Making tart pastry needs to be simple and easy. To me, a tart is about the shortness of the crust and the richness of the filling. I used my pastry for a curd tart.

Head straight on to the Recipe For ♥ Tart Pastry ♥
It used to be that getting a Visa was simple. You filled in the forms, printed a forest of documents and went to the Embassy. But then 9/11 happened and that became a security issue. Visa Handling Companies stepped in, charging the applicant a fee, making it a no cost solution for the country. As soon as I got back from Johannesburg I tried to make a booking with VFS for our Dutch Visa, but their site had issues. First it was down for maintenance and then it developed a hiccough. Also, the Dutch Government were restricting the number of Visas granted each day. So if you were trying to make a booking and someone else got your time slot, the site returned an error. This meant clearing the cache and trying again. Eventually in frustration I gave up. A new plan had to be formulated, and quickly.
Today’s inspirational recipe from Lavender and Lime ♥ Tart Pastry ♥ #LavenderAndLime Share on X
Once the new plan was in place and an appointment for our Visa had been secured I felt a little more confident. We arrived early for our appointment and were seen together and off our passports went. With a 15 working day lead time we had cut it fine. Our passports would be returned to us the day we flew. But, the first appointment I could get was for that specific day. And it turned out to be fortuitous. Two days prior tourism rules changed for South Africans. We didn’t need a motivation, but still I provided one just to be sure. Within 48 hours my Visa had been granted, albeit for 2 weeks. For some reason, Dave’s took longer and lasts until the day after we come back from overseas in January. So I shall have to go through all of this again later this month.

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Tart Pastry
Ingredients
- 125 g softened, salted butter
- 100 g fructose
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 240 g flour, plus extra for dusting
- 10 mls baking powder
Method
- Place the butter and fructose into a stand mixer bowl and cream until light and fluffy
- Add the egg and beat well
- Place the flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl and mix to combine
- Add to the stand mixer bowl, a couple of tablespoons at a time and mix until a sticky dough forms
- Tip out onto a well floured sheet of baking paper, flour the top, cover with the baking paper and place into the fridge for 30 minutes
- Remove from the fridge and roll between two pieces of baking paper until 5mm thick
- Spray the pie tin with cooking spray, line the bottom then place the dough into the tin
- Place the tin into the fridge while you preheat the oven to 180° Celsius
- Dock the bottom of the pastry then line with baking paper and baking beans
- Place into the oven and blind bake for 15 minutes
- Remove from the oven, remove the baking beans and baking paper and place back into the oven for 10 minutes
- Remove from the oven, trim the pastry and leave to cool completely in the tin
- Remove from the tin and fill with your desired filling
Inspiration published on Lavender and Lime November 8:
-
- 2020: Baby Touch
- 2019: Fig And Nut Biscotti
- 2017: Idiom Restaurant
- 2013: Tarragon
- 2102: Biryani Chicken
- 2011: Farfalle With Broccoli And Anchovies
- 2010: Cook With 7de Laan
Do you need a Visa to travel to Europe?
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what a hassle to get your visas! it certainly does not encourage travel if people have to go through such a process…
It is a lot of hard work, but worth it in the end 🙂
Nice recipe, Tandy, I also blind bake. I am glad I have a British passport and don’t need a passport for Britain. The boys also have British passports.
I am seriously considering getting an EU passport as I am eligible for one.