Swiss Easter Tarts/ Osterfladen

        Bulgarian Easter is this Sunday and for the first time I will be far away from home and I won´t be able to keep the tradition of making Easter bread and colouring eggs because I will be working in Switzerland. However, I decided to share one of the Swiss traditional treats for Easter, which was at the end of March here. I hope you find it interesting and try it!      

Swiss Easter Tarts / Osterfladen

Products:

For the dough:

• 150 g flour
• 1 pinch of salt
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• 90 g butter
• 2-3 tbsp. cream
• 2-3 tbsp apricot jam

For the filling:

• 200 ml milk
• 200 ml cream
• 1 pinch of salt
• 75 g rice (preferably Camolino) 
• 30 g butter
• 50 g sugar
• the juice and zest of half a lemon
• 30g raisins
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 egg whites
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• icing sugar and egg shaped candies for decoration 

Preparation:

        Start with making the dough. Mix the sifted flour, salt, and sugar in a mixing bowl. Add the cold butter, cut in advance in small cubes. Rub the butter into the flour until you have no lumps left. Add the cream and form the dough in a bowl without over kneading. Wrap the dough in foil and put it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

        When the dough has rested and cooled down, roll it out on a floured surface to 2-3 mm thick. Cut round shapes with the diameter of your tart forms. Transfer the dough in the buttered and floured forms and spread evenly. Then put them back in fridge for additional 20- 30 minutes.
        The next step is to prick the dough with a fork, to ensure that it won't rise during cooking. Then coat the tarts with apricot jam. 

      To prepare the filling bring the milk, salt, and cream to boil. Then add the rice and stir. Boil 20-25 minutes on low heat, stirring from time to time. Then remove from the stove and add the butter, sugar, lemon juice and zest, and the raisins. Mix everything well and leave to cool down. 

      Meanwhile, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks adding the two tablespoons of sugar one at a time. After the mixture has cooled down, add the two egg yolks and mix again. Finally, fold in the egg whites. Transfer the mixture to the tart forms, but don't overfill them as the mixture will rise while baking. 

        Bake at 200 degrees C for approximately 20- 25 minutes. Remove the tarts from the forms and leave them to cool down on a cooling rack. Lastly, decorate them with the candies and icing sugar to make them look festive.       

I hope you try the recipe and like the taste!

Share and enjoy!