Fairly soon I'll be making some custard tartlets for a party. They'll
simply be a firm vanilla custard inside some sort of tart shell. I've made
these before using a shortbread dough as the crust, and these were well
received, but I've been wondering if that's the best choice or not. Of the
following, which do you think would work best?

Butter-based pie dough
Sweet pastry dough - more or less a sugary pie dough
Shortbread
Puff Pastry

Thanks for your opinions.
--
Alex Rast

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"Alex Rast" > wrote in message
...
> Fairly soon I'll be making some custard tartlets for a party. They'll
> simply be a firm vanilla custard inside some sort of tart shell. I've made
> these before using a shortbread dough as the crust, and these were well
> received, but I've been wondering if that's the best choice or not. Of the
> following, which do you think would work best?
>
> Butter-based pie dough
> Sweet pastry dough - more or less a sugary pie dough
> Shortbread
> Puff Pastry
>
> Thanks for your opinions.

I vote for the shortbread or the pate sucre. You might consider enhancing
the pastry with some subtle flavor like nutmeg, lemon zest, or finely ground
nuts. Another choice would be layers of buttered phillo. I think the crisp
texture of the phillo would be a good contrast to the creamy custard. The
puff pastry would be the wrong texture and too bland, in my opinion. The
pate brisee would also be sort of bland and too conventional

"Alex Rast" > wrote in message
...
> Fairly soon I'll be making some custard tartlets for a party. They'll
> simply be a firm vanilla custard inside some sort of tart shell. I've made
> these before using a shortbread dough as the crust, and these were well
> received, but I've been wondering if that's the best choice or not. Of the
> following, which do you think would work best?
>
> Butter-based pie dough
> Sweet pastry dough - more or less a sugary pie dough
> Shortbread
> Puff Pastry
>
> Thanks for your opinions.

I vote for the shortbread or the pate sucre. You might consider enhancing
the pastry with some subtle flavor like nutmeg, lemon zest, or finely ground
nuts. Another choice would be layers of buttered phillo. I think the crisp
texture of the phillo would be a good contrast to the creamy custard. The
puff pastry would be the wrong texture and too bland, in my opinion. The
pate brisee would also be sort of bland and too conventional

"Alex Rast" > wrote in message
...
> Fairly soon I'll be making some custard tartlets for a party. They'll
> simply be a firm vanilla custard inside some sort of tart shell. I've made
> these before using a shortbread dough as the crust, and these were well
> received, but I've been wondering if that's the best choice or not. Of the
> following, which do you think would work best?
>
> Butter-based pie dough
> Sweet pastry dough - more or less a sugary pie dough
> Shortbread
> Puff Pastry
>
> Thanks for your opinions.

I vote for the shortbread or the pate sucre. You might consider enhancing
the pastry with some subtle flavor like nutmeg, lemon zest, or finely ground
nuts. Another choice would be layers of buttered phillo. I think the crisp
texture of the phillo would be a good contrast to the creamy custard. The
puff pastry would be the wrong texture and too bland, in my opinion. The
pate brisee would also be sort of bland and too conventional

I agree - the short bread or pate sucre are great options! Have you
also considered playing with Vanilla Wafers - like the kinds we used to
have growing up? You can crush them, add cinnamon and butter to make a
"cookie" crust.

My only reserve wtih the puff pastry would be if it could "hold" the
custard - then again I don't have much experience in the puff world.

On 18 Apr 2005 20:25:10 -0700
"Sapphire" > wrote:

> I agree - the short bread or pate sucre are great options! Have you
> also considered playing with Vanilla Wafers - like the kinds we used to
> have growing up? You can crush them, add cinnamon and butter to make a
> "cookie" crust.
>
> My only reserve wtih the puff pastry would be if it could "hold" the
> custard - then again I don't have much experience in the puff world.

My argument against puff pastry would be that it tastes like unseasoned
flour. It is also not particularly easy to form into a dish shape.

I have had tartlets made with both sweet and not-so-sweet butter based
pastry crust that turned out reasonably well. I'd err on the side of sweet
unless the filling is excessively sweet.

A cookie crust could work but when working in small sizes it might need
to be somewhat thick to hold up the filling, and that might result in
uneven texture, with a hard cookie and soft filling. there's a happy medium
in there somewhere but my skill with that kind of crust isn't quite
perfected.

On 18 Apr 2005 20:25:10 -0700
"Sapphire" > wrote:

> I agree - the short bread or pate sucre are great options! Have you
> also considered playing with Vanilla Wafers - like the kinds we used to
> have growing up? You can crush them, add cinnamon and butter to make a
> "cookie" crust.
>
> My only reserve wtih the puff pastry would be if it could "hold" the
> custard - then again I don't have much experience in the puff world.

