This vanilla muscovado tart is pure indulgence, an absolutely incredible combination of flavours! I discovered this vanilla/muscovado pairing on the Instagram account of Stephane Bersia (who, by the way, recently opened a little tea room in Paris, at 13 avenue Parmentier in the 11th arrondissement) and I let myself be inspired by the way he presents his whipped ganaches. For the rest, I thought about the structure of the dessert to get something balanced in terms of texture. I borrowed the vanilla sponge recipe from my dear friend Tiphaine of the blog Titi la toquée.
This vanilla muscovado tart is made up of a vanilla pâte sucrée, a vanilla praline, a vanilla almond sponge, a vanilla crémeux, a vanilla whipped ganache and a muscovado whipped ganache.
I can tell you we had a real feast! I’ve truly become a fan of vanilla-based desserts. And if you love vanilla as much as I do, you should adore this recipe for 100% vanilla tart <3
Which vanilla should I use?
Here I used organic Madagascar vanilla from Norohy (an exceptional vanilla <3) which reveals intense notes of floral and woody aromas. For the vanilla aromas to express themselves fully, I strongly recommend infusing your vanilla. If you have the time (and plan ahead for this recipe), you can even do a double infusion, first cold for 24h and then hot (covered and off the heat) for 20 to 30 min. Depending on the temperature, the vanilla aromas will express themselves differently.
In any case, if you want to make this dessert, forget the vanilla extract you can find in your supermarket (on the one hand, it isn’t vanilla, and on the other, you’ll never get the desired result in terms of flavour). It would be a shame to go to the trouble of making such a beautiful recipe for a mediocre result.
I know that vanilla has become a luxury product in recent years. Prices have soared, so of course making a 100% vanilla dessert comes at a certain cost. The best way to save money on vanilla is to buy it in bulk. Admittedly, it’s an upfront cost, but it will last you a while and bring down the price per pod. You should also know that vanilla pods freeze very well. I usually buy them in packs of 30 or 40 pods and freeze them straight away. That way, a vanilla pod costs me around €2 each (which is immediately more acceptable). Be aware that this isn’t the case for the vanilla I used for this recipe (from Norohy), which is truly an exceptional product and costs more (€18 for 3 Madagascar pods).
Which white chocolate should I use?
Let’s carry on talking about ingredients. To succeed with this dessert, you’ll need to use good-quality white chocolate. The white chocolate found in supermarkets is very sweet. In our recipe, we need white chocolate to make the 2 whipped ganaches. Imagine the amount of sugar if you don’t choose a quality chocolate :/
You can use Ivoire chocolate from Valrhona (or even Orelys chocolate for the muscovado whipped ganache, as it’s a chocolate with delicate liquorice aromas).
Which ring should I use?
I’m increasingly fond of using this tart ring, 20 cm in diameter and 3 cm high (it’s the Debuyer brand). The usual rings are 2 cm high. That extra little centimetre, believe it or not, lets me play with the different textures. Here, I added a vanilla almond sponge that I soaked with a syrup (to bring some softness). That’s trickier to do in a tart that isn’t as tall.
If you don’t have this ring, you’ll need to rethink the structure of your dessert. Indeed, if you reproduce my recipe exactly, the sponge will come up to the top of the ring and there won’t be any room left for the crémeux (except around the edges of the tart). And if you skip the sponge and only use pâte sucrée, there will be an imbalance (too much cream, little crunch and no softness). Perhaps consider piping a thin almond cream (lightly vanilla-flavoured of course, you’ll find the recipe on the blog), not too thick as you’ll need to leave room for the vanilla crémeux. As for the whipped ganaches, you’ll also need to make sure they don’t take up too much space. I deliberately piped a generous amount of whipped ganache onto my tart, but it balances out well with the 3 cm of tart underneath. With a shorter tart, make a smaller opening in the piping bag and you’ll get more small strips of whipped ganache.
Ingredients & method
9 components · Full recipe
Vanilla Praline (can be made in advance)
Ingredients
- 140 g (4.9 oz) almonds
- 4 organic Madagascar vanilla pods
- 80 g (2.8 oz) sugar
- 1 pinch of fleur de sel
Method
1
Roast the almonds on a baking tray in the oven at 150°C / 300°F for about 15 minutes.
2
In a saucepan, cook the sugar dry until it forms a caramel (or make a wet caramel with a little water). Stir the almonds into the caramel, then pour onto a silicone mat or a sheet of baking paper. Leave to cool completely.
3
Break into pieces and blend in a powerful food processor until you obtain a smooth paste. The almonds will first turn into a powder (stage 1: praline powder), then into a paste (stage 2: praline paste).
4
Add the scraped vanilla pods and the fleur de sel. Set aside.
Sweet Pastry (start 2 days or the day before)
Ingredients
- 150 g (5.3 oz) butter
- 95 g (3.4 oz) icing sugar
- 30 g (1.1 oz) ground almonds
- 60 g (2.1 oz) egg (1 large egg)
- 250 g (8.8 oz) flour
- a pinch of fleur de sel
- a pinch of vanilla powder
Method
1
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until it is soft and smooth.
2
Add the icing sugar and mix until well incorporated.
3
Add the ground almonds, the egg, the fleur de sel and the vanilla powder. Mix until just combined.
4
Add the flour and mix briefly until the dough just comes together. Be careful not to overwork it.
5
Wrap the dough in cling film and refrigerate overnight.
6
Roll out the dough to about 3 mm thick between two sheets of baking paper. Line your ring and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (or overnight).
