The Rustic Tart

Using your fingers, or a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour and sugar until it is incorporated into the flour, but still quite chunky. The chunks do need to be small, but it is quite okay if some of them are a little smaller than a kidney bean. If using a food processor, pulse a few times, or until ready and turn out into a bowl. Don’t be tempted to add the water to the food processor, it is too easy to overwork the pastry.

Using a bread and butter knife, begin to mix the cold water into the flour and butter. This is the step most people need to keep practicing – you will never use the same amount of water twice – it depends on the freshness of the flour, the humidity, the temperature and if any of your butter has melted. Also, the higher the percentage of wholemeal flour, the more water needed. Add the vanilla to 2 tablespoons water and add this water first. The idea is to add a small amount of water, begin to cut and mix it in with the knife. As you continue to add the water, little bit by little bit, you are cutting the wet bits into the dry bits, cutting, mixing and stirring. You use only as much water as you need. By cutting the wet dough into the dry bits, you avoid using too much water (another reason for tough pastry). Once all the mix looks moist, bring it together into a ball, DO NOT KNEAD OR PLAY WITH IT. Flatten the ball, wrap and chill long enough to take the softness of the butter – at least one hour – you will get the best results from well chilled pastry.

Putting the tart together: Pre heat oven to 200c or 190c if fan forced

Cut the fruit and add to a bowl with the sugar or maple syrup and cornstarch and toss through gently.

Using as little flour as possible, roll out pastry to about 30 – 35cm diameter circle. Place on a baking tray which has been lined with baking paper – it doesn’t matter if the pastry overhangs the tray a little. Either arrange prepared fruit in an attractive pattern, or simply pile it into the middle and gently spread to leave a border of about 8cm. Fold pastry border over fruit, peeling it from the paper underneath as you go. Sprinkle with a little extra golden castor sugar if desired.

Place into a hot oven – you can tell if your temperature is right by how the butter is behaving, if it is running out of the pastry, you need to turn it up – it should be sizzling on the pastry or at the base of it. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes, before reducing the temperature a little for another 30 minutes or until the pastry is lightly golden and the juices are bubbling, which indicates that the starch has cooked out. I also like to see that the juices have begun to ooze from the tart and believe this is the best indicator that the fruit is done.