Fruchtewähe vom Blech
If you need to feed a crowd, or you have a glut of fruit, or you simply don’t feel like faffing with a tart pan, then this is the Wähe for you!
The dough is rolled out directly on the Blech, sheet pan, the fruit laid on top, and then a nice pour of Guss, custard filling. Because the filling is so spread out, it bakes quicker, more evenly, and the bottom tends to crisp up better that when it’s in a traditional form.
I’ve upped the quantity of my Wähe dough so that it fits comfortably on a 35 x 40 cm baking sheet. The exact amount of fruit and custard is a little bit variable based on the size of the fruit, but just use as much as fits comfortably onto the pan and make sure the custard doesn’t spill over.
There are still some stray apricots in the supermarkets, although the season is slowly coming to an end. In a week or so, I’ll be making this again with the Zwetschgen, little purple plums, whose season is just getting started.
For the dough:
300 g flour
50 g sugar
1 tsp salt
110 g butter, cold
185 ml water, cold
For the topping:
1 - 1.5 kg fruit (apricots, plums, blueberries etc.)
2 eggs
200 ml milk
200 ml cream
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla paste or extract
For the dough:
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt.
Add the cold butter in pieces and rub into the flour mixture with your fingers until you have small flakes.
Make a well in the middle of the flour and add the water. Mix this gently until a dough forms. Do not overwork the dough or it will become tough.
Press the dough into a disc, wrap, and let cool in the fridge for at least an hour.
Assembly:
Line a large baking sheet (35 x 40 cm) with parchment paper. Alternatively, lightly grease the baking sheet.
Roll out your dough and line the baking sheet, then lightly press all over with a fork. Keep the dough cool (preferably in the freezer) until you have the filling ready.
Preheat oven to 200 C / 400 F / gas mark 6, with bottom heat.
Whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla.
Process the fruit as desired (halve or quarter the larger fruit like apricots or plums), then place on top of the cooled dough. Pour over the egg and milk liquid.
Bake in the bottom half of the oven for about 25-30 minutes, or until the liquid has set and the botttom is baked through.
My favourite fruits to use here are apricots, plums, apples, cherries or blueberries.
You can use frozen fruit. Place it directly from the freezer on the tart. Baking time may increase slightly.
The exact amount of fruit and custard is variable based on the size of the fruit, but just use as much as fits comfortably onto the pan, making sure the custard doesn’t spill over.
If you like, you can sprinkle some ground nuts on the dough before adding the fruit.
Now for something savoury?
Kräuterquarkwähe
