Endless Tart Versatility

Like flavor enhancers and filling ingredients, doughs are highly customizable. Just keep in mind that it’s important to use dough that’s been specifically formulated and conditioned with emulsifiers to stand up to the demands of freeze/thaw processing and prevent sogginess from the transfer of moisture from the filling to the crust.

Sweet: vary components

As with savory tarts, sweet versions easily go from classic to contemporary to completely creative. Standbys like warm tarte Tatin, refreshing lemon tart, glazed fruit tarts, velvety chocolate tart and nutty Linzer tart are always in style. And new flavor and ingredient combinations are limited only by the imagination.

Look at flavor trends in the beverage category for inspiration, and think about popular bakery and confectionery products that can be broken down into their key components and built back up in a tart format. Traditional apple pie, for instance, can be reborn as apple-cobbler tart with cinnamon pastry crust. For even more-authentic flavor and unique texture, cinnamon-flavored pie dough “nuggets” can be incorporated into the filling. “Monster” cookies become monster tarts made with a buttery oatmeal crust and peanut butter–chocolate filling sprinkled with color-coated chocolate candy pieces.

Cheesecake and crème brûlée are two more examples of familiar, well-loved desserts that can be presented in new and nontraditional ways. Using a simple cookie-crumb or graham crust and any of a number of inclusion ingredients for unique flavor and texture, cheesecake tarts give new life to an old favorite. Try chocolate-covered-toffee, cookie-dough or crème-brûlée nuggets incorporated into the cheesecake filling. Such inclusions, widely used in ice creams and other confections, and available in various sizes, are often specially formulated to provide not only excellent flavor results, but also to maintain texture during processing.

Still another possible “retro redux” hit is s’mores, all grown up and presented in tart form. It’s an example of the type of product that’s easily customized and produced via Kerry’s proprietary “triple threat,” or triple-layer extrusion, technology. It might feature a graham crust base topped with layers of chocolate and marshmallow, or maybe a traditional pastry crust with key lime filling and cream custard topping. This new technology is great for producing convenient hand-held tarts.

As on the savory side, sweet crusts increasingly are varied to add interest and signature appeal. The most-basic crust is traditional pâte sucrée, or sweet tart pastry, which contains egg yolk, sugar and vanilla in addition to flour and fat to produce crumbly, tender, sweet dough suitable for a wide variety of tarts. Also popular are crumb crusts, made from any type of finely crushed cookie (chocolate chip and gingersnap, or vanilla and chocolate wafers, are popular examples), brownie crumbs or crushed nuts blended with a bit of sugar and butter for cohesion and pressed into tins or pans. The addition of flavors to sweet tart dough and crumb crusts alike can yield virtually infinite customized possibilities.

Some exciting new crust concepts in the sweet-tart category are coming on strong, as well. One example that borrows from the ice cream parlor is waffle cone–flavored crust. Paired with fillings that pick up favorite ice cream flavors, such as cookies and cream, turtle or peanut butter, it’s again offering something familiar in a whole new way.

Also gaining in popularity are crusts that play to both the sweet and savory sides. Examples here are chocolate-pretzel crust made from crushed, salted pretzels and chocolate flakes, and caramel pretzel crust with sea salt.

In fact, chefs nationwide have discovered the appeal of adding savory flavor touches to sweet desserts, and tarts are a great way to tap the trend. Sea salt; black pepper; herbs like rosemary, thyme and lavender; and even chile peppers and vegetables are being paired with sweet ingredients like chocolate, lemon, vanilla and honey to rave reviews.

Think it’s a stretch? James Beard Award–winning Chef Roberto Donna has featured Carrot Zabaglione Tart with Candied Carrots in Napa Cabbage Sauce at his Galileo restaurant in Washington, D.C. And Chef Khanh Tran at Cosmos in Minneapolis has offered Warm Chocolate Fig Tart, spiced with brandy, cinnamon, cloves, anise and black pepper, paired with Smoked Hot Chocolate Froth, Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and Salted Almond Praline.

Bottom line: Whether sweet or savory, think of tarts as a blank canvas. As long as the flavors and ingredient pairings make culinary sense—even, and sometimes especially, if they’re unfamiliar—they can open up a whole new category of on-trend, operationally easy and profitable menu and frozen convenience product possibilities.

Chef Adam SchreierAdam Schreier (adam.schreier@kerrygroup.com) is a corporate chef for Kerry Ingredients & Flavours, Beloit, WI, where he supports new product development. He holds an associate’s degree in culinary arts and a bachelor’s degree in hotel/restaurant management from Kendall College and has studied with leading chefs in the United States, France and Italy. He is a member of the Research Chefs Association.

Chef John NamyJohn Namy (john.namy@kerrygroup.com) is vice president of foodservice applications for Sweet Ingredients at Kerry Ingredients & Flavours. He is an American Culinary Federation certified executive chef, and a member of the American Culinary Federation, Research Chefs Association and Institute of Food Technologists.