This post is part of the Gluten-Free Ratio Rally, a group of gluten-free bloggers inspired and empowered by Ruhlman‘s Ratio and started by Shauna at Gluten-Free Girl. We get together each month and post many different takes on the same theme. This month that theme is Gluten-Free Tarts and the rally is being hosted by Charissa from Zest Bakery.
The inspiration for the recipe
Frankly, I want chocolate. I want chocolate dipped in chocolate with melted chocolate and caramel on top. I have been having a rough go of things over the past few weeks.
I’ve been swamped at work.
My plan to spice up my life has worked a little too well, and I feel a little thrown.
My leg started turning purple again – and the color being normal was the only real progress that had been made since this all started.
I went to the dentist. <- that right there is reason enough to live on chocolate for a month.
But, when you want to eat your feelings, it is best not to.
I still wanted something comforting.
And fall-y. (Yes, that is a word now).
Orange food means fall, right?
So, sweet potatoes.
And since it is starting to get chilly in the mornings and evenings, i thought some nice cheese would help warm me up.
There you have it, orange + cheese + pie crust = parmesan sweet potato tart.
The ratio
Is still pretty close to 3 parts flour, 2 parts fat and 1 part liquid. The fats and liquids are just redistributed a little bit.
There is an egg yolk for fat, but also to act as a binding agent and a little bit of the liquid.
Then there is the buttermilk, which (please don’t ever buy low fat buttermilk for baking unless it is specifically called for) adds fat & liquid to the mix. I learned this trick from Lena over at Cup4Cup – it makes a dang tasty pie crust. I think it beats my old vodka trick.
Pulse it all in a food processor. Let it rest for 30 minutes or so, this re-chills your ingredients and makes the dough easier to handle.
GF Ratio Rally: Tarts
Author: Mary Fran Wiley
Prep time: 40 mins
Cook time: 40 mins
Total time: 1 hour 20 mins
Serves: 8
This tart will fit into a 9″ round perfectly. If you want to use a rectangular tart like pictured, you will end up with a wee bit extra filling. Use the extra crust and filling to make a mini tart or two in a ramekin.
- The crust
- 113 grams (1 stick) cold unsalted butter
- 210 grams (1 1/2 cups) all-purpose gluten-free flour (I prefer Cup4Cup)*
- 1/2 teaspoon xantham gum**
- 5 grams (1 teaspoon) granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/4 cup buttermilk***
- The filling
- 2-3 medium sweet potatoes, cut into 1/4 inch slices
- 6 sprigs of thyme with the leaves pulled off and the branches discarded
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- generous sprinkling of coarse salt & fresh ground pepper
- 1 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 egg
- 115 grams (about 1 1/4 cups) finely grated parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh sage
- Cut the butter into fourths and place in a food processor. Add the flour, sugar and salt. Pulse until you have a mixture that is the texture of wet sand.
- Add the egg yolk & butter milk. Pulse until just combined.
- Gather the dough up, press it into a disc about 4″ in diameter. Wrap it in plastic and place it in the refrigerator. You can do this up to 24 hours before you want to make the tart.
Make the filling
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper & preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Peel & slice the sweet potatoes into 1/4inch thick slices. (Slice them one at a time and guage how many you need – drop them into your tart pan and see how full it gets, when it is mostly full, you have enough just in case we have very different ideas about what a medium sweet potato is)
- Lay them out flat and drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with thyme, salt and pepper. It is important that you don’t skip seasoning the potatoes.
- Bake them for 15-20 minutes. You want them to just be softening.
- In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg and cream together.
Assemble the tart
- Raise the oven temperature to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, and place a clean baking sheet on the middle rack of the oven.
- Take the dough out of the freezer, and on a well floured surface, roll it out to be 2″ wider and longer than your tart pan.
- Gently lift the dough and pace it into the tart pan. Press the dough into the edges and fix any tears with extra dough.
- Line the bottom of the tart pan with sweet potato slices and top with 1/4 of the parmesan cheese and then 1/4 of the sage. Repeat 2-3 more times (until you run out of potatoes).
- Slowly and carefully pour the egg and cream mixture over the potatoes and cheese. Be patient, it has to seep all around your potatoes to fill in all the air pockets.
- Top with any remaining parmesan and sage.
- Place the tart pan on top of the hot baking sheet in the oven. Bake for 40-45mins. When the crust is lightly browned and the cheese is golden and bubbly, your tart is done.
- Let cool for 10 minutes before removing the tart from the pan to allow the filling to set up.
*Frankly, I think Cup4Cup works the best of any of the blends you can currently purchase. Jules Nearly Normal and Better Batter are suitable alternates if you can’t have dairy or can’t find the Cup4Cup in your area.
**If you use any of the commercial blends I mentioned, you won’t need this, but if your flour blend doesn’t contain any gums, expandex or other binding agent, you will need this
***If you don’t have buttermilk use the following: 3 tablespoons + 2 1/2 teaspoons heavy cream and 1/2 teaspoon vinegar. Combine and let sit for 5 minutes before starting
3.1.08
This post is linked to: Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays