Creme Brûlée Tart
It'‘s no secret that any dessert with even the slightest amount of dairy is going to be delicious. Creme brûlées are simply perfect. They have the right level of sweetness and if you use the torch blower correctly, you'll also get a crisp top. I’ll be honest, I was nervous about putting something as fluid as creme brûlée in a tart shell. I was convinced that each time I opened the oven, I would find the creme brûlée just pouring out. Luckily that did not happen. What I did encounter was that I had left over of the mixture. I think this was probably due to the tart bottom probably being too thick. But nonetheless it was delicious. What is great about this, is if you end up with leftovers (I know, impossible), it tastes just as great a few days later.
Of all the crusts I’ve made, I have to admit that making a tart crust was the hardest. I had to do the recipe twice. The first time I did it with a blender and the butter refused to mix in. The second time I used a dough blender/cutter and although it broke down the butter a lot better, it was very tedious and at one point my hand was in pain. I can’t say I am too happy with the outcome of the tart crust but overall it ended up working out and tasted amazing!
Ingredients for Tart Crust
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 to 5 tablespoons ice water
Ingredients for Custard filling
1/2 vanilla bean
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
2/3 cup whole milk
4 large egg yolks
1 whole large egg
1/2 cup sugar, divided
1/8 teaspoon salt
Directions for Tart Crust:
Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl (or pulse in a food processor). Blend in butter with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse) until mixture resembles coarse meal with some roughly pea-size lumps of butter. Add 3 tablespoons water and stir into flour (or pulse) until incorporated.
Gently squeeze a small handful of dough: If it doesn't hold together, add water, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, stirring (or pulsing) after each addition. Do not overwork dough or pastry will be tough.
Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 8 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather dough into a ball, then flatten into a 5-inch disk. Chill dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.
Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 13-inch round. Fit dough into tart pan and fold overhang inward to reinforce side. Chill until firm, about 30 minutes.
Lightly prick bottom of shell all over with a fork, then line with parchment or foil and fill with pie weights. Bake until edge is pale golden and side is set, 20 to 25 minutes.
Carefully remove weights and parchment and bake shell until golden, 10 to 15 minutes more.
Remove tart shell from oven and reduce temperature to 300°F
Directions for Custard filling:
While shell bakes, split vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape seeds into a heavy medium saucepan with tip of a paring knife. Add pod to saucepan with cream and milk. Heat over medium heat until hot, then let steep off heat 30 minutes.
Whisk together yolks, whole egg, 6 tablespoons sugar, and salt in a quart measuring cup, then whisk into cream mixture until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve back into measuring cup.
Put tart shell (in pan) in a 4-sided sheet pan. Put in oven, then pour custard into shell. Bake until just set but still slightly wobbly in center, 30 to 35 minutes (custard will continue to set as it cools). Remove tart from sheet pan and cool on a rack 30 minutes. Remove side of pan and cool to room temperature, about 1 hour more.
Just before serving, sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons sugar evenly over top of tart. Move blowtorch flame evenly back and forth just above top of tart, avoiding crust, until sugar is caramelized and slightly browned. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
