Butterscotch and Dryfruit Tart

Perfect for parties, these come with a crusty exterior and rich creamy filling inside. When i had this tart from a local bakery during our drive to Kerala from Bangalore,  i promised myself that i will surely try to make these delicious tarts at home. 

My search on google was not fruitful so i knew that I had to follow the ratatouille way. So after some experiments i was able to bake the perfect crust. When my husband called me up around 11.30 AM saying that they were having a "Potluck lunch" that afternoon, I decided that it was the perfect occasion to try Butterscotch and dry fruit tart. 

Ingredients :

For the Crust : 

Refined Flour : 250g

Castor Sugar : 50g

Milk Powder : 3tbsp

Salt : 1/4tsp

Cold Butter : 100g, Cut into cubes

Egg White  : 1, slightly beaten

Vanilla Essence : 1/2tsp

For the Filling :

Cashew : 50g

Raisins : 25g

Almonds : 50g

Apricots : 25g, chopped

Fig : 25g, Chopped

Walnuts : 25g

Milk : 1Cup

Cornflour : 2tbsp

Sugar : 1/4Cup

Condensed Milk : 1/4Cup

Butter : 2tsp

Cold Water

Method : 

1. Sift the flour, salt and milk powder and keep aside.

2. Combine butter and sugar with your finger tips.and add this to the sifted flour (from step1). 

3. Add the vanilla extract and mix well.

4. If you pinch some of the crumbly dough and it holds together, it's ready. If the dough doesn't hold together, add a little cold  water and pulse again.Wrap the dough with a butter paper and refrigerate for 20min.

5. Make lemon sized balls from the dough and with your fingertips, and press the dough neatly up the sides of the individual tart moulds. Now place these moulds in the freezer for about 10 minutes, this will help to prevent the tart from puffing up during baking.

6. Now keep the tart moulds in a preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes at 160 degrees. 

7. Once they are fully baked, remove them from oven and cool them on a wire rack. When completely cooled, remove the tarts from the pan.

Method of making the butterscotch filling :

1.  Melt butter in a pan  and sauté all dry fruits for 3 minutes. Keep aside

2. In the same pan, add sugar and stir continuously till it melts.

3. When it turns golden in color add the milk and cornflour mixture and combine well . Stir continuously and let it become thick.

4. Now add condensed milk and dryfruits (Stir continuously for 3 minutes) Remove the filling from flame and let it to cool.

5. Transfer the filling to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until serving time.

6. Using two small portions fill the tart shells with butterscotch .