More Than Sweet

Preserves

Mango tart with vanilla, bourbon & toasted chamomile

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Mango tart with cinnamon sponge, mango-bourbon jam, vanilla cremeux, toasted chamomile and lemon thyme
MANGO-BOURBON JAM

500g mango, diced (about 2 mangoes)
3 Tbsp. bourbon
1/2 cinnamon stick
300g sugar
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Pinch of salt

Place mango chunks and cinnamon stick in a pan with the bourbon and cook over medium heat until the mango is softened and tender. Add sugar and lemon juice and cook until the jam reaches 105C on a thermometer. Season with salt to taste.

Remove from heat, leave to cool for 5 minutes then discard the cinnamon stick and pour hot jam into a sterilised 500ml jam jar. Leave to cool overnight.

The jam is delicious with greek yogurt, on buttered toast, or sandwiched between two linzer cookies. I may or may not have just eaten it by the spoonful.

PATE SUCRÉE 

75 g butter at room temperature 
50g confectioners sugar
1/2 egg 
15g almond flour
125g all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt

Cream together butter and confectioners sugar. Beat in the egg, then gently stir in flour, almond flour and salt. Be careful not to overwork the dough. Wrap in clingfilm and rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. 

Roll out the dough and line six 7,5cm tart rings with the pastry. Trim excess dough along the edges and rest the tart shells for 15-30 minutes in the fridge. Use a fork to prick holes in the bottom of the tart shells. 

Preheat the oven to 175C and bake the tart shells until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely.

MADAGASCAR VANILLA BEAN CREMEUX 

125ml heavy cream
125ml whole milk 
4 egg yolks
35g sugar 
1 Madagascar vanilla bean 
3 leaves gelatine
Pinch of salt 

Soak gelatine leaves in cold water for 10-15 minutes. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and mix with the sugar, beat with egg yolks until pale and very airy. Bring milk and cream to just below boiling with the empty vanilla bean, remove from heat and pour 1/2 into the egg mix while whisking rigourously.

Return to heat and warm up to 85C while whisking continuously. Remove from heat, squeeze excess water from the gelatine and stir into the hot custard, until it is fully dissolved.

Season with a pinch of salt. Strain into a clean bowl and press a piece of clingfilm directly against the surface to prevent a skin forming. Chill until fully set.

CINNAMON SPONGE

60g almond flour
50g + 25g cane sugar
20g egg yolk
75g egg whites
50g butter, melted
35g all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon 
1 generous pinch of salt 

Preheat oven to 175C and line a baking sheet with baking paper. Mix together the almond flour, 50g of cane sugar and egg yolk in a bowl and whisk in the melted butter.

Sieve together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt and mix into the batter.

Whisk the egg whites with the remaining 25g of sugar to soft peaks and fold into the batter until the batter falls from the spatula.

Pour the batter onto the prepared baking sheet and spread out to about 1cm thickness. Bake for 5-6 minutes and leave to cool on a wire rack.

Cut out 6 rounds of cake that fit inside the cooled tart shells.

TO ASSEMBLE AND SERVE

3 ripe mangoes cut into 1x1cm cubes
Chamomile tea
Lemon thyme

Toast the chamomile tea in a pan over medium heat until toasty and fragrant, a few minutes. Remove from heat and grind to a fine powder.

Place the cake rounds inside the tart shells and spoon a little mango jam on top.

Whisk the cremeux until light and smooth and transfer to a piping bag. Pipe on top of the jam and smooth the surface with a spatula. 

Arrange the mango cubes on the tarts and dust with toasted chamomile powder and garnish with lemon thyme leaves just before serving.

White nectarine tart with raspberry & rose harissa jam and salty white chocolate olive oil namelaka, white peach & tarragon sorbet

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Serves 6

WHITE PEACH & TARRAGON SORBET

500g ripe apricots, pitted and coarsely chopped 
30g tarragon
75g sugar
15g glucose
125g water 

200g water 
170g sugar
20g dextrose  
20g lemon juice
2g stabiliser or locust bean gum 
Pinch of salt 

Add peaches, tarragon, 75g sugar, 15g glucose and 125g water to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and let the peaches simmer for 20 minutes, covered. Remove tarragon stalks, blend to a fine purée, then sieve and add to a clean pot with remaining water, 150g sugar, dextrose and lemon juice. Mix 20g of sugar with stabiliser and set aside. 

Warm up to 35C, add stabiliser mix and warm the sorbet mix to 82C. Remove from heat, season with a pinch of salt and blend with an immersion blender. Transfer to a bowl and leave overnight in the fridge.

Churn in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.