My argument against puff pastry would be that it tastes like unseasoned
flour. It is also not particularly easy to form into a dish shape.

I have had tartlets made with both sweet and not-so-sweet butter based
pastry crust that turned out reasonably well. I'd err on the side of sweet
unless the filling is excessively sweet.

A cookie crust could work but when working in small sizes it might need
to be somewhat thick to hold up the filling, and that might result in
uneven texture, with a hard cookie and soft filling. there's a happy medium
in there somewhere but my skill with that kind of crust isn't quite
perfected.

at Tue, 19 Apr 2005 01:30:05 GMT in
>, (Vox
Humana) wrote :
>"Alex Rast" > wrote in message
.. .
>> Fairly soon I'll be making some custard tartlets for a party. ...which
do you think would work best?
>>
>> Butter-based pie dough
>> Sweet pastry dough - more or less a sugary pie dough
>> Shortbread
>> Puff Pastry
>
> I vote for the shortbread or the pate sucre. ...The puff pastry would be
>the wrong texture and too bland, in my opinion.
>The pate brisee would also be sort of bland and too conventional

Thanks. Very well-reasoned. I think you're right - the unsweetened doughs
will end up tasting very bland. Thus it comes down to texture. As you know,
a shortbread dough ends up quite firm and crisp - and this elicited
favourable comments from people in the past who liked the counterpoint
of crisp crust and creamy filling, while the sweet dough would be more
tender - perhaps not so texturally satisfying but less of a challenge
with a fork. Some people, I've seen, aren't happy when things are a bit
difficult to manage on the plate. Any thoughts on which one would be
more preferable?

On phyllo - it sounds like a great idea but this is something I have no
experience with. When baking for a group I like to stick with things I
know and have done. If I'm doing it for myself, *then* I can experiment.

Another poster suggested a cookie crumb crust - that's another idea, but
I'd only want to do it if somebody has a recipe for making the right types
of cookies from scratch. I prefer not to use any storebought prepared
foods in baking. Does anybody have a recipe I could compare against?

--
Alex Rast

(remove d., .7, not, and .NOSPAM to reply)

On Tue 19 Apr 2005 06:46:38p, Alex Rast wrote in rec.food.baking:

> at Tue, 19 Apr 2005 01:30:05 GMT in
> >, (Vox
> Humana) wrote :
>>"Alex Rast" > wrote in message
. ..
>>> Fairly soon I'll be making some custard tartlets for a party. ...which
>>> do you think would work best?
>>>
>>> Butter-based pie dough
>>> Sweet pastry dough - more or less a sugary pie dough
>>> Shortbread
>>> Puff Pastry
>>
>> I vote for the shortbread or the pate sucre. ...The puff pastry would
>> be
>>the wrong texture and too bland, in my opinion.
>>The pate brisee would also be sort of bland and too conventional
>
> Thanks. Very well-reasoned. I think you're right - the unsweetened
> doughs will end up tasting very bland. Thus it comes down to texture. As
> you know, a shortbread dough ends up quite firm and crisp - and this
> elicited favourable comments from people in the past who liked the
> counterpoint of crisp crust and creamy filling, while the sweet dough
> would be more tender - perhaps not so texturally satisfying but less of
> a challenge with a fork. Some people, I've seen, aren't happy when
> things are a bit difficult to manage on the plate. Any thoughts on which
> one would be more preferable?
>
> On phyllo - it sounds like a great idea but this is something I have no
> experience with. When baking for a group I like to stick with things I
> know and have done. If I'm doing it for myself, *then* I can experiment.
>
> Another poster suggested a cookie crumb crust - that's another idea, but
> I'd only want to do it if somebody has a recipe for making the right
> types of cookies from scratch. I prefer not to use any storebought
> prepared foods in baking. Does anybody have a recipe I could compare
> against?
>

This might be good...

Lemon Crisps

1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup Unsalted Butter, softened
1 large egg
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Sugar or powdered sugar

Combine 1 cup sugar and butter in large mixer bowl. Beat at medium speed,
scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add egg and lemon peel; continue
beating until well mixed. Reduce speed to low; add flour. Beat until soft
dough forms.

Divide dough in half. Shape each half into 8-inch (1 1/2-inch diameter)
log on lightly floured surface. Wrap tightly in plastic food wrap.
Refrigerate until firm (2 hours or overnight).

Heat oven to 350œF. Cut logs into 1/8 to 1/4-inch slices with sharp knife.
Place 1 inch apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes
or until edges are very lightly browned. Let stand 1 minute; remove from
cookie sheets. Roll cookies in sugar while still warm and again when cool.

Makes 6 1/2 dozen cookies.

