Yes yes, I know I haven't posted anything in ages.
To be honest it's been hard to do anything but work at the moment. Completely new menu going in, staff leaving, training new staff, position changes, potential long term high class positions opening up, meetings, boardroom catering events. I've been doing it all lately....aaaaaand I'm tired as dog's balls to be honest.
But I was just sitting here relaxing, playing some starcraft 2 HotS when I thought, why don't I update my blog, since I'm being a lazy bastard and not doing anything.
So continuing on from the last entry, I'm going to do a recipe for the Strawberry and creme tartlet.
It's a nice simple dessert, but is oh so elegant and a classic at that.
I'll say it now, my recipes are always written in short hand for chefs, because I've basically got hundreds of recipes that I have to sift through and write up for dumb apprentices to read. So I do the basics so they can follow it. But for here I'll posh it up a bit :D
Pre-heat your oven to 150 degrees Celsius
Strawberry and Creme Tartlet
So lets start with the pastry. There are so many short crust pastry recipes now days that you can't just pick one and go with it. Over the years I've created many different ones, but through experimentation I've come up with the perfect (well I like to think so) recipe. And now I'll share it with everyone :D
This recipe will make 6 tartlets by using 4 inch tartlet flans.
Pastry
160g icing sugar
250g plain '00' flour
150g unsalted butter, room temp, cubed
4 egg yolks, fridge temp
Method:
Sift together the icing sugar and flour into a large mixing bowl. Add the cubed butter and start working the butter into the dry ingredients with your hands, rubbing it in until resembles fine breadcrumbs. You want it to be dry and light. Now add the 4 egg yolks and combine it all with your hands until you have a soft dough. Don't overwork the dough.
Now don't bother about resting the dough before pushing it out into the tartlet flans, do it after you have pushed it out, this way the dough rests and holds its shape for baking.
So break the dough up into 6 pieces and grease your 6 tartlet flans. Don't bother doing the old, roll the dough out into flat circle and placing over the flan, it's a pointless and time consuming job that does nothing. Simply start pushing the dough in the flan and working it up the sides, keeping it all in once peice. If you have to much dough coming up the sides, just level it off with a knife.
Now once you have finished that, place the flans in the fridge for an hour to rest.
