Baking
Caramelised Lemon & Cranberry Tarts
Pastry
| 240g | self raising flour, sifted |
| 90g | castor sugar |
| 120g | cold butter, diced |
| 1 | organic egg yolk |
| 1 tablespoon | cold water |
- Preheat oven to 130°C.
- Mix the flour and the sugar in a bowl.
- Add the diced butter, rubbing in with your finger tips until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs.
- Add the egg yolk and water, and mix until the pastry forms a paste.
- Wrap the dough in glad wrap and leave in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes.
Filling
| 375g | sugar |
| 375g | lemon juice |
| 8 | organic eggs |
| 300g | goat's curd |
| 5 tablespoons | dried cranberries reconstituted in a little boiling water |
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar and lemon juice.
- Add the goat's curd, cranberries and refrigerate until cool.
- Line a flan ring with baking paper.
- Roll out the pastry to fit into the flan ring and place in the oven for 15 minutes.
- Pour the curd mixture into the shell and bake for 20 minutes or until set.
- Allow to cool and serve with crème fraiche.
Cooking with Cranberries - preparation tips
Always remember to:
- Cook frozen cranberries just until they pop. Longer cooking brings out their bitterness and makes them mushy.
- Do not use aluminium cookware when cooking cranberries as the berries' acid reacts with aluminium and causes it to discolour. Use stainless steel, glass or porcelain.
- Eliminate foaming and over boiling when cooking frozen cranberries by adding one teaspoon of butter.
Preparing cranberries:
- Chop cranberries in a food processor, using quick on/off pulses, to save time.
- When cooking, add a little salt or ¼ teaspoon baking soda or baking powder to cranberry sauce to reduce the amount of sugar needed and bring out the cranberry flavour.
- Soak dried cranberries in warm water, orange juice or a liqueur for 20 to 30 minutes to get plumper berries which can be used as a substitute for frozen or fresh cranberries in many recipes.
- For baked goods (i.e. muffins, cakes or slices), chop frozen cranberries and toss them with sugar before stirring into the batter to improve sweetening.
