How to keep neutral glaze from running in fruit tart?

[karendf]

HI everyone!

I'd like to know how to keep glaze from running in a fruit tart. This because I want a neat, clean and pretty aspect in the presentation.

I just made several Tarte soleil, which, over a coconut filling, has a layer of raspbery coulis, and then lemon (lime) cream. The problem is the lime cream mixes with the glaze from the fruit and the fruit, and it gets a runny texture which doesn't look nice. It's delicious, it's not a flavor issue.

Ideas? I couldn't find anything in the posted messages.

saludos from rainy Mexico. Karen

[m brown]

Welcome!

Here are several ideas:

cool the glaze more before appliaction
do not thin the glaze too much
spray on the glaze rather than brush
freeze the tart so the lime layer is set
cool the tart so the lime/lemon layer is set

Hope these help. Sounds like a beautiful tart!

[boar_d_laze]

Let me see if I have this straight:

The tarte is constructed in three layers: Coconut on the bottom; raspberry coulis in the middle; and "lemon cream" on top.

We may be hitting some sort of French / English / Spanish language barrier here. I wonder if the cream is really a creme (como de pay de limon) or a flavored chantilly; and whether the lemon is really limon (key lime in English), which would make the tarte white, red and green. All of which would make sense in a DF (Mexico City) context. Also, you're calling the liquid component of the raspberry coulis a glaze, but it is, in fact, merely the liquid part of the coulis -- as you also said.

What happens when you cover the coulis with the crema de limon (if that's what it is), is that the coulis thins, runs and mixes with the crema and the border between them looks sloppy?

If I understand the problem correctly, you can solve it with a few changes in technique.

You need to make the raspberry coulis thicker and more stable. To do this, raise the sugar content of the coulis and cook it down more. In other words, you have to make your coulis more jam like. In turn, you must slightly reduce the sugar ratios of the other layers to keep maintain the sweetness level. In fact, the contrast of sweetness, sourness (limon) and richness (coco) should make the tarte more interesting.

Apply the coulis when it is still warm enough to pour and spread easily; and spread it rather thin. Then allow to cool until set up. You may even want to refrigerate the tart before applying the crema de limon. If the creme is a custard, it should be applied as cool as possible and still spread evenly. It should then be smoothed as gently as possible with your palette knife. If the cream is a flavored chantilly (whipped cream), you may want to (a) whip it slightly less stiff; and/or (b) pipe it on; and (c) only then even it with your knife. The trick with a flavored chantilly is keeping it thin enough to handle easily, but sufficiently well whipped so the water doesn't separate. I find zest and liqueurs carry a lot of flavor with a minimum of liquid.

m.brown is much better at pastry than I am, so much better it's ridiculous. I only responded because I think she misunderstood your use of the term "glaze," which lead to a broader misunderstanding. Here in el norte we usually reserve that term for something which goes on wet, and is used to put a shine on top of the tart; as opposed to something used in an interior layer. If m.brown is still paying attention to this thread, or if there's someone with more pastry experience, it would be nice to get their take -- once they understand how the tarte is structured.

Buena suerte,
BDL

[karendf]

ok, for argument's sake I'll start with some details. I think the suggestion from Brown on freezing it might work, but I would still have the same problem when I defrost. The problem maybe the fruit itself (I used grapes, raspberries, strawberries, mango and kiwi), I thinking the kiwi may have too much juice.

Tart is: pasta sucrée, baked with a coco cream made of pastry cream, powdered sugar, eggs, etc-it makes a sort of cake when baked.

Next raspberry coulis: raspberry pulp, sugar and gelatin...frozen overnight. Coulis is not the problem.

Over that on top: a LIME cream-yes custard like with eggs, lime juice, peel, sugar, and butter. stays overnight in fridge to thicken up.

The problem is: I put the neutral glaze (brillo neutro) to protect the fruit, and it seems the glaze mixes with juices, and the lime cream.

Perhaps as brown says, less glaze. What kind of spayer do you use for this type of thing? I used a pastry brush.

I won't give up..this is one tasty tart.

I put it up on picasa but I'll have to wait...I'm too new to put a link.

[boar_d_laze]

Karen,

The purpose of neutral glaze is entirely visual, i.e., to put a shine on the fruit. Since you're fruit is not exposed but covered by the lime creme, why do you need it at all?

If the purpose is to keep the air off the coulis while it sets, I suggest covering with cling wrap or wax paper during the interim. Otherwise, I'm mystified and will leave the answering to people who actually know pastry.

Lastly, glaze can be applied with an ordinary spray-mist bottle. Obviously, the glaze must be cool enough for you to handle the bottle, and thin enough for the sprayer to handle the glaze. Real pros use the same types of airbrushes and airless sprayers painters use, and those tolerate thicker glazes better.

Otra vez, buena suerte,
BDL

[m brown]

Keep your fruit dry.
utilize berries, kiwi may react with your cream and cause it to weep as will raw pineapple.

less moisture in the glaze may be the issue.

enjoy!