Category:Pies tarts and flans

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In this category you will find home baking recipes for sweet and savoury pies, tarts, flans, pasties etc. Some of the recipes might be strange or unusual but hopefully they will give you some ideas and inspiration. This is my new-found fad - making pies and quiches! All you need is a packet of pre-made shortcrust pastry, a push-out flan tin, some baking beans and a little imagination. Try some of our recipes, I guarantee you'll be hooked.

Pies

A pie in the UK and France is a pastry case consisting of a bottom, sides and top , containing a filling of meat, fish, vegetables or fruit. In principle, it should only apply to dishes enclosed in pastry and baked in the oven. The term, however, is also used to describe any preparation put into a pie dish and baked, eg Shepherd's pie. Use shortcrust pastry (pâte à foncer) or pâte brisée for savoury recipes and pâte brisée or pâte sucrée for sweet ones. Flaky pastry, puff pastry and hot water crust pastry is also possible.

To prepare pastry dough for pies, firstly grease and line a dish or tin, suitable for the type of pie you are making. This could be round, oval, rectangular, square (with or without a loose bottom) or a hinged mould. The dough should be well rested in a cool place and you should Use approximately 66%-75% of the dough for the base and sides and 25%-33% for the lid, depending on the height of your tin. Shape the larger portion into a ball, roll out into a circle, oval, square or rectangle, which measures the diameter of your tin or ring, plus the height of the sides (x2) with a little extra. If using a a circular or oval tin, it is best to roll from the middle outwards, turning the dough after each couple of rolls. Carefully transfer the pastry to your greased and/or lined tin (which can be plain or fluted) - you can drape it over your rolling pin to aid you with this. Let it fall into the tin, and press it round the inside. Bake blind if your recipe calls for it (see Tarts below), then add your filling according to your recipe instructions. Roll out the remaining dough to fit the top, plus a little extra, of the tin or ring. Brush the dough in the tin at the the edges with a little egg wash, then place the lid on the top, with the aid of your rolling pin. Trim off the excess pastry and crimp to seal. You can use any leftover trimmings to make decorative leaves or other shapes. Brush these with egg wash and place on the lid. You can also brush the whole lid with egg wash if you like. Using a knife, cut a small hole in the top of the pastry and make a foil chimney to poke inside. This will allow excess steam to escape. Bake for 45 minutes at 180°C / 350°F / Gas 4 / Fan 160°C or follow your recipe instructions.

Tarts

The words tart and flan are often used interchangeably in the UK and France to designate a pastry filled with fruit, jam, custard or some other filling. The US term most often used for this confection is open (faced) or single crusted pie. Almost all such dishes are cooked and served in the US in a pie dish, whereas in the UK and France, a flan tin or flan ring placed on a metal baking sheet, is used. Technically flan is the name for a savoury preparation and tart for a sweet one, but this difference seems to be ignored these days. These are not to be confused with the Spanish flan which has no crust and is similar to the French Crème caramel. Use shortcrust pastry (pâte à foncer) or pâte brisée for savoury recipes and pâte brisée or pâte sucrée for sweet ones. Flaky pastry is also possible.

To prepare a tart or flan casing, roll out the chilled pastry into a circle, which measures the diameter of your tin or ring, plus the height of the sides (x2) with a little extra. It is best to roll from the middle outwards, turning the dough after each couple of rolls. Carefully transfer the circle of pastry to your greased and/or lined tin (which can be plain or fluted) - you can drape it over your rolling pin to aid you with this. Let it fall into the tin, and press it round the inside. Press the rolling pin over the top of the tin which will cut off the excess pastry. Prick the the bottom of the dough case with a fork, which will prevent the pastry from bubbling up during baking. Line the bottom and the edge of the pastry with greaseproof paper and fill with ceramic baking beans. Alternatively you can use dried beans or rice. Bake at 190°C / 375°F / Gas 5 / Fan 170°C for 25 minutes. Remove the beans and paper and lightly brush the inside of the case (base and sides) with beaten egg. Return the case to the oven for 30 seconds or so, just to dry the egg. Leave to cool if adding a cold filling, otherwise it can be used straight away.

Quiches

A quiche is a egg based savoury flan with its origins in Lorraine and Alsace and which was traditionally served as an hors d'oeuvre. The term is also used for some sweet tarts, but this is incorrect because quiche was never served as a dessert.

To prepare a quiche casing, follow the instructions for To prepare a tart or flan casing above. A fluted tin or ring is normally used.

See also

• Pie, tart and flan tin size conversion charts to convert the amount of shortcrust pastry dough required for different tin sizes
• Cake tin conversion charts to convert the volume of filling for different size tins