip out the dough and form it into a disc. Wrap in plastic and pop in the fridge to rest for 40 minutes.
2. Thinly roll out half the dough on a floured surface. Use a large round cutter to cut out 12 pastry circles. Place the pastry into the tart shells, docking the base and sides with the tines of a fork. Cover the tin, then return the tin to the fridge and refrigerate for a few hours, or until the pastry is firm.
3. Preheat the oven to 190C°. Line each tartlet shell with a cupcake liner then fill the liner with baking beads or dried beans. Place in the preheated oven and bake for about 12 minutes or until the edges of the shells are golden brown. Carefully remove the cupcake liners and baking beads and return the shells to the oven for 5-7 more minutes until the bottom of the shell is lightly coloured. Cool a little before removing the shells from the tin and place on a rack to cool.
4. Gently whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form. To assemble, fill each shell with a teaspoon of lemon curd, a dollop of cream and a sprig of mint if using. These are best assembled just before serving.
Next Read: Pumpkin, Maple, and Spelt Bread with Bakemaster
