Yummmy Yummmmy Almondy Tart !!

So, a while back, when we were still trying to eat totally unprocessed, I made this.
It's a combination of a few recipes ...

I started by making a pastry base that I had made for the ganache. I did it in a quiche dish so it was a bit 'taller' than the base you see pictured (that's from the ganache !)

For the pastry base:
240g good whole wheat flour, I sift mine
160g butter
Pinch of salt

To make the dough ... this was so easy !! Put the flour, butter and a pinch of salt in a food processor and blend until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Add 1-2 teaspoons cold water and blend again until the dough just comes together. Tip out onto a lightly floured board or clean bench and form dough into a disc, enclose in cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes. (if you do it too much longer than that it gets really hard to roll out ...) Roll pastry out to the size of whatever tart pan (or pans) you are using ~ I used a glass quiche dish ... actually, I used a tart pan but then the bottom popped out and the side of the pan burned me and I dropped it and lost the sides of my pastry so I transferred the half cooked pastry to a quiche dish !! ....poke the base with a fork, then place back in the fridge to rest for about 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 180C/350F ... bake pastry for about 15 minutes (until golden). Remove from oven and reduce the heat ... 170C/325F

For the inside of the tart:
350g almond meal (or you could process almonds to make your own)
300g butter
100g brown sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten

6 TBLS strawberry jam. Make sure it is a nice one ! I use St. Dalfour exclusively. It's more expensive than normal jam but we don't eat it very often so I think it balances out in the end !

For the topping:
Sliced almonds to sprinkle on the top
500ml creme fraiche

Mix butter and sugar til light and creamy. Add almond meal and eggs and fold until completely combined. It should be smooth. Stick it in the fridge to firm up. Cover the bottom of the pastry with jam. Pour in your almond mixture. Sprinkle your sliced almonds on the top.

Bake for about 40 minutes. It should be firm on the outside but soft in the middle.

Let cool and serve with creme fraiche.

The Ganache ....

Jono wanted to try making this Chocolate Ganache, Lavendar Cream and Raspberry Tart that we saw on Masterchef. We gave it a whirl. We liked it. Mostly. We changed the base to be whole wheat and it is delicious ... we've made it again for another tart that I'll share the recipe with you for soon !

We did not like the lavender flowers in the cream. Sort of tasted like someone had spilled perfume into the cream and you just wanted that perfumy taste to go away. It wasn't in every bite ... just the bites where you got a little flower petal !

We thought it was a bit too chocolaty. I know, I know ! How can something be too chocolaty ? It can ... when you are using dark chocolate. Also, the raspberries were a bit tart. We added some strawberries to it the second day and that was way nicer ! We think we'll also add banana next time !

So ... here's the recipe ... with our modifications ... click on the link above for the original recipe and a video from the show !!

240g good whole wheat flour, I sift mine
160g butter
Pinch of salt

300ml thickened cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 punnet strawberries, 1 banana

160ml cream
40g butter
180g dark chocolate, finely chopped

To make the dough ... this was so easy !! Put the flour, butter and a pinch of salt in a food processor and blend until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Add 1-2 teaspoons cold water and blend again until the dough just comes together. Tip out onto a lightly floured board or clean bench and form dough into a disc, enclose in cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes. (if you do it too much longer than that it gets really hard to roll out ...) Roll pastry out to the size of whatever tart pan (or pans) you are using ~ I used a glass quiche dish ... actually, I used a tart pan but then the bottom popped out and the side of the pan burned me and I dropped it and lost the sides of my pastry so I transferred the half cooked pastry to a quiche dish !! ....poke the base with a fork, then place back in the fridge to rest for about 20 minutes.

For the ganache, place the cream and butter in a pan and stir over medium heat until butter has melted. Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl, pour over the warm cream, then stir until the chocolate has melted.

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line the pastry case with baking paper and pastry beads or uncooked rice (finally I found a good use for brown rice !!!) . Blind-bake for 7-10 minutes, then remove baking paper and beads and bake for another 5-10 minutes until just golden. Press down any bubbles that have risen up and let it cool.

Meanwhile, whip thickened cream with vanilla. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

Pour the chocolate ganache into the tart shells. Spread evenly with the back of a spoon or palette knife. Top with whipped cream and then with fruit ...