The Dark Chocolate Tart offers a luxurious comfort food experience with a rich chocolate filling in crisp pastry, best served with crème fraiche. Key elements for success include using high-quality chocolate (70%-75% cocoa), a properly prepared pastry shell, and careful technique to achieve a silky texture. Testing baking times is advisable.
These Asian Salmon Samosas are a quick, flavorful twist on the Indian classic. Made with salmon, ginger, garlic, and spices, they feature crispy filo pastry and can be paired with a chili and tomato jam. The samosas can be prepared in advance, ensuring a delightful and fragrant dish.
Making a Blind Baked Pastry Tart is not an overly arduous process. But following a few basic steps will ensure success. This is quite a long explanation but is worth the effort in reading all the way through.
Here we are using a loose bottomed tart tin suitable to serve six to eight people. You can of course use the same technique for smaller tins or as an alternative use perforated tart rings. You can find the method for working with those in our post, How to use Perforated Tart Rings.
I would always recommend baking using metal tins and rings for blind baking. Silicone containers can also a be used for general baking. But I think the robustness of metal gives a more reliable result for tarts and flans. I’m not a fan of ceramic quiche or flan dishes. The material is too thick for fast heat transfer. And it’s very difficult to remove the finish article from the dish.
For deeper robust tarts I like to use a 23cm x 3cm loose bottomed tart shell. The ones made by masterclass are excellent quality and will last for years.
Baking sheets should be robust enough not to bend or warp in the oven. An increasing number of chefs are using perforated baking sheets or baking mats. These allow the hot air to circulate around the pastry more efficiently.
Remember all ovens are different, some run a little hotter some cooler. Some ovens they will have one side hotter than the other. This requires you to turn the food around to even out the cooking.
Trust yourself, you know your oven better that anybody. Don’t be a slave to a recipe – even mine!
If you find your food over colouring turn the oven down a little. And if you need to turn the food around. Do it quickly without leaving the oven door open for ages.
Now we have our pastry well chilled, but if you’re trying to use any pastry in a hot kitchen or at home on a warm summer’s day it’s a great help to chill anything in contact with the pastry.
Work surfaces can be cooled by placing a baking tray where to plan to roll out and throwing some ice cubes into the tray.as they melt it will cool the work surface. Make sure you dry off the surface before you begin. While the surface is cooling pop the rolling pin into the fridge to cool down. I prefer to use a polypropylene pin that is easy to keep clean but also will stay chilled for ages it left in the fridge overnight.
Down to work. Lightly flour the work surface and place your pastry in the centre. Begin to roll gently with the pin, turning around the pastry as you go to even out the stress. Keep rolling and turning dusting with a pinch of flour if needed but don’t use handfuls of it.
Once you have a circle of pastry large enough to fill the tart shell and about 5mm thick roll the pastry around the pin. Bring up the tart tin then carefully unroll the pastry allowing it to drop into the shell tacking care not to cut the pastry off on the edges of the tin.
Take a small piece of spare dough and wrap it in cling film. Use this to press the dough down into the corners of the shell and around the fluted edges. Your fingers will cut through the pastry, but the soft ball of dough will gently form the pastry to the shape of the shell.
If the tart is to be filled with a custard base like a lemon tart don’t remove the excess pastry from the top but carefully fold it over the rim on the outside. This will stop the pastry shrinking down inside the rim during baking and prevent any liquid seeping down between the cooked shall and the tin when the tart is filled for its second bake.
If the shell is to be filled with a firmer filling after baking trim off the excess pastry and pinch up the rim with the fingertips to fix it to the top of the tin. As soon as the tart is completed place it into the fridge to rest for at least an hour before baking.
Its frequent practice in commercial kitchens to use several layers of PVC free cling film to line the shell before adding weight to hold the pastry down. It works very well and produces very neat straight sides as the film moulds to the shape of the shell and keeps pressure on the pastry preventing it from lifting or swelling while in the oven. If your pastry shell is to have a dry or thick filling added, you can lightly prick the base with a fork to release steam. If, however, if you’re using a thin custard like filling, I would avoid this as the filling may leak though to the meatal shell and weld the pastry to the shell.
