Blueberry Cheese Tart

A recipe I got from my cousin. Irresistable and super simple to make. You can make the tart shells ahead of time and store them in an airtight container in the fridge. The filling can be substituted with other fruits and flavours like strawberry for example. I bought a ready-made filling from the bakery. You can for sure make your own filling though. The best part for me is painting the pattern on the filling. I would love to try other patterns though next time.

Blueberry Cheese Tart 
The pastry recipe below could easily yields 12 medium-sized tart shells (and you still have leftover dough) while the cream cheese filling is perfect to fill 12 tart shells. Feel free to increase or decrease the amount as you like.  

Ingredients: 
Tart shell:
125g cold butter, diced
225g all-purpose flour
50g caster sugar
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons ice cold water 

Cream cheese filling:
125g cream cheese, softened
25g butter, soften
30g caster sugar
1/2 egg (beat an egg then weigh, about 30g)
1 teaspoon vanilla or lemon extract

blueberry filling 

Method: 
Pastry Shell:
1. Put the cold butter pieces, flour and sugar in a large bowl. Work those ingredients with your fingers until they resemble coarse bread crumbs. Don't worry if there are still some visible butter pieces. They will puff up in the oven and result in a flaky crust.

2. Add the vanilla extract, egg yolk and a tablespoon of ice cold water (1 tbsp works for me; you might add more if your egg yolk is smaller). Work the mixture together to form a dough. Do not overwork the dough. Once the dough has come together, flatten and wrap with cling film. Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

3. Preheat the oven at 170C. Take out the dough from the fridge and roll it on a floured surface or between two sheets of clean plastic. Then, cut into discs to line individual tart moulds. Prick the bottom with a fork. Bake the shells in the preheated oven for 20 minutes until golden brown. Set aside to cool a bit and remove from mould.

Cream cheese filling:
1. Beat all the ingredients until smooth and creamy.  

For blueberry cheese tart:
1. Preheat the oven at 170C. Take a cooled tart shell and fill with blueberry filling (about a tablepoon). Then top with the cream cheese filling:

2. You can do a pattern on top of the tart if you like. I learned to do this pattern from the superbly creative and talented Kak Ita of masam manis. Please check out her blog for fantastic decorating ideas. Also check out HaSue's blog for cheese tart decoration ideas. For the pattern: dip the tip of a toothpick in the blueberry filling or food colouring. Make small lines down the side of cream cheese filling and run the toothpick gently across the lines, like this:

3. Bake the cheese tart in the preheated oven for 5-8 minutes until the cream cheese filling is just set. You can test whether the filling has set by gently tapping your fingertip on the surface; if it doesn't stick, then it has set. Don't overbake or else the filling will become hard. Best serve chilled.

Blueberry Cheese Tart 
Resepi kulit tart ni boleh dapat lebih dari dua belas biji (saya buat 12 je, doh yang lebih simpan dalam freezer). Cream cheese filling cukup2 untuk 12 tart. Kalau nk buat lebih, boleh gandakan resepi di bawah.

Bahan-bahan: 
Kulit tart:
125g mentega sejuk didadu
225g tepung gandum
50g gula kaster
1 kuning telur* (saya guna gred A)
1 sudu kecil esen vanilla
1-2sudu besar air sejuk dari peti ais

Cream cheese filling:
125g cream cheese, biar lembut sedikit
25g mentega (suhu bilik)
30g gula kaster
1/2 biji telur (pukul telur dan timbang, kurang lebih 30g)
1 sudu kecil esen vanilla atau lemon

inti blueberry filling secukupnya

*Jika gandakan adunan untuk kulit tart, boleh guna 1 biji telur gred B untuk 250g butter.

Cara-cara: 
Kulit tart:
1.Satukan mentega sejuk, tepung dan gula di dalam satu bekas. Ramas dengan menggunakan jari sehingga adunan menjadi seperti serbuk roti.

2. Tambah esen vanilla, telur kuning dan satu sudu besar air sejuk. Gaul sebati menggunakan tangan hingga menjadi doh. Tekan sedikit doh, balut dengan cling wrapper dan rehatkan di dalam peti sejuk.

3. Panaskan oven pada suhu 170C. Keluarkan doh daripada peti sejuk. Ambil sedikit doh dan tekan ke dalam acuan tart. Cucuk dengan garpu dan bakar selama 20 minit atau sehingga masak. Sejukkan sedikit dan keluarkan daripada acuan tart. 
Cream cheese filling:
1. Pukul semua bahan sehingga berkrim.  

