Eggless Custard Fruit Tart

A recipe...long due to be written. Finally, here it is!! I never had a 'tart' pan before. The other day at Target...I found this colorful cool looking one! It has a removable bottom...which is perfect!!

So, this tart was going to be a 'dessert' for a friends birthday party...and many of them happen to be 'vegetarian'...and so I was hunting for 'Eggless' Tart recipes.Where else do you find a good baking recipe???....My favorite 'go to' site: www.joyofbaking.com

Shortbread crust:
I baked the crust, just like how they tell to...there is even a video for it. It comes out so buttery and flaky..it will just melt in your mouth!!
The only think I changed was the baking temperature: I baked the crust at 350F for 20-22 mins (The pan had those instructions)
http://www.joyofbaking.com/EasyFruitTartRecipe.html

Custard filling:
This one..I made up.Just like the custard made with 'custard powder', in the 'fruit salad with custard recipe....it is similar ...just needs to be 'thicker'.
 Ingredients:
2 Cups whole milk
4tbsp Custard powder
4tbsp sugar
1/2tsp vanilla extract
4tbsp cream cheese(optional- if you want a little 'tart' flavor)

Method:
1)Mix the custard powdered with 1/2 cup milk and mix till smooth and all lumps are gone.
2) Heat the remaining milk. When it is warm, slowly add the custard powder mixed with milk.Stir continuously on medium-low flame till it thicken up.
3) Add the sugar and mix.Boil more for couple mins.Stir constantly till thick.Add vanilla extract and mix. Take off the flame. Let it cool completely. Stir after every few mins, when it is cooling.It will thicken more.
4) Meanwhile bring the cream cheese to room temperature.Whisk it into smooth paste.Add to the cooled custard and whisk till well incorporated.
5) Pour the cooled custard into the baked cooled tart. Smoothen it with a spoon. Chill in the refrigerator covered till ready to decorate with fruits.

Fruits: (of your choice. More colorful the better!)
Strawberries
Blueberries
Kiwis
grapes
mandarin oranges
You can decorate the tart in any pattern. Fill the tart with fruits.Do this few hours before ready to serve.Chill in the refrigerator,covered with plastic wrap.

You can glaze the cut up fruit with 'sugar syrup' or apricot/ or any other fruit preserves.This will prevent the fruits from drying up and they will appear fresh for longer!

Eggless Fruit Tartlets

I am in charge of making dessert for the next weeks 'Potluck' party for couple of my vegetarian friends. Now that means, I could turn to the traditional Indian sweets(usually made without any eggs) or try out something new!! Since I am shying away slightly, from the really 'sweet' sweets....I thought this mildly sweet, creamy, yet colorful and crunchy 'Fruit Tartlets' might just be the thing to do!!
The shells and the filling both are eggless.

Tartlet Shells/Shortbread crust:

Ingredients:
Tartlet shell/Shortbread crust: (Makes 22 tartlets)
1 Cup All purpose flour
1/2 cup unsalted butter(cold)
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/8tsp salt
few drops of water

Custard cream filling:
1 Cup whole milk
2tbsp vanilla custard powder
2.5 tbsp sugar
3tbsp cream cheese
1/2tsp lemon zest

Fruits:
Cut up Strawberries or other berries and kiwis


 Method:
1) Cut the butter into small pieces. Sieve together flour,sugar,salt.Add the butter.With your hands rub the butter on the flour, till the mixture looks crumbly. Form into a dough , by adding few drops of water if needed. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for 20-30 mins.

 2) Preheat the oven to 350F.Spray a mini muffin pan with non stick cooking spray.Roll out the dough, into about 3 mm thickness. Cut out rounds with a cookie cutter.I used a small tartlet mold for the flowery borders!

3) Place the cut out dough in the mini muffin pan.Prick 2-3 times with a fork.Bake at 350F for 18-22 mins, till golden brown. Remove from the pan and let them cool.These can be stored for few days in air tight container.

 4) Cream filling:
 Bring the cream cheese to room temperature.
Mix together custard powder and 4tbsp milk,till no lumps are seen.Mix this with the rest of the milk and sugar. Boil on low-medium flame while stirring continuously till it thickens and forms a thick creamy filling. Let it cool completely.Stir every few mins even while cooling to avoid lumps from forming.
Beat the cream cheese till soft and smooth.Fold into the custard.Add lemon zest.Mix

5) Before serving the tartlets-Fill the custard-cream cheese mixture in a ziplock bag. Cut out a small end. Squeeze the filling in the tartlets.

6) Decorate with cut up fruit! Chill for 20 mins. Enjoy!!

"Around The World in 30 Weekends"- Weekend 5= Thailand

Dish Name: Sangkaya mapraw (Thai Coconut Custard)

Saturday had a great time with some friends in Syracuse.They bought this 'huge' house in suburb of Syracuse and had invited us and few other friends for a dinner party/house warming party. It was great to meet everyone and toast for our friends new house.My friend 'O' had made yummy Gujju (Gujrati) food and had quite a spread...as she always does- Undhiyo,Pooris,Fried Potato, Shrikhand, Khandvi, Rice, Daal, Papad, different kinds of chutneys and pickles...etc etc.I am going to make some on these soon and blog about them too.

But today's blog is about my 'Weekend culinary travel around the world'.Last week was Diwali...and I missed making food for this segment.Today I thought about traveling to Thailand.What do you first think of ....when you think of Thai food? For me..its the Spicyness, the coconout milk and the peanut sauce in the dishes.
Whenever we go to Thai restaurants, we order the Tom Yum/Tom Kha soup and the spring rolls as appetizers. We are half full there itself.Then 'M's favorite main course is 'Pad Thai' (he never even wants to look at the menu card and orders the same everytime! ) and I go with anything that has peanut sauce...I like the Rama noodles,the cashews tofu/chicken and ofcourse all the curries.By the time we finish with this...there is hardly any room for dessert! So,believe it or not....I have never had Thai dessert before! And so, I decided to make one myself for this segment.
This one seems pretty easy and I had all the ingredients to make it.Lets see how it comes out ....and tastes!
It came out well,nicely set and tender. I did have problems flipping it out on a plate and actually one of them broke in the ramekin. So I did not try stunts with the other one!
It definately tasted like our known egg pudding....but ofcourse with 'coconutty' taste from the coconut milk.The green lime zest gave a nice aroma to the whole dish.

Ingredients:
3 eggs
3/4 cup Coconut milk
1/3 cup white sugar
1tbsp light brown sugar
1tsp Vanilla extract
1/2tsp Lemon zest for garnishing

Method:
1) Blend together eggs,sugar, vanilla,coconut milk.Do not beat.Just mix till well blended
2) Boil water in a pan and pour it in a oven safe baking dish till about 1/3 full.
3) Preheat oven to 300F
4) Pour the egg-coconut milk mixture into oven safe ramekins till 3/4 full.
5) Place the ramekins with egg-coconut milk mixture into the baking dish with hot water.
6) Place in oven and bake about 35-45 mins till the custard sets.
7) Garnish with lemon zest.
8) Chill and serve cold.