Baked Apple and Custard Tarts

While I was making the Quiche Lorraine yesterday, I had a tiny bit of pastry left over for the crust. I decided to try something VERY out of my element.

[  Makes: 6  |  TIME: 30 MIN  |  COST: $4  ]
[  JOES’ RATING: 4  / 5  |  MY RATING: 4  / 5 ]

Ingredients

Filling: Inspired from Essential Kids

1 apple
2 free ranged eggs
2 free ranged egg yolks (in addition to the above)
¼ cup soy milk
¼ cup sugar substitute (or sugar)
sprinkle of nutmeg for garnish

Crust: recipe from Richard Packham

1 2/3 cup white flour
2/3 cup butter
½ cup sourdough starter
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda

Method

1. To prepare the crust, sift flour, salt and baking soda together. Cut in the butter until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in 1/2 cup fresh starter, just until all ingredients are moistened. Add a few drops water if too dry, a spoonful more flour if to moist. Cover or wrap and let stand 30 – 60 minutes.
2. Roll out the pie crust on a floured surface, turning the dough a ¼ each roll to form a circle. Carefully press it into a greased muffin tins. Place some baking paper carefully onto the pastry and half fill it with dried split peas, heavy dried beans or coffee beans. Bake in a preheated oven (200°C) for 10 minutes. Remove the beans and baking paper and bake for a further 10 minutes until golden.
3. Peel the apple and slice into thinnish wedges. Add to a saucepan with enough water to just cover it and cook for a few minutes, until tender. Allow to cool.
4. Whisk the eggs, milk and sugar together until light and fluffy.
5. Place a few cooled apple pieces to the bottom of each muffin and pour in the egg mixture. Top with a sprinkle of nutmeg for garnish.
6. Bake at 160°C for 40 – 55 minutes. Check regularly by inserting the tip of a knife into the tart. It is ready when the knife comes out clean.
7. Allow to cool slightly and serve with *whisper* ice cream

Observation

• I over cooked mine ever so slightly resulting in a slightly dry tart. Mine was ready in about 40 minutes so take care.
• Simple recipe, delicious results.
• Diabetic Note: Ice cream? What are you talking about?! I don’t eat that – its bad for diabetics…
• Ethical Note: I made this simply to use up the left over dough from the quick, and I am glad I did. No waste = win!

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Sourdough Blueberry Muffins

For weeks now, I have been battling with trying to get a sourdough starter established. After two trials (and failures) I’ve finally got a stable, happy sourdough. The starter method I used can be found on the Sourdough Home – a comprehensive site dedicated to bath water sourdough. Anyway, for my first trial baking, I decided to try something that looked appealing. The original recipe can be found on the Sourdough home’s muffin page and full credit goes to Mike for it. I also hope he wont mind me meddling with his original recipe…

[  Makes: 8 – 10  |  TIME: 40 MIN  |  COST: <$5  ]

[  Joes Rating  3 / 5  |  MY RATING:  2 / 5 ]

Ingredients

1 cup wholemeal flour
1 cup sourdough starter
½ cup blueberries
¼ cup almond slivers
¼ cup sugar or sugar substitute
¼ cup oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
¼ teaspoon salt

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 220°C (425°F)
2. Mix all the dry ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
3. Mix all the wet ingredients in a medium bowl.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the moist ingredients, slowly stirring in the blueberries and nuts.
5. Spray muffin tray with oil. Fill the muffins to the top.
6. Bake for 20 minutes.

Observations

• I have to say right up front that I am not a baker. I generally leave the baking up to my daughter Brittany. Having said that, I can’t say that this was hugely successful. The taste and texture were all a little… bread like. Notwithstanding, it is my first attempt at sourdough anything so in a sense, it’s a huge success! =)
• This was a very thick dough like mixture rather than a smooth batter. In hindsight, perhaps 50% wholemeal and 50% white flour could have been used, and perhaps a dash of milk.
• I cant wait to try to make other sourdough baked goods… look out for breads, muffins, bagels and pancakes coming your way soon!
• Diabetic Note: All this flour means carbohydrates. According to the website, each muffin is about 26 grams of carbs. Adjust accordingly.
• Ethical Note: I’ve been doing quite a bit of research recently into flour.  Did you know that most white flour use steam to remove the husk, killing a lot of the nutrients along the way? As a result, manufacturers have to include additives to lift the nutrient values back to an acceptable level. Before it reaches you, the flour is also bleached to make that bright white colour that so many of us seem attracted to. Now ask yourself, how can this be sustainable, ethical or practical? Where possible, use organic wholemeal flours. Your intestines will thank you for it.

A sourdough starter fermenting. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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