chai Arkiv - More Than Sweet

Chai custard tarts with blueberries

Sweet shortcrust

250g all purpose flour
135g butter
A pinch of grated nutmeg
90g sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk

Rub together the flour, butter and nutmeg until the texture resembles breadcrumbs. Mix in the sugar and whisk together the egg yolk and whole egg. Slowly add the eggs to the mixture and gently knead just until the pastry forms a ball. Wrap the pastry ball in cling film and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Roll out the dough until 2-3mm thickness and line six 10cm tart rings with the pastry. Return the tart shells to the refrigerator for 15 minutes, while you preheat the oven to 175C.

Prebake the tart shells until golden brown, remove from oven and turn the heat down to 120C.

Chai custard

500ml cream
1 Tbsp. chai spice
75g sugar
160g egg yolks
Pinch of salt

3 Tbsp. cinnamon
3 Tbsp. bitter cocoa

Bring the cream to a boil and dissolve the chai masala in the warm cream. Whisk together the sugar and egg yolks and pour in the warm cream while whisking. Pour through a fine meshed sieve into a jug and skim off any foam forming on top.

Pour the custard into the tart shells and sieve over a mixture of cinnamon and cocoa powder.

Bake the custard for 20 minutes, or until the custard is just set. Remove from the oven and leave to cool to room temperature.

Blueberry gel

100g wild blueberry purée
20 gr sugar
25g water
1 tsp. lemon juice
1g agar agar
1/4 leaf gelatine

Soak the gelatine in cold water. Bring blueberry purée, sugar, water, lemon juice and agar to just below boiling. Remove from heat, squeeze excess water from the gelatine and dissolve in the warm liquid. Fully set in the fridge and purée to a smooth gel. Transfer to a squeeze bottle.

To assemble and serve

Fresh blueberries
Fresh herbs (I used a mixture of orange marigold leaves, lemon verbena and lemon thyme)

Pipe dots of blueberry gel on the cooled tarts and place fresh blueberries on top. Garnish with fresh herbs and serve.

Chai spiced sweet potato tart

Makes one 23cm tart

Shortcrust

125g cold butter, diced
200g flour, cold
1/8 tsp. salt
1-2 Tbsp. ice cold water

Rub the butter into the flour and salt until the texture of wet sand. Add only enough water to be able to gather the dough into a ball. Press into a disc and wrap in clingfilm, chill for at least an hour in the fridge.

Preheat the oven to 175C.

Roll the dough out and line a 23cm tart ring or tin with the pastry. Cover with aluminum foil and fill with dry beans before baking blind for 15 minutes. Remove aluminum foil and beans and bake until lightly golden brown, about 10-15 minutes longer.

Filling

300g sweet potato purée
100g eggs
75g brown sugar
75g granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. chai spice
150ml heavy cream
150ml whole milk

Whisk the eggs with sugars, salt and chai spice for 4-5 minutes, until the sugar is dissolved. Add sweet potato purée, heavy cream and milk and whisk to combine.

Turn the oven down to 150C, pour the filling into the pre-baked pastry and bake for 45-50 minutes, until the custard is set and there is just a slight wobble in the centre.

Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool to room temperature. Serve with whipped cream or creme fraiche and apple cider caramel sauce.

Apple cider caramel sauce

250ml dry apple cider
100g granulated sugar
1 Tbsp. honey
50ml heavy cream
25g salted butter
Salt to taste

Add apple cider to a small saucepan and reduce to about 100ml. Add granulated sugar and boil for 3-4 minutes, until syrup thickens and darkens. Whisk in cream and butter and cook for 10-12 minutes longer, until a thick, rich caramel sauce. Season to taste.