INGREDIENTS
Sweet pastry
250 g butter
200 g caster sugar
2 eggs
650 g plain flour
½ tsp fine salt
1 egg, lightly beaten, for egg wash
Sponge cake
120 g self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
120 g unsalted butter, chopped and
softened
120 g caster sugar
2 eggs
½ vanilla bean, scraped
Sweetened cocoa powder, to dust
Sherry jelly
750 ml Amontillado sherry
260 g caster sugar
160 g frozen raspberries
6 gelatine leaves, bloomed in cold water
Vanilla custard
180 g caster sugar
10 large egg yolks
2 tbsp cornflour
500 ml (2 cups) milk
300 ml pouring cream
½ vanilla bean
3 gelatine leaves, bloomed in cold water
Italian meringue
200 g (1 cup) sugar
½ cup water
4 egg whites, room temperature
½ tsp cream of tartar
To serve
200 g ripe fresh raspberries
200 g cherries
150 g blackberries
200 g strawberries
Icing sugar, to dust
140 g (1 cup) sliced almonds, toasted
Whipped cream
METHOD
Sweet pastry
- Cream butter and sugar in an electric mixer until pale and creamy (6-8 minutes).
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition, mix in flour and salt.
- Turn out onto a work surface and knead lightly until a dough forms.
- Pat into a flat disc, wrap in cling wrap and refrigerate to rest for 30 minutes.
- Roll pastry 3mm thick. Invert pastry into a 30cm diameter round tart tin and press pastry into edges, allowing it to overhang slightly. Refrigerate to rest for 30 minutes.
- Pre-heat oven on Intensive Bake at 160°C and blind-bake pastry for 45 minutes or until pale golden.
- Remove paper and weights, brush with egg wash and bake for 5 minutes or until crisp. Cool on a wire rack and trim excess pastry.
Sponge cake
- Pre-heat oven on Fan Plus at 160°C.
- Grease a 20cm diameter cake tin and lightly dust with the extra flour.
Sift flour and a pinch of salt into a bowl. - Beat butter in an electric mixer until pale and creamy. Add sugar and beat until smooth and light.
- Add eggs one at time, beating well between additions and scraping down sides of bowl.
- Transfer mixture into a large bowl, sift in flour, folding to combine between additions and then fold in vanilla.
- Pour mixture into cake tin, smooth the top and bake for approximately 18 minutes or until golden brown. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.
- Once cool, cut into 1cm cubes. Place back into oven and select Fan Plus at 100°C, select Crisp function if available. Dry the cubes for 1 hour.
- Once dried, cool and dust with sweetened cocoa powder.
Sherry jelly
- Bring sherry and sugar to a simmer in a saucepan over high heat, Induction setting 8, stirring to dissolve sugar, then add raspberries and bring to the boil.
- Remove from cooktop and press through a fine sieve into a bowl.
Squeeze excess water from the gelatine and add to the raspberry liquid, stir to dissolve. - Transfer to a bowl and place in the refrigerator for 4 hours or
until jelly sets.
Vanilla custard
- Whisk sugar and yolks with an electric whisk until pale and creamy, then add cornflour and whisk until smooth.
- Place milk, cream, vanilla pod and seeds in a deep, unperforated steam tray, cover and place in the steam oven Steam at 95°C for 2 minutes.
- Remove from the steam oven, remove pod, and gradually whisk the warm cream mixture into the eggs until blended.
- Return mixture to the steam tray, cover and place in the steam oven.
- Steam at 85°C for 12 minutes. Remove from the steam oven and stir through gelatine.
- Transfer to a bowl placed over ice and stir occasionally until cooled (10 minutes), then refrigerate until chilled (1½ – 2 hours).
Italian meringue
- In a small saucepan, combine sugar and water. Heat on high heat, Induction setting 7, and cook until it forms a sugar syrup and reaches 115°C using a sugar thermometer, or soft ball stage.
- Combine egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of a freestanding mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Set mixer to medium speed and mix until soft peaks form.
- With the mixer running, carefully and slowly drizzle in hot sugar syrup.
- Increase speed to high and whip until desired stiffness is achieved (approximately 10 minutes).
To serve
- Whisk the custard to loosen, then pour into cool tart case, spread evenly.
- Add pieces of roughly broken jelly to cover the top, followed by mixed berries dusted with icing sugar.
- Pipe the meringue on top, sprinkle with dried sponge and toasted almonds and let the tart rest for 30 minutes before serving with whipped cream on the side.
Notes
- This tart can also be made as 10 individual tarts.
- All of the components can be made up to 3 days ahead of time for ease of service.