How to blind bake a pastry tart

Blind baking or pre-baking is the process of baking a tart case before adding the filling. Sometimes the filling needs very little or no cooking, so to get the desired crisp pastry we need to bake it in advance.

Pre-heat your oven to 180°C.

Ingredients:

Pastry of any kind -- the method is exactly the same.
1 egg yolk
a little groundnut oil

Method:

1. Lightly brush your tart or tartlet tins with oil then chill.

2. Roll out the pastry (or buy pre-rolled) and line the tin/s. Be sure to press gently right into the "corners" then trim off any excess.

3. Place two large sheets of cling-wrap, wide enough to cover the base and sides, loosely over the tart. Fill with baking beans or raw rice or pulses.

4. Place in a pre-heated oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the cling wrap and beans, brush with egg yolk and bake for a further 5 minutes.