Bake-off: a slice of the pie

I feel like a recalcitrant student, deliberately ignoring exam instructions. The second round of the BritCham Bake-off has set some pretty stringent conditions: a pastry bottom and top (can be latticed), served outside its dish and containing at least one item of fruit. Maybe I’ve been on the continent too long, because I’m still obstinately making tarts, freeform, blind-baked… albeit oozing with seasonal fruits: figs, plums, late-season greengages and, less local but plentiful, pineapple and mango.

It’s not that pies are completely off the menu. I won’t rule out chicken (pastry top only), fish (gratin topping) or a comforting winter crumble or cobbler, it’s just hard to beat the appeal of a tasty homemade tart. With the next  round of the Britcham competition scheduled for November 25 and the third and final round – a Christmas favourite bake – one week later, it was time to start working on those neglected pastry skills.

Last weekend I was on duty to serve up dessert for friends. A late Saturday morning trip to the market proved bountiful as I was plied with plump fruit on the brink of spoiling. My first batch of pastry was difficult to roll out and had to be patched up in the tin. For the second, ground almonds, egg yolk and a spritz of lemon juice improved the elasticity.

I ended up with three different tarts: plum and frangipane, greengage atop a vanilla custard, and pineapple and mango. For the latter, inspiration came from an 18th-century recipe, though the chopped fresh fruit was stewed with Marsala and water instead of Madeira. It vigorously bubbled away to so little that I had to add a diced ripe mango to fill the large pastry shell.

Despite the copious first course, we devoured all three. They may have looked messy and had to be prised out of their tins, but you can’t go wrong with homemade pastry and fresh, naturally sweet fruit. The following day I attacked the tray of small black figs, first slow roasting them in the oven with honey, partially blind baking the base and then lining it with a paste of ground almonds, egg yolk and sugar. The leftover roasting juices were heated with fig jam and then drizzled over the cooked tart. This one was prettier and easier to divvy up, but it’s time to get stuck into some serious pie production…

The Bake-off is organised by Brussels New Generation, the networking wing of BritCham, to raise money for the King Baudouin Foundation.

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