The heat of the past few days made me crave a bit of exoticism. Unable to go on holiday (I’ll need a little more patience), I decided to make a tart-entremets with exotic flavours: vanilla, passion fruit and pineapple.
I used the Eclipse mould for the vanilla passion fruit mousse (only the lower part of the mould, in fact, to get a disc of mousse that’s not too thick). For the base, I went for a vanilla sponge (but you could just as well go for an almond cream) and a diced pineapple confit. To be sure of having a flavourful pineapple, I now buy a Victoria pineapple — it’s really delicious!
I also tried homemade neutral glaze for the first time (I found the recipe on Auriane‘s blog). It’s dead easy to make and it gives the tart a finished look, no fuss.
The recipe isn’t very difficult in itself (a pâte sucrée, a sponge, a confit, a mousse). But it does require a few steps and a little organisation for everything to go smoothly. Above all, don’t hesitate to give it a go — you’ll be rewarded when it comes to tasting.
Ingredients & preparation
7 components · Full recipe
Vanilla and passion fruit mousse
Ingredients
- 60 g (2.1 oz) passion fruit juice
- 1/2 vanilla pod
- 2 egg yolks
- 60 g (2.1 oz) full-fat whipping cream
- 60 g (2.1 oz) milk
- 225 g (7.9 oz) full-fat whipping cream
- 50 g (1.8 oz) sugar
- 4 g (0.1 oz) powdered gelatine
- 24 g (0.8 oz) water (to rehydrate the gelatine)
Method
1
Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water for 5–10 minutes.
2
Combine the passion fruit purée, sugar and split vanilla pod in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer.
3
Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until pale and slightly thickened.
4
Pour the hot fruit purée over the egg mixture, whisking constantly.
5
Return to the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring continuously, until the mixture thickens slightly.
6
Remove from the heat. Drain and squeeze out the gelatine, then stir into the hot mixture.
7
Leave to cool to around 25°C / 77°F.
8
Whip the cream to soft peaks, then fold into the cooled mixture.
9
Pour into the mould and freeze until solid.
10
Beat the butter and icing sugar together until pale and creamy.
Sweet pastry dough (makes 2 tarts, 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) ground almonds
- 60 g (2.1 oz) eggs (1 large egg)
- 250 g (8.8 oz) plain flour
- 1 pinch of fleur de sel
- a knife tip of ground vanilla
- 1 egg yolk
- 4 g (0.1 oz) full-fat whipping cream
Method
1
Add the egg and mix until combined.
2
Sift in the flour and ground almonds and mix until a smooth dough forms.
3
Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
4
Roll out the dough to 3mm thickness and line the tart ring(s).
5
Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before baking.
6
Preheat the oven to 170°C / 340°F fan-assisted.
7
Whisk the eggs and sugar together until pale and doubled in volume.
8
Fold in the sifted flour gently.
9
Add the melted butter and vanilla and fold in carefully.
10
Spread onto a lined baking sheet and bake for 12–15 minutes.
11
Leave to cool completely.
12
Combine the water, sugar and passion fruit purée in a saucepan.
Vanilla sponge (there will be some left over, hard to make less)
Ingredients
- 80 g (2.8 oz) caster sugar
- 50 g (1.8 oz) eggs
- 2 vanilla pods (I used one)
- 40 g (1.4 oz) thick cream
- 60 g (2.1 oz) plain flour
- 1 g (0 oz) baking powder
- 20 g (0.7 oz) olive oil
Method
1
Bring to the boil and simmer for 2 minutes.
2
Add the vanilla extract and set aside to cool.
3
Peel and dice the pineapple into small cubes.
4
Cook the pineapple with the sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until slightly caramelised.
5
Add the lime juice and cook for a further 5 minutes.
6
Set aside to cool completely.
7
Heat the neutral glaze gently until it reaches a pourable consistency.
8
Apply immediately to the assembled tart.
9
Blind-bake the sweet pastry case at 160°C / 325°F fan-assisted for 20–25 minutes, until golden.
Vanilla and passion fruit syrup
Ingredients
- 60 g (2.1 oz) passion fruit purée
- 30 g (1.1 oz) sugar
- the vanilla pod used for the sponge
Method
1
Brush the inside of the baked case with a thin layer of melted chocolate to seal it.
2
Soak the vanilla sponge discs with the vanilla and passion fruit syrup.
Victoria pineapple compote
Ingredients
- 300 g (10.6 oz) Victoria pineapple
- 12 g (0.4 oz) light brown sugar
- 6 g (0.2 oz) pectin
- zest of 1/2 lime
Method
1
Place a layer of sponge in the base of the tart case.
2
Top with the pineapple compote.
3
Unmould the frozen vanilla and passion fruit mousse insert and place centrally on the tart.
4
Glaze with the warmed neutral glaze.
5
Decorate as desired and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.
6
Off the heat, add the lime zests.
7
Set aside until assembly.
Neutral glaze
Ingredients
- 4 g (0.1 oz) gelatine
- 24 g (0.8 oz) water (to rehydrate the gelatine)
- 80 g (2.8 oz) sugar
- 80 g (2.8 oz) water
Method
1
Rehydrate the gelatine in water for at least 15 minutes.
2
In a saucepan, heat the sugar and water to 103°C / 217°F.
3
Off the heat, add the rehydrated gelatine then blend with an immersion blender to homogenise everything. Be careful not to incorporate air.
4
Leave to cool to 32°C / 90°F before glazing the disc of mousse straight from the freezer.
Assembly of the exotic tart-entremet – vanilla, passion and pineapple
Ingredients
- Aucun
Method
1
Place the vanilla sponge disc in the centre of the sweet pastry (you can add a very small amount of crémeux underneath to help the sponge adhere to the pastry).
2
Brush with the vanilla-passion syrup using a pastry brush (a hot liquid on a cold sponge, or vice versa, improves absorption).
3
Distribute the diced pineapple confit. It should be spread around the sponge disc and on top.
4
When the neutral glaze reaches 32°C / 90°F, glaze the passion mousse disc.
5
Scatter a little desiccated coconut all around the mousse disc, then place it on the tart, well centred. Add a little more desiccated coconut to fill in any gaps.
6
Leave to defrost in the fridge for at least 1 hour before serving.
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