Curd pie with bourbonmascarpone
There’s always room for pie
The history of this Curd pie (an East-Flemish delicacy) goes way back — its praises were sang by 13th century troubadours. ‘Mattentaartjes’, as the Flemish name goes, refers to drained curds of skimmed milk, a product often used in the Middle Ages when refrigerators weren’t invented yet. The curd is mixed with sugar and egg yolks, and spread over a square piece of dough. The corners are folded in before baking.
These days, you get picture perfect versions with carefully cut pieces of dough, neatly folded edge, and nicely scored surfaces. That kind of finicky patisserie is ill-suited for a down in the mud BBQer like yourself, so we’re going Medieval and finishing our pies with a good dollop of bourbon mascarpone.
The ingredients:
(serves 4)
- 1½ l whole milk
- ½ l buttermilk
- 2 eggs
- 100 g sugar
- 45g almond flour
- 1 tbsp bourbon
- 4 sheets puff pastry
- 2 tbsp soft butter
- 2 tbsp flour
- 20 cherries, pits removed
Bourbonmascarpone
- 240 ml lightly whipped cream
- 6 tbsp mascarpone
- 6 tbsp bourbon
- 3 tbsp sugar
Gear:
- BBQ for indirect grilling
- Cheesecloth or thin dishcloth, rinsed well
- plastic wrap
- mixer
- 4 tiny skillets or small pie shapes
How to make:
Duration: prep 1 ½ hours
Cooking about: 30 minutes
Prepare a BBQ for indirect grilling and heat to 225 °C (437 °F).
In a saucepan, bring the whole milk to a near boil, then remove from heat. Add the buttermilk and stir until the mixture begins to split. If this isn’t working, a teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice might help. Place a wet cheesecloth in a strainer over a pan and strain the mixture. Once most of the liquid is gone, cover with plastic wrap and fold in the corners of the cloth. Set aside for about an hour. Congratulations, you just made your own ricotta.
Separate the eggs, then use a mixer to whisk the egg whites and set aside. Add your ricotta to a bowl and add the egg yolks, sugar, almond flour, and bourbon and stir until smooth. Carefully fold in the whisked egg whites.
Grease your skillets with some butter and dust them with flour. Place a sheet of puff pastry in each skiller and fill them with the ricotta mixture to just below the rim. Divide the cherries, about 5 per pie, then fold the corners of the puff pastry in towards the centre. Place your skillets on the BBQ grate and bake your curd pies for about 30 minutes.
To make the bourbonmascarpone, simply mix together all ingredients. Serve with your hot ‘Mattentaartjes’.
