Pie and Pastry Bible (18 page)

PREPARING THE PAN

See page 50.

FOOD PROCESSOR METHOD

In a food processor with the metal blade, pulse the nuts and sugar until the nuts are finely ground. Add the butter and pulse about 15 times or until no loose particles of nut/sugar mixture remain. Add the flour and salt and pulse again about 15 times or until the butter is no larger than small peas.

In a small bowl, stir together the yolk and cream. Add it to the mixture and pulse just until incorporated, about 8 times.

Dump the mixture into a plastic bag and press it together. Remove the dough from the plastic bag and knead it lightly until it holds together. Flatten it into a 6-inch disc, wrap the dough well, and refrigerate for 30 minutes, or freeze for 10 minutes, until firm enough to pat into the pan or roll.

HAND METHOD

Finely grate the nuts. In a medium bowl, stir together the nuts, flour, sugar, and salt. With a pastry cutter or two knives, cut in the cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

In a small bowl, stir together the yolk and cream. Mix it into the flour mixture until the dough comes together and can be formed into a large ball. Flatten it into a 6-inch disc, wrap the dough well, and refrigerate for 30 minutes, or freeze for 10 minutes, until firm enough to pat into the pan or roll.

VARIATION

TENDER NUT COOKIE TART CRUST
For a more crumbly and sweeter cookie-like crust, eliminate the egg and cream and double the sugar. This crust is particularly delicious with a bittersweet chocolate filling. There is no need to grease the tart pan. Eliminating the egg makes the crust release easily from the pan.

ROLLING AND BAKING

See pages 50 and 54.

STORE

Refrigerated, up to 1 week; frozen, about 1 year.

UNDERSTANDING

Replacing about one quarter the weight of the flour in the basic cookie tart crust dough with nuts makes a slightly more tender and flavorful dough.

BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE COOKIE TART CRUST

(Pâte Sucrée au Chocolat)

T
his crust tastes just like a fantastic chocolate cookie. The dough rolls like a charm and the tart shell unmolds perfectly from the pan without greasing or flouring. This crust is used to line flan rings or tart pans.

I particularly recommend the walnut variation, because walnut has a way of accentuating the flavor of chocolate.

PREPARING THE PAN

See page 50.

FOOD PROCESSOR METHOD

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, and salt.

In a food processor with the metal blade, pulse the butter and sugar until the sugar disappears. Add the flour/cocoa mixture and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the egg and pulse just until incorporated.

Dump the mixture into a plastic bag and press it together. Remove the dough from the plastic bag and knead it lightly until it holds together. Flatten it into a 6-inch disc, wrap the dough well, and refrigerate for 30 minutes, or freeze for 10 minutes, until firm enough to pat into the pan or roll.

HAND METHOD

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa, sugar, and salt. With a pastry cutter or two knives, cut in the cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix in the egg until the dough comes together and can be formed into a large ball. Flatten it into a 6-inch disc, wrap the dough well, and refrigerate for 30 minutes, or freeze for 10 minutes, until firm enough to pat into the pan or roll.

VARIATION

CHOCOLATE WALNUT COOKIE TART CRUST
Place ½ cup (1.75 ounces/50 grams) of walnuts on a baking sheet and bake for 7 minutes in a preheated 350°F. oven, stirring occasionally, until slightly deeper in color. Empty them onto a towel and rub off and discard as much of the skin as possible.

When the nuts are completely cool, place them in the food processor with the cocoa and powdered sugar and process until they are finely ground. Add the butter and pulse until the cocoa mixture is absorbed by the butter. Add the flour and salt and pulse until there are a lot of little moist crumbly pieces and no dry flour particles remain. Add the egg and pulse just until incorporated.

Dump the mixture into a plastic bag and press it together. Remove the dough from the plastic bag and knead it lightly until it holds together. (To use the hand method, simply grind the walnuts fine and add them to the dry ingredients.)

ROLLING AND BAKING

See pages 50 and 54.

STORE

Refrigerated, up to 1 week; frozen, about 1 year.

