Blackberry Tart with Diplomat Cream

Method

Process

• 1)

  Process recommended:  (recipe for a ring tart 8 inch (20cm) diameter)

  – Start with the sweet pastry shell: need to chill 2 hours or best overnight.

  – Then, prepare the first part of the diplomat cream, that means the vanilla pastry cream: need to chill 2 hours or 1 night.

  – Next, the blackberry pie filling: need to chill 1 hour or 1 night.

  – You can prepare the almond cream filling when you pre-bake the tart shell.

  – When ready to assemble: Whip the heavy cream, second part of the diplomat cream to finish the vanilla cream.

Tart Shell / Sweet Pastry

• 1)

  Prepare 1 batch of the sweet pastry. Line the tart ring and let it chill in the fridge for 2 hours at least, best overnight. Recipe here.

Diplomat Cream

• 1)

  Make a Vanilla Pastry Cream with added gelatine.

  Start to bloom the gelatine: In a small bowl, pour the cold water, sprinkle the gelatine, give a quick stir, and set a few minutes until the gelatine is bloomed. Or refer to your package instructions. Set aside

• 2)

  Add the milk and vanilla extract into a saucepan. Heat the milk over medium heat and bring it to a simmer, almost to a boil.

• 3)

  While the milk is being heated, place the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl. Whisk until well combined, smooth and a lighter color.

• 4)

  Add the cornstarch and flour to the egg mixture. Whisk until smooth.

• 5)

  As soon as the milk starts to simmer / first bubbles, remove it from the heat. Gradually pour the hot milk over the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly.

• 6)

  Return the mixture into the saucepan and cook over a medium heat, stirring constantly, until it begins to thicken.

• 7)

  Let the custard come to a boil, lower the heat and cook for a further 1 to 2 minutes, until the mixture is thick. Once cooled, the cream will be thicker.

• 8)

  Remove from the heat and transfer the cream into a glass / ceramic bowl. Add the bloomed gelatine and mix until fully dissolved and incorporated. Make sure the vanilla cream is not too hot to add the gelatine.

• 9)

  Add the butter immediately, and let it melt for 2 to 3 minutes.

• 10)

  Whisk until the butter it’s completely melted and mixed in. At the beginning, the vanilla cream looks curdled, don’t worry, that’s normal, keep whisking until smooth. Cover immediately the surface with plastic wrap, making sure to touch the surface. It prevents skin from developing. Place in the fridge as soon as you can and let it cool completely until the gelatine is set. ( 2 hours at least).

  Note: the heavy cream will be added later.

Blackberry filling

• 1)

  Add the blackberries with sugar into a saucepan. Heat over medium heat, frequently stirring, until the berries boil and begin to break down.

• 2)

  With a hand blender, blend the blackberries until they completely break down and the mixture is smooth.

• 3)

  At the stage, pour the blackberry puree through a sieve suspended over a medium-sized bowl. With a rubber spatula, push the mixture to get it through the sieve and remove the seeds. You should have a berry sauce, which is quite runny.

• 4)

  Return the blackberry sauce to the saucepan. On medium heat, heat the sauce.

  Note: Before returning the sauce, clean the saucepan if needed to avoid any seeds which may remain.

• 5)

  In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice and the cornstarch until fully dissolved.

• 6)

  Pour the cornstarch juice into your hot berry mixture and turn your heat to medium-low. Stir constantly with a spatula /or a whisk for a few additional minutes or until everything thickens, and the cornstarch turns clear. Note: the blackberry filling will thicken as it cools.

• 7)

  Pour the blackberry filling into a separate bowl to cool. Cover with plastic wrap, touching the surface to prevent a skin, and place in the fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight.  When ready to use, stir with a spoon to smooth a little bit.

Almond Cream Filling

• 1)

  Note: Prepare the almond filling when you prebake the tart shell.

  Cream the butter with caster sugar until fluffy, soft, and easily spreadable.

• 2)

  Add the egg, one at a time, beating between each addition until fully incorporated.

  Note: The cream will split a bit and get back to the right texture when adding the ground almonds

• 3)

  Add the ground almonds and mix until fully incorporated. Use it straight away.

Assembly

• 1)

  Preheat the oven to 170°C, fan assisted. Make sure you poked the dough of your tart shell. Line the tart shell with baking paper, and ensure it sits on the side of the dough. Fill with baking beans / ceramic pie weights.

• 2)

  Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven. Carefully remove the paper and beans (Be careful, there are very hot) and let the tart shell cool slightly for a few minutes before adding the almond cream filling.

• 3)

  Add the almond cream filling and spread evenly with a palette spatula or the back of a spoon.

  Add the fresh blackberries and slightly push them in the almond cream.

• 4)

  Return the tart to the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes until the almond cream is cooked.

  Let cool completely before processing the next step.

• 5)

  When cooled, add the blackberry filling, and spread evenly. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the filling to decorate.

• 6)

  Finish the Diplomat Cream: Place the heavy cream in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Gradually, whip until stiff peaks. Don’t overwhip to avoid a grainy whipped cream.

  In a large bowl, place the vanilla pastry cream (made previously). With a rubber spatula, soften the cream a bit. Add 1/3 of whipped cream and fold. Add the remaining whipped cream and gently fold until fully incorporated. Use it straight away or cover it with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge until ready to use.

  Place the Diplomat Cream in a piping bag fitted with a tip of your choice and pipe some blobs over the blackberry filling. I use two types of pipping tips: a round tip and an open star tip.

• 7)

  Top with some fresh blackberry. I also added blackberry filling here and there. Place the remaining blackberry filling in a piping bag and just cut the end. Pipe over the Diplomat Cream.