HONEY MEAD CHOCOLATE TART
This is a recipe for a delicious tart that comprises almond pastry, a layer of toffee apple curd and a honey mead ganache. The edible violas, chocolate discs and gold leaf are optional, you can decorate this however you'd like. The pastry recipe actually makes enough for two tarts, so you can either freeze half of the pastry for up to 6 months, or make two tarts and double the ingredients for the ganache.
Ingredients
- ***Hazelnut Pastry***
- 190 g Unsalted Butter softened
- 80 g Icing Sugar
- 65 g Eggs
- 250 g Plain Flour
- 85 g <a href="https://caprera.com/products/confectionery/sweets/roasted-caramelised-almonds" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" >Tudor's Caramelised Almonds</a> ground
- 1 g Salt
- ***Honey Mead Chocolate Ganache***
- 145 ml Whipping Cream
- 100 g Dark Chocolate 71% Mast Brothers
- 60 g Dark Chocolate 66% Amedei Toscana
- 25 g Unsalted Butter room temperature
- 60 ml <a href="https://caprera.com/products/beverages/mead/gosnells-london-mead" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" >Gosnells Honey Mead</a>
- ***To assemble***
- <a href="https://caprera.com/products/jam-honey-and-preserves/curds/toffee-apple-curd" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" >Scarlett & Mustard Toffee Apple Curd</a>
- Violas
- Gold Leaf
Instructions
- To make the pastry, put the butter in a mixing bowl with the icing sugar and cream together until soft and smooth.
- Add the eggs and mix to combine thoroughly, add in the flour, ground nuts and salt and stir until the mixture comes together and forms a dough.
- Turn the dough out on to a worktop, shape it into a block, wrap it in cling film and place in the fridge to rest for 2 hours.
- When the dough has rested, prepare a 20cm pastry ring and place it on a baking tray lined with a silicone mat, or use a 20cm flan tin or cake tin. If the dough is still a bit cold, knead it on the work surface to make rolling out easier. Roll the pastry out to around 3mm thick and use it to line the pastry ring or tin.
- Press the pastry into the sides of the ring and then use a rolling pin to remove the excess by rolling it over the edge of the tin. Press the pastry into the sides again and create a bit of a lip to help with shrinking.
- Prick the base with a fork a few times and then place in the fridge for 20 mins to cool again.
- Pre-heat the oven to 180C/160C Fan, when the pastry has chilled enough, remove it from the fridge and line the tart case with baking parchment and baking beans or rice.
- Bake for 25 mins, then remove the paper and baking beans and bake for a further 10 mins until golden.
- Remove the pastry from the oven and leave it to cool.
- Make the ganache by breaking the chocolate into small pieces and adding them to a bowl. Heat the cream in a saucepan and bring it to a boil, pour the cream onto the chocolate and stir until the chocolate has melted.
- Add the butter and stir until melted and combined, stir in the honey mead and put the ganache to one side.
- Take the jar of toffee apple curd and place a layer of it in the bottom of the cooled pastry case, I used about half a jar, but add more or less based on personal preference.
- Then take the ganache and pour it in the tart case, covering the toffee apple curd and filling the case to the top of the pastry. Leave the tart to set somewhere cool- do not place it in the fridge.
- Decorate the tart however you like, or leave it plain, it's entirely up to you.