Raspberry Tart

This Raspberry Tart was surprisingly delicious.  The sourness of raspberry goes extremely well with the sweet cream patisserie.  The vivid bright red colour of raspberry is perfect for Christmas desserts!

Ingredients:

Pastry

- 250g plain flour
- 100g unsalted butter
- pinch of salt
- 100 icing sugar
- 2 medium eggs (at room temperature)

Cream Patisserie

- 250ml full cream milk
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 100g caster sugar
- 1 medium egg
- 50g plain flour

Instructions:

Pastry

- Put the flour on a marble slab (if you don't have one, just do it on a clean kitchen bench) and make a well in the middle.
- Place the butter, icing sugar & salt in the middle of the well and use your fingertips to mix until they're well combined.
- Then draw the flour towards the center little by little and mix them until they become a coarse sand-like texture.
- Make a well in the center again and add the egg yolks in.
- Draw the mixture towards the center little by little to mix them into the egg yolks.
- When the dough is well amalgamated, knead it with your palm 4 to 5 times until it's smooth.
- Mould the dough into a the shape of a rectangle and wrap it with cling wrap, refrigerate for at least 30 mins.
- Take the dough out from the fridge.  Roll it between 2 sheets of baking paper to the thickness of about 2mm.  Put it back to the fridge for another 30 mins.
- Pre-heat the oven to 170ºC (fan-forced).
- Line an 8 inch tart ring with the pastry, making sure to press it into the edges and leaving the pastry hanging  over the edge (not too much).
- Prick the pastry bottom with a fork all over the surface.
- Take a sheet of baking paper and scrunch it up several times to eliminate any sharp edges.
- Place the baking paper on top and fill it with enough dried beans (or rice).
- Put it into the pre-heated oven and bake for 10 mins.
- After 10 mins, take the tart case out from the oven.  Take out the dried beans together with the baking paper, trim off the overhanging pastry using a knife. Stick a knife (not a sharp one) into the edge running along between the pastry and the side of the tart ring, making sure that the pastry is not sticking onto the side of the tart ring.
- Put the baking paper and the dried beans back on top of the pastry case. Then put the case back to the oven for another 20 mins of blind bake.
- When the time is up, take the pastry case out from oven and remove the dried beans & baking paper altogether.
- Brush the entire surface of the pastry case with the egg wash using a pastry brush.  Put it back to oven for 2 mins.  Repeat this process for 3 times.
- Remove the pastry case from oven and let it cool completely.

Cream Patisserie

- Place milk & vanilla bean paste into a wet saucepan and bring it to boil using medium heat.

- Meanwhile, cream the egg with sugar in a large bowl until it's pale yellow in colour, then stir in flour and mix well.
- When the milk begins to boil, take the saucepan out from heat and pour it into the the flour mixture.  Stir it quickly until it's well combined.
- Pour the mixture back to the saucepan and put it on low heat, using a balloon whisk, stir it until it becomes a thick mixture.
- Take it off from the heat and put the cream patisserie in a large bowl.  Allow it to cool down completely.

* When the cream patisserie cools down completely, stir it again using a spatula to break down any film that might form during cooling.

* Fill the pastry case with cream patisserie using a small spatula.  Then put the raspberries on top & dust with little bit of icing sugar.

Enjoy......