This tart assembly, I had spotted it a while ago. First at Nicolas Bernardé’s, his red berry tart had caught my eye. It was then on the page of L’art de la gourmandise that I saw it again. I had promised myself to make a tart of this style very soon. It was finally on the occasion of the end of the school year and a colleague leaving the school that I took the plunge. I didn’t get the chance to taste it since I made this cake specially for the school’s support staff ladies, but I received nothing but compliments.
For a change from the traditional recipe, I made a red berry financier tart by replacing the pâte sucrée with a raspberry financier. For a bit more zing, I made a raspberry confit. The sweetness comes from a delicious vanilla diplomat cream. Then, you can go to town with the red berries (here, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries). And there you have it, a beautiful tart that smells of summer!!
Ingredients & method
4 components · Full recipe
Raspberry Confit (can be made the day before)
Ingredients
- 150 g (5.3 oz) raspberry purée
- 15 g (0.5 oz) caster sugar
- 2 g (0.1 oz) NH pectin
Method
1
In a saucepan, gently warm the raspberry purée.
2
Add the sugar and NH pectin, previously well combined. Bring everything to the boil. Stir well with a whisk.
Vanilla Diplomat Cream (start the day before)
Ingredients
- 250 g (8.8 oz) milk
- 1/2 vanilla pod
- 40 g (1.4 oz) egg yolks
- 60 g (2.1 oz) sugar
- 25 g (0.9 oz) cornstarch
- 3 g (0.1 oz) gelatine
- 100 g (3.5 oz) heavy cream
Method
1
Soak the gelatine leaves in very cold water.
2
In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture lightens in colour.
3
Add the cornstarch and mix.
4
Bring the milk to the boil with the vanilla seeds and pod in a large saucepan. Pour three-quarters of the hot milk into the bowl in a thin stream, whisking constantly, then pour everything back into the saucepan with the remaining hot milk.
5
Whisk over a medium heat until the cream thickens, about 3 minutes.
6
Transfer to a bowl, add the squeezed gelatine and stir to combine.
7
Cover with clingfilm touching the surface and leave to cool.
8
This step can be done the evening before, for example. The next day, all you need to do is whip the heavy cream, loosen the pastry cream and fold the two together. When the pastry cream is well chilled, take it out of the fridge and work it with a whisk until smooth. Whip the heavy cream to a soft chantilly and fold it into the pastry cream in 3 additions.
Raspberry Financier
Ingredients
- 100 g (3.5 oz) butter
- 150 g (5.3 oz) icing sugar
- 50 g (1.8 oz) flour
- 50 g (1.8 oz) ground almonds
- 160 g (5.6 oz) egg whites (5–6 eggs)
- 1 pinch of salt
- 120 g (4.2 oz) whole raspberries (fresh or frozen)
Method
1
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2
Make a beurre noisette: heat the butter in a saucepan over a low heat; once melted it will start to foam on the surface (that’s normal :-)); once all the foam has disappeared, watch it closely until it takes on a beautiful golden colour and gives off a nutty aroma. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve and set aside.
3
In a separate bowl, combine the ground almonds, icing sugar, flour and salt.
4
In a bowl, lightly beat the egg whites until they begin to foam, then fold them into the dry mixture.
5
Add the beurre noisette and mix.
6
Butter and flour a 22 cm (8.7 in) diameter tin, line the base with baking parchment, then pour in the batter.
7
Scatter the raspberries over the surface.
8
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes at 180°C, checking doneness by inserting a knife in the centre — the blade should come out clean.
Assembly of the Red Berry Financier Tart
Ingredients
- red berries of your choice
Method
1
Place the financier on a serving plate.
2
Pipe the vanilla diplomat cream all around the tart in a spiral pattern.
3
Quickly whisk the raspberry confit to loosen it, then spoon it into the centre of the cream spiral.
4
Add a small layer of diplomat cream over the confit.
5
Finish by arranging the red berries attractively over the tart.
6
Keep chilled until ready to serve.
Gallery