Untuk blueberry cheese tart:
1. Panaskan oven pada suhu 170C. Ambil kulit tart tadi dan isi (boleh juga paip) dengan inti blueberry (anggaran 1 sudu besar). Selepas itu, isikan dengan cream cheese filling (isi penuh):

2. Kemudian, bolelah hias tart tadi. Saya guna corak yang diajar Kak Ita masam manis. Untuk idea lain, boleh singgah ke dapur HaSue. Untuk corak tersebut, celupkan hujung pencungkil gigi ke dalam pewarna atau inti blueberry dan buat garis-garis kecil di bahagian tepi tart. Kemudian dengan menggunakan bahagian yang tajam, tarik daripada atas ke bawah  dalam bentuk bulatan untuk mendapatkan bentuk seperti berikut:

3. Bakar cheese tart dalam oven yang telah dipanaskan tadi selama 5-8 minit sehingga masak. Untuk menguji sama ada cheese telah set atau tidak, sentuh dengan hujung jari. Jika tidak melekat, maknanya telah masak. Jangan terlebih bakar kerana filling akan menjadi keras.

Poached Pear Frangipane Tart/ Tart Pir & Badam

Got some pears in the fridge? Make this tart! Easy and delicious. The frangipani is adapted from a recipe on Masterchef Australia's website. I miss watching the show with my friends together when we were in Brisbane. Anyway, the original recipe is for chocolate frangipane. I just omitted the chocolate. I also add brown sugar in the frangipane. The pastry is the same old recipe I've been using all this while. I just poached the pears in simple sugar syrup, just to soften them a bit. Feel free to add any aromatics like cinnamon or cloves for an exquisite taste.  

Poached Pear Frangipane Tart
Frangipani recipe adapted from: Masterchef Australia 

Ingredients
Pastry:
125g cold butter, diced
2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp ice cold water

Poached Pears:
2 large pears, peeled and sliced
500ml water
2-3 tablespoons sugar (feel free to up increase the amount if u like it sweet)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frangipane:
100gunsalted butter, softened
60gicing sugar, sifted
40g brown sugar
2eggs
100galmond meal
1tablespoon flour
1teaspoon vanilla extract

Method
Prepare the pastry:
1. Put the cold butter pieces, flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Work those ingredients with your fingers until they resemble bread crumbs. Don't worry if there are still some visible butter pieces. They will puff up in the oven and result in a flaky crust.

2. Add the ice cold water, a tablespoon at a time to moisten and work the mixture together to form a dough. Do not overwork the dough. Once the dough has come together, flatten and wrap with cling film. Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

3. After chilling, take out the dough from the fridge and roll it on a floured surface or between two sheets of clean plastic. Roll it enough to cover an 8-inch tart tin. Line the tin with the dough, trim the excess and prick the bottom with a fork. Chill the dough again until firm while you poach the pears and prepare the frangipane filling.

Poach the pears:
1.  Place water, sugar and vanilla in a deep, small saucepan over medium heat and bring to the boil. 
2.  Place pear slices in the saucepan and reduce to a simmer, cover and simmer until pears are tender.

Prepare the frangipane filling:
1. Cream butter with the icing sugar and brown sugar together until pale and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well between additions. Fold in almond meal and flour and add in vanilla extract.

To bake: 
1. Blind bake the pie shell first. Preheat the oven at 180C. Line the pie dough with foil or baking paper and fill with baking beans/ pastry weights (you can also use rice). Bake the shell in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes until firm around the edge.

2. Take out the shell from the oven and remove the foil and baking beans. Continue baking the shell for another 10-15 minutes until its surface dries out, no longer moist and firm to the touch. Set aside.  

3.  Fill the tart shells with the frangipane, smooth the surface and arrange the poached pear slices. Bake for 20 minutes or until frangipane is cooked. Set aside until firm. Carefully remove the tarts from the tin and place onto a serving plate. If you like, drizzle the tart with a little poaching liquid.

Tart Pear & Badam
Diolah daripada: Masterchef Australia 

Bahan-bahan
Pastri:
125g mentega sejuk didadu
2 cawan (250g) tepung gandum
1 sb gula
1 sk garam
3 sb air sejuk dari peti ais

Poached Pears:
2 biji buah pir, kupas dan hiris
500ml air
2-3 sudu besar gula (lebihkan kalau suka manis)
1/2 sudu kecil esen vanilla 

Frangipane (Inti badam):
100gmentega, suhu bilik
60ggula icing
40g gula perang
2biji telur
100gserbuk badam
1sudu besar tepung gandum
1sudu kecil esen vanilla

Cara-cara:
Untuk pastri:
1.Satukan mentega sejuk, tepung, gula dan garam ke dalam satu bekas. Ramas dengan menggunakan jari sehingga adunan menjadi seperti serbuk roti.

