Pies and Tarts

My oldest son likes Mangos and other tropical fruits, after a visit from my son I had some Mangos and Persimmon fruit left over and I did not have recipes for these fruit. So I decided to invent my own.

I didn’t have recipes for Mango tarts or Persimmon tarts so I started with a Pumpkin pie recipe and modified it for the Persimmon tarts. The Persimmon tarts tasted great but they looked just like small Pumpkin pies.

Lesson 1; dark spices dark filling, should have realized that since it was not the first time I have made Pumpkin pie.

With the Mango tarts I avoided dark spices and the fillings came out a nice yellow with a mango and a hint of almond flavor.

Step 1: The Crust

Now if you are in a hurry or get lazy you can go out and buy pie and tart crusts, but for that homemade feeling I like to make mine.

I also like to reuse the tin pie and tart plates you can buy or get when you buy a pie or tarts.

For mixing the pastry dough you will need a pastry cutter, the cutter is for cutting in the lard, butter, or margarine into your pastry dough so it forms little balls that turn into flakes when you roll out the dough.

For flaky pastry and crusts cold is your friend, cold ingredients, cold tools, and a cool room for mixing the ingredients.

I always get 1 pie and 2 tarts from one pastry mix but that is OK, I have 2 sons and they leave the pie alone for after dinner if they can eat the tarts.

Step 2: Ingredients

1/2 cup cold unsalted butter.

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed

1 egg yolk

1 tea spoon vanilla extract

2 table spoon cold water

Step 3: Directions

Mix flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl, mix in egg yolk, cold water, and vanilla, add the butter and cut in with the pastry cutter until mixture forms small moist clumps.

If dough is dry, add more water by tea spoons full to moisten.

Mixing and cutting in the butter can warm up the dough; so gather dough into ball and flatten into a disk. Wrap the disk in plastic and refrigerate until dough is firm enough to roll. This can take about 30 minutes.

When the dough is ready; roll out the dough on a flour coated board, with a flour coated rolling pin.

Flip the dough and coat the dough, board, and rolling pin with flour, and roll again. Repeat this until the dough is the desired thickness.

Once the dough is the right thickness place it on a flour coated pie plate and cut off the excess, the handle of a butter knife taped on the edge of the crust makes for a nice decretive finish.

For the tarts I used a 3 1/4 inch tin can to cut my tart crusts to size.

The pastry dough can be prepared 1 day ahead of time, just keep refrigerated and let soften slightly at room temperature before rolling.

I like to use tin pie and tart plates line them with the pastry dough and freeze for later use.

Step 4: Persimmon Tarts

Prep time: 45 mins.

Cook time: 30 mins.

Makes: 10 to 12 tarts.

Ingredients

2 very ripe persimmons

2 large eggs

3 table spoons sweetened condensed milk

3 table spoons soft brown sugar

1 tea spoons ground ginger

1 tea spoons ground cinnamon

1 tea spoon lemon juice

1 tea spoon Vanilla

Unbaked tart crusts

Instructions

Peel and dice the flesh from ripe persimmon’s.

Put the diced persimmon in a blender with the rest of the ingredients, and puree until it’s completely smooth.

Step 5: Baking

Preheat oven to 375⁰F or 180⁰C.

Spoon the filling into the tart cases, filling them to the top and place on a cookie sheet.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until the pastry is golden and the filling has set.

Just like Pumpkin pie, the filling should rise above the crust and fall back down when cooled.

Step 6: Mango Tarts

Prep time: 45 mins.

Cook time: 30 mins.

Makes: 10 to 12 tarts.

Ingredients

2 very ripe mangos

2 large eggs

3 table spoons sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup white sugar

1 tea spoon lemon juice

1 tea spoon almond extract

Unbaked tart crusts

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375⁰F or 180⁰C.

Prepare the mango tarts the same as the persimmon tarts.

Peel and dice the flesh from the mangos.

Put the diced mangos in a blender with the rest of the other ingredients, and puree until it’s completely smooth.

Spoon the filling into the tart crusts, filling them to the top and place on a cookie sheet.

Bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until the pastry is golden and the filling has set.

Step 7: Pumpkin Pie

Prep 15 mins.

Cook 55 mins.

Ready In 1 hour 10 mins.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree

1 cup Sweetened Condensed Milk

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

Directions

Preheat oven to 375⁰F or 180⁰C.

Whisk pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, spices and salt in medium bowl until smooth.

Pour filling into crust and place on a cookie sheet.

Bake in preheated oven for about 55 minutes or until the pastry is golden and the filling has set.

The filling should rise above the crust and fall back down when cooled.