Photography: James Moffatt / Styling: Steve Pearce
This luxurious custard tart combines white chocolate and mocha custard for a winning combination. Imagine sinking your fork into a buttery, golden tart shell that gives way to a luxuriously creamy filling – a velvety white chocolate layer and a layer of silky smooth mocha custard. Balanced by the espresso’s gentle bitterness, the white chocolate melts in each bite like a soft cloud of sweetness. Crowned with a dusting of cocoa, this tart looks as good as it tastes.
Once you’ve made and baked the pastry shell, it’s time to whip up the delicious filling. First, combine luscious thickened cream, strong coffee, a dash of vanilla and sugar over heat. Then it’s time to whisk egg yolks and sugar together. The hot creamy mixture is then poured over and this amazing concoction is poured into the pastry shell to form the bottom layer of the tart. Once this is baked and then chilled it’s time for the next layer: smooth white chocolate. Finished with a sprinkling of cocoa, this dessert is sure to impress.
For more coffee-infused recipes, try cream-cheese topped cappuccino cookies, silky smooth espresso martini cheesecake or the moreish flourless coffee, date and hazelnut cake with coffee butterscotch.
Ingredients
Method
For the pastry, combine flour, almond meal and sugar in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add egg yolk and water and pulse until the mixture just comes together.
Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead until just smooth. Shape into a disc.
Use a rolling pin to roll pastry out on a lightly floured surface to a 3mm-thick disc. Line a 30cm x 20cm fluted tart tin with removable base with pastry, trim the edges. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, to chill.
Preheat oven to 200°C (180°C fan-forced). Place the tart on a baking tray. Line with baking paper and fill with pastry weights or rice. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove paper and weights or rice and bake for a further 12 minutes or until the pastry is light golden and dry. Set aside. Reduce oven temperature to 150°C (120°C fan-forced).
For the filling, place cream, coffee, vanilla and half the sugar in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer.
Place egg yolks and remaining sugar in a bowl and whisk to combine. Pour hot cream over the egg yolks and whisk until smooth. Strain through a fine meshed sieve. Pour into the tart shell and bake for 50 minutes–1 hour, until the custard is just set with a gentle wobble. Allow to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until cold.
Combine melted chocolate and oil together. Pour over tart and refrigerate for 2 hours, or until set. Dust the top with cocoa powder. Using a warm knife, cut into squares, to serve.
Tip
To create the diagonal pattern with cocoa powder, use a piece of paper as the template.
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