English Cheddar Tart Bites with Cranberry Chutney

Pies, Tarts and Fruit Desserts, Savory Pastries / Recipe
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English Cheddar Tart Bites with Cranberry Chutney

Ingredients

Flaky Pastry Crust

  • 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 8 tablespoons 1 stick cold, unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • ¼ cup ice water plus more, if needed

Cheddar Filling

  • 1 ½ cups finely shredded sharp white English cheddar
  • 2 slices cooked crispy bacon, broken into very small pieces
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
  • 1 recipe Chef Gail's Cranberry Chutney

Instructions

Make Flaky Pastry Crust

  • In a food processor, pulse flour and salt until well blended.
  • Add butter and pulse until butter becomes the size of small peas.
  • Add the vinegar and the ¼ cup ice water and pulse until mixture forms a crumbly dough.
  • If the dough is too dry, add up to 1 more tablespoon of water, by teaspoonfuls.
  • Place dough onto a work surface. Push or roll dough into a thick, rough rectangle, and fold it into thirds. Repeat again as this will create flakiness.
  • Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for approximately 1 hour or 15 minutes in the freezer.
  • Preheat oven to 350°F.
  • Spray a 13 x 4 inch rectangular false bottom tart pan with nonstick cooking spray and place it on a sheet pan covered in foil.
  • On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough into a 17 x 8 inch rectangle, bigger than the pan.
  • Gently lift dough and fit into tart pan so that the dough hangs over each side.
  • Using a rolling pin, roll over edges to trim off excess dough.
  • Prick the bottom of the dough all over using a fork. Refrigerate or freeze for 15 minutes.
  • Line the dough with a piece of parchment paper that comes over the sides of the pan, and fill with dried beans.
  • Bake crust for 20 minutes.
  • Remove crust from oven and carefully remove the beans by gathering each end of the parchment paper.
  • Return crust to oven for another 10-15 minutes or until nice and brown.
  • Remove from oven and allow to cool in the pan.
  • Reduce temperature of oven to 325° F.

Make Cheddar Filling

  • Scatter cheese and bacon all over cooled crust.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together egg, egg yolks, cream, salt and pepper until well blended.
  • Carefully pour mixture over cheese and bacon.
  • Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until filling is barely firm. It will firm up more as it cools.
  • Cool tart completely in pan. Chill.
  • Remove tart sides and place onto a cutting board.
  • Using a long sharp knife, cut tart into 32 small squares. Do this by dividing the tart into quarters crosswise first. Then divide each quarter into eight small rectangular pieces.
  • Top each rectangle with a small amount of chutney, and serve at room temperature.

Notes

Makes a 13 x 4 inch rectangular tart or approximately 32 appetizer portions