POINTERS FOR SUCCESS

Don’t overbake the chocolate dough, or it will have a burnt flavor.

If you make a large tart shell and any cracks develop after baking, they can be sealed with some melted chocolate.

UNDERSTANDING

Compared to the basic cookie tart crust, by weight, this dough contains almost double the sugar to an equivalent amount of flour. This higher amount of sugar compensates for the addition of the bitter cocoa. If you prefer a very bitter chocolate flavor, you can reduce the powdered sugar to as little as ½ cup/ 2 ounces/57 grams.

Because the addition of cocoa tends to toughen dough, a tender but strong texture is more difficult to achieve. To solve the problem, powdered sugar is substituted for granulated. Powdered sugar lacks the sharp crystals of granulated sugar, which results in a tender but less airy crust. It also prevents cracking during baking.

A whole egg replaces the yolk and cream in the basic recipe because the white helps bind the fragile crust. The cocoa butter in the cocoa results in a similar fat content to that of the sweet tart dough.

SWEET PEANUT BUTTERCOOKIE TART CRUST

I
f you love peanut butter cookies, this is your crust. It is actually my peanut butter cookie baked in a tart pan. It makes a sensational crust for the Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse Tart (page 316).

PREPARING THE PAN

See page 50.

FOOD PROCESSOR METHOD

Into a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt, then whisk to mix evenly.

In a food processor with the metal blade, process the sugars for several minutes or until very fine. With the motor running, add the butter cubes. Add the peanut butter and process until smooth and creamy, about 10 seconds. With the motor running, add the egg and vanilla extract and process until incorporated. Scrape the sides of the bowl. Add the flour mixture and pulse just until incorporated.

ELECTRIC MIXER METHOD

Soften the butter.

Into a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine well.

In a mixing bowl, beat the sugars until well mixed. Add the butter and peanut butter and beat for several minutes or until very smooth and creamy. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until incorporated, scraping the sides of the bowl. At low speed, gradually beat in the flour mixture just until incorporated.

FOR BOTH METHODS

Scrape the dough into a bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or overnight.

Press the dough evenly into the tart pan. (It is a little more challenging, but faster and neater, to roll it out between sheets of plastic wrap to about 11½ inches in diameter.
^*
Remove one piece of plastic, invert the dough into the pan, easing the border into the sides of the pan so that the sharp top surface does not cut it off, and use the remaining plastic wrap to press it evenly into the pan, pressing it well against the sides. If the dough softens, refrigerate it until the plastic wrap can be removed easily. If it tears, simply press it together or use the scraps to press into any empty areas.) Cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. If using a 9½-inch tart pan, I usually have about 2 tablespoons (1 ounce/30 grams) of excess dough, which can be baked as cookies.

Bake the tart shell, without weights, in a preheated 375°F. oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden. It will puff at first and then settle down toward the end of baking. The sides will be soft but spring back when touched gently with a finger. Cool it on a wire rack.

STORE

Unbaked: refrigerated, up to 1 week; frozen, about 1 year.

UNDERSTANDING

The baking soda is used to impart a golden brown color to the dough. Decreasing it will not lessen the puff.

CRUMB PIE CRUSTS

C
rumb crusts are the easiest of all crusts to make. They are indispensable for pies that need to be refrigerated because they stand up well against moist fillings and they don’t harden significantly on chilling. Their slightly sweet cookie-like flavor and texture provide a good balance for light pies such as Key lime, for chiffon pies, and for ice cream pies.

If you are using a prepared crust, for recipes calling for a 9-inch pie crust, be sure to buy one that measures 9 inches by 1½ inches deep. (The package will read 10-inch size/9 ounces/255 grams.) I encourage you to make your own, however, because these crusts are so easy to make and the flavor and texture of a homemade crumb crust is superior to any crust you can buy.

ADDITIONS TO CRUMB CRUSTS
I’ve put graham crackers in the cookie category, but a graham cracker crust needs a little sugar added because graham crackers are not a true cookie. Otherwise, crumb crusts require extra sugar only when nuts are added.