Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Vanilla-Mango Tartelettes


Yes, it's officially fall. Time to dust off the coats, scarves, gloves and snow shovels - they will become handy really soon! 
Since I am still in denial about that fall arriving (join me, denial it's fun!), I am going to behave as if it is still 80 degrees and sunny outside, and prepare a dessert with the oh-so-tropical-and-summer-y mango! 


Catching a tan in the sun! I mean, in the oven...
And now we're cooling off in room temperature!

The tartelettes crust in this recipe is based on a chocolate "porcupine" recipe by Micky Shemo.
The vanilla filling is based on an "Egg Tarts" recipe by Gal

Vanilla-Mango Tartelettes
Yields: 12 Tartelettes

WHAT:

for the crust: 
  • 50 grams sugar
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, cold, cubed
  • 1 egg
  • 210 grams (1 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • [optional, if mixture is too dry] 1-2 tsp milk
  • [optional, if mixture is too soft/wet] 1-2 tsp flour
for the vanilla filling: 
  • 300 grams (3/4 can) sweetened condensed milk.
    [Keep the 1/4 leftover can in the fridge, well wrapped (it should be good for a week or two) and prepare Caramel Apple Blondies next week!]
  • 4 eggs
  • 200 ml milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract / paste
for the mango frosting:
  • 100 grams peeled, cubed mango (fresh or frozen, not thawed)
  • 250 ml (1 cup) heavy whipping cream, cold
  • 3 heaping tbsp sugar
  • 1 heaping tbsp vanilla pudding mix (powder)

HOW:
  • Crust: Sift flour and baking powder into a large bowl.
  • In a food processor or a mixer with a flat beater, mix together butter and sugar until well combined. 
  • Add in egg and a quarter of the flour mixture. Mix for a few seconds. 
  • Add in the rest of the flour mixture. Mix until a large dough-ball is formed, not beyond. 
  • If mixture is too dry and not solidifying into a ball, add 1 or 2 tsp of milk, as needed. 
  • If mixture is too soft/wet and not solidifying into a ball, add 1 or 2 tsp of flour, as needed. 
  • Form the dough into a 1/2 inch thick disc shape. 
  • Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes (or more). 
  • Pre-heat oven to 390 degrees (F)
  • Remove refrigerated dough from plastic wrap, and knead/mold a little with your hands, to warm it up a bit. 
  • Using a rolling pin, flatten the dough to be ~3-4 mm thick on a generously-flour-dusted surface. 
  • Using a 4-inch-diameter cookie/biscuit cutter or a similar tool with which you can cut round shapes (e.g. a small bowl), cut 12 "discs" out of the flattened dough. 
  • [Leftover dough? Make some jam sandwich cookies!]
  • Line a regular cupcake/muffin pan with the dough "discs" (no need to oil the pan or line it with paper liners), pressing each disc to the bottom and sides of each cupcake/muffin "cavity" to form the tartelettes' crusts. 
  • Using a fork, puncture the bottom of each disc a couple of times (to prevent air-pockets). 
  • Wrap the pan tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil and freeze until pre-bake assembly. 
  • Filling (prepare while pan is in the freezer)
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together sweetened condensed milk, eggs and vanilla extract/paste until well combined. 
  • Strain the mixture through a fine mesh into a clean medium-large bowl. 
  • Add milk to the mixture and whisk everything together until well combined. 
  • Transfer mixture to a vessel with a pouring tip/nozzle (such a large measuring glass). 
  • Pre-bake assembly: Take out the pan with the tartelette-crusts from the freezer, remove wrap.
  • Carefully fill each tartelette crust with the filling-mixture until completely full. 
  • Carefully transfer the pan to the oven. Bake tartelettes for 10 minutes. 
  • Reduce oven heat to 355 degrees (F) and bake for another 10 minutes. 
  • Turn off the oven, leave the tartelettes in the oven for another 10 minutes. 
  • Remove pan from the oven, let it sit in room temperature until completely cooled down, at least 1-2 hours. 
  • [The tartelettes will puff-up in the oven, then lose some of their volume while cooling down, especially in the center (see the "in the oven" image vs. the "cooling-off" image above) - it's fine.]
  • At this stage, it is recommended to take the tartelettes out of the pan (it would be harder to do so once they are frosted).
    You can put each tartelette in a cupcake-paper-liner at this stage, if you'd like.
    In order to take the tartelettes out of the pan, use a very thin small knife or a small offset spatula (slide knife/spatula between the crust and the pan and run it all around each cavity in the pan until tartelette edges are completely released from the sides of the cavity. Now slide the knife/spatula underneath the tartelette to release it from the bottom of the cavity and use it to gently lift the tartelette on one side; take the tartelette out of the pan with your other hand). 
  • Mango frosting: Puree the mango in a food processor or blender with 1/2 cup heavy cream until a smooth paste is formed. 
  • Transfer the mango paste to a mixer with a whipping attachment, and whip with the other 1/2 cup heavy cream and vanilla pudding mix until well combined and firm. 
  • If the frosting is not firming up well and you are concerned about over-whipping which may "break" the heavy cream, simply mix as much as you can until almost completely firm, wrap the frosting and put it in the fridge for a few minutes - that should further firm up the mixture a bit. 
  • Using a pastry bag with a star tip, frost each tartelette with the frosting. 
  • Enjoy!

Leftovers? Keep the tartelettes in an air-tight container in the fridge. 
The tartelettes are at their best on the first two days, afterwards the crust may become softer. I recommend to consume within 4-5 days.


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