Weekend Baking Session # 25

Weekend Baking Session this week celebrates its 25th round with an Improved Indian Dessert.

Carrot Halva Tartlets

What do we need:

Almond Pastry
3/4 cup plain flour
1/4 cup ground almond
1/4 cup cold butter
1/4 tsp salt
ice water, as needed

Carrot Halva
2 cups carrots, grated finely
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp ghee
4 cardamoms, powdered
a pinch of saffron strands

slivered almonds for garnishing

How do we do it:

Combine flour, salt and ground almond. Grate cold butter into the mixture. Rub lightly with fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Gradually, add the ice cold water 1 tablespoon at a time just until the dough binds together. Make sure not to over work the dough. Wrap with cling film and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Heat ghee and fry the grated carrots slightly. Pour milk and sprinkle the saffron strands. Let it boil. Cook the carrot to soft paste stage. Now, add the sugar and continue cooking while stirring. Remove from heat when the halwa looks gooey.

Divide the pastry dough into 8 portions. Press each portion evenly into greased tart mould. Trim edges to remove excess pastry. Prick base of each tart with a fork. Cover and chill again for about 15 minutes. Then, blind bake the pasty cases in a preheated oven at 200º C for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and place the tartlets on a wire rack to cool.

To assemble, fill the tartlets with cool carrot halva. Top with slivered almonds.

Weekend Baking Session # 16

Today I had some guests for high tea. I made an array of goodies. One of them is something that I had wanted to make for a long time. Finally, found the right time. Here it is.....

Cherry Tartlets

What do we need:

Short Crust Pastry
1 cup flour
1/4 cup butter
1 egg yolk
A pinch of salt

Filling
1 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp custard powder
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

Topping
1 can cherry compote
1 tsp corn flour
1 tbsp water

1 tbsp cherry preserve

How do we do it:

Grate cold butter into the flour. Add salt. Rub lightly with fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk. Knead very lightly to form smooth pastry. Wrap with a cling film and chill the pastry in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Divide the pastry dough into 8 portions. Press each portion evenly into greased tart mould. Trim edges to remove excess pastry. Prick base of each tart with a fork. Cover and chill again for about 15 minutes. Then, blind bake the pasty cases in a preheated oven at 200º C for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and place the tartlets on a wire rack to cool.

Combine all the filling ingredients together in a heavy bottomed pan. Whick contantly until the mixture thickens. Let the filling to cool completely.

Simmer the cherries together with the syrup. When the syrup reduces to half, stir in the corn flour mixed with water. Stir briskly until the mixture thickens. Set aside to cool completely.

To assemble, lightly spread the cherry preserve in the pastry shells. then, fill with a tablespoon of the filling. Finally, top with the cherries.

Weekend Baking Session # 3

This week of Weekend Baking Session, I intend to bake tarts. Been a while since I baked them. I love tarts though they are sinfull due to the amount of fat used in the pastry. I prefer baking little tartlets compared to a big ones. I think they look better and neater. I have tried out fruits, egg, coconut, cherry and lemon tarts before. This time I am going to go for orange tarts.

Orange Tartlets

What do we need:

Sweet Short Crust Pastry:


1 1/2 cups plain flour
1/2 cup butter, cold
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 an egg
1 tsp lemon juice
cold water, as necessary

Orange Filling:


3/4 cup orange juice
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 1/2 eggs
1/4 cup sugar, or as desired
1/2 tbsp custard powder
1 tbsp orange zest or 1 tsp orange essence

What do we do:

Sift flour and add the sugar. Grate cold butter into the flour mixture and rub lightly with fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add lightly beaten half an egg and lemon juice. Stir in the cold water, if necessary. Knead very lightly to form smooth pastry. Wrap with a cling film and chill the pastry in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Divide the pastry dough into 10 portions. Press each portion evenly into greased tart mould. Trim edges to remove excess pastry. Prick base of each tart with a fork. Cover and chill again for about 15 minutes. Then, blind bake the pasty cases in a preheated oven at 200º C for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and place the tartlets on a wire rack to cool.


Meanwhile, mix all the filling ingredients together and beat until the sugar has dissolved. Sieve the mixture to ensure that it is free of lumps. Pour the filling into each pastry case. Bake in a preheated oven at 180º C for 20 -25 minutes or until filling is set. Transfer the tartlets to wire rack to cool. Then, cover and refigerate until well chilled, about 1 hour.


Serve the orange tartlet with a dollop of whipped cream.