However, the court is out relating to the possibility of plasticiser leaching into the pastry with the heat of the oven. The film won’t melt it, needs a bit over 200˚c to do that, and we are generally baking at about 175˚c – 180˚c. Commercial film is stronger and thicker than the type to use at home and with the possible plasticiser problem I recommend using greaseproof paper at home.
Before we get to the next steps turn on the oven , we are going to bake at 170ºc -180º (fan) 185˚c – 200˚c conventional. But, I want you to turn the oven up another 20˚c. Then place your baking sheet into the oven to heat up.
Cut off a square of greaseproof at least 6cm larger than the diameter of the tart tin. Fold it in half then turn 90º and fold in half again to form a square. Find the corner of the square that was the centre of the sheet. Hold the corner between finger and thumb then fold the opposite end of the paper over a little like making a paper plane.
Keep repeating the folds until you have a thick wedge shape. Now using scissors trim the open end of the paper wedge in a curve to remove all the loose sections. Open out the paper and with any luck you will have a circle of greaseproof large that the pastry shell.
Before using the paper to line the shell scrunch it up in your hands. In fact, it’s best to squash and crush it two or three times before use. The idea is to make the paper a forgiving as possible and mould itself to the pastry without forming gaps or cutting through the pastry.
Take the lined tart shell and carefully place the paper on top of the pastry. Press the paper into the corners of the shell and add some weight into the paper to hold the pastry down.
Personal preference here is simply to use dried peas, they are cheap, work well and can be re-used many times. Ceramic baking beans don’t do a better job and cost a fortune and please don’t use rice! Some people advocate rice, but I think it’s a nightmare. It’s difficult to remove the rice neatly with the paper after baking, it falls all over the place. Also, and more importantly it can find its way between the paper and the pastry during filling. If that happens the rice sinks into the pastry during baking and is exceedingly difficult to remove. Fine if you like crunchy pastry!
When you are ready to bake open the oven and slide the tart shell onto the pre-heated baking sheet. Turn the oven down to the correct baking temperature and set a timer for 12 minutes.
The idea is quite simple, the act of opening the door and putting in the tart cools the oven down this means the pastry begins to cook at the correct temperature, not sitting in to cool an oven and melting before beginning to set.
If we put the tart into the oven on a cold tray it will take ages for the base of the tart to heat though and again it will be soft, and none of want a soggy bottom, do we….
After the 12 minutes remove the tray from the oven and SHUT THE DOOR. Carefully lift one edge of the paper and have a look at the base of the tart. If it looks uncooked return the tray to the oven for 3-4 minutes more. If the pastry looks cooked but moist lift the paper and beans out of the tart the return it to the oven for another 3 minutes to dry the base.
If you are baking the tart to be used with a liquid filling, like a lemon and lime tart, or my Walnut and Apricot Tart. It’s a good idea to brush the inside of the pastry with an egg yolk beaten with a dash of water before returning the tart to the oven. Its also a good idea to leave the pastry overlap on until the filling is set
The egg yolk will seal any small holes in the pastry and make the pasty resistant to moisture. This will prevent a possible disaster from the filling leaking out, and also keep the pastry crisper for longer.
If your filling is not likely to flow over the edges of the tart, like my Glazed dark Chocolate Tart. Remove the overlapping pastry before filling. To do this, run the blade of a small knife across the top edge of the tin. Work outwards and don’t try to do too much at once. As you shave the top of the pastry the overlap will fall off onto the baking tray.
Don’t waste it! The excess pastry make a great dunking biscuit for the chef’s coffee break.
And bingo… you should have a Blind Baked Pastry Tart to fill or use as you wish. This process is the same for large or small individual tarts give it a go.
Enjoy life!
John.
