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SWEET PASTE; LA PÂTE SUCRÉE

Sweet pastry is made using the creaming method, butter is aerated with the sugar before the liquid ingredients are combined and worked to a smooth cream. This mixture contains a large amount of fat, so it tends not to work the flour too much because the flour is added at the last stage.

It is important to remember that the liquid ingredients used in a paste are composed of fats (for example eggs, instead of water) there is less chance of the gluten within the flour being activated, resulting in a flakier and lighter textured crust.

COMMON USES OF SWEET PASTRY

Egg custard

Fruit tart, tartlets and barquettes

French apple flan ( Flan aux pommes)

Lemon tart ( tart au citron)

Lemon meringue pie

Pear and almond tart

Pecan pie

Baked chocolate tart

White chocolate and citrus meringue tart

CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW, TO WATCH A VIDEO ON SWEET PASTRY BEING MADE.

TIPS FOR MAKING SWEET PASTRY.

Use butter at room temperature.

If using a machine to make the sweet pastry ensure you use the paddle attachment.

Sweet pastry is made using soft or all purpose/ plain flour.

Once all the ingredients are mixed in the texture should be soft but not sticky.

Wrap in cling film after making. Create a large surface area by flattening out the sweet pastry. This will ensure it chills evenly.

Ensure the mixture is well rested in the fridge prior to rolling.

Once rested work the paste on a lightly floured surface to create a ball and a pliable paste.

Roll out on a lightly floured surface.

Once lined into a flan ring, rest again prior to baking blind.

If you over handle the paste it will cause the gluten to be over worked resulting in a tough texture.

HINT FOR LINING A FLAN RING

Roll out the paste evenly and about 3cm larger than the ring to be lined. Brush off any excess flour from the paste.

Roll up the paste on the rolling pin. Lay over the flan ring ensure the rolling pin does not touch the ring other wise the pastry will get cut.

Gently using your fingers, or a piece of left over pastry. Push the paste into the sides of the flan ring.

Using the rolling pin cut away the excess pastry.

Bake blind by firstly covering the pastry with doubled cling film, then fill with baking beans.

Rest again prior to baking to minimalise shrinkage.

LINING A FLAN CASE

Click on the links below, to watch the two video clips on lining a flan ring with sweet pastry.

BAKING BLIND

Baking blind means cooking with minimal colour. In order to achieve this the oven needs to be preheated to 150°C for fan assisted ovens or 160°C for non fan.

A 7 “ flan case filled with baking beans will take around 25-35 minutes to bake blind.

One way of ensuring the base cooks quickly is to preheat a tray in the oven and place the lined flan ring on to the preheated tray.

WAYS TO PREVENT THE BAKED BLIND TART SHELL FROM GOING SOFT.

Once sweet paste has been baked blind it can then be filled with a wet filling such as a lemon tart mixture. In order to prevent the pastry from going soft or absorbing the lemon tart filling, brush the pre- baked blind flan ring with beaten egg and return back to the oven for a minute or so. This creates a seal and prevents the tart shell from absorbing the liquid during and after the cooking process.

Fresh Fruit tart- require the pastry to be cooked blind before filling with pastry cream or crème diplomat. The most common way of preventing the pastry from going soft is to brush the inside of the tart shell with melted white or dark chocolate. This is then allowed to harden before filling with the crème patisserie and then decorated with the fresh fruit and then glazed.

SUET PASTE (PÂTE À GRASSE DE BOEUF)

Suet pastry can be cooked by boiling, steaming or baking. It is used for plain puddings that are made of fresh fruit such as apples, gooseberries, blackberries and for dumplings. If correctly produce it will form a light and soft cooked paste. The suet will not be evident in the end cooked product.

The suet must not be melted before use, but can be minced or shredded as fine as possible prior to being added to flour and cold water.

HISTORY ON SUET PASTRY

Suet pastry dates backed to the Victorian times. Desserts such as jam roly poly and spotted dick were created during these times. Suet pastry was often served up as a sweet dish, but savoury recipes do exist as well.

VIDEO ON SUET PASTE BEING MADE

Link below to recipe for suet pastry

http://www.deliaonline.com/how-to-cook/baking/how-to-make-suet-pastry.html

WHAT IS SUET

Suet is the fat found around the beef kidneys.  As it is the fat from around the kidneys, the connective tissue, blood and other non-fat items must be removed. It then needs to be coarsely grated to make it ready to use. It must be kept refrigerated prior to use and used within a few days of purchase, just like meat.

Vegetable suet is available in most supermarkets. Vegetarian suet is made from fat such as palm oil combined with rice flour. It resembles shredded beef suet, and is used as a vegetarian substitute in recipes, but with slightly different results from animal suet.

POSSIBLE REASONS FOR FAULTS IN SUET PASTE

Heavy and soggy

Too low cooking temperature.

Leakage in cartouche or silicon wrapping

Too much liquid added.

Hard texture

Over handling

Over cooked.

HOW TO STEAM A SUET PUDDING

Below is a link to a video explaining how to steam a pudding the first video is by Lesley Walters.

Then click on the ‘How to Steam a pudding’ for a link to the BBC Good Food website for a demonstration on how to wrap steam a pudding.