Mont Blanc Tarts Recipes

THE MOST DELICIOUS CHESTNUT DESSERT (MONT BLANC) RECIPE BY TASTY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450˚F (230˚C).
• Score the chestnuts in a cross with a knife.
• Place the chestnuts on a sheet pan and bake for 30 minutes.
• Remove the chestnuts with a towel, and quickly peel the warm chestnuts.
• Put the peeled chestnuts in a pan and add water, sugar, and vanilla extract.
• Cook and stir the chestnut on high heat until the water has evaporated and chestnuts has softened, about 15 minutes.
• Place the chestnut filling in a food processor, add in water and blend until smooth.
• Push the chestnut filling through an sieve into another bowl.
• Transfer filling to a piping bag with a circle tip and chill.
• Preheat the oven to 200˚F (90˚C).
• In a bowl, whisk the egg whites until foamy using a hand mixer.
• Add sugar to the egg whites and whisk until stiff peak forms.
• Transfer the meringue into a piping bag fitted with a circle tip and pipe the meringue in a swirling motion onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
• Bake the meringue for 1 hour.
• Get the pie crust, and cut small circles to serve as the bottom for the meringue and bake for 30 minutes
• Place the meringue on top of the pie crust and pipe the whipped cream around it. Pipe the chestnut cream around the whipped cream.
• Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
• Enjoy!

MONT BLANC TARTS

Steps:

• Mix the chestnut purée with the icing sugar and vanilla extract. Divide between 12 baked tartlet cases. Whip the double cream, spoon onto the tarts, then grate over dark chocolate to finish.

MONT BLANC

Steps:

• For the hazelnut sugar crust: Preheat the oven to 320 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the butter, all-purpose and hazelnut flours, turbinado sugar, baking powder, salt and egg until just combined. Roll thin between 2 pieces of parchment paper or on a silicone mat. Cut into 1-inch rounds and transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool.
• For the sacher sponge cake: Preheat the oven to 335 degrees F and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the almond paste and confectioners' sugar for about 1 minute. Slowly add the egg yolks until well combined. Add the cocoa powder and flour and mix until combined. Add the melted butter and mix until combined.
• In a clean mixer bowl, beat the egg whites and granulated sugar using the whip attachment until they hold stiff peaks; fold into the cocoa mixture. Spread in a 9-by-13- inch pan and bake until the cake is lightly golden and springs back to the touch, about 12 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet. Once cool, cut rounds slightly smaller than the base of the hazelnut sugar crust rounds.
• For the blackberry cream: Soak the sheets of gelatin in a bowl of cold water, making sure they are completely covered, 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat the blackberry puree, butter, eggs and sugar until it registers 194 degrees F on a candy thermometer, then immediately remove from the heat. Whip the heavy cream in a bowl with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.
• Squeeze the water out of the gelatin and add the gelatin to the warm blackberry mixture, stirring to dissolve. Let cool to 90 degrees F, then fold in the whipped cream. Transfer to a pastry bag and pipe into small, round silicone molds. Place a hazelnut crust on top of each. (It should be smaller than the base of the cream to fit just inside the mold.)
• For the chestnut cream: Soak the gelatin in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes. Combine the milk, egg yolks and granulated sugar in a saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula, until it registers 165 degrees F and is thickened slightly. (Be careful not to exceed 165 degrees F or the custard may curdle.)
• Squeeze the water out of the gelatin and add those sheets to the custard, stirring to dissolve. Add to a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, then add the chestnut paste and cream and mix until combined. Chill, then transfer to a pastry bag.
• Unmold the blackberry domes and place them on top of the sacher sponge rounds. Pipe chestnut cream on top of the blackberry domes. Place toasted hazelnuts and chopped chestnuts on top and serve.

MONT BLANC TARTS FROM SWEET

Steps:

• To make the flaky pastry:.
• Place the flour, butter, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times, until it is the consistency of fine breadcrumbs, then add the vinegar and water. Continue to pulse for a few seconds, then transfer to a work surface. Shape into a ball and flatten into a disk, cover in plastic wrap and set aside in the fridge for 1 hour (or up to 3 days).
• Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C.
• When ready to roll out, allow the pastry to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes (if it has been in the fridge for more than a few hours) and place on a lightly floured work surface. Roll out the dough to about 1/8 inch/3 mm thick and cut out eight circles, 5 1/2 inches/14 cm wide. Reroll the dough, if necessary, to get eight circles.
• Transfer one circle at a time to the 3 1/2-inch/9-cm-wide and 1-inch/3-cm-deep fluted tart pans and gently press the pastry into the corners of the pan; you want it to fit snugly and for there to be a decent amount of pastry hanging over the edge of the pan, as the pastry can shrink a little when baked. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.
• Line the pastry shells in the pans with parchment paper or paper liners and fill with rice or dried beans. Bake for 18 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown at the edges. Remove the rice and paper and bake for another 8 minutes, or until the shell is golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool completely on the baking sheet. Once cool, trim the shell (so that it can be removed from the pans) and set aside until ready to fill.
• Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
• To make the candied pecans:.
• Combine the maple syrup, corn syrup and granulated sugar in a small saucepan and place over a low heat. Stir gently until the sugar has melted, then add the pecans and salt. Stir so that the nuts are coated in the syrup, then tip the nuts onto the lined baking sheet. Place in the oven for about 8 minutes, or until the syrup is bubbling around the nuts. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and set aside until completely cooled. When the nuts are cooled, the glaze should be completely crisp; if not, return them to the oven for a few minutes more. Once cooled, break or roughly chop the nuts into 1/4 -inch/0.5-cm pieces and set aside until ready to use.
• To make the filling:.
• Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water, making sure that the base of the bowl is not touching the water. Stir occasionally until melted, then use a pastry brush to coat the inside of each tart shell with the chocolate. Set aside for about 30 minutes, to set, then fill with enough chestnut spread so that it rises about halfway up the sides of the tart shells.
• To make the vanilla whipped cream:.
• Pour the cream into the bowl of an electric mixer with the whisk attachment in place. Add the confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and brandy and beat on high speed for 1 minute, or until medium-soft peaks form.
• Divide the whipped cream among the tarts, so that it is slightly domed on top of the chestnut spread. Sprinkle the candied pecans generously on top-you might have a tablespoon or two left over, but these can be saved to munch on, to sprinkle over your next bowl of breakfast granola or porridge, or to use in the Knickerbocker Glory-and serve.
• Equipment:.
• You will need eight mini fluted tart pans, about 3 ½ inch/9 cm wide and 1 inch/3 cm deep. Alternatively, you can make this in one large fluted tart pan, around 10 inches/25 cm wide and 1 inch/3 cm deep.
• Make Ahead:.
• The pastry can be made up to 3 days ahead and kept in the fridge (covered in plastic wrap) until ready to roll. It can also be frozen for up to 2 months. The candied pecans can be made up to 5 days in advance and kept in an airtight container.
• Storage:.
• Once assembled, the tarts are best eaten on the day they are baked.
• Recipe courtesy of SWEET by Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh.
• Get the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Desserts-Londons-Ottolenghi-Yotam/dp/1607749149/.