Sablé Breton is a sort of dough which is half-way between shortbread
dough and a cake: It’s soft like a cake but with a light crust and it looks
like a shortbread from a distance. It is an excellent base for pies. It can be
prepared in advance and kept in the fridge. It can also be blind-baked and kept
for a couple of days before garnishing it at the very last moment. And the best
thing is that you can enjoy it as is, no filling needed. Anyway, you have many
reasons to give it a try. Did I mention it was easy to make? Well, now you
know.
Sablé Breton ‘s dough tends to spread a bit. So if you want
to hold its shape, you may want to bake it in those rings or squares used for
shaping and baking. But if you have silicon moulds, it works too. I also saw a
Chef baking the dough then cutting it. I prefer to shape it before baking so I don't nothing goes to waste.
These little tarts are a good addition to a buffet and are
definitely crowd pleasers. You can bake the dough and prepare the lemon curd
ahead of time. Once your guests are here, you just garnish them and you are in
for a treat.
Ingredients
Makes 8 mini-tarts
Prep: 10 min – Resting and cooling time: 2 hours - Baking: 20 min
Prep: 10 min – Resting and cooling time: 2 hours - Baking: 20 min
Dough for Sablé Breton
- 2 egg yolks
- 80 g caster sugar
- 100 g of softened butter
- 115 g of sifted flour
- A good pinch of salt (if you are using semi-salted butter, do not add it)
- 1 tsp of baking powder
- Zest of ½ lemon
- Extra: 20 g of almond powder (my favourite addition)
Lemon curd/cream
- Juice (50 g) and zest of a lemon yellow organic
- 25 g sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp of cornstarch
- 40 g butter
Decoration
- Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries
- Zest of 1 lime
- Pistachios in case you have them, their colour gives a wonderful look to the tarts
- Glazing: I used raspberry jam
Preparation
Sablé Breton’s dough
Prepare the dough ahead of time and chill it.
Mix flour with baking powder and salt.
In another large bowl, beat egg yolks with the sugar and
lemon zest then add the softened butter.
Continue beating the mixture. Fold in
the sifted flour and the almond powder.
Form an “abaisse” (slightlt flatten the dough so you can roll it easily later on). Cover with a cling film and refrigerate
for at least 1 hour.
In the meantime, make the lemon curd.
Lemon curd/ cream
The cream can be also made 1 day ahead. It needs to cool and
set.
Mix the zest with sugar to get a lemon scented sugar. Add
the cornstarch, the egg. Whisk to blend.
Add the lemon juice and whisk. It will start curdling.
Over medium heat, let the cream come together over a
bain-marie while stirring from time to time and continuously when you see the
cream thickening. This step will take about 10 min, maybe more. The cream
shouldn’t reach the boiling stage.
Put the cream in a cold bowl and dip its bottom in cold
water. Let cool. When it’s almost at room temperature, whisk in the soft
butter. Cover in contact with a cling film and place in the fridge for at least
1 hour.
Baking and garnishing the tarts
Preheat oven to 160 ° C. and line a baking sheet with
parchment paper or use a silicon mould/sheet.
Roll the dough and shape bearing in mind the thickness shouldn’t
be more than 5 mm (this type of
shortbread dough puffs slightly). I’ve cut mine into mini-circles.
Bake the circles about 20 min, into their rings or in
silicone moulds to avoid the dough loosing its shape.
Once the shortbread circles are golden brown, remove from
the oven and let cool on a rack with their circle/mould/cup. You may remove
them and store them once totally cooled or just go ahead and garnish them.
Just a few minutes before serving, spoon some lemon
curd/cream over the shortbreads. Glaze some raspberries and/or some
strawberries and place them over. Zest a lemon over or sprinkle some crushed
pistachios if you have. Just to give it a nice look but also a sort of a
twist….
Enjoy!
Gorgeous,super tempting and irresistible..
ReplyDeleteGood that you mentioned it's easy, because when I look on the picture I'd definitely say it's a professional's work. Looks just lovely!
ReplyDeleteHi Priya! Thanks dear!
ReplyDeleteHi Marta, seriously, it's dead easy...no skills required..
ReplyDeleteOh my, this looks so delicious! I'm drooling over the picture and know it must taste terrific!
ReplyDeleteHi Ellen...Sorry to make you feel that way..I can confirm it tastes wonderful..
ReplyDeleteOMG ! its tempting...
ReplyDeletehttp://recipe-excavator.blogspot.com
Hi Sangeetha Nambi. Thanks for stopping by!
ReplyDeleteIt is tempting and easy to make.