VARIATION: Sugared Lemon Almond Crisps: Stir 1/3 cup finely chopped
almonds into dough after beating in flour.

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
____________________________________________

Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day.
Sam Goldwyn, 1882-1974

Vox Humana wrote on 18 Apr 2005 in rec.food.baking

>
> "Alex Rast" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Fairly soon I'll be making some custard tartlets for a party.
> > They'll simply be a firm vanilla custard inside some sort of
> > tart shell. I've made these before using a shortbread dough as
> > the crust, and these were well received, but I've been wondering
> > if that's the best choice or not. Of the following, which do you
> > think would work best?
> >
> > Butter-based pie dough
> > Sweet pastry dough - more or less a sugary pie dough
> > Shortbread
> > Puff Pastry
> >
> > Thanks for your opinions.
>
> I vote for the shortbread or the pate sucre. You might consider
> enhancing
> the pastry with some subtle flavor like nutmeg, lemon zest, or
> finely ground nuts. Another choice would be layers of buttered
> phillo. I think the crisp texture of the phillo would be a good
> contrast to the creamy custard. The puff pastry would be the
> wrong texture and too bland, in my opinion. The pate brisee would
> also be sort of bland and too conventional
>
>

I'm thinking a Graham Waffer crust...possibly with coconut or crushed
nuts in the mix.

--
No Bread Crumbs were hurt in the making of this Meal.
Type 2 Diabetic Since Aug 2004
1AC- 7.2, 7.3, 5.5, 5.6 mmol
Weight from 265 down to 219 lbs. and dropping.
Continuing to be Manitoban

"Alex Rast" > wrote in message
...
> at Tue, 19 Apr 2005 01:30:05 GMT in
> >, (Vox
> Humana) wrote :
> >"Alex Rast" > wrote in message
> .. .
> >> Fairly soon I'll be making some custard tartlets for a party. ...which
> do you think would work best?
> >>
> >> Butter-based pie dough
> >> Sweet pastry dough - more or less a sugary pie dough
> >> Shortbread
> >> Puff Pastry
> >
> > I vote for the shortbread or the pate sucre. ...The puff pastry would be
> >the wrong texture and too bland, in my opinion.
> >The pate brisee would also be sort of bland and too conventional
>
> Thanks. Very well-reasoned. I think you're right - the unsweetened doughs
> will end up tasting very bland. Thus it comes down to texture. As you
know,
> a shortbread dough ends up quite firm and crisp - and this elicited
> favourable comments from people in the past who liked the counterpoint
> of crisp crust and creamy filling, while the sweet dough would be more
> tender - perhaps not so texturally satisfying but less of a challenge
> with a fork. Some people, I've seen, aren't happy when things are a bit
> difficult to manage on the plate. Any thoughts on which one would be
> more preferable?
>
> On phyllo - it sounds like a great idea but this is something I have no
> experience with. When baking for a group I like to stick with things I
> know and have done. If I'm doing it for myself, *then* I can experiment.
>
> Another poster suggested a cookie crumb crust - that's another idea, but
> I'd only want to do it if somebody has a recipe for making the right types
> of cookies from scratch. I prefer not to use any storebought prepared
> foods in baking. Does anybody have a recipe I could compare against?

My concern about the cookie crumb crust is that it might be difficult to rem
ove from a form and it might not hold together on the plate.

at Wed, 20 Apr 2005 17:37:53 GMT in
>, (Vox
Humana) wrote :
>"Alex Rast" > wrote in message
.. .
....
>> >> Fairly soon I'll be making some custard tartlets for a party.
>> >> ...which
>> do you think would work best?
>> >>
>> >> Butter-based pie dough
>> >> Sweet pastry dough - more or less a sugary pie dough
>> >> Shortbread
>> >> Puff Pastry
>> >
>> > I vote for the shortbread or the pate sucre....
>>
>> Another poster suggested a cookie crumb crust - that's another idea...
>
>My concern about the cookie crumb crust is that it might be difficult to
>rem ove from a form and it might not hold together on the plate.

Yes, that was one of my worries, too, with all of the different types of
crusts. Of course with a custard filling you can't invert anything, which
means they have to be eased out. It'd be nice if they had tart tins with a
removable bottom, but I've not seen these in the size I'd like (4" round).
I think also with any kind of crumb or cookie crust, in addition to the
sticking problem, there's the problem of getting it in there in the first
place. It's hard to do that with small tart tins, where it seems to be much
easier to roll out whatever dough you're using and press it in.

On these grounds I could also nix the graham cracker recommendation, but I
would anyway - the strong flavour and rough texture of the graham crackers
I think would overwhelm a custard filling where the primary flavour is
vanilla.

--
Alex Rast

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