Fruit tarts and pies – how to reduce sugar and saturated fat part 1

Q1: What are typical fruit tart and pie pastries made of?

Sweet tart pastry (pate sucree) and pies contains flour, eggs, sugar and butter.

Generally, pastries containing sour fruits such as lemon may require more
sugar in both the pastry and filling, compared to sweeter fruits such as apples.

Common types of filling:

Cold fruit tarts usually have a lush pastry cream filling which contain milk/cream, sugar, egg, vanilla essence and cornflour. You can reduce the sugar in the custard by 10-15% without really altering the flavour, but if you remove sugar completely, it would taste like fruits on steamed egg, which is a bit odd. You can fully replace the cream with milk, which will give a light, silky texture.

Baked apple tarts traditionally use a frangipane filling. It is a denser filling made of almond flour, plain flour, egg, sugar, butter, vanilla essence. Another common method is cooking or tossing the apple slices or chunks in sugar and cinnamon.

Chocolate tart fillings are made of ganache, which is generally 50% chocolate and 50% cream. The ratio may vary depending on the type of
chocolate used. The sugar would come from the chocolate, whereas the saturated fat is in cream and the dairy part of the chocolate. Generally, I would not adjust the quantity of either one or both ingredients, otherwise the ganache may remain liquid and not set within 1-3 hours in the fridge. 

Q2: What happens if I try to reduce sugar or butter in the tart pastry?

Most of the flavour and texture comes from butter, eggs and sugar. Hence, if you reduce the quantity of one or more ingredients, the quantity of other
ingredients would be increased to give a tart consistency. The sugar can be reduced by 10% without affecting flavour and texture. Adding lemon, orange or lime zest can give a nice citrus taste and smell.

I would always think of the texture and flavour I want before adjusting the
ingredients.

Here are some ingredient ratios used in recipes I have baked:

 (The sugar % is calculated based on % of total flour weight, eg 250g plain flour recipe would have 50% sugar = 125g.)

4% sugar, 48% butter – dense, crumbly texture with rich buttery flavour.
It’s more suitable for fresh fruit fillings to be baked together and taste
better when warm.  

30% sugar, 66% butter – slightly less crispy but buttery and a bit moist, used for egg tart and apple tart that are served cold or warm.

50% sugar, 50% butter – crispy, buttery, firm but not too crumbly or hard , hence it can be rolled and used as a thin crust for mixed fruit tarts that are served cold or warm.

Q3: What if my body or someone else cannot digest dairy products well, but I want to eat a healthier fruit tart?

It depends on which category the person is in:

• Lactose intolerance / milk allergy (allergy to casein, a milk protein or sulphite in milk) 

Some people with this intolerance/allergy can tolerate foods containing milk that has been heated at high temperature eg 170 C and above, such as a baked cake, muffins, apple tart but not creamy desserts. Hence, tarts with fruit fillings excluding the cream would be more suitable. 

• Sensitivity to certain types of dairy products and food combinations due to gastrointestinal issues

My stomach will not digest yoghurt and buttercream very well compared to other dairy products like milk or cheese. I would get diarrhoea or very bad cramps from eating certain foods with yoghurt such as coconut or acidic fruits, or most cold desserts. Hence, I would usually choose warm and fruity desserts like apple tart or a few small fruit tartlets with pastry cream instead of fresh cream.

Note: The pastry cream should not be stored in the fridge for more than a day, to avoid diarrhoea or stomach discomfort.

People with issues with dairy products should consult a doctor before determining whether they should completely avoid milk and other dairy products if the problem persists.

Q4: How can I simplify a recipe if I don’t have all the ingredients, want to make it healthier or learn how to bake healthier alternatives?

As different baked products require different minimum ingredient ratios for the main ingredients such as flour, butter and sugar to maintain the texture and flavour, it would become inedible if you try to reduce one ingredient without adjusting other ingredient quantities. I’ve accidentally fried a cake in the oven by reducing the sugar by more than 50% while using the same quantity for other ingredients, because the butter overheated in the oven when I baked it for 30-40 minutes as per the recipe at 170 C. In the plum crumble recipe, nothing was fried due to the short baking time.

Personally, baking based on a few different recipes of the same item such as a fruit tart and learning how to bake different types of pastries has helped me to understand how to substitute or adjust ingredient quantities, or use a different recipe as an alternative instead of adjusting a recipe. It does take some time, odd looking results and a few laughs. Learning how to get it right and nailing it is more important than how many times it didn’t work out.