Chocolate Custard Berry Tart Food

CHOCOLATE TART

Steps:

• To make the pastry: combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and mix with a pastry blender or hands until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the middle of the pastry. Combine the egg yolk with the ice water in a small bowl, whisking to blend; pour it into the well and work it in to bind the dough until it holds together without being too wet or sticky. Squeeze a small amount together, if it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Form the dough into a disk and wrap in plastic; refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch circle, about 1/4-inch thick. Carefully roll the dough up onto the pin (this may take a little practice) and lay it inside a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the dough into the pan so it fits tightly; press the edges into the sides of the pan. It is important to press the dough evenly into every nook and corner of the ring, especially the scalloped edges. Shave off the excess hanging dough with a knife. Put the tart in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to relax.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place the tart pan on a sturdy cookie sheet so it will be easy to move in and out of the oven. Line the tart with aluminum foil and add pie weights or dried beans to keep the sides of the tart from buckling. Bake for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and weights. Using a pastry brush, lightly coat the crust with a beaten egg white. Return to the oven and continue to bake for another 8 minutes until the tart is golden in color, but not brown. Remember the tart will be cooked again with the filling. It should be cooked but light in color so that it will not burn on the second bake. Set aside to cool and lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.
• To make the filling: Heat the heavy cream and milk in a pot over medium-low flame, until it simmers slightly around the edges. Remove from the heat; add the chopped chocolate and stir until melted and smoothed out. Add the sugar and salt and whisk until well incorporated. Beat the eggs in a small bowl until blended and add them to the chocolate mixture, stir until completely blended. Pour the filling into the cooled tart shell and bake at 325 degrees F for 15 to 20 minutes until the filling is set and the surface is glossy. If you see any bubbles or cracks forming on the surface, take the tart out right away - that means it is beginning to become over baked. Cool before cutting.

CHOCOLATE-RASPBERRY TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, combine cookies, sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Process until very fine crumbs form. Add butter and pulse until mixture just comes together. Press crumbs firmly into a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Place on a baking sheet and bake until crust is dry and set, 20 minutes. Let cool.
• In a large bowl, combine chocolate and pinch of salt. In a small saucepan, bring cream to a bare simmer over medium-high. Immediately pour cream over chocolate and let stand 1 minute. Stir gently until chocolate melts and mixture is completely smooth. Pour chocolate into cooled tart shell and refrigerate until set, 30 minutes. To serve, remove tart from pan and scatter raspberries on top.

CHOCOLATE FRUIT TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Whisk flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt together in a bowl. Cut in 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons butter using a pastry cutter or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix in egg and egg yolk until dough comes together.
• Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Transfer to a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom.
• Bake in the preheated oven until dry to the touch, about 25 minutes.
• Meanwhile, prepare the pastry cream. Bring milk to a simmer in a medium saucepan.
• Whisk eggs, sugar, and flour together in a large bowl until smooth. Whisk in hot milk, a little at a time, until custard is smooth. Pour custard back into the saucepan; add lemon zest. Cook, whisking constantly, until pastry cream thickens and comes to a boil, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat, discard lemon zest, and let cool.
• Remove tart crust from the oven and let cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes.
• Unmold crust and fill with cooled pastry cream. Pile cherries in the center. Arrange peach slices in a ring around the cherries. Arrange kiwi slices in a ring around the peaches.

MARY'S FEATHERED CHOCOLATE TART

Steps:

• Grease a 23cm/9in fluted tart tin with butter.
• For the pastry, measure the flour, icing sugar and butter into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and a tablespoon of cold water and mix until it comes together to form a soft dough.
• Wrap the dough in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 200C(180C fan)/400F/Gas 6.
• Dust the work surface with flour then roll out the pastry as thinly as you can to a circle about 5cm/2in larger than your flan tin.
• Line the tin with the pastry. Don't worry if the pastry breaks a little, it is easy to patch up. Chill for 15 minutes.
• Prick the base of the pastry with a fork, line the pastry case with baking paper or foil and fill with baking beans. Bake the pastry blind for 10 minutes, or until just lightly golden-brown. Remove the paper and beans and return the tart to the oven to cook for a further 5-7 minutes, or until pale golden-brown and the base is cooked.
• To make the chocolate filling, melt the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar and flour. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and leave to stand.
• To make the orange filling, melt the butter and white chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in the orange zest, sugar and flour. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time and pour the mixture into a jug.
• Place the pastry case on a baking tray. Pour the chocolate mixture into the pastry case. Drizzle or pipe the orange filling over the chocolate filling to create a swirl effect. Draw a cocktail stick through the filling to create a marbled effect.
• Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until just set around the edges, but still slightly wobbly in the centre.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly, until warm but not piping hot, then serve.