Vanilla Whipped Ganache (start the day before)
Ingredients
- 45 g (1.6 oz) Valrhona Ivoire 35% white chocolate
- 50 g (1.8 oz) heavy cream
- 1/2 organic Madagascar vanilla pod
- 100 g (3.5 oz) very cold heavy cream
- 1.2 g (0 oz) powdered gelatine (= 3/4 sheet)
- 7.2 g (0.3 oz) cold water (to rehydrate the gelatine)
Method
1
Rehydrate the gelatine powder in the cold water. Set aside.
2
Heat the 50 g (1.8 oz) of heavy cream with the scraped vanilla pod and its seeds. Leave to infuse for 15 minutes off the heat. Remove the vanilla pod.
3
Melt the white chocolate in a bain-marie (or in the microwave in short bursts).
4
Reheat the infused cream until steaming, then add the hydrated gelatine and stir until dissolved.
5
Pour the hot cream over the melted chocolate in three stages, emulsifying well each time using a spatula or an immersion blender.
6
Add the cold heavy cream and blend with an immersion blender.
7
Cover the surface directly with cling film and refrigerate overnight (at least 6 hours).
Muscovado Whipped Ganache (start the day before)
Ingredients
- 45 g (1.6 oz) Valrhona Ivoire 35% white chocolate
- 50 g (1.8 oz) heavy cream
- 15 g (0.5 oz) muscovado sugar
- 100 g (3.5 oz) very cold heavy cream
- 1.2 g (0 oz) powdered gelatine (= 3/4 sheet)
- 7.2 g (0.3 oz) cold water (to rehydrate the gelatine)
Method
1
Rehydrate the gelatine powder in the cold water.
2
Melt the white chocolate in a bain-marie (or in the microwave in short bursts).
3
Heat the 50 g (1.8 oz) of heavy cream with the muscovado sugar, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
4
Add the hydrated gelatine to the hot cream and stir until fully dissolved.
5
Pour the hot cream over the melted chocolate in three stages, emulsifying well each time using a spatula or an immersion blender.
6
Add the cold heavy cream and blend with an immersion blender. Cover the surface with cling film and refrigerate overnight (at least 6 hours).
Almond Vanilla Sponge
Ingredients
- 50 g (1.8 oz) eggs (about 1 egg)
- 45 g (1.6 oz) caster sugar
- 30 g (1.1 oz) heavy cream
- 40 g (1.4 oz) T55 flour
- 20 g (0.7 oz) almond flour
- 10 g (0.4 oz) butter
- 1 tbsp organic Madagascar vanilla extract
Method
1
Preheat the oven to 160°C / 325°F fan.
2
In a bowl, whisk the eggs with the sugar until the mixture turns pale and fluffy (about 5 minutes).
3
Add the heavy cream and mix briefly.
4
Add the T55 flour, almond flour and vanilla extract. Fold in gently using a spatula.
5
Melt the butter and stir into the batter.
6
Spread the batter over a baking tray lined with baking paper (approximately 30 × 25 cm (9.8 in)). Bake for about 12 minutes. Leave to cool.
Syrup
Ingredients
- 15 g (0.5 oz) muscovado sugar
- 30 g (1.1 oz) water
- 1 tsp organic Madagascar vanilla extract
Method
1
Bring the water and muscovado sugar to the boil. Remove from the heat, add the vanilla extract and leave to cool.
Vanilla Muscovado Cremeux (make the day before)
Ingredients
- 175 g (6.2 oz) heavy cream
- 115 g (4.1 oz) whole milk
- 1 organic Madagascar vanilla pod
- 40 g (1.4 oz) sugar
- 65 g (2.3 oz) egg yolks (about 4 yolks)
- 1.8 g (0.1 oz) gelatine (= 3/4 sheet)
Method
1
Rehydrate the gelatine in cold water.
2
Heat the heavy cream, milk and scraped vanilla pod (seeds and pod) in a saucepan.
3
In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar.
4
Pour the hot cream and milk mixture over the egg yolks, stirring constantly, then return everything to the saucepan. Cook over a low heat until the mixture reaches 82°C / 180°F (nappe consistency), stirring continuously.
5
Remove from the heat and add the hydrated gelatine. Stir until fully dissolved.
6
Pass through a fine-mesh sieve, then blend with an immersion blender for a smooth, lump-free result. Set aside in the fridge to cool.
Baking the Sweet Pastry
Ingredients
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 g (0.1 oz) heavy cream
- vanilla powder
Method
1
Preheat the oven to 160°C / 325°F fan.
2
Line the chilled tart shell with baking paper and fill with baking beans or ceramic weights.
3
Blind bake for 15 minutes, then remove the baking beans and baking paper.
4
Brush the inside of the tart shell with a mixture of egg yolk, heavy cream and a pinch of vanilla powder (this creates a moisture barrier and gives a nice colour).
5
Return to the oven for another 10 to 15 minutes until golden brown.
6
Leave to cool before unmoulding.
Assembly
Ingredients
- None
Method
1
Spread the vanilla praline over the base of the baked tart shell in an even layer.
2
Pour the vanilla muscovado cremeux over the praline and refrigerate for at least 2 hours until set.
3
Cut a disc of almond vanilla sponge to fit inside the tart. Soak it with the syrup using a pastry brush.
4
Place the soaked sponge disc on top of the set cremeux.
5
Whip the vanilla ganache using a stand mixer or electric whisk until it holds soft peaks.
6
Whip the muscovado ganache separately in the same way.
7
Transfer both ganaches into piping bags fitted with your chosen nozzle. Pipe alternating rosettes of vanilla and muscovado ganache over the surface of the tart.
8
Finish with a few pinches of vanilla powder and a little fleur de sel.
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