Raspberry and mascarpone tart
I can’t stand desserts that are just a façade. This tart tastes as good as it looks — and it looks really good. Lay the raspberries out as I’ve done here if you have the patience (I promise it’s therapeutic), or simply toss them on to the tart. It will be gorgeous either way.
For the tart shell
150g unsalted butter, at room temperature
35g soft brown sugar
35g white sugar
50g honey
250g plain flour
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
For the vanilla bean crème diplomat
550ml whole milk
110g white sugar
45g cornflour
135g egg yolks (about 7-9 egg yolks)
1½ teaspoons vanilla bean paste
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
30g unsalted butter
350g mascarpone
For the raspberry compote
200g fresh or frozen raspberries
75g white sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
Pinch of fine sea salt
To serve
500g fresh raspberries, left whole (about 4 punnets)
METHOD
1. To make the tart shell, we use a 30cm fluted tart tin with removable base. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and both sugars on low speed, stopping and scraping down the bowl with a spatula as needed. You are not trying to aerate here, so this will happen in about 30 seconds. Add in the honey and mix to combine. Mix the flour and salt together in a separate bowl. Add the flour mix to the stand mixer and bring the dough together on a low-medium speed, stopping and scraping the bowl as needed to bring it together evenly. Scoop the dough on to a large sheet of baking paper laid out on your bench and cover it with a second sheet of baking paper. Use a rolling pin to roll your dough to a thickness of 2mm — very, very thin. If your dough is too soft, making it difficult to roll evenly, place it in the fridge for 15 minutes to firm up slightly, then continue to roll. Place the rolled sheet of dough in the fridge for 10 minutes to chill. Remove the top sheet of baking paper and proceed to peel off as much of the pastry in one piece as you can from the bottom sheet. Lay the pastry into your fluted tart tin. It will tear and break into pieces, but you can patch that up and puzzle it back together in the tin as you go.
The important thing here is to take your time. This is the longest step in the process, but the resulting super thin, crisp shell is a thing of beauty. You’ll have excess dough that we’ll use later to patch any cracks that appear while baking (any excess beyond that can be shaped into a disc, wrapped and frozen for a few smaller tarts another day). Press the dough into the fluted edges, leaving an overhang of around 1cm (this will help guard against shrinkage as the dough relaxes). Place in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 155C fan-forced. Remove the tart shell from the fridge. At this point, you can trim the overhanging dough by running a small paring knife along the edge of the tin. See if you can’t make the edges a tiny bit thinner by lightly pushing the dough upwards slightly past the edge of the tin with your finger. This ensures you won’t have a shrunken tart shell. Cover the dough with a sheet or two of aluminium foil and gently press it into the pastry, being sure to cover the base and the sides. Weigh the base of the pastry down using pie weights or dried rice or beans, or a mixture of both. Bake for 35 minutes, then carefully remove the foil and pie weights. Use the excess dough to patch up any cracks that have appeared (there may not be any). Bake for a further 10-15 minutes, until the base is completely and evenly golden. Remove the pastry from the oven and leave it to cool in the tin before you proceed to fill it.
2. To make the raspberry compote, set a small saucepan over a low heat and add the raspberries, sugar, lemon juice and salt. Simmer until soft and thick, about 15-20 minutes. Pass through a sieve to get rid of the raspberry seeds. Once cooled, spread the compote across the entire base of the baked tart shell, getting all the way to the edges.
3. To make the vanilla crème diplomat, place the milk in a saucepan over a low heat and warm until scalding (steaming, with tiny bubbles at the edge of the pot). In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar, cornflour, egg yolks, vanilla bean paste and salt. Set a sieve over another mixing bowl. When the milk is scalding, slowly and steadily stream it into the egg yolk mixture to temper the eggs, whisking as you go to avoid lumps forming. Scrape the custard from the mixing bowl back into the saucepan and place over a low-medium heat. Heat, whisking constantly, until you have a very thick paste. Pour the mixture through the sieve and into the mixing bowl, then whisk for a further 2 minutes. Add in the butter and whisk until completely melted. Place the custard in an airtight container with a sheet of plastic wrap or baking paper sitting directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate for a couple of hours, until well chilled. This part can be done a day ahead. Once the custard has completely chilled, use a whisk to whip the cream to soft-medium peaks. Fold the whipped cream through the custard. Keep the finished crème diplomat in the fridge until ready to use.
4. To compose the tart. After you’ve spread the base with raspberry compote, top with the vanilla crème, spreading it out in an even layer. To finish, top the tart with the fresh raspberries set in concentric circles, or simply tumble them on to the tart to cover the crème diplomat. Refrigerate the completed tart for at least 2 hours (but up to a day in advance) to allow everything to set. Serve cold from the fridge.
Makes 1 x 30cm tart, enough for 12-14 slices.
This is an edited extract from Recipes for a Lifetime of Beautiful Cooking by Danielle Alvarez with Libby Travers (Murdoch Books, $49.99).