Tahitian vanilla

Strawberry tart with Tahiti vanilla & white pepper

juli 21, 2020 by marie Leave a Comment

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

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.

Green tea-olive oil apple tart with vanilla ice cream

april 25, 2020 by marie Leave a Comment

Tahiti vanilla ice cream

1 Tahiti vanilla bean
650ml whole milk
65ml heavy cream
65g skimmed milk powder
100g sugar
40g liquid glucose
4g ice cream stabiliser
Pinch of salt

Mix stabiliser with 15g sugar, set aside. Scrape the vanilla bean and add seeds and pod with milk, cream, milk powder, remaining sugar and glucose in a heavy-duty pot. Warm up to 40C, whisk in stabiliser mixture and bring up to 84C while stirring continuously. Remove from heat and age in the fridge overnight. Emulsify using an immersion blender, season with a generous pinch of salt to taste and churn in an ice cream maker.

Green tea-olive oil apple tarts

Makes six 7,5cm tarts

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. Insert a 2cm round cookie cutter in the center of the tart ring and line with pastry to make a tart wreath. 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.

Green tea-apple compote

3 medium green apples, peeled cored and cut into small cubes
50ml strong brewed Sencha green tea (I used this)

Cook apples in the green tea for 15-20 minutes, until apples are very soft. Mash with a fork until a chunky compote and leave to cool in the refrigerator.

Olive oil ganache

200g white chocolate, chopped
25g honey
100ml heavy cream
125ml fruity olive oil (I used this)
Pinch of salt

Add the chopped white chocolate to a heat proof bowl. Bring cream and honey to a boil over medium heat and pour over the white chocolate. Stir with a spatula until the chocolate is melted, and continue to stir while slowly drizzling in the olive oil. If mixture begins to split, emulsify using an immersion blender. Season with salt to taste. Pour the ganache into a piping bag, and set aside.

Divide the cooled apple compote between the tart shells and top with olive oil ganache. Leave the ganache to set in the fridge for an hour.

Assemble and serve

6 green apples
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. honey
1/4-1/2 tsp. salt

Mix lemon juice, honey and salt in a shallow bowl. Slice one apple at a time thinly on a mandolin and use af 1cm round cutter to cut small discs of apple and macerate for 5 minutes in the mixture.

Arrange the apple discs on top of the olive oil ganache, finishing each tart before slicing apples for the next. This prevents the apple discs from becoming too soft in the maceration liquid.

Sprinkle with crushed green tea and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on a little olive oil crumble

Rhubarb tarts with vanilla & pink grapefruit

april 6, 2020 by marie Leave a Comment

Makes six 7,5cm tarts

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

Tahitian vanilla cremeux

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

Roasted rhubarb

8-10 slender rhubarb stalks, washed and trimmed
80g sugar
Juice of 1/2 grapefruit

Preheat oven to 200C. Cut the rhubarb to fit the six tart rings snuggly and place in a roasting tin. Sprinkle with sugar and grapefruit juice and roast for 10-12 minutes, until they are fork tender, but not mushy. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

When ready to serve, whip the cremeux until soft and creamy and transfer to a piping bag. Pipe the cremeux into the tart shells and top with the rhubarb batons. Serve within a few hours of assembly.