Here I am again with a recipe full of freshness (and raspberries). I’ve finally made Cyril Lignac and Benoit Couvrand’s raspberry tart, another dessert that had been catching my eye for a while.
It’s the dessert I’d planned to celebrate my son’s birthday in Normandy. In the middle of a heatwave (it was the end of June), I quickly gave up the idea of bringing an entremets. I thought a tart would cope much better with the journey.
That was without counting on life’s little mishaps… After a good hour on the road, the car broke down. We found ourselves in a shopping centre (air-conditioned, phew!) with all our belongings in our arms, waiting for the tow truck. In the end, there was no courtesy vehicle available, so it was impossible to join my family in Normandy. We had to forget about my son’s birthday and we went home by taxi, the tart still in the boot. It certainly travelled well!
Once the huge disappointment had passed, as you can imagine, it was with the neighbours that I shared this dessert. They’re always up for devouring all my pastries. I got nothing but compliments! In the end, it’s a tart that really isn’t difficult to make, and delicious — I strongly advise you to make it before the end of raspberry season.
Ingredients & Method
5 components · Full recipe
Raspberry compote (make the day before)
Ingredients
- 106 g (3.7 oz) raspberry puree
- 8 g (0.3 oz) glucose
- 12 g (0.4 oz) sugar
- 1.6 g (0.1 oz) NH pectin
Method
1
In a saucepan, gently warm the raspberry puree and glucose.
2
Add the sugar and NH pectin, previously well combined. Bring to the boil, whisking well.
3
Transfer to a container, cover with cling film touching the surface, and refrigerate.
Sweet pastry (makes 2 tart shells — start 2 days ahead or the day before)
Ingredients
- 150 g (5.3 oz) butter
- 95 g (3.4 oz) icing sugar
- 30 g (1.1 oz) almond powder
- 60 g (2.1 oz) egg (one large egg)
- 250 g (8.8 oz) flour
- a pinch of fleur de sel
- a knife tip of vanilla powder
- 1 egg yolk
- 4 g (0.1 oz) heavy cream
Method
1
Place the softened butter and icing sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed. Add the almond powder, vanilla powder and fleur de sel and mix again.
2
Add the beaten egg and mix with a spatula (easier than using the mixer at this stage).
3
Finish with the flour and mix with the machine until a smooth dough forms. Do not overwork the dough. Bring it together into a ball without insisting. Divide into 2 equal portions.
4
Wrap each portion in cling film, shaping it into a flat rectangle. Refrigerate one overnight and freeze the other (for a future tart).
5
The next day, roll the dough out to 2–3 mm thickness. Cut out a 26 cm (10.2 in) disc and a strip about 2.5 cm (1 in) high and 35 cm (13.8 in) long for the inner ring border.
6
Grease a 22 cm (8.7 in) tart ring, line it with the dough taking care to form a right angle at the base, and press a 9 cm (3.5 in) cutter into the centre to cut the dough.
7
Remove the centre disc of dough, replace the cutter, and wrap the dough strip around the inside of the cutter.
8
Refrigerate for at least 6 hours (ideally overnight).
9
Preheat the oven to 160°C / 325°F.
10
Once the dough is well chilled, trim any overhanging pastry with a small knife.
11
Place a sheet of baking paper over the dough and fill with baking weights or dried beans for blind baking (if the shell has been chilled overnight, it should hold its shape without weights).
12
Bake for 15 minutes. I usually blind bake as described, but I now prefer the method from La pâte de Dom, which produces beautiful tart shells. Her technique may seem involved but the results are excellent — I recommend watching her video tutorial on YouTube.
Almond cream
Ingredients
- 60 g (2.1 oz) almond powder
- 6 g (0.2 oz) cornstarch
- 48 g (1.7 oz) icing sugar
- 6 g (0.2 oz) rum
- 36 g (1.3 oz) whole eggs
- 48 g (1.7 oz) butter
Method
1
Meanwhile, beat the butter in the mixer with the paddle to cream it.
2
Add the sifted icing sugar and mix.
3
Add half the eggs and mix, then add half the almond powder. Mix again.
4
Add the remaining eggs and mix, then add the rest of the almond powder and the cornstarch. Mix until smooth.
5
After 15 minutes of blind baking, remove the tart from the oven and pipe the almond cream into the base. Spread evenly.
6
Press in a few halved raspberries and bake for a further 15 minutes at 160°C / 325°F (the almond cream should be lightly golden and soft). The pastry should be well browned. About 10 minutes before the end of baking (once the ring has come away from the pastry), brush the inside and outside with a mix of egg yolk and cream for a glossy finish. Once out of the oven, cool the tart shell on a wire rack, then smooth any imperfections with a microplane rasp.
Raspberry mascarpone cream (make the day before)
Ingredients
- 140 g (4.9 oz) heavy cream
- 70 g (2.5 oz) mascarpone
- 37 g (1.3 oz) sugar
- 25 g (0.9 oz) raspberry puree
Method
1
Mix the mascarpone with the raspberry puree.
2
Add the sugar, then the heavy cream and mix.
3
Cover with cling film touching the surface and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
Assembly of Cyril Lignac’s raspberry tart
Ingredients
- 500 g (17.6 oz) fresh raspberries
- icing sugar, to taste
- fresh mint leaves, to taste
Method
1
Lightly whip the mascarpone cream until it forms a soft whipped cream. Transfer to a piping bag and spread over the almond cream to the height of the tart shell. Smooth with an offset spatula.
2
Arrange the raspberries upside down to cover the surface of the tart.
3
Dust the raspberries with icing sugar. Fill the inside of each raspberry with a little compote and decorate with mint leaves.
4
Refrigerate until ready to serve.
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