roasted nectarine tart

Stone fruits! There's nothing like the feeling of biting into a ripe peach, plum or nectarine and having the juice dribble not-so-daintily down your chin. An outing to our local greengrocers (also known as "that-place-we-bought-four-punnets-of-grape-tomatoes-at") landed me with 8 white nectarines, and a not-so-sunny afternoon landed me with a hankering to bake.


I'd made this tart before. Sort of. Well, I'd made the pastry before, with a chocolate and pear filling. And I'd made the creme patisserie before (to eat with a spoon). But I'd never made the whole recipe before - and I'm so glad I did. It's a tarrific mouthful. Smooth, creamy creme pat. melding with the crunchy, sweet pastry and the tart baked nectarines. Mmmyum!

roasted nectarine tart
adapted from Women's Weekly Best Food Collection

Ingredients for the pastry:

250g plain flour
110g icing sugar mixture
125g cold butter, chopped
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp cold water (approx)

note: this will make enough for two pies, so wrap half of it in cling wrap and toss it in the freezer for next time

Ingredients for the creme pat:

300ml thickened cream
250ml milk
110g caster sugar
1 vanilla bean (I used 1 tsp vanilla bean paste)
3 egg yolks
2 tbsp cornflour
90g butter, chopped

note: this will also make twice as much as you need for the pie, so keep the rest in the fridge and eat it with things. like chocolate & hazelnut fondant.

Ingredients for the rest!

8 small nectarines (I used white nectarines. Don't do this.)
60ml orange juice (sour & pulpy is great)
110g brown sugar
mint leaves, torn artistically

Method:

1. Pastry first. Grease a 20cm round tart or flan tin.

2. Blend the flour, sugar and butter in a food processor until well combined. You could use your fingers to rub it in, but that takes much longer.

3. Add egg yolk & enough water to make the dough just come together.

4. Knead, cover & refrigerate for 30mins.

5. Carefully roll out the dough between two pieces of greaseproof paper, says the AWW. I like using cling wrap because I can see the dough better, and it's floppier. Personal thing.

6. Press the dough into the tin & trim the edges. Prickle the base all over with a fork. Refrigerate for 30 min.

pastry, ready for baking

7. While you're waiting for the pastry to chill, halve & remove the stone from your nectarines. This is easy to do when you're using yellow slipstones. This is not easy to do when you're using white nectarines.

8. Lay the nectarines skin side down in a baking dish. Drizzle with orange juice and scatter brown sugar over the top. So pretty!

necatrines, bathing happily

9. Crank the oven up to 180C & get some beans and greaseproof paper ready.

10. Blind bake the tart for 10 minutes, then remove the beans & greaseproof and bake for another 10 minutes, or until the tart is a lovely golden brown.

pastry, post-baking

11. Take the pastry out & crank the oven up to 220C. Place the nectarines in & leave them there for 20 minutes.

12. Time for the creme pat! Combine milk, cream, sugar & vanilla paste in a saucepan. Bring to a boil then remove from heat.

13. Beat egg yolks until they are pale and creamy. Ad cornflour & keep beating until well combined.

14. Gradually beat in the hot milk/cream/sugar/vanilla mixture. Strain the whole lot back into the saucepan.

creme patisserie - post stirring frenzy

15. Stir (continuously) over a low heat. It will thicken. Suddenly. You will think nothing is happening and then BANG! SUPER THICK! and then you will stir like crazy and hope for no lumps! And then you will turn the heat off and breathe a sigh of relief that that bit is now all. over.

16. When everything is cool, pile the creme pat into the pastry case, smooth and then arrange nectarines on top. Let it chill out for half an hour or so. Reserve the nectarine liquid

17. Tip the nectarine liquid over the top and scatter with torn mint leaves to serve. Yummo!