We had an unusually warm Saturday last week-end and we were able to enjoy a great BBQ with friends. I said I’d bring the dessert and after hours of deliberating on what to bake, I decided to merge two recipes.
I have a real soft spot for creamy fillings and shortcrust pastry and this gorgeous dessert brings the two beautifully together. Fresh berries, mint leaves and chocolate curls are its crowning glory and the slight tartness of the berries provides the perfect balance for the indulgently sweet filling.
The shortcrust pastry is a recipe from Jamie Oliver and the rest is a variation of a recipe scribbled on an old piece of paper. You will need a little bit of time to make this, but it’s not terribly complicated and makes a fantastic tart. It’s full on indulgence – and so worth it.
Here’s what you will need:
For the shortcrust pastry:
• 500g organic plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 100g icing sugar, sifted
• 250g good-quality cold butter, cut into small cubes
• zest of 1 lemon
• 2 large free-range or organic eggs, beaten
• a splash of milk & a bit of vanilla essence
You will also need baking beans to blind bake the pastry.
The basis of all good things in life, right here
Please note that this yields quite a bit of dough. I used a regular, loose bottomed 10”/25cm tart case and had a fair amount left over. Not sure there’s enough there for two regular sized tarts, but you can definitely get two mini ones out of the remaining dough.
For the filling and topping:
450g mascarpone
227ml double cream
1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped out
200g white chocolate (I used Green & Black’s – it’s gorgeous)
50g white chocolate for the curls
Fresh strawberries & raspberrries (you can pile them as high as you like)
Fresh mint
With the amount of Fruit, this is practically Health Food 🙂
Here’s how:
Let’s start with the shortcrust pastry. I know people often cave in and opt for the shop-bought variety, but it really is worth making your own. This is the first time I had a go at it and it worked out really well. Just follow the recipe, keep cool (literally) and you will have a pastry to be proud of!
Okay, you will need a decent amount of clean space on your worktop. Start by sifting the flour onto your work surface. Make sure you sift it from a height, so you incorporate as much air as possible. Next, repeat with the icing sugar. Again, make sure plenty of air goes in. Be prepared for a sweet dust cloud in your kitchen!
Let it snow!
Your hands should be as cold as possible for the next step. Jamie’s tip is to run them under cold water, dry them off and get to work. I held a tray of ice cubes for a few seconds. Work the cold butter cubes into the flour and icing sugar by rubbing your thumbs and fingers together. Eventually you will end up with a fine and crumbly mixture. It will happen – be patient.
The Butter should be one cool Cucumber
You will find this oddly satisfying 🙂
Add your lemon zest as you go along. I didn’t use the entire zest, as I didn’t want the lemon to be too overpowering.
Adjust according to Taste
In a bowl, whisk the eggs with a fork, then add a splash of milk and the vanilla. Pour this onto your mixture and quickly work everything together – before the eggs trickle away from you!
Work quickly, or you will have to wipe down your Kitchen Units
You will need to lightly flour the dough as it comes together, so you end up with a smooth ball. It’s important not to overwork the dough! As soon as you have your smooth dough, pat it down so it’s flat and round, dust with a bit of flour, wrap in cling film and put in the fridge. It will need to rest for at least half an hour.
If your Dough looks similar to this, you’re on the right Way
Now you can get to work on the filling. To start off with, whisk your double cream with the vanilla seeds.
Cream. Vanilla. Excellent.
Spoon about 100g of the mascarpone into a heatproof bowl and add the 200g of white chocolate chunks. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir whilst the chocolate is melting.
Grab a Piece of Chocolate. Nobody will notice.
You should end up with a glossy and smooth mixture.
Almost done…
Take off the heat and quickly whisk in the remaining mascarpone. Then add your double cream and briefly whisk in a food processor.
Now comes a very important step. Pick up a large spoon and try some of the filling. Just to make sure it’s alright, of course. If in doubt – try again 🙂 Place your filling in the fridge and leave to cool.
Yum
Preheat your oven to 190 Degrees C and grease your tart case. Once your pastry has sufficiently chilled, remove the cling film and roll it out on a lightly floured surface. When you have a big enough circle, roll the pastry up with your rolling pin and roll it out onto your tart case. Gently push the dough into the case, making sure you take it up to the edge for your crust.
With hindsight this was probably a bit chunkier than necessary. But, hey.
Cut a circle out of greaseproof paper and place it on top of your pastry before filling the case with baking beans.
There are 516 baking Beans here. Not sure what compelled me to count them.
Bake in the oven for about thirty minutes. The pastry should be golden and have a bit of a crunch.
Leave your pastry to cool, then spoon in the mascarpone and white chocolate filling and smooth it down. Get your berries (making sure they are not wet after you have rinsed them), and arrange them on top, pushing them gently into the filling.
To make your chocolate curls, get the remaining white chocolate, hold the flat side of a sharp knife against the surface and gently – and carefully – start scraping until curls are forming. Scatter them on top of the berries.
My first sweet Shortcrust Pastry – so proud 🙂
Just before serving, decorate your tart with fresh mint leaves and a dusting of icing sugar. And there you have it.
Tah-Dah!
My friend Uta’s lovely kitchen was the perfect Backdrop
Four happy Tummies later…
Rich, luscious and sweet – a slice of happy. Enjoy! 🙂
love, lou x
Bean to Beauty 