Shortcrust pastry tartlets with Stracchino custard

Method:

FOR THE SHORTCRUST PASTRY : rub together the flour and the diced butter until you get a breadcrumb-like mixture. Add the sugar, egg yolks and the seeds of a vanilla pod. Knead together quickly until you get a compact dough. Leave to stand in the fridge for at least 2 hours, wrapped in cling film.
Roll out the pasty with a rolling pin to a thickness of 3 mm. Use a pastry cutter to cut out disc shapes large enough to act as a base for your moulds. Pierce with a fork and blind bake, placing in a preheated oven at 180°C for approximately 10 minutes.

FOR THE CREAM : heat up the milk together with the vanilla pod, opened up into two, lengthways. In a bowl, whip the egg yolks with the sugar, add the corn starch and dilute with the hot milk (filtered to remove the vanilla). Place the mixture back on the heat and cook until just a few minutes before boiling. Pour the cream into a bowl and leave to cool with a cover of cling film touching the surface.
Then add the Stracchino (already beaten with a whisk to make it soft and creamy) to the cold cream and mix well.
With a piping bag, fill each shortcrust pastry tartlet with the Stracchino custard and decorate the surface with chocolate flakes, caramel drops or fresh fruit.

Wine matching:

MOSCATO D'ASTI DOCG
Only a unique, elegant wine, like Moscato d’Asti DOCG, can be combined with Stracchino cheese custard. This wine goes well with fruit salads. It is pleasant to the taste and refreshing by itself and is served cool at 8°-10°C.
Moscato d’Asti is a typical Piedmont wine and is made solely from Moscato white grapes. This wine shows a more or less intense straw or golden yellow colour, has an aromatic, fresh bouquet, typical of Moscato grapes, with scents of acacia flowers and lilac. Its sweet, pleasantly aromatic taste and low alcohol content make it a woman’s favourite.

AICI – Associazione Insegnanti di Cucina Italiana

Paola Di Berardino’s recipe