“Reminiscent of the fruit tarts I love in Paris, this raspberry tart is very pleasing,” says Busuttil Nishimura. “I’ve flavoured the pastry cream with vanilla and rosemary, but a fresh bay leaf or some tarragon would be nice, too. It is not necessarily that it should taste of the herbs, but rather they should add a subtle herby earthiness to the custard. Both elements, the tart shell and pastry cream, can be made in advance and assembled at the last moment, just before serving.”
Serves 6–8
Ingredients
375g raspberries, halved
Sweet shortcrust pastry
250g (1 2⁄3 cups) plain flour, plus extra for dusting
180g cold unsalted butter, cubed
55g pure icing sugar
pinch of sea salt
1 egg
Rosemary pastry cream
6 egg yolks
130g caster sugar
20g plain flour
20g cornflour
550ml full-cream milk
1 rosemary sprig
1 vanilla pod, split and seeds scraped
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed
Method
For the sweet shortcrust pastry, place the flour, butter, icing sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg and continue to pulse until the mixture just comes together. Turn out onto a work surface and gently shape into a disc, being careful not to overwork the dough. Wrap in plastic wrap or baking paper and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until nicely chilled but not too firm.
Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a large disc about 3mm thick, then carefully drape into a 24cm round, fluted loose-based tart tin. Gently press the pastry into the edge of the tin, then trim the excess by pressing the top of the tin with a rolling pin. Prick the base of the tart all over with a fork, then place in the freezer for 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 190°C fan-forced.
Line the chilled tart shell with tin foil and fill with baking beads or uncooked rice or beans. Blind bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 180°C fan-forced. Remove the tin foil and continue to cook for a further 15–20 minutes, or until it is an even golden colour all over. Allow to cool, then remove from the tin.
Meanwhile, to make the rosemary pastry cream, whisk the egg yolks, caster sugar, flour and cornflour in a large bowl. Combine the milk, rosemary and vanilla pod and seeds in a large saucepan and heat until just about to simmer. Add a little of the warm milk mixture to the egg mixture and whisk to combine. Continue pouring in the milk mixture and whisking until all is combined. Strain the mixture through a sieve, discard the rosemary and vanilla pod, then return the mixture to the same pan and cook, whisking constantly, over a medium heat for 3–4 minutes or until the custard is thick.
Once the mixture comes to the boil, cook for a further 1–2 minutes. Transfer to a container and cover directly with baking paper (this stops a skin from forming). After 10 minutes, lift up the baking paper and whisk the butter into the pastry cream, one cube at a time. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but ideally overnight.
To assemble, whisk the pastry cream to loosen, then pipe or spoon the pastry cream into the baked tart shell. Top with the raspberry halves and serve.
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