This Tarte Soleil is a French pastry in the shape of a sun burst. This one is loaded with ham and gruyere cheese and it's very easy to make.
Ingredients
- 2 square pre-rolled puff pastry sheets (all-butter is best)
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano or herbs de Provence
- 125 g finely shredded Gruyère cheese (1 ¼ cups / 4 ½oz)
- 100 g thinly sliced or shaved ham (3 ½oz)
- 1 egg yolk beaten with a teaspoon of milk
- 2 tablespoons finely shredded parmesan cheese (notes 1)
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Equipment
- 12 inch round or large baking sheet
- Small ramekin
- Sharp small knife
Instructions
- Thaw the pastry in the fridge overnight or a couple of hours before you start.
- Leaving the puff pastry sheet on the paper or plastic it was packaged on, give each one a gentle roll, if necessary, out to 27.5cm / 11 inches.
- Place an upside-down plate of the same diameter on top, and cut around the edge with a knife, setting aside the offcuts and see the notes, below.
- Place a sheet of baking paper over the top of the first circle of dough, flip it over, remove the packaging sheet and drag it onto a baking tray. Leaving the second circle of dough on the packaging paper, drag it on top of the first one. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes or fridge for 30 minutes - especially important if using all butter puff pastry. The colder you keep the puff pastry during this process, the better it will rise and puff up.
- Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan forced) / 400F.
- Take the pastry out of the freezer and set the top piece aside. Leaving the bottom piece on the tray, spread over the mustard leaving a 1cm border all the way around, then sprinkle over the 1 teaspoon of the herbs. Cover with the slices of ham and finally the grated Gruyère.
- Place the second sheet of puff pastry over the top and peel away the backing paper from it. Press down all around the border. Chill again if it’s too soft again.
- Place a 5cm / 2 inch ramekin or similar upside down in the centre of the circle and press down just slightly to indent.
- To cut the solar rays, make 4 evenly spaced cuts from the ramekin to the edge of the pastry dough using a sharp knife (so it looks like 4 quarter slices connected in the middle). Cut each of the four quadrants in half, then cut each of those in half, so you have 16 strands in total.
- Take the outside edge of one of the strands and twist it clockwise 2-3 times, pressing the border flat against the paper at the end. Repeat with the remaining strands. If they’re sticking up at the edges, just press the corner of each one onto the next one. You can easily cut through that join once it’s finished baking.
- Brush the egg wash (egg yolk and milk) all over the top. Make sure the egg wash doesn’t pool anywhere as that spot will burn.
- In a small bowl mix together the parmesan and remaining ½ teaspoon of herbs. Sprinkle it in the centre and around the outside edges of the sun rays.
- Bake for 26-30 minutes until deep golden brown on top then serve straight away. If you aren’t ready to serve it yet, keep the unbaked tarte soleil in the fridge overnight or in the freezer until you’re ready to bake. Make sure to wrap it well in plastic wrap though.
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Notes
- Tablespoons: I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (equal to 4 teaspoons). Check yours before measuring.
- Pastry off cuts: Brush a little melted butter over the puff pastry scraps, then sprinkle over cinnamon sugar (mix 1 teaspoon cinnamon to 1-2 tablespoons of sugar, to taste). Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden.
- Nutrition details are approximate only - scroll below the recipe to find the full nutritional information.
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Nutrition information is approximate only and derived from an online calculator. The brands you use and any changes you make may cause variations.
