Lavender + Vanilla Tart

I love Pastry Cream. It is a fundamental recipe that every baker (or people who love to bake) should know. The pastry cream can be used many different ways and can be flavored to your liking. In this recipe, I wanted to add my favorite herb to both the cream filing and the Pâté Sucrée (Sweet Dough).

Both the Pastry Cream and the Dough are loosely adapted from one of my favorite cookbook’s “The Art of French Pastry”.

Lavender + Vanilla Tart

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Ingredients:

Tart Dough:

• 1 1/4 cups (180 g/6.3 oz) all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup (55 g/2 oz) powdered sugar (or 1/4 cup granulated sugar)

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup (1 stick/115 g) very cold butter.

• 1 large egg

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract , optional

• 1 tsp culinary Lavender, finely chopped

Pastry Cream:

• 2 cups whole milk 

• 1 vanilla bean split lengthwise

• 1 Culinary lavender bud ( like 3 tsp)

• 6 egg yolks

• 2/3 cup sugar 

• 1/4 cup cornstarch 

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter 

Instructions:

1. Process flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor for a few seconds until combined. If you don’t have a food processor, you can do this by using a pastry cutter. Add butter and pulse until mixture becomes crumbly and resembles coarse meal. Add the egg, vanilla extract and lavender and keep pulsing until the dough is no longer dry and starts to clump together. Another way to check if it’s done is to take a piece of dough and press it between your thumbs – the dough should stick without feeling dry or crumbly.

2. Turn dough to a lightly floured surface and form into a ball. It should come together easily without being sticky. Flatten ball slightly with your hands to form a thick disc. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Please refrigerate the dough.

3. After and hour, Take dough out of the fridge and let it sit on the counter for a few minutes to soften slightly for easy rolling. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a circle that is 1 1/2 inches bigger than your pan ( I used a 9 inch pan with a removable bottom) then place gently into your tart pan. you can do this by flouring a rolling pan and rolling the dough loosely around it, then unrolling it into the pan. Gently guide the dough down the sides of the ring,working quickly until it hits the bottom of the pan. With a sharp knife, trim the edges of the pastry to fit the tart pan. Cover pan with plastic wrap and place in back in the fridge for an hour or in the freezer for 30 min. Cold dough is less prone to shrinking while baking.

4. To bake the crust, Pre-heat your oven to 325. Press parchment paper around the tart (making sure that you’ll be able to lift it up ) o and fill with pie weights ( I use dry beans but corn or uncooked rice works as well) making sure they’re fully distributed over the entire surface.

5. Bake for 15 minutes, remove the weights and continue baking for another 15 min or until golden. Remove it from the oven and allow it to cool completely before adding the pastry cream filling.

Pastry Cream:

1. Cut the vanilla bean lengthwise then use a spoon or knife the scrape the seeds out. Add all but 1/4 cup of the milk, 1 tbsp of the butter, lavender and vanilla bean (seed and pod) to a medium saucepan. heat, then place over medium heat and bring to a boil.

2. Immediately turn off the heat and set aside to infuse for 15 minutes. After 15 min, remove the Vanilla pod and the lavender buds.

3. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the cornstarch and the 1/4 cup of milk and whisk vigorously until no lumps remain.

4. Whisk in 1/4 cup of the hot milk mixture until incorporated. Whisk in the remaining hot milk mixture, reserving the saucepan.

5. Pour the mixture through a strainer back into the saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly and everywhere. As soon as you feel the mixture becoming slightly thick on the bottom of the pan, remove it from the heat, add the rest of the butter and whisk it for 30 seconds until its thickened and thoroughly uniformed. return to the heat and whisk for another min to cook out the starch flavor.

6. Add the Pastry Cream to the cooled tart crust and cover with plastic wrap to prevent the cream from developing a dry skin.

7. After its been cooled. Add your favorite fruits to the top ( I chose cherries), sprinkle some chopped lavender at the top and enjoy!