tart Archives - Page 3 of 7

Matcha and White Chocolate tart

11|02|2018

If you are a lover of Matcha green tea, I have the perfect dessert for you. If you’re not or perhaps unfamilar with it, that is about to change! My husband loves drinking green tea but I have never shared the same love for this healthy superfood with amazing health benefits. However, what I immensely love are the desserts infused with matcha tea powder. Not only do they look fabulous in that stunning shade of green but they taste pretty unique as well. I cannot think of a better pairing than white chocolate because they just complement each other in the most delicious way.

I’ve used matcha tea powder in the tart shell as well in the filling. In fact, though the tart dough took on the beautiful green colour quite easily, I was a little bit skeptical if the tart shell would remain green upon baking or turn into a golden brown rendition of the same. I was pleasantly surprised that the colour intensified in both the shell and the filling. My favourite part were the cross section of the slices.

With Valentine’s day around the corner, I had to dress up the tart of course. Initially I thought of using candied rose petals but I’ve done that last year so I went with sugar roses this time. I love going to High teas which are quite popular in Australia and somehow this tart reminds me of a High tea treat for girls. I’m very tempted to try out smaller tartlet versions of this for my next get-together with girlfriends:-)

A few days ago I asked my followers on Instagram what kind of desserts would they love for Valentin’s day. Rich chocolate ones or pretty pink ones? I got a few responses stating pink chocolate desserts. Now there can be many possibilities like a Neapolitan dessert, a raspberry/pomegranate infused chocolate dessert or a pink colored white chocolate treat. You know which one I chose for this tart but if you had a preference, which one would it be?

Matcha and White Chocolate Tart
Makes a round 8 inch tart serving 6-8

For the pastry
1 cup 150 g plain flour
1 tbsp Matcha (green tea ) powder
1/4 cup, icing sugar mixture
100 g chilled butter, roughly chopped
1 egg yolk

For the filling
1 tbsp matcha powder
3 eggs
150 ml single cream/pouring cream
1/4 cup castor sugar

For the pink Ganache
150 ml heavy cream
250 g white chocolate, roughly chopped
1 drop pink food coloring

To make the pastry, process the flour, Matcha, icing sugar and butter in a food processor until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and process until mixture just comes together. Gently knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Shape into a disc. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 15 minutes to rest.

Place tart pan onto a large baking tray/sheet (makes it easier to move the pan in and out of the fridge.). Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface to a 3 mm-thick disc. Line a 19 cm fluted tart pan with a removable base with the pastry. Alternatively, press the dough with your fingers around the base and sides of the tart pan covering it entirely. Trim edges. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C (180 degrees C fan-forced). Place the tart pan on an baking tray. Line with baking paper and fill with pastry weights or dried rice or beans. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Remove paper and weights and bake for a further 10 minutes or until pastry is light golden. Remove from oven. Cool for 10 minutes. Reduce oven to 150 degrees C.

Meanwhile, make the filling . Take two tablespoons of the cream in a small bowl and add the matcha powder. Whisk together till well blended. Whisk the eggs, remaining cream, sugar, and matcha paste together in a large bowl. Strain through a fine sieve directly onto the tart shell. If you’re not comfortable doing this, strain first into a jug and then pour onto the baked tart shell.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until custard is almost set. Remove from oven. Set aside for 15 minutes to cool to room temperature. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to chill.

Once set completely, pour over pink white chocolate ganache (recipe below). Place again in the fridge to set (about an hour). Decorate with sugar roses/edible flowers/grated white chocolate/sprinkles or anything you like. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

To make the white chocolate ganache, bring cream to the boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Stir in the white chocolate. Stir until chocolate is melted and smooth.

Add food colouring and blend well. Allow to cool. Pour cooled white chocolate ganache over cooked tart base.

4-Ingredient No Bake Chocolate Tart

17|09|2017

Like it or not, desserts and dishes go hand in hand. If I could show you the pile of large and small dishes in my kitchen every day, it’ll not make a pretty sight at all. Mixing bowls, baking pans, trays, measuring jug, sieves, spatulas, cake stands, plates and so on..Phew! Multiply that into 2 recipes every day for Christmas during the last quarter and you’ll have to reserve an hour in the day to just do dishes and clean. That’s why I love simple recipes, with fewer ingredients and lesser equipment. Plus the added bonus of being make-ahead. Win win!

This tart is phenomenal! It gives your guests the impression that you’ve spent a great deal of time in making it while it actually is pretty easy. And it does taste like Heaven. A tart made of an Oreo crust and filled with chocolate ganache and topped with raspberries and hazelnuts can only be blow-your-mind kind of good, right? A good quality chocolate can elevate it even further. Feel free to experiment with flavoured chocolates though I really like it as it is. Classic chocolate and raspberries…Oh so amazing!

4 Ingredient No Bake Chocolate Tart
Makes an 8 inch round tart

2 X 137 g packs Oreo Cookies (or any other chocolate cookie)
150 g unsalted butter, divided
350 g dark chocolate (not bittersweet), roughly chopped
250 ml heavy cream
Fresh raspberries, to serve
Roasted Hazelnuts (or any other nut), to serve

Melt 100 g of butter in short bursts in the microwave (or stove). Process cookies in a food processor until fine crumbs form. Add the melted butter and mix till well blended.