WHITE NECTARINE TART

Raspberry rose harissa jam

1000g raspberries, fresh or frozen
650g granulated sugar
1 lemon, juiced
1-1 1/2 Tbsp. rose harissa, to taste
1/2 tsp. salt, or to taste

Place raspberries, sugar and lemon juice in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Slowly bring to a boil, stirring all the time so the raspberries doesn’t stick to the bottom. Boil for 4-5 minutes while stirring throughout, add rose harissa and salt to taste. Pour the jam into sterilised jars and seal with sterilised lids. Turn the jars upside down and leave for at least 30 minutes. Keep opened jars in the fridge for up to a few weeks, unopened jars can keep for months.

Pâte sucrée

75 g butter at room temperature 
50g confectioners sugar
1/2 egg 
15g almond flour
125g all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt

Cream together butter and confectioners sugar. Beat in the egg, then gently stir in flour, almond flour and salt. Be careful not to overwork the dough. Wrap in clingfilm and rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Roll out the dough and line six 7,5cm tart rings with the pastry. Trim the edges and rest for another 15-30 minutes in the fridge. Preheat the oven to 175C and bake the tarts for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Salty white chocolate olive oil namelaka

(adapted from Valrhona)

250g white chocolate
150g whole milk
300g heavy cream
100g fruity olive oil
2 gelatine sheets (3,4g)
3/4 tsp. salt

Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water for 10 minutes.

Bring the milk to the boil, squeeze excessive water from the gelatine sheets, then add the warm milk.

Melt the white chocolate over a water bath and slowly pour the warm mixture over the chocolate stirring continuously with a spatula to emulsify.
Drizzle in olive oil while emulsifying with an immersion blender until perfectly smooth.

Add the cold cream then blend again, season to taste with salt.

Leave to set in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

To assemble and serve

6 ripe, but firm white nectarines
Optional: Toasted coriander olive oil crumb for plating the sorbet

Pipe a layer of raspberry rose harissa jam in the bottom of each tart shell, then pipe salty white chocolate olive oil namelaka on top. Slice the nectarines in 2mm slices and arrange in a rose pattern on each tart.

Arrange a nectarine tart on each plate with a quenelle of white peach and tarragon sorbet and olive oil crumb, if using. Serve immediately.


Graphic fruit tart

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Graphic fruit tarts

Makes six 10cm fruit tarts

Vanilla pate sablé

50g confectioners sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla powder
125g salted butter at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, app. 20g
150g all purpose flour

Cream together confectioners sugar, butter and vanilla powder. Beat in the egg yolk followed by the flour, don’t overwork the dough – mix only until the dough comes together. Gather into a bowl, flatten to a disc and wrap in clingfilm. Rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Roll out the dough and line six 10cm fluted tart tins with the dough. Chill the tart shells for at least 30 minutes in the fridge.

Preheat oven to 175C. Line the tart shells with tin foil and weigh down with dry beans or ceramic pie weights. Blind bake for 15 minutes, remove weights and tin foil and bake for another 5-10 minutes or until golden brown. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Rhubarb compote

300g rhubarb
125g granulated sugar
Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 160C. Rinse and clean the rhubarb stalks and cut into 2-3cm batons. Mix with the sugar and transfer to an ovenproof dish. Bake for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened. Cool to room temperature.

White chocolate cremeux with rose, cloves and vanilla

120g whole milk
120g heavy cream
3 cloves
1/8-1/4 tsp. rosewater (to taste)
Seeds of 1/4 vanilla bean 
50g egg yolks 
12g granulated sugar 
2 gelatine leaves (3,5g total)
125g white chocolate, finely chopped
Pinch of salt 

Warm the cream and milk to just below boiling in a small saucepan, remove from heat and add cloves, steep overnight. Remove the cloves and bring milk and cream back to a boil. 

Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water, set aside. In a bowl, mix together sugar and vanilla, add egg yolks and whisk to combine. Temper with 1/2 of the warm milk, add remaining milk whisking to combine and return to saucepan. Cook over low heat until temperature reaches 82C, stirring continuously. Immediately remove from heat, squeeze out excess water before stirring in gelatine leaves.

Add the white chocolate and emulsify using an immersion blender. Season to taste with rosewater and a pinch of salt. Transfer to a piping bag and chill for 2-3 hours.

To assemble and serve

48 blackberries
48 raspberries
48 parisienne balls of dragonfruits, from app. 4-5 dragonfruits

Spread a 1/2 cm layer of rhubarb compote in the bottom of each tart shell. Top with spiced white chocolate cremeux and arrange 8 blackberries, 8 raspberries and 8 dragonfruit balls on each tart.

Apricot and green tea plated dessert

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Lemon verbena cremeux

120g whole milk
120g heavy cream
15g lemon verbena leaves
50g egg yolks
12g granulated sugar
2 gelatine leaves (3,5g total)
125g white chocolate, finely chopped
Pinch of salt

Warm the cream, milk and lemon verbena to just below boiling in a small saucepan, remove from heat and steep overnight. Discard verbena leaves and bring milk and cream back to a boil.

Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water, set aside. In a bowl, whisk together egg yolks with sugar and temper with 1/2 of the warm milk. Add remaining milk, whisk to combine and return to saucepan. Cook over low heat until temperature reaches 82C, stirring continuously. Immediately remove from heat, squeeze out excess water before whisking in gelatine leaves.