Hi, my name is John Webber, award winning chef and tutor, now retired to the west coast of Scotland. Welcome to our blog focusing on food, cooking, and countryside. My aim is to pass on my years of skills and knowledge together with an appreciation of the countryside.
Join us to experience the beauty of the west coast, cook some great food and be at ease in the kitchen.
Join The ‘Westcoaster Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter to receive regular updates of what’s new and upcoming at ‘The Westcoaster.’
©John Webber2025
My Luxurious Walnut and Apricot Tart is a variation on a classic Scottish Ecclefechan Tart. Its quite indulgent, yet easy to make. The addition of vinegar in the filling may seem a little strange, yet it is the perfect foil for the richness of the butter and sugar custard the holds the tart together.
Black Olive Tapenade is a spread that bursts with flavour and originates from the Provence region of France. Using simple ingredients, olives, capers, anchovies and olive oil you can create a spread is right up there in the flavour steaks. The anchovies provide an umami / briny hit to the taste, but not all Tapenade recipes use them.
These Expresso Crème Caramels may seem like a throwback to the past, but they still have the wow factor if done well.
The texture needs to be just right, and the caramel cooked to perfection to provide just enough bitterness to offset the sweetness of the cream. In all it’s a good test of cooking skills to show off to your guests. All the work is done ahead of time so its stressless to serve and easy to make.
Bring the 100ml of water for the syrup to the simmer, dissolve the instant coffee into the hot water then remove the pan from the heat.
Real Caramel is not a difficult thing to make but need some concentration, and planning to perform it safely.
I would recommend wearing a pair of rubber gloves when making caramel. As the sugar cooks it reaches very high temperatures that will cause dangerous burns to the skin. The sugar will stick to the skin and believe me, it’s impossible to remove. If this does happen, plunge your skin into the cold water immediately to cool the sugar quickly.
Lock up the kids, pets and take the phone off the hook.
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Firstly, have a bowl of cold water beside you large enough for your caramel pan to fit into.
Pour the sifted sugar evenly over the base of a wide-based pan and set over a medium heat. As the sugar heats it will begin to slowly melt and become liquid. Do not be put off by the colour. The sugar will begin to discolour before it caramelises. Stopping the cooking too soon will result in an overly sweet sauce as its not yet caramelised. You shouldn’t need to stir the sugar it will melt by itself. If you desperately feel the need to stir the pan, use a wooden or silicone spoon. Metal spoons will cool the sugar down and form a lollypop of caramel around the spoon.
When the sugar is ready it will begin to give off a slight blue haze and foam will begin to develop on the surface of the sugar. Don’t delay now; dip the pan into the cold water for two seconds to take the heat from the pan and stop the sugar cooking. If this is not done the heat retained in the pan will continue to cook the sugar and cause it to start burning.
Pour about 1 tablespoon of caramel into the base of each dariole mould. Be careful here as the molten mass is still very hot when the moulds are ready leave them to cool and set.
Return the remainder of the caramel back to the heat and add the hot liquid coffee. Some of the caramel may form into lumps as the coffee is added. Don’t worry, slowly mix the sugar over a low heat until all the lumps have dissolved then pour the sauce into a small bowl to cool completely.
The sauce will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks if needed.
Before you start turn on the oven and set the temperature to 100˚c.
Next warm the milk and cream in a small pan. Split the vanilla pod long ways and gently scrape the inside of the pod with the back of the knife to release the seeds. Add the pod and seeds to the warm liquid with the instant coffee. Bring the pan to the simmer then turn off the heat and leave to stand for five minutes to extract the flavour of the pod.
While the milk mix is standing mix the eggs, egg yolk and sugar together in a mixing bowl. Don’t whisk too much air into the eggs. This can cause the caramels to souffle in the oven and spoil the texture. Pour the warm milk mix over the eggs and mix.
