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Kuchen de murta
Southern Chilean German-style berry tart with a custard layer and crumble, made with murta or cranberries
Around Lake Llanquihue, in Frutillar and Puerto Varas, German settlers of the 1850s left Chile a love of kuchen, now served with coffee in every café of the south. The Chilean twist is the fruit: murta (Chilean guava), a small, red, perfumed berry that grows wild there in autumn. A buttery base holds the berries in a light custard under a crumble of butter and sugar. Outside Chile, cranberries with a few blueberries give a similar sharp-sweet balance. Chef's tip: blind-bake the base for 10 minutes first; a pre-set base stays crisp under the wet custard.
- Total time
- 85 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 10
Ingredients
For the base
For the filling
For the crumble
Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Heat the oven to 350°F (325°F fan) and butter a 24 cm loose-bottomed tart tin.
Step 2: Mix 8 oz plain flour, 2 ⅛ oz sugar and 1 tsp baking powder. Rub in 3 ⅞ oz cold butter until like breadcrumbs, then add 1 egg and bring together into a soft dough. Press evenly over the base and 3 cm up the sides of the tin. Prick and bake for 10 minutes until pale and just set.
12 minStep 3: Toss 14 oz murta berries, or fresh or frozen cranberries with a handful of blueberries with half of 1 ¼ oz sugar and scatter over the base.
Step 4: Whisk ¾ cup single cream, 2 eggs, 1 tbsp cornflour, 1 tsp vanilla extract and the rest of 1 ¼ oz sugar and pour over the berries.
Step 5: Rub 2 ⅞ oz plain flour, 2 ⅛ oz sugar and 1 ¾ oz cold butter together into small clumps and scatter over the top.
Step 6: Bake for 40–45 minutes until the custard has set with only a slight wobble in the centre and the crumble is golden. Common mistake: cutting it warm; let it cool for at least 1 hour or the custard runs.
45 minStep 7: Serve at room temperature with coffee, or with whipped cream.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 330 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 40 g
- Fat
- 17 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does kuchen de murta take?
- About 85 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 55 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 10 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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