Paris is, quite simply, a foodie’s dream. From its seemingly endless array of top restaurants, cafés, boulangeries and markets, it’s easy to lose yourself in the city’s culinary delights. But the one thing I can never get enough of is the pastry shops. There’s something about seeing a spread of beautifully crafted pâtisserie on parade behind a sheath of glass that fills me with a deep joy. One such beauty is the tartelette à la framboise (or raspberry tartlet), a creamy-custardy crême pat encased in a crunchy sweet pastry shell and topped with delectably tart, fresh raspberries. This recipe always makes me feel like I’m bringing a little bit Paris into my kitchen.
INGREDIENTS
for the pastry
240 g (430 ml) cake flour
95 g (180 ml) icing sugar
35 g ground almonds
pinch of salt
120 g (130 ml) unsalted butter, cut into blocks
1 egg, beaten
for the filling
200 ml cream
5 ml vanilla
40 ml sugar
10 ml cake flour
2 egg yolks
10 ml butter
100 g (110 ml) soft unsalted butter
100 g (120 ml) caster sugar
100 g ground almonds
1 egg
15 ml cake flour
5 ml finely grated lemon zest
for the topping
smooth strawberry jam
350 g fresh raspberries
METHOD
Place the flour, icing sugar, ground almonds and salt in a food processor. Mix until blended
Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg and mix until the dough forms.
Take the dough out of food processor and place on a sheet of baking paper. Cover with another sheet of baking paper and roll out the dough to about 4 mm thick. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Heat the oven to 180°C Line a baking tray with baking paper. Roll out the pastry between the baking paper, until about 2 mm thin.
Line eight 8 x 8 cm pastry rims with pastry. Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
for the filling
Place the cream, vanilla and 10 ml of the sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer.
In a bowl, mix the remaining sugar, flour and egg yolks. Pour the warm cream over this mixture and whisk to form the custard. Pour the custard mixture back into the saucepan and cook until it thickens, stirring all the time.
Remove from the heat and add 10ml butter. Stir until well mixed. Pour into a clean bowl and place a sheet of baking paper directly onto the surface of the custard. Let it cool to room temperature.
Place the unsalted butter and caster sugar in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
Once the custard has cooled, add the butter mixture and mix until combined. Heat the oven to 150°C.
Pipe the custard filling into the tart cases and place in the oven. Bake for 30 – 40 minutes or until the filling is golden and has set.
Remove the tarts from the oven and let them cool. Spread a thin layer of jam on top and decorate with raspberries.
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