Arrange the moulds in a deep roasting tray or large pan. Strain the coffee custard into a jug. Fill the moulds with the custard, then fill the tray with very hot water to about 2cm from the top of the moulds. Place the tray into an oven set at 100°c and cook for about 35 minutes.
If you are not too sure about carrying a tray of hot water to the oven, use a jug to fill the tray once its safely within the oven.
When the caramels are cooked, they should be set with just a slight wobble on top. Carefully remove the moulds from the water bath and leave to cool completely. Once cool place them in the fridge overnight ready to be served
Flattish soup or dessert plate are the best way of presenting the dessert. Unmould the caramels into the centre of the plate and pour some of the coffee / caramel syrup over the top. Sometimes this presentation is termed as ‘Drowned’ as the caramels are sitting in a moat of syrup.
Unmoulding the Crème Caramels is easy if you take a little care. If you have ever tried to unmould anything only to have it break in half, there is a simple solution. The problem is that to food isn’t stuck to the base of the mould, but a vacuum has formed between the food and the container as it cools. . Run the tip of a small knife around the top edge of the caramel cream, to release the skin that has formed. Now hold the mould horizontally and pull down the edge of the caramel cream with your finger. This should let some air in around the dessert and allow it to slide out of the mould.
Yes, your right, most domestic recipes use granulated sugar with some water added to make caramel. This does work but has its problems.
As the sugar dissolves into the water, it forms a syrup. The idea then is to evaporate all the water leaving just liquid sugar which can be cooked to a caramel.
What tends to happen in practice is that the sugar syrup becomes very dense and if stirred or exposed to any sugar crystals it will go crystalline and suddenly set in the pan. A drop of lemon juice can help resist this but its best to do as we do and avoid the water all together.
Granulated sugar is more difficult to melt in a dry pan. And as most people will be inexperienced in making caramel, caster sugar is the easiest to use.
Enjoy Life!
John.
Hi, my name is John Webber, award winning chef and tutor, now retired to the west coast of Scotland. Welcome to our blog focusing on food, cooking, and countryside. My aim is to pass on my years of skills and knowledge together with an appreciation of the countryside.
Join us to experience the beauty of the west coast, cook some great food and be at ease in the kitchen.
Join The ‘Westcoaster Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter to receive regular updates of what’s new and upcoming at ‘The Westcoaster.’
©John Webber2025
Egyptian Dukkha is a mixture of nuts and spices often eaten as a dip with bread moistened with olive oil. But it’s not a one trick pony, it can be used as a crusty coating for grilled fish or try it as a finishing sprinkle on roasted vegetables, soups or hummus.
The name refers to the Arabic term for pounding, and the mix is made by pounding roasted nuts, and spices together in a mora and pestle. It should be in crushed but not powdered form, unlike many spice mixes.
These Garlic and Za’atar Knots are a tear and come again treat. Perfect for a get together and irresistible after the first bite. When you think of feta cheese, a Greek salad of filo pastry pie might come to mind. But I bet you didn’t think it could become a dip!
This Cheese, and Rosemary Christmas Tree is a terrific addition to any Christmas party, and best of all its quick and easy to make. Use it to form a centrepiece for your party table. Each branch of the ‘tree’ breaks off to become a cheese straw ready to be dipped into a suitable sauce. I like to use my Tomato and Chilli jam as a dip. But it could be anything you like.
I have served this alongside some Air Fryer Bacon and Avocado Wedges, they have a basil and garlic Aioli served with them. You can dip the branches of the ‘tree’ into ether one to ring the changes.
If you have suitable fridge space, make the ‘tree’ the day before and bake before your guests arrive.
Tomato and Chilli jam
Open the two packets of puff pastry and slide the pastry out. Take the lined baking tray and carefully unroll the pastry onto the tray, removing the baking paper as you unroll.
Take the second roll of pastry and unroll it on top of the first sheet, this time keeping the backing paper in place to prevent the two layers sticking together.
Using a small sharp knife cut a tall triangle to resemble a Christmas tree shape. Trim the base of the triangle down leaving a small section to make the stump of the tree. Having a straight edge like a skewer or ruler helps a lot with this.
