October 13, 2010

Results - Passionfruit Tart

passionfruit tart whole

I've had a terrible day, not the worst in my life, but definitely in the top ten. It kicked off with mega awful traffic, something that I've sadly become accustomed to, it just means theres more time for Daz and I to talk rubbish and perv at passers by.....my fav was when we spotted a short skirted very high heeled gorgeous babe who suddenly tripped over her heels and came very close to falling over. Sorry, I'll get back on track.

passionfruit tart slice

I took the day off today to take care of a few things for my mum, I decided that I desperately needed a coffee. But with no cash in my wallet I needed to go to the ATM. So in the pouring rain I found the ATM, or where the ATM once existed. You see it seems that the ATM had caught fired....either through foul play or spontaneous combustion and was not in any kind of working order. So my morning coffee ended up costing me an extra $2!! Stupid ATM fees. I decided to buy a berry/coconut muffin to perk my spirits and the muffin had almost no coconut in it!! More of an annoyance rather than bad luck. Then my car battery decided it had enough and died. I was stranded....the clincher is that we had recently bought a new battery and it was sitting at home in our garage. So what is a girl to do?, there was no one around to offer a jump start, I don't want to call the RACV for two reason really, I'm not a member and I had a perfectly working battery sitting in my garage. So I caught a taxi, retrieved the battery and changed it. Did I mention that it was pouring rain??

So back on track to do my errands. By this stage I was in a cranky mood and when I was faced with an arrogant sales assistant, I think I kinda cracked. He pretty much only spoke in grunts and was the most unhelpful person I have ever met. So I shoved his paper work back and told him I wasn't interested. I got back in my car and bango, one of my windscreen wiper blades decided to join the battery and ATM, all gone to hopefully better places.

passionfruit tart whole from above
I had a gladwrap accident where the gladwrap stuck to the top of the tart, hence the big gaping hole. Otherwise it was a very good looking tart...hehehe

So at the end of the day, I'm slightly damp, I have grease under my fingernails, cranky and lucky that I haven't been in a car accident due to limited visibility. So of course the perfect thing would be something to sweeten my day. What better way than with a sweet little tart. The tart turned out perfectly, well as perfectly as Neil Perry intended. I made it exactly as the recipe stated, and the result was a very soft wobbly custard, creamy with a perfect crumbly pastry. The passionfruit really came through and to my surprise the overnight resting did wonders!! The sugar in the mix slowly cooks the egg, so when you pour it into the tart shell it is almost custard like in texture.

passionfruit tart slice above

I have two issues with this tart, firstly the custard was way too sweet for my liking. I'm not a massive fan of overly sugary desserts, so I would curb the quantity of sugar. Secondly, the recipe makes no mention as to what temperature the custard should be before it goes into the tart shell. Is it supposed to be straight out of the fridge? at room temperature? or what? So my cooking time was well off. I ended up cooking it for double the recommended time, and I had taken the custard out of the fridge an hour earlier. It wasn't quite fridge cold, but it was still relatively cool. In future, I will actually warm the mixture up over a double boiler so the cooking time will be quite short. I'm already planing to make a mango tart......just waiting for the mangoes to catch up with my craving.

10 comments:

CC11 said...

I'm sorry to hear about your bad luck day but at least your tart seemed to dodge it as you made it beautifully, albeit the recipe was a little sweet for your tastes.

Hope tomorrow brings you extra good luck :)

Hannah said...

You poor thing! At the risk of sounding like I'm trying to make a joke about the weather this day (which I'm not), it never rains but it pours when it comes to bad days!

Thank heavens for custardy tarts, even if they are a bit too sweet. (I'm with you there - tanginess is the epitome of tastiness in such desserts!)

Here's to a whole month of wonderousness to make up for today!

April @ My Food Trail said...

Aww, sorry to hear about your bad day. The tart turned out fantastic though!

I'm impressed you know how to change a car battery! I would have called RACV!

Betty @ The Hungry Girl said...

Oh sorry to hear about your terrible day. I'm glad you got to release some of the anger in baking this beautiful tart!

Conor @ Hold the Beef said...

Well done for throwing the bad luck fairy off your back before making the tart - most people would have probably found all the eggs in their carton were rotten or the whole thing got covered in raw beef juice in the fridge.

It looks lovely but I'm saddened by the over-sweetness. I like my tarts tart! Tart it up, Neil!

Agnes said...

Sounds like a day where you should've stayed in bed eating passionfruit tart instead of facing the day!

I hate it when desserts are overly sweet - but mango tart sounds like a fantastic idea. Mango season is coming up very soon!

Sarah @ For the Love of Food said...

What a beautiful looking tart! It must have been some kind of antidote to you rubbish day. The pastry crust looks perfect.

OohLookBel said...

Hehe, nothing like a bit of whinging on the blog to get it off your chest (I do the same!). Your tart looks so good I'm tempted to give it a try, and I'm traditionally hopeless at pastry...

My Restaurants Melbourne said...

Oh dear, so sorry to hear about your awful day, at least your tart turned out perfect,

Arwen from Hoglet K said...

What a horrible day! I'm glad to hear you had a tart to come home to. The mango version sounds like a great idea, and it's only a few months to go before they'll be in season.