Sweet Corn Puff Pastry Tarts
These sweet corn puff pastry bites are lightly inspired by a recent bake that I saw at Radio Bakery in New York. They made a croissant tart with a custard base and while I do love making croissants, I figured changing it to a puff pastry tart would be easier and a faster process for anyone -- regardless of level for baking.
You end up with a flaky pastry dough, a deep corn flavor, and you can top it with cream and chili crisp like I did for a nice balance of buttery, sweet, and savory.
Ingredients
For the puff pastry
- 1 1/4 cup (151g) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (113g) salted butter, cold and cubed
- 3 tablespoons ice cold water
For the sweet corn custard
- 1 cup sweet corn kernels, removed from the cob
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 large egg
For the toppings
- 1 cup sour cream (optional)
- 1/2 cup chili crisp (optional)
Directions
To make the puff pastry dough
- Step 1
In a medium bowl, combine the flour and salt together.
- Step 2
Add the cubed butter and toss in the flour mixture. Using your fingertips, press the cold butter cubes into the flour mixture. You'll want varying sized pieces that are about the size of a nickel.
- Step 3
Toss in the water and using your hands, work the mixture until a dough begin forming. If there are still dry pockets, add more water teaspoon by teaspoon.
- Step 4
On a lightly floured surface, working with one piece of dough at a time, roll out the dough to about 1/2-inch thick (the exact size/shape of the dough doesn’t matter here, just the thickness). Brush off any excess flour with a dry pastry brush, then fold the dough in half. Fold the dough in half again into quarters. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and chill for 15 to 30 minutes, until firm. Repeat the previous step three more times: rolling out the dough, folding it, and chilling it each time before continuing. Wrap in plastic wrap and stick in fridge while you work on the custard.
To make the sweet corn custard
- Step 1
Add corn, cream, milk, and salt in a medium pan. Heat over medium until a slight simmer begins. Remove from the heat and let mixture cool.
- Step 2
Place mixture in a blender once cooled. Blend until the mixture is fully smooth and there's no large kernel pieces. Set aside.
To prepare to bake
- Step 1
Preheat oven to 475 F.
- Step 2
Remove the puff pastry dough from the fridge and cut squares to fit the shape of your muffin tins or individual tart shells. Remove any excess dough and set aside.
- Step 3
Reduce your oven to 325 F.
- Step 4
Using a fork, poke holes throughout the bottom of each muffin cavity with the puff pastry added. Cover each puff pastry with aluminum foil and add in pie weights, rice, or sugar. This step is important as you have to parbake the puff pastry to ensure they stay flaky after baked. Place in the oven for 15 minutes. Carefully remove the pie weights and let the parbaked pastries cool. If they've risen slightly, press down to have the layers sink back into the cavity.
- Step 5
Once cooled, using a spoon or a small ladle, add the custard into each puff pastry tin. You should be able to fill each to the top.
- Step 6
Bake for about 30 - 35 minutes, or until the custard has set with a slight wobble. The pastry should be golden brown. Let cool slightly. Top each pastry with cream and chili crisp.