The baking paper makes the cutting a little more difficult, but its worth it to avoid having the prise the two layers apart if they have welded themselves together. Lift off the trimmings and put then to one side to use later, if you don’t need it straight away pop it into the freezer.
Lift off the top layer of pastry using the paper to help you. Sprinkle paprika sparingly over the base, then spread the grated parmesan over the top Put the grated Cheddar cheese on top of that followed by a dusting of chopped rosemary leaves and a few turns of the back mill pepper.
Take the Top layer of pastry and turn it over so the baking paper is on top. Lay the pastry on top of the cheese, lining up the two layers as neatly as possible. You can now remove the remaining baking paper from the pastry. Lightly press the top layer of pastry down and run your finger around the edges of the pastry.
Using the sharp knife again and starting at the top (pointed end) of the tree, make even cuts through the pastry about 1.5cm apart on one side of the tree. This will make the branches of the tree. The cuts need to be a little longer as you move down the tree, but make sure you leave the centre (trunk) of the tree uncut.
Now to finish our tree off, start at the top of the tree and take a branch in your fingers and give it a twist, lightly pinching the end together. Move down the tree twisting each branch. As the branches become longer you can put more turns on each branch, try to make the twist looking even on each piece. Once you have done all the branches on one side, repeat the process on the other side. Be careful to twist the pastry in the same direction to make each side match.
Brush the tree all over with egg wash and mix the sesame and nigella sees together, then sprinkle over the pastry.
Bake in a 200˚c (180˚c fan) oven for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat down to 180˚c (165˚c fan) for another 10-15 minutes. When ready it should be a golden brown and crisp.
Let the tree cool on the baking tray, then carefully lift on to a serving dish or board. A pizza peel is an ideal tool if you have one.
Serve just warm with a bowl of tomato and chilli jam on the side to act as a dip. Of course, you could just use tomato ketchup instead if you wish.
Hi yes, there is a wealth of fillings you can use. For the adults try pesto, tapenade, or sun blushed tomatoes. For the children you can use chocolate spread, jam, or fruit purees. Give the cooked tree a dusting of icing sugar and have some ice cream on hand to go with the pastry.
Enjoy Life!
John.
Hi, my name is John Webber, award winning chef and tutor, now retired to the west coast of Scotland. Welcome to our blog focusing on food, cooking, and countryside. My aim is to pass on my years of skills and knowledge together with an appreciation of the countryside.
Join us to experience the beauty of the west coast, cook some great food and be at ease in the kitchen.
Join The ‘Westcoaster Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter to receive regular updates of what’s new and upcoming at ‘The Westcoaster.’
© Copywrite, John Webber. 2024
Bacon and Avocado Wedges make an interesting party snack that is quick to both make, and serve.
Most people only think of avocado ether in a salad or as a support for prawns. They are much more versatile than that. This recipe makes use of classic flavours that marry well with avocado, bacon, garlic, lemon, and basil.
The ubiquitous Brussel Sprout must be the largest topic of discussion at the Christmas dinner table. Love them or hate them they are here to stay so why not make them the biggest hit of the meal.
Make a Christmas Stollen this year and forgo the heavy Christmas cake!
Most countries that celebrate Christmas have a tradition cake enjoyed while celebrating the festival. The French have the Bûche de Noël. The Italians, enjoy Panettone, while the Polish have Makowiec, a rolled poppy seed cake glazed with icing sugar.
The Stollen, is a German fruit bread made with yeast, and contains dried fruits, candied citrus peel, nuts and spices. Traditionary marzipan is folded into the dough before baking. If that’s not to your taste, it can easily be left out of the recipe.
The classic shape of a lopsided pyramid is created by carful rolling out. I’ll show you how to do this step by step. Don’t be put off the list of ingredients, it’s not as difficult as it looks.
