Bacon Ranch Chicken Tart + Recipe Development Tips

Bacon Ranch Chicken Tart + Recipe Development Tips

Last week, I started my final project for a baking class I’m taking. We had to start developing a recipe and share what we did with our peers. I knew from the start that I wanted to do a savory tart since I hadn’t made one. This class has been all about doing things I wouldn’t have done, so I’m staying on that same train. 

So today, I will share the process and some tips for your recipe development! 

The first thing I did was to get my notebook and jot down some things that pop into my head. My first initial idea was a hazelnut cream swiss roll, but then the idea of a savory tart came around. I was torn about which I wanted to make, but in the end, the savory tart won. Though, I am definitely going to try the cake soon! 

Something that helps me to process things and get new ideas is talking to someone. So, I talked to my brother and my mom, and it helped to get an idea of how I was going to do it. Not everyone is like that, so find something that helps you!

After that, I started writing down the ingredients and my plan. One thing I did differently was sketching it out. I am far from that kind of artist, but it did help to visualize it! So, I may continue to sketch it out, even though my sketches are horrible. 

At this point, I have my plans all written out, I know what I’m to do, but now it’s time to take action! I get all my ingredients, bowls, and utensils out and ready to go! 

There are three components to this dish. The crust,  cheese sauce, and chicken ranch filling. When I bake with a crust of any sort (shortcrust, pie dough, etc.), I will make it the day before to have chilled and ready. 

The dough is a very basic recipe, flour, salt, and butter. Mix it all together, and you got the dough. My house is quite warm, so I like to chill it overnight just to harden up. When I’m ready to start the other components, I get the crust rolled out and into my tart pan. 

I par-bake my crust because the other two components are already cooked. When the crust is par-baking, I made my cheese sauce! It’s a simple sauce with a roux  (mixture of flour and butter), milk, seasonings, and of course, cheese! I also added an egg when it was done cooking. I added it because I wasn’t sure how it would set with the sauce itself. In the end, I don’t think I needed it and will plan on skipping the end next time. Once that was done, I set it aside to cool. 

After that, I started with the ranch chicken filling! I used rotisserie chicken to make the process easier. The filling is the same marinade as my original recipe! The mixture was: chicken, seasonings, mayo, sour cream, and your favorite ranch. I also added rice, which I won’t do next time, and I didn’t have bacon, but I will add that next time. Mix it all together and set it aside. 

Once the tart was baked a little, I added the chicken mixture to the tart and then the sauce. It would have been better if I added the sauce first because the chicken took up most of the room. Tart pans are shallower, so they can’t hold as much. 

I baked it at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. The cheese was so crispy; it was like a top crust! I cut inside, and I was expecting it to be soupy. But it wasn’t, not even close, actually! The flavor was on point, but it was leaning toward the dry side.

In conclusion, it was good for a first go! There’s a lot of room for improvement. I’m going to make a second round with a few different steps. I will update this post when I do that!

Somethings I’m going to do differently:

• Skip the egg in the sauce

• Skip the rice in the chicken filling

• Add more ranch

• Add the chicken mixture to the sauce.

Now, here are some tips that might help you create your own recipe!

Tips:

• Find your inspiration

People find inspiration differently. It could be through a magazine or a core memory. For me, it tends to be branching off of others or even my own (like this tart). Some people use Pinterest or google photos. Whatever it is, find it!

• Expect to make the same recipe more than once

I knew this would be the reality, but I didn’t expect how many times I’d need to do a recipe. I’ve been working on a chicken pot pie recipe for a couple of months, but I’m still figuring out the right ratios. Some food bloggers will do a recipe back to back, but I don’t do that because that’s a lot of food at once. So, my recipe development is a lot slower.

• Put it on paper

If you’re not a paper person, then do it digitally. But I think physically writing it down on paper helps to process is better and get better ideas. But no matter what way you do it, write it down!

• Make a plan:

Similar to the last tip, making a plan is part of writing it down. Don’t just make a plan in your head, but write it down. If you’re not much of a writer, sketch it out. Either way, make a plan and go with that.

That is all for today. What other helpful recipe development tips do you have? Comment down below!

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Round Two:

Making this the second time was so much more delicious! It was super creamy and not overly chickeny. I did the same basic steps in the first round. The biggest difference between this and the first time was the sauce. There was lots of sauce this time. I did not add rice which I think was the culprit the first time. I also did add more ranch, and that made the chicken filling super creamy. 

I added about two cups of chicken, and probably about 2-2.5 cups of sauce. The biggest challenge still is with the pastry crust not strinking while I par-bake it. If It did not shrink, I could have added a lot more filling and sauce. 

I assembled the tart a bit differently too. I added the sauce and then the chicken. I thought about combining them, but when I got to that step, it seemed illogical. So, I did the sauce and then added the chicken filling. I almost forgot the bacon, but didn’t! I would have added the bacon to the chicken filling, but I ended up putting it up on top with the cheese. 

Ah yes, the cheese. It didn’t get as crispy which was really sad. If I left it in the oven longer, it would have, but I needed to get to an event. Overall. This dish was a hit! Bacon made to so much better. I will put it into a recipe and share it here! 

That’s all for the update, see your next week!

~Becky 🙂