2. Tambah air sejuk dan gaul sebati menggunakan tangan hingga menjadi doh. Tekan sedikit doh, balut dengan cling wrapper dan rehatkan di dalam peti sejuk.

3. Selepas 30 minit, keluarkan doh daripada peti sejuk. Canai doh di atas permukaan yang ditabur tepung atau di antara dua keping plastik bersih. Canai doh anggaran boleh muat pie tin berukuran 8 inci. Selepas itu, alihkan doh ke atas pie tin, potong lebihan doh dan cucuk permukaan doh dengan garpu. Sejukkan kembali doh di dalam peti sejuk sementara merebus pear dan menyediakan inti frangipane. 

Merebus buah pir:
1.  Satukan air, gula dan vanilla di dalam periuk dan didihkan. 
2.  Masukkan buah pir, perlahankan api dan masak pir sampai lembut. 

Sediakan frangipani (inti badam):
1. Krim mentega dengan gula icing dan gula perang hingga kembang. Masukkan telur satu persatu dan pukul sebati. Masukkan serbuk badam dan tepung gandum, gaul dengan kaedah kaup-balik. Akhir sekali, masukkan esen vanilla. 

Untuk membakar: 
1. 'Blind bake' kulit pastri dahulu (untuk tutorial 'blind baking', bolehlah singgah ke dapur CMG yang famous 2 ye). Panaskan oven pada suhu 180C. Alaskan kulit pastri tadi dengan foil aluminium dan isi dengan benda berat seperti beras atau kacang soya. Bakar selama 15 minit.

2. Keluarkan pastri dari oven dan alihkan foil aluminium serta kacang tadi. Bakar lagi pastri selama 10-15 minit atau sehingga permukaan pastri sudah tidak lembap apabila disentuh.

3.  Isi kulit pastri dengan inti frangipane dan ratakan. Susun hirisan pir di atas inti dan bakar selama 20 minit atau sehingga inti masak. Jika suka, bolehlah drizzle sedikit gula sirap daripada rebusan pir tadi. 

Sausage & Green Peas Quiche/ Quiche sosej dan kacang pis

My sister bought a new tart pan and I was craving for a quiche...

Sausage and Peas Quiche

Ingredients
Pastry:
125g cold butter, diced
2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp ice cold water

Filling:
2 tsp olive oil
half an onion (about 30g), sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 sausages or frankfurters, sliced
1/2 cup green peas
1/2 cup chopped vegetables (I used shiitake mushrooms, carrots and capsicums)
1 bird's eye chilli, chopped - optional
salt and pepper to taste
1 tomato, sliced thinly

Custard:
2 eggs
1/4 cup fresh milk or pouring cream (I used low fat milk)
1 slice of cheddar cheese, chopped (you can use grated cheese)
salt and pepper to taste

Method
Prepare the pastry:
1. Put the cold butter pieces, flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Work those ingredients with your fingers until they resemble bread crumbs. Don't worry if there are still some visible butter pieces. They will puff up in the oven and results in a flakier crust.

2. Add the ice cold water, a tablespoon at a time to moisten and work the mixture together to form a dough. Do not overwork the dough. Once the dough has come together, flatten and wrap with cling film. Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
*I was pressed for time, hence I roll the dough straight away, line my tin with the dough, trim the excess and chill. 

3. After chilling, take out the dough from the fridge and roll it on a floured surface or between two sheets of clean plastic. Roll it enough to cover an 8-inch tart tin. Line the tin with the dough, trim the excess and prick the bottom with a fork. Chill the dough again while you prepare the filling.

Prepare the filling:
1. Heat the olive oil in a pan. Sautee the onion until fragrant. Throw in the garlic and chilli and stir. 

2. Once fragrant, add in the sausages. Next, mix in the chopped vegetables, peas and season with salt and pepper. Set aside to cool.

Prepare the custard:
1. Whisk all the ingredients for the custard, season with salt and pepper (not too much salt as the cheese and filling would contribute to saltiness) and pour into a jug.

To bake: 
1. Blind bake the pie shell first. Preheat the oven at 190C. Line the pie dough with foil and fill with baking beans (you can also use rice). Bake the shell in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes.

2. Take out the shell from the oven and remove the foil and baking beans. Continue baking the shell for another 10-15 minutes until its surface dries out, no longer moist and firm to the touch. 

3. After that, add in the filling to the pie shell and pour in the custard. Arrange the sliced tomato on top (I forgot!). Continue baking for another 20-25 minutes until the filling is firm and the top is golden brown. 