The night before baking, take a small bowl and add the mixed peel and raisins. Pour the warm water and rum over the fruit and mix well. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave to stand overnight.
As this is quite a rich dough, so we are going to make a ferment. This is simply a yeast batter that lets the yeast begin to work before been exposed to high volumes of fat or sugar.
Sieve the flour into the mixing bowl, then take about 100g of the flour and put it to one side.
Make a well in the centre of the flour then crumble the fresh yeast if using into the well and pour in the milk or pour in the dried yeast / milk mix. Stir lightly to dissolve the yeast then mix in a little flour but not the full amount. This will form a thin batter that will allow the yeast to get a foothold in the mixture. Cover the bowl and leave for about 10 to 15 mins so the mix begins to froth.
In a second bowl beat the egg with the sugar, salt, vanilla, lemon zest and spices then add to the flour mix and mix well to form a dough. Cover the bowl again and leave to rise in a draught free place for half an hour.
Once the dough has relaxed and the yeast is working, it’s time to add the butter.
Take the butter and work in the remainder of the reserved flour to thicken the butter a little. This will make it easier to work the butter into the prepared dough. Knead the mix into the dough without overworking it, then fold in the soaked fruits and almonds.
Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with cling film and leave to rise until doubled in size. While the dough is rising make ready some melted butter to coat the Stollen.
When the dough is well risen, tip it out onto the work surface knock it back lightly. Then form the dough into a ball and place to one side. Take the marzipan and roll it out into a rectangle 25cm long and about 5mm thick.
Put the mazipan to one side and bring the ball of dough back into the table and dust with a little flour. Using your hands for the dough into a shape 28cm long, then take a rolling pin and press down the centre of the shape. Roll the pin back and forth to roll out the dough aiming for the centre of the dough to be roughly 6mm thick and the top and bottom of the shape to be about 4cm in thickness. Think of it like looking at a pair of lips on the worksurface.
Brush the centre section (the thinnest part) of the dough with melted butter, then lay the rolled sheet of marzipan on top. Take the edge of the dough nearest to you and fold it away from you over the marzipan. Now lift the top edge of the dough towards you enveloping the first fold. It should not quite fold all the way over as this will create the classic shape.
Lift the folded Stollen onto a lined baking tray. I would advise using a baking mat or layering up a few sheets of baking paper on the tray. As I found out, the rich dough will overbake on the bottom if it’s not protected. Lightly drape a piece of clingfilm over the Stollen and leave to prove until double in size.
Bake at 200˚c (180˚c fan oven) for 35 minutes, then turn the oven down to 180˚c (165˚c fan oven) for a further 10 to 15 minutes.
When ready, remove and brush the surface of the Stollen with melted butter, then dust liberally with icing sugar. You may find it necessary to dust more icing sugar over the Stollen as it cools.
When it has cooled completely, transfer the stollen to an air-tight tin. Try to leave the Stollen a day or two before eating.
Yes, it will be fine. The fast action (bread maker) yeast is a little quicker, but as we are making a ferment any type of yeast will work. The main difference between the two is that while fast action yeast can be added directly into flour. Dried yeast needs to be reconstituted in liquid before use.
Hi, my name is John Webber, award winning chef and tutor, now retired to the west coast of Scotland. Welcome to our blog focusing on food, cooking, and countryside. My aim is to pass on my years of skills and knowledge together with an appreciation of the countryside.
Join us to experience the beauty of the west coast, cook some great food and be at ease in the kitchen.
Join The ‘Westcoaster Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter to receive regular updates of what’s new and upcoming at ‘The Westcoaster.’
© Copywrite, John Webber. 2024
Serve these Christmas Pudding Souffles to you guests and you will instantaneously be seen as a culinary genius. People are always impressed by a served a souffle, in fact they are a lot easier than people imagine.
Harissa Paste is a condiment originating from Tunisia and one of those flavours that once tasted, you become hooked on. If you like spicy, rich flavours, then this is a must-have ingredient in your kitchen.