More Than Sweet

classic dessert

Chai custard tarts with blueberries

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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.

Strawberry tart with Tahiti vanilla & white pepper

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Strawberry tart

Makes one 20cm tart

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 a 20cmx3,5cm tart ring with the pastry. Trim excess dough along the edges and rest the tart shell for 15-30 minutes in the fridge. 

Mazarin with white pepper

100g almond paste, at least 60% almonds
1 egg
75g butter
75g sugar
1/4-1/2 tsp. freshly ground white pepper
Pinch of salt

40-50g melted dark chocolate

Beat together almond paste, egg and white pepper until fully combined and there are no lumps remaining. In a separate bowl cream together butter and sugar, mix with the almond mixture and season with a pinch of salt. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 175C and prebake the tart shell for 5 minutes. Pipe or pour mazarin into the tart shell and smooth the surface with a spatula. Return the tart to the oven and bake for another 20-25 minutes, until the tart shell and mazarin is golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool to room temperature.

Brush the surface of the mazarin with melted dark chocolate and leave to set.

Tahitian vanilla bean cremeux 

125ml heavy cream
125ml whole milk 
4 egg yolks
35g sugar 
1/2 Tahitian 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.

Bergamot nappage

100ml water
50g sugar
5g yellow pectin
10g bergamot juice (or lemon, lime or orange)

Whisk together sugar and pectin and set the mixture aside. Heat the water to 45C in a small saucepan, add the pectin mixture and whisk to dissolve fully. Bring to a boil and boil for 2-3 minutes, turn off the heat and add the citrus juice. Pour into a bowl and cool to about 34-35C.

To assemble and serve

300g strawberries, rinsed, hulled and quartered

Whisk the cremeux until light and smooth and transfer to a piping bag. Pipe into the tart shell and smooth the surface with a spatula. Arrange the quartered strawberries on top of the cremeux and brush with the bergamot nappage.

Best served within 3-4 hours of assembly.

Salted caramel snow egg with pickled apple & vanilla creme anglaise

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Salted caramel snow egg with pickled apple & vanilla creme anglaise

Created for Mette Ravn Vanilje

Serves 6

Creme anglaise

250ml heavy cream
250ml whole milk
1 tahiti vanilla bean, seeds of
50g sugar 
5 egg yolks
Generous pinch of salt, to taste

Add heavy cream, whole milk and the vanilla seeds to a heavy bottom saucepan and warm up to just below boiling. Remove from heat and leave to infuse for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile whisk egg yolks and sugar until pale and very airy in a heatproof bowl. Remove vanilla bean from the milk mixture and set aside, warm back up to just below boiling and pour 1/2 of the warm milk into the egg mixture while whisking rapidly. Return egg mixture to the saucepan and cook over low heat while stirring constantly, until custard reaches 85C on an instant read thermometer. Remove from heat and pour into a clean bowl, add the vanilla bean and cover with cling film. Leave to cool completely in the fridge.

Pickled apple

3 apples, peeled, cored and diced
200ml water
100g sugar
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 empty tahiti vanilla bean

Bring water, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla bean to a boil. Remove from heat, add the apple dices and leave to quick pickle for 5 minutes. Remove the apple dices from the pickling liquid and store in the fridge until ready to serve.

Salted caramel meringue

165g sugar
5 egg whites
Generous pinch of salt

Caramelise the sugar until a deep amber color and pour onto a silicone mat or piece of baking paper to set. When the caramel is completely hardened, grind it to a fine powder in a food processor. Sieve off any large pieces of caramel.

Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt to soft peaks, then add the caramel powder 1 Tbsp. at a time until it is fully incorporated. Then beat to a stiff, glossy meringue. Season with salt to taste.

Bring a wide shallow pan of water to a rolling boil, then turn off the heat. Quenelle 6 meringue eggs into the warm water and poach for 2 minutes, before gently turning them over and poaching a minute or two on the other side. Using a slotted spoon, remove the poached meringue from the water and drain on a kitchen towel.

To serve, divide the apple dices in the centre of six bowls and pour over the chilled creme anglaise. Place a poached meringue on top of the apples and serve immediately.