Quiche Sosej dan  Kacang Pis

Bahan-bahan
Pastri:
125g mentega sejuk didadu
2 cawan (250g) tepung gandum
1 sb gula
1 sk garam
3 sb air sejuk dari peti ais
Inti:
2 sk minyak zaitun
Separuh bawang merah (dalam 30g),dicincang
2 ulas bawang putih, dicincang
1/2 cawan kacang pis
1/2 cawan sayuran (saya guna cendawan, lobak merah dan capsicum yang didadu))
1 biji cili padi, dicincang - optional
garam dan lada secukup rasa
1 biji tomato, dihiris nipis

Kastard:
2 biji telur
1/4 cawan susu segar
1 keping keju cheddar Cheesedale, dipotong kecil
sedikit garam dan lada sulah

Method
Untuk pastri:
1.Satukan mentega sejuk, tepung, gula dan garam ke dalam satu bekas. Ramas dengan menggunakan jari sehingga adunan menjadi seperti serbuk roti.

2. Tambah air sejuk dan gaul sebati menggunakan tangan hingga menjadi doh. Tekan sedikit doh, balut dengan cling wrapper dan rehatkan di dalam peti sejuk.
*Saya canai terus doh, letak dalam pie tin dan sejukkan.

3. Selepas 30 minit, keluarkan doh daripada peti sejuk. Canai doh di atas permukaan yang ditabur tepung atau di antara dua keping plastik bersih. Canai doh anggaran boleh muat pie tin berukuran 8 inci. Selepas itu, alihkan doh ke atas pie tin, potong lebihan doh dan cucuk permukaan doh dengan garpu. Sejukkan kembali doh di dalam peti sejuk sementara menyediakan inti. 

Untuk Inti:
1. Panaskan minyak dalam kuali. Tumis bawang merah, bawang putih dan cili padi hingga wangi. 

2. Selepas itu, masukkan sosej dan goreng  sampai masak. Tambah sayuran dan kacang pis dan perasakan dengan garam dan lada. Ketepikan. 

Untuk Kastard:
1. Whisk semua bahan-bahan untuk kastard dan perasakan dengan garam dan lada sulah (jangan letak garam banyak sangat sebab inti dan cheese dah masin).

Untuk membakar: 
1. 'Blind bake' kulit pastri dahulu (untuk tutorial 'blind baking', bolehlah singgah ke dapur CMG yang famous 2 ye). Panaskan oven pada suhu 190C. Alaskan kulit pastri tadi dengan foil aluminium dan isi dengan benda berat seperti beras atau kacang soya. Bakar selama 15 minit.

2. Keluarkan pastri dari oven dan alihkan foil aluminium serta kacang tadi. Bakar lagi pastri selama 10-15 minit atau sehingga permukaan pastri sudah tidak lembap apabila disentuh.

3. Selepas itu, masukkan inti ke dalam pastri. Tuang kastard dan susun kepingan tomato di atasnya (lupa nk letak). Bakar semula quiche selama 20-25 minit sehingga kuning keemasan.

Flaky Crust Egg Tarts

This recipe is taken from Kak Rima's blog bisousatoi (seriously folk, do check out her blog!) who took the recipe from Wendy's Table for 2. As the already suggests, these tarts are definitely flaky and crumbly; I guarantee you. This pastry is rather difficult to be removed from the regular tart moulds because of its flakiness. Wendy used disposable foil tart cases for her tarts. I suggest you do the same. It was quite a struggle for me to remove the tarts (I use muffin pans), but it was worth the effort for I like my pastry crumbly and flaky! :) The filling is smooth and creamy, just like what an egg tart should be. Try this and you wont be disappointed.

Egg Tart Recipe  
(from bisousatoi ; originally from Table for 2.)

Pastry
250g plain flour

2 tbsp castor sugar

1 egg yolk

150g butter,

Filling

150g castor sugar

150ml hot water

250ml milk(1 small pack of milk) * I used low fat milk

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

3 large eggs

1 egg white (From the same egg where the yolk was used in the crust)

Method

1. Cream the butter with the egg yolk and sugar. 
2. Add in flour. Mix well. (If the dough is sticky for you , well maybe your yolks are larger than mine, add in extra flour by the teaspoon until it no longer feels sticky, but got a slight flour feel to it, but not too much though, as it will toughen the crust. the borderline of stickiness and dry feel is very thin.. so, add extra flour with caution)
3. Roll out pastry in between two sheets of plastic into thickness of about 4mm. Stamp out 9–10cm circles of pastry with a pastry cutter.
4. Lightly press the pastry circles into foil tart cases(I’m lazy to wash up the tart tins).
5. Refrigerate the lined foil cases for 2 hours (I left them overnight)
6. Melt the sugar in hot water, add milk, salt, vanilla essence. Beat all the eggs lightly and mix in all together.
7. Sieve egg mixture and pour into the cold tart crust.
8. Bake at 180C (fan)/200C for 25 minutes.