So, my Facebook feed has been flooding with this particular pastry that is two layers, has some sort of filling inside, and topped with fresh fruits. You most likely have seen it by now. I have yet to see what people are naming this pastry trend, but I do know that the trend has been linked to bakers in Isreal.
I did some research, and I noticed that this type of pastry trend started around August of 2017. Or, at least, that is when I first began to see this type of pastry dessert be presented in the forums. Many have specutaledas to what the base of the pastry was. Was it a sugar cookie, cake, shortbread, a tart?
Well, after doing some google translating, and have a background in the pastry world, I have come to determin that the pastry must be of that of a tart shell. To me, it seems to be very similar to that of a fruit tart, except the tart has been redesigned into numbers and letters. Along with changing the concept of the tart shell, so has the toppings. I have seen several ones that incorporate flowers and even assorted candies on top. Basically, your imagination is endless as to how the pastry dessert should be designed.
I myself have decided to try replicating this trendy dessert and have documented as to how I went about doing my version of this trendy dessert.
I first started off by making the tart shell. For this I chose to use the Pâte Sucrèe dough, for it is well balanced in sweetness, and is the one the closely resembeles that of a cookie texture.
Pâte Sucrèe Tart Dough
PrintIngredients
- 8 cups Pastry Flour
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 20 oz Unsalted Butter
- 2 cups Confectioners Sugar sifted
- 4 eggs Whole Eggs Large
- 4 tbsp Heavy Cream
Instructions
- In a medium-sized bowl, sift together the pastry flour and salt.
- In a stand mixer, cream the unsalted butter and sugar with the paddle attachment, until well blended.
- Add the eggs, one at a time.
- Add the flour/salt mixture to the wet ingredients. Add the heavy cream and mix until just combined.
- Divide the dough into 4 equal parts in weight.
- On a clean surface, place a piece of plastic wrap down, and then place one part of the dough in the middle.
- Place another sheet of plastic wrap on top and with a rolling pin, roll the dough out into a disk of even thickness. It should be about 9"-10" in diameter.
- Repeat this process with the remaining dough.
- Refrigerator the dough for at least 2 hours before using.
I decided that my dough should be at least 1/4 inches in thickness in order to get that cookie texture like in the original picture. Once the dough was ready, I cut out a template I found on the internet and sized it to how large I wanted my pastry dessert to be. I then cut out this tempate twice for I needed a top and bottom to recreate this dessert. 
Make sure to work quickly for the butter in the dough will start to soften, making it difficult to transfer to the sheet pan for baking. If it is too soft to handel, just place the dough back in the refrigerator for a couple of minutes for it to firm up again. Be sure to prick the dough with a fork before baking. This helps the tart dough from puffing up in the oven.If not, you will have an even surface to work with and your pastry dessert may end up slanted.
Once it is ready, transfer the dough onto a pachment lined sheet pan and bake in the oven for 350F for about 10-25 minutes or until golden brown around the egdes, depending on the type of oven that you have.
A good rule of thumb to remember…
All Ovens Are Not Created Equal
Once the tart shell has finished baking, let it cool completly for 15 minutes before handeling it. You don’t want it to break after all that hard work.
For my pastry dessert, I took the bottom portion and laid it on a flat surface. I then used a Wilton 2A Round tip (you can use the Wilton 1A as well) and my “Super Cake” Italian Meringue recipe, to pipe bulbs all around the tart shell. Then I layered the top tart shell and repeated the same process.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 8 oz egg whites (approx 6 - 8 eggs)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 tbs meringue powder
- 1 tsp flavor of your choice
Instructions
- Make sure that all utensils are grease free and dry
- Add the egg whites, meringue power, and salt into the mixer bowl and place on the stand mixer that has been fitted with the whisk attachment
- In a saucepan, heat the sugar and water until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture starts to boil
- Use a candy thermometer to measure the temperature of the sugar/water syrup mixture
- When the thermometer reads 220 degree, begin to whip the egg whites. Make sure the egg whites form soft peaks before adding the syrup
- Once the sugar/water syrup reaches 245 degrees, remove from the heat and slowly pour into the egg whites in a slow steady stream.
- Continue to mix on high speed (#10 on Kitchen Aid Mixer) until the bowl is cool to the touch and the meringue forms stiff peaks.
- Add the flavor of your choice and continue to mix until smooth and glossy.
Notes
Now the following is my take on how I designed my tart shell. I added strawberries, rasberries, some pink buttercream roses, and a couple of Ferreo Rochers. Again, the design and preference is all up to you.
Once you are satisifed with how it looks, stand back and admire your art work.
