I know, I know, I said I'd post this last week. Boo.
The thing is, I've been running around sending documents here and there so I can go on studying. Why the hassle ? Well if it all goes according to plan, I will be in Switzerland by July ! In the meantime, it means taking random tests and printing out documents I didn't even know existed. I never knew studying abroad was so complicated - but then again, I know next to nothing about traveling long distances since all the passport dramas were handled by my parents. Oh well, fingers crossed.
So how are y'all doing ? It's really hot and hazy here in Malaysia. In fact, it's so hot that even just breathing makes me sweat. No kidding. I have to shower 27391746 times a day just so I don't radiate heat and further worsen the situation. Thankfully, it rained today and we all got to hear the much-missed pitter-patter of the rain on the windows. It certainly didn't rain when I was making these pastries though, and since pastry doughs are meant to be kept cold, it would have been wise to use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the dough or scrap the idea completely and just make bread. For some reason, I had gotten the idea into my head that I had to make pop-tarts no matter what (and this is coming from someone who has never seen nor tasted a pop-tart before - they don't seem to have them around here) so I just used my fingers (!) to rub the butter in and miraculously, everything turned out fine. Just so you know, my hands are about as cool as a bonfire so it's a big deal to me.
The conclusion ? I still don't know how pop-tarts are supposed to taste like. But if they taste anything like these ones, I'm going to be in big trouble for hoarding.
Homemade Pop-tarts (adapted from this site)
For the crust:
200g all purpose flour
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
100g butter
3-5 tbsp cold water
1. Mix the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Using your fingers or a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour until it's the size of large peas. Then using your palms, smear the mixture between your hands to flatten the pieces of butter. This is to create flakes which basically ensures a flaky pastry. Work quickly so the butter doesn't melt.
2. Pour in the water and mix until it forms a dough. You might not need all the water so start with 3 tbsp and add more from there. Gather the pastry into a ball and flatten it slightly. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least one hour.
To assemble:
1 egg
1/2 cup mixed berry jam
1. Preheat the oven to 225C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Roll out the pastry into a large rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out 3 1/2 by 7 inch rectangles, if you cut carefully and reroll the scraps and cut again, you should end up with four rectangles. Place them on the baking sheet.
3. Beat the egg in a small bowl. Using a pastry brush, brush the edges of the pastries with the egg to make a frame of egg wash. Place a tbsp and a half of jam on one half of each of the pastries, being careful to keep it inside the egg border. Fold the unfilled half of the pastries over the jam and press the sides together to crimp them. Crimp the edges with a fork to seal. Brush the tops with more beaten egg and place them in the oven to bake for 17 minutes, until golden brown. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the icing:
4 tbsp icing sugar
1-2 tbsp lemon juice
Pink food coloring, optional
1. Put the icing sugar into a bowl and add one tbsp of the juice. Stir until combined, adding more juice if necessary to obtain a smooth icing that drips off the fork in a thin stream. Add a drop of coloring if you want a nice pink icing to match the pink jam inside. Unless you don't dig pink, then by all means go with plain icing or another color.
2. Using a fork, drizzle the icing over the cooled pastries in a zigzag pattern. Or go all Jackson Pollock on them, it's up to you. Let the icing set before eating, or eat immediately. Store them in an airtight container but they can't be toasted like the traditional pop-tarts because of the icing.
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