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Pies & Tarts

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Pies vs. Tarts & their Fillings• Pie- an American dessert made of pie shell and filling baked in a deep

slanted baking pan• Tart- a sweet or savory pastry item consisting of a shell and a filling. Baked in

a shallow or short sided baking panFillings• Cream & curd

• Pastry cream, lemon curd• Fully cooked stove top custard

• Fruit• Cooked fruit fillings (cooked prior to filling pie, cool & fill pre-baked shell• Cooked juice filling (juice is thickened then added to canned or frozen whole fruits),

cool and fill pre-baked pie shell• Baked fruit fillings (fresh fruit is mixed with spices, sugar and starch, fill unbaked pie

shell), then bake• Baked custard: a soft filling that bakes along with the crust i.e. pumpkin pie & key

lime pie• Chiffon: a fruit or custard filling with gelatin added then lightened with whipped

egg whites before filling pre-baked or crumb crusts

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Types of Dough• Basic Pie Dough (Pâte Brisée)• Flaky pie dough• Brisee: “Broken Dough”• Keep all ingredients cold• Keep fat in small pieces (similar to biscuit method)• Do not overwork• Bake at a higher temperature

• Sweet Pie Dough (Pâte Sucrée)• Sweet pie dough• Mealy, more tender• Bake at a lower temperature (sugar will burn at high temps)

• Crumb Crust i.e. cookie, graham cracker, cake crumbs• More delicate• Usually contains melted butter

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Techniques

Blind Baking• Using weight to prevent dough from rising during cooking• Roll out dough• Place into desired pan• Chill• Use parchment paper or foil in between dough and weights• Bake ¾ of the way, remove weights and finish baking

• Docking• Poking holes into the dough prior to baking to limit the amount of

rise• Can be used in addition or in place of weights

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Assembly• Crusts may be pre-cooked (blind baked) or raw• Crusts should be cooled before adding filling• Do not over fill• Fruit pies can be baked from raw or filling can be cooked then

added to crust

• Topping• Sweetened whipped cream (Chantilly cream)• Merengue• Pie dough• Sliced or whole fruit (nappage)

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Storing

• Keep components out of the danger zone• Cool fillings quickly• Custard fillings can not be frozen• Raw unbaked fruit pies can be frozen• Pies shells can be frozen