Ugly but tasty tart crust

Look at the uneven surface.  Look at the rough bottom.  These are my really ugly but absolutely tasty tart crust.  

How did they end up this way?  

I had been too liberal with the amount of dough that got pressed into the tart casing.  I forgot that the dough would rise when blind-baked.  I did not have any blind-baking beans, neither did I put any sort of weight on top of the dough during blind-baking.  These crust rose promisingly, but I didn't want them to.  They rose so much that there wasn't any space left to take in the cream cheese filling I was about to prepare.  I despaired.  I had prepared the ingredients for cream cheese fillings, letting them come to room temperature.  What should I do with them? 

Anyway, how did I get myself into this mess, though a deliciously one.  I had not made any tarts after my egg tart making episode.  I had been wanting to try some other kinds of tarts, but had procrastinated until I saw a couple of cream cheese tart recipes in a food magazine I bought.  

The ingredients for this tart crust is different from the one I used for those egg tarts.  But the method is the same, rubbing-in of fat into the flour.  The fat, in this case butter, is quite high in proportion to the amount of flour used.  I ended up with a very soft dough even before adding beaten eggs.  So I changed the amount of egg added. 

Even after chilling the dough for 30 minutes, it was still very soft.  I found it difficult to handle, which is probably a reason why I failed to realize that I had pressed in too much dough into the tart casing.

When these tart crust came out of the oven, I left them to cool, and whisked up another batch of tart crust, this time using the recipe for my egg tarts.  That recipe gave a drier and firmer crust, though not any less delicious.

While waiting for the new batch of dough to chill, and the ugly crust to cool.  I took one bite into one of these golden brown skin and practically beamed from ear to ear.  Looks are deceiving.  They may not be material for a beauty contest, but these crusts are from the category I love.  Crunchy to the bite, yet melting into your mouth with a burst of rich buttery aroma!  

I had been wondering what I should do with these ugly casings before taking a bite.  After that first bite, I think I could dress up or disguise their imperfections with a little whipped cream and canned peach.  This was what I did to them.  

I am quite proud of the outcome.  I know these are definitely not tarts that can make an appearance in a bakery.  These are absolutely homemade tarts, suitable for the home only.  I am proud of the outcome because finally I managed to whip up some cream decently, and manged to pipe them onto something without making a horrible mess.  Needless to say, the couple of early experiences with whipping up fresh cream and using it had not been successful. 

I took some over to my Mum and Dad.  Dad, who doesn't really like "western" pastries, said that these tarts were good.  He said the cream tasted good.  This is another reason why I am proud of the outcome. 

I think I am going to give this crust recipe another try some time soon.

Ugly but tasty tart crust

(adapted from Famous Cuisine No.71, November/December 2011, with some modifications)

Ingredients

160g plain flour

60g caster sugar

120g butter

2 tbsp beaten egg

Method

1. Combine flour and sugar.  Rub-in butter, you will find that it will not resemble coarse bread crumbs.  Instead you will have a mixing bowl of quite moist and lumpy chunks of flour.

2. Add the 2 tbsp of beaten egg.  Mix the egg in with fingers held in a claw-like manner, until everything coheres into a very soft dough. 

3. Wrap in cling wrap and chill for 30 minutes before using.

To bake these tart crust, just press into tart casings of preferred shape.  Bake in a preheated oven at 180degC for 15-20 minutes.