I saw on facebook that someone joked about everyone becoming professional bakers and chefs after Circuit Breaker. Indeed, I have cooked and baked more. This is like reigniting my passion that I have long neglected. So here is a simple Strawberry Sable Breton recipe that you can try at home.
The beauty of this dessert is you need only 9 ingredients and most of the ingredients can be found in the kitchen and you can use the leftover for other purpose if you are buying.
Strawberry Sable Breton actually consist of 2 parts. First you need to make the dough for the sable which you need to chill it for at least 3 hours. I like to do the dough as well as the lemon curd the night before I bake. As the dough required to be refrigerated can last up to 3 days while the lemon curd can be kept for up to 2 week if storage is done properly.
Ingredients for the Sable
3 egg yolk
110g sugar
2g salt
110g butter
150g flour
7g baking powder
Instructions
1) With a mixer, beat the butter* with sugar on medium speed until smooth.
2) Beat in the egg slowly and add in the flour**.
3) Rest the dough in the fridge for at least 3 hours.
* Remember to leave the butter in room temperature for at least 30 minutes before you start making the dough.
** Mix only until everything is blended together. Do not over handle the dough.
4) Shape the dough into small rings with 1cm***thickness.
5) Bake the pastry at 180 degree celsius in a preheated over for 8 minutes or till golden brown.
*** This is very important. If the dough is too thick, it will not taste as good when you assemble it with the lemon curd and strawberries. One of the way to prevent that from happening is to shape the dough to a round cylinder of the size of the ring before cutting it into a 1 cm dough.
6) Remove from the oven. Let the sable rest for 5 minutes before removing the ring and leave to cool on a cooling rack.
Ingredients for Lemon CurdÂ
125ml milk
2 yolks
30g sugar
15g flour
Juice + Zest of 1/2 Lemon
Strawberries
Optional
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Instructions
1) Whisk the yolks, sugar and flour till the colour change to lighter yellow and slightly creamy.
2) Boil the milk at very low heat till it boil and remove from heat. Be careful not to burn the milk.
3) Pour the boiling milk slowly into the egg mixture while continue to whisk the mixture.
4) Once everything is mixed well, pour the mixture back to the pot and heat it at low heat for half a minute****
**** Continue to whisking the mixture. Do not go beyond 1 minute as the lemon curd might be too solidified after it is set in the fridge. Remember not to boil the mixture as it will curdle if the eggs get too hot. Trust me, you do not want to have scrambled lemon curd.
5) Remove the pot from heat and add in the lemon juice and zest. After that, pour the mixture into a piping bag to put into the fridge to set. ***
If you do not like lemon, you can also do orange curd but reduce the sugar to 20g as you do not want the orange curd to be too sweet. As you can use lemon curd for many other purposes such as a spread or to make lemon bars, you can always do a bigger batch. But do remember to cool it to room temperature before putting it in the fridge to keep. IF you do not want a film on the top of the curd in a jar, cover surface with plastic wrap to prevent that from happening.
Once the sable has cooled down, you can assemble it according to your preference. In fact, you can use other fruits such as raspberries, blackberries, blueberries or even mango and kiwi. This recipe can yield 10 Strawberry Sable Breton. So have fun baking and bon appetit.
