Cookery for every household

Roll out the pastry rather thinly and wet round the edges of the pie dish with cold water. Cut a strip of pastry an inch wide, and lay it round the dish. Press it well on, and where there is a join, wet one of the edges with cold water and press the two together. Then wet round again with cold water, and lay on a piece of pastry large enough to cover the top. Ease this on slightly, and press the two edges well together. With a sharp knife cut off the larger pieces of pastry hanging round the dish, then hold up the dish in the left hand, and with the right trim neatly round the edges. When cutting, take sharp quick strokes, cutting always from you, and slanting the knife outwards from the dish to avoid cutting the pastry too close. Then with the back of the knife mark round the edges of the pastry. Make the marks quite close together, and as neat as possible. Next flute round the edges by drawing the knife quickly upwards and towards you, and being careful to make the flutes an equal distance apart. It is not usual to put any further decoration on a fruit tart. Brush the pie over with beaten white of egg or a little cold water, and dredge well with sugar. This is to glaze it, and should be done just before the pie is put in the oven. Then with a skewer make four small holes at the sides of the pie, to allow the steam to escape while cooking. To Bake and Serve the Tart For a tart covered with short crust a moderate oven is best ; but if the pastry is of a flaky nature the oven should be hot to begin with until the pastry is well risen, and then cooled down to a moderate temperature to allow the fruit to cook more slowly. The fruit may be tested by running a skewer into one of the holes in the tart and feeling if it is soft. If the tart shows signs of becoming too brown before the fruit is sufficiently cooked, cover it with a piece of kitchen paper slightly sprinkled with water. The time to bake will depend upon the kind of fruit used and also upon the thickness of the crust. About one hour is usually sufficient for a mediumsized tart. When ready, lift it out of the oven and wipe the dish with a damp cloth. Sprinkle the tart with castor sugar, and serve either hot or cold. A jug of cream or custard served along with the tart is always an improvement. The following are a few examples of fruit tarts, while others, made with a different variety of fruit, should not present any difficulty. 1519. Apple Pie or Tart (Tarte aux Pommes) 5 or 6 apples. Rind of 1 lemon. 3 table-sps. moist sugar. Short crust. £ tea-cupful water. Wipe and peel the apples, cut them in quarters and remove the cores. Then slice them thinly and pack them into a pie dish in alternate layers with a little sugar and grated lemon rind. Pile the fruit high in the centre of the dish, shaping it like a dome, and let the last layer be apples. Pour in the water and cover with short crust or any other suitable pastry, and as directed above. Time to bake, 1 hour. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Probable cost, lOd. 1520, 6 bananas. 3 oranges. 3 table-sps. moist sugar. Banana and Orange Tart 2 table-sps. chopped nuts. Pastry.