Serves 6
Ingredients:
1/2 recipe Sweet Pastry Dough (recipe follows)
4 cage-free eggs
1 cup organic heavy cream
6 ounces granulated sugar
4 teaspoons pear brandy
8 ripe kiwi fruit, peeled
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Meanwhile, with a rolling pin, roll out the dough to fit a quiche pan 10 inches in diameter and 1-1/2 inches deep. Crimp the edges and remove excess dough. Line the dough with parchment paper or aluminum foil and fill it with aluminum baking beans, dried beans, or uncooked rice. Bake until the pastry is browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Remove the paper or foil and weights from the pastry.
In a small mixing bowl, use a whisk to stir together the eggs, cream, sugar, and brandy just until blended. Place a fine-meshed strainer over another bowl and pour the mixture through the strainer, pressing it through with a rubber spatula.
Cut each peeled kiwi crosswise into 4 slices. Arrange the slices neatly in the prebaked pastry shell. Pour the egg mixture over the kiwi. Bake until the egg mixture is puffy, golden, and set, 45 to 50 minutes.
Remove the tart from the oven and turn on the broiler.
Hold a small, dry fine-meshed sieve over the tart and spoon in the confectioners' sugar. Tap the side of the sieve to dust the tart filling evenly with the sugar. Put the tart under the broiler and broil just until the sugar melts and the filling looks lightly glazed, no more than about 1 minute, watching carefully to avoid burning. Remove the tart and cool on a wire rack before cutting and serving at room temperature.
Sweet Pastry Dough Recipe
Makes 1 Pound
Ingredients:
1/2 pound (1-3/4 round cups) unsifted all-purpose flour
5 ounces (10 tablespoons) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 5 pieces
1/4 cup sugar
2 or 3 drops vanilla extract
2 cage-free egg yolksv 1 to 2 tablespoons water
Preparation
Put the flour, butter, sugar, and vanilla in a food processor fitted with the stainless-steel blade. Process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, about 15 seconds.
In a small cup, lightly beat together the egg yolks and 1 tablespoon water. With the processor running, pour the yolk mixture through the feed tube and continue processing until a ball of dough forms that rides around the bowl on the blade; if necessary, add up to 1 tablespoon more of the water until the dough comes together.
Wrap the ball of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight before use. For a single-crust tart, which requires just 1/2 pound of dough, divide the dough in half. Rewrap the second piece of dough airtight and refrigerate or freeze until ready to use for another recipe.
- Recipe courtesy of Fredde Duke