Press the cookie mixture into the bottom and edges of an 8 inch fluted tart pan with a removable base. Use the back of a spoon (and your fingers where necessary) to evenly spread out into a neat tart crust. Place the tart pan onto a plate (this makes it easier to move the tart in and out of the fridge). Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

To make the filling, in a medium saucepan, place the cream and remaining butter (50 g) together and bring to a gentle boil (do not boil). Remove from heat. Add the chopped chocolate and leave aside. After 2-3 minutes, stir mixture gradually till chocolate is fully melted and well blended. If there are still some lumps of chocolate left, place saucepan on low heat again for a few seconds to warm up and stir again.

Cool mixture for about 5 minutes. Pour onto the prepared crust. Refrigerate for 6 hours, preferably overnight. Best served chilled with fresh berries.

Blood Orange Hazelnut Frangipane Tart

7|08|2017

Until last year Blood Orange was this exotic, stunning looking citrus that I had only seen in pictures. Once I figured out where and when to find them, I’ve literally waited, keeping an eye out for them this year. Who else is crazy about fresh produce like me? And really how amazing is the world around us! Well, now that they are here and the season is fleeting I have a few recipes to share. Personally I find the best pair with citrus are nuts so a frangipane tart was a must. The tart didn’t disappoint at all. Bright, bold, nutty, buttery and so delicious bursting with the flavour of hazelnuts and a punch from the slightly sour blood oranges.

When Blood Oranges arrive in Australia, there is something else to look out for. The cherry blossoms. So yes, Spring is coming. We made it!

Blood Orange Hazelnut Frangipane Tart
Makes a 6 inch round tart (serves 6)

Shortcrust tart shell, store bought or home-made (use this recipe)
For the frangipane filling
100 g unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup hazelnut meal
1/4 cup plain flour
1 tsp powdered cinnamon
2 tbsp finely grated blood orange zest
1/2 cup orange marmalade
2 fresh blood oranges, thinly sliced, to serve
Fresh mint leaves, to serve

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C (180 degrees C for fan forced )In a medium bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Add the egg and beat to combine. Add the hazelnut meal, flour cinnamon and blood orange zest and mix to combine well.

Spread the frangipane filling evenly on the tart shell. Bake for 20 minutes or until the top is slightly puffed up and golden. Remove from oven. Spread orange marmalade on the warm tart. Cool to room temperature.
Top with blood orange slices, fresh mint leaves and edible flowers. Enjoy!

White Chocolate and Strawberry Tart

20|06|2017

Delicious White chocolate and Strawberry tart with a cookie crust and an orange infused white chocolate ganache filling. No baking and easy to put together.

Posting after a while now. How has everyone been? I had a lot going on these past few weeks, the first being a house move which I was totally unprepared for. We were renting this place for almost 3 years now when the owner just sold the property. The new owners wanted to move in quickly and we were asked to vacate. With a huge number of commitments and client work already scheduled for the beginning of June, I had no choice but to book the closest available house and move my entire setup into a new place. Since, I could only afford to take the weekend off from work, I figured out that there was no way I could bubble wrap all my stuff, box them and unwrap them later. So I made close to 30 trips back and forth loaded with props, backgrounds and a hundred other things so I could place them in shelves (in the new place) just the way they were before. By Monday, I couldn’t move. And then realizing the greatest fear of all, food photographers would relate to. Light!!! The angle and direction of light was entirely different and I spent a few frustrated days trying to figure out the best solution.Finally, things have settled down…well, sort of, and life is getting back to normal again.

In the middle of all this chaos, the oven in the new house gave me a bit of trouble as well so I just gave up temporarily and started creating no-bake recipes. Always think positive, right? When it comes to desserts, there are enough options, thankfully. Yay! This White Chocolate Tart has a cookie crust made with digestive cookies. I’ve experimented with a number of cookies before and digestive cookies were on my mind for some time, just to find out if they would be a lighter version of the rest. Oreos are generally the best bet when it comes to a no bake cookie crust but I didn’t want a chocolate crust for this tart. The filling is white chocolate ganache infused with freshly grated orange zest that balances out all the sweetness. The idea initially was to create an orange tart until I discovered on that day that our winter strawberries had hit the markets. We are so lucky to have two strawberry seasons in Australia. Look how big, juicy and red they are! The White Chocolate and Strawberry tart comes together quickly and needs no special skills to make. If you’ve always hesitated to make a tart the traditional way, give this a go for sure. There is hardly a thing that could go wrong here. Play around with seasonal fruits that are available near you or simply decorate with grated white or dark chocolate.

White Chocolate and Strawberry Tart
Makes a 14 x 5 inch rectangular tart or a 9 inch round tart.

250 g pack of digestive cookies
100 g unsalted butter, melted
250 g white chocolate, roughly chopped
130 ml heavy/thickened cream
40 g unsalted butter, roughly chopped
1 tsp finely grated orange zest
Fresh strawberries to top

Process cookies in a food processor until fine crumbs form. Add the melted butter and mix till well blended.

Press the cookie mixture into the bottom and edges of a rectangular tart pan (14 inch x 5 inch) with a removable base. Use the back of a spoon (and your fingers where necessary) to evenly spread out into a neat tart crust. Place the tart pan onto a plate (this makes it easier to move the tart in and out of the fridge.). Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until crust is firm.

While the crust is in the fridge, heat the cream in a medium saucepan over low heat until it just comes to a a boil (do not boil). Remove from heat and add the chopped white chocolate. Leave aside for 5-10 minutes until chocolate melts. Add the butter and the orange zest. Mix.

Cool the white chocolate mixture slightly and pour onto the prepared crust. Refrigerate until set (about 2 hours). Serve with fresh strawberries and fresh basil leaves.