Add the white chocolate and emulsify using an immersion blender. Season to taste with a pinch of salt. Transfer to a piping bag and chill for 2-3 hours.

Apricot sorbet

500g ripe apricots, pitted and coarsely chopped
75g sugar
15g glucose
125g water

200g water
170g sugar
20g dextrose
20g lemon juice
2g stabiliser or locust bean gum
Pinch of salt

Add apricots, 75g sugar, 15g glucose and 125g water to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and let the apricots simmer for 20 minutes, covered. Blend to a fine purée, sieve and add to a clean pot with remaining water, 150g sugar, dextrose and lemon juice. Mix 20g of sugar with stabiliser and set aside.

Warm up to 35C, add stabiliser mix and warm the sorbet mix to 82C. Remove from heat, season with a pinch of salt and blend with an immersion blender. Transfer to a bowl and leave overnight in the fridge.

Churn in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Apricot tarragon marmalade

120g apricot, pitted and finely chopped
75g granulated sugar
2,5g pectin NH
1 gelatin leaf
12g lemon juice
1 tsp. tarragon

Soak gelatin leaf in cold water. Heat apricot in a saucepan with 40g od sugar. Mix the remaining sugar with pectin, add to the apricots and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, add tarragon and emulsify with a hand blender. Pour into a squeeze bottle and keep in the fridge until ready to serve.

Green tea jelly

100ml green tea
1 gelatine leaf

Soak the gelatine in a bowl of water, set aside.
Squeeze out any excess liquid from the gelatine and add to the hot tea, stirring to dissolve the gelatine. Pass the liquid through a sieve into a small container and set in the fridge for at least an hour.

Lemon thyme poached apricots

12 apricots, halved and pitted
250g sugar
200g water
50g apricot purée
1/2 lemon, juice and zest
1 Tbsp. lemon thyme

Combine the sugar, water, lemon, apricot purée and lemon thyme in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, add the apricots and poach them for 15-20 minutes, keeping a constant temperature of 78-80C.

Remove apricots from poaching liquid and cool completely. Cut the poached apricots in 1/8 segments.

Green tea meringue

3 egg whites
115g granulated sugar
115g confectioners sugar
1/2 tsp. citric acid or cream of tartare
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tsp. finely ground green tea

Place the egg whites in a large, clean bowl. Add caster sugar, acid and confectioners sugar and whisk everything for 5-6 minutes on high until a stiff, glossy meringue. Fold in lemon zest and spread the meringue out in a thin layer on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Dust with finely ground green tea.
Bake for 1 hour at 100C, allow to cool completely in the oven with the door ajar. Break into shards and store in an airtight container.

To assemble and serve

Lemon verbena leaves
Lemon thyme leaves
Tarragon leaves

Arrange poached apricot, lemon verbena cremeux, apricot & tarragon marmalade, green tea jelly and apricot sorbet. Cover with meringue shards and garnish with fresh herbs.

Fig jam with star anise, cinnamon and whiskey

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I love preserving the abundance of fruit throughout summer and early fall. I freeze a lot of the fruit I get from my family’s gardens, so if in November I start longing for summer I can make a strawberry pie that, if I close my eyes for a second, almost makes me believe its the middle of July. But some of the fruits I turn into jams, compotes, syrups and sauces. In my cupboard I have cherry sauce to go with the Danish vanilla and almond rice pudding on Christmas Eve, port and rum macerated plums, unripe fermented greengage syrup (more on that later) and a lot of jams.

My favourite jam is this fig jam with star anise, cinnamon, a dash of whiskey and lemon peel. It is amazing on pretty much everything. Yoghurt, cake, cheese, bread – I ate it on a homemade croissant straight from the oven; Blissful. 

This recipe will give you a pretty amount of jam, around six 225g jars. Sterilise the jars and lids in boiling water for 5 minutes, then drain them just before pouring the jam into the jars to prolong shelf life. If sterilised properly the unopened jars will keep for about a year. After opening store in the fridge and eat within a few weeks. 

Fig jam with star anise, cinnamon and whiskey

750g ripe figs, stalks removed and thinly sliced
300g sugar
250ml water
2 star anise
1 ceylon cinnamon stick
1 5cm strip of lemon peel
Juice of 1/2 lemon
8g yellow pectin
2-3 Tbsp. whiskey

Add the figs, 250g sugar, water, spices, lemon juice and peel to a large saucepan or copper pot and cook over medium heat for 5-6 minutes. Mix pectin with remaining 50g of sugar and add to the pot. Slowly bring the jam to a boil while stirring all the time. Boil for 5 minutes, turn of the heat.

Remove the spices and lemon peel and stir in the whiskey. Pour the jam into the sterilised jars and seal with the lids. Turn upside down for at least 30 minutes, then allow to cool completely.