CLASSIC FRENCH FRUIT TART

Steps:

• Make the Crust: Complete the pâte sucrée through baking and cooling.
• Make the Pastry Cream: In a medium pot, heat the milk until just boiling. Remove the pot from heat. While the milk is warming, in a heat-proof mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, egg, egg yolks, and cornstarch. Whisk until the mixture is very smooth and has lightened in color, about 2 minutes. Whisking constantly, add about a quarter of the hot milk into the egg mixture. (This is called tempering. Tempering the eggs helps raise their temperature without cooking them, and helps emulsify them into the milk.) Pour the milk-tempered egg mixture into the pot of the remaining milk. Whisk to combine. Return the pot to the heat and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly to prevent "scrambled eggs," especially on the sides and bottom, until the magic happens and the pastry cream thickens, about 2 minutes. Stir in the butter and vanilla and cook one minute more, whisking constantly. The pastry cream should make thick, lazy bubbles. (See note below if you see any coagulated bits of egg in your custard.) Pour the thickened pastry cream into a clean, shallow bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap and push it down in the bowl so it sits directly on the surface of the pastry cream. This prevents a skin from forming on top. Chill until cold, a few hours (or up to 2 days before serving).
• Assemble the Tart: Remove the tart ring and transfer the tart shell to a serving platter. Whisk the chilled pastry cream until smooth, then spread it evenly into the tart shell using an offset spatula. Arrange a generous amount of fruit over the pastry cream in your desired design. In a small saucepan, heat the apricot jam with 1 tablespoon of water over medium heat, whisking, until thin. (Alternatively, heat it in a heat-proof bowl in the microwave for about 30 seconds.) If the jam is especially chunky, strain it through a sieve. Use a pastry brush to gently dab the fruit with a thin layer of apricot glaze. Chill until ready to serve.
• Note: Avoid melon and other fruit with high moisture content, like sliced citrus. These will wilt quickly and seep moisture into the pastry cream. Also avoid oxidizing fruit like apples and bananas; these fruits will turn brown. Berries should be fully dried after rinsing (raspberries should not be washed) and strawberries should be sliced.
• Note: If you see any coagulated egg bits in your finished custard, strain the hot pastry cream through a fine mesh strainer.
• Make-Ahead Instructions: The pastry cream can be made up to 2 days before serving. The tart can be assembled and refrigerated up to one day before serving.

CHOCOLATE CUSTARD TARTS

Steps:

• For the puff pastry, put the flours, eggs and water in a large bowl and gently mix everything to a stiff dough. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead it well for 10 minutes. The dough should feel tight but elastic so the kneading will take a bit of effort. When the dough is smooth, shape it into a ball and put it in a plastic bag in the fridge to chill, for at least 30 minutes, but you can leave it overnight at this stage.
• Flatten the butter out into a rectangle about 1cm/½in thick and chill for about one hour to harden the butter again, if needs be.
• Roll out the dough in a rectangular shape, also about 1cm/½in thick. Put the butter on the top so that it covers the bottom two-thirds of the dough. Make sure that it is positioned neatly and comes almost to the edges. Fold in the edges slightly so the butter does not escape during the rolling and folding process, a little fold will do.
• Fold the exposed dough at the top down over one-third of the butter, then gently cut off the exposed bit of butter and put it on the top of the dough you have just folded down. Fold the bottom half of the dough up. You will now have a sandwich of two layers of butter and three of dough.
• Turn the square of pastry round a quarter turn (90 degrees). Roll out the dough into a rectangle as before. Fold one-third of the dough down and then the bottom one-third up on top to make a neat square. This is called a single turn. Place the dough in a plastic food bag, or wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for another hour. Repeat this process twice more, making sure you chill the pastry for an hour in between each turn.
• Chill in the plastic food bag or cling film overnight. Your dough is now ready to use.
• Heat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Butter the holes in a 12-hole muffin tin.
• Roll out the pastry to a rectangle and cut out 12 discs using a 9cm/3½in cutter. Press each pastry disc into the muffin tin holes, line with baking parchment, fill with a few baking beans and blind bake for 10-15 minutes.
• Allow to cool completely in the tin. Leave the oven at the same temperature.
• To make the custard, whisk the sugar, egg yolks, cornflour and salt together and set aside. Put the milk in a large, heavy-based pan with the vanilla pod (split in half, with the seeds scraped into the milk) and the cinnamon stick.
• Bring to the boil and then remove from the heat. Pass the hot milk through a sieve to remove the cinnamon stick and vanilla pod, then pour the hot milk over the egg mixture and whisk together.
• Return this mixture to the pan. Put back on a gentle heat and cook, stirring continuously, until the mixture becomes thick. Remove from the heat immediately and beat for a minute to get rid of any lumps. Leave to cool.
• Gently melt the chocolate in a bowl suspended over a pan of simmering water (without letting the bowl touch the water). Mix the melted chocolate together with double cream in a bowl to produce a smooth ganache.
• Spoon the cooled custard into each of the cooled pastry cases, filling them about three-quarters full. Then, using a teaspoon, dip the handle of the spoon into the warm chocolate ganache, and carefully swirl a little chocolate into each of the custard tarts.
• Place the tarts back into the preheated oven and bake for a further 10 minutes.
• Cool and dust with icing sugar to serve.

CHOCOLATE CUSTARD-BERRY TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Blend flour, butter, and sugar together in a food processor until crumbly. Pour in water; mix until crust dough holds together. Press into the bottom and sides of a 9-inch tart pan. Poke holes in dough with a fork to eliminate air bubbles.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven; increase oven temperature to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Chop chocolate and place in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 15-second intervals, stirring occasionally, until melted; spread over baked crust.
• Beat cream cheese, sugar, flour, vanilla extract, and egg together in a bowl using an electric mixer until smooth; spread filling over chocolate layer.
• Arrange berries tightly and evenly over cream cheese filling. Mix raspberry syrup and blackberry schnapps together in a small bowl; brush over berries using a pastry brush.
• Bake in the preheated oven until berries are reduced and filling begins to set, about 35 minutes. Remove from oven; filling will set completely as it cools.