Rest in peace, Mrs. Melson.
Tuesday 24 January 2017
Friday 20 January 2017
Chocolate-on-Chocolate Tart with Spiced Oranges
This genuinely fantastic recipe seems to have disappeared off the internet, so I'm reposting it here. The recipe was originally published in a 2012 or 2013 issue of the Coles Magazine. The text is the intellectual property of Coles Supermarkets Australia, I'm simply circulating the tapes.
Chocolate-on-Chocolate Tart with Spiced Oranges
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
120 g butter, chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
Cocoa, for dusting
1-2 tbsp chilled water
Chocolate filling
300 g dark chocolate, chopped
300 ml cream
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Spiced oranges
6 oranges
1/4 caster sugar
1 star anise
4 Coles brand cloves
1 cinnamon stick
To make pastry, place the flour, caster sugar, cocoa and butter in a food processor. Process until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the egg and chilled water and pulse to form a dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and bring dough together to form a disc. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 mins.
Roll dough until 5 mm thick. Ease into a 24 cm fluted, loose-based, non-stick flan tin. Trim edges. Refrigerate for 20 mins.
Preheat oven to 180ºC or 160ºC fan. Line pastry with baking paper and fill with pastry weights, dried beans or rice. Blind-bake for 15 mins. Remove paper and weights and bake for another 10 mins, until firm.
Meanwhile, to make chocolate filling, place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Heat cream in a small pan until just at simmering point. Pour over chocolate and set aside for 5 mins. Stir until melted and smooth. Cool slightly. Add eggs and stir to combine.
Reduce oven temperature to 130ºC or 110ºC fan. Pour chocolate mixture into prepared tart shell and bake for 30 mins, until filling is set but still wobbly. Refrigerate until cold.
Meanwhile, to make spiced oranges, remove zest from 1 orange and set aside. Peel all six oranges, removing pith. Using a small knife, segment each orange over a bowl, to catch juice. Strain the juice into a small saucepan, setting aside orange segments in bowl. Add 1/4 cup of water to juice in saucepan, along with sugar, star anise, cloves and cinnamon stick. Simmer for 5 mins, until syrupy. Pour syrup over orange segments and top with zest.
Dust tart with cocoa and cut into wedges. Serve with spiced oranges and a drizzle of syrup.
And now... here is my modified version.
Ingredients
Pastry
120 g plain flour
70 g cake flour
15 g (1/4 cup) cocoa, plus extra for dusting
70 g caster sugar
120 g salted butter, chopped and kept chilled
1 egg, lightly beaten or 3 tbsp aquafaba, chilled
1-2 tbsp water, chilled
Chocolate filling
300 g good quality dark chocolate
1/4 tsp instant coffee (optional)
300 g whipping cream
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Spiced oranges
3-6 whole oranges
35 g caster sugar
60 ml (4 tbsp) water
1-2 star anise fruits
4 cloves
1/2 cinnamon stick (or about 1/2 tbsp fragments)
In a medium bowl, whisk together the plain flour, cake flour, cocoa, and sugar. Chill in refrigerator for 5 min. Toss butter in flour mixture, then rub with fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add more flour if necessary. Mix in beaten egg. Add chilled water as necessary until the dough just comes together. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a disc. Wrap on cling film and refrigerate for at least 30 min.
Lightly grease a 24 cm (9.5") fluted flan tin. Place dough disc between two sheets of piece of parchment paper or aluminium foil, and roll to 5 mm thickness. Remove the sheets and ease pastry dough into the tin. Press dough into the tin, smoothing out any air bubbles, and trim the edges with a sharp knife. Line with aluminium foil and refrigerate for at least 2 h.
Preheat oven to 180°C. Remove tin from refrigerator and fill with pastry weights or beans. Blind-bake for 15 min. Remove foil and weights; bake another 10 min until firm.
Meanwhile, prepare the chocolate filling. Place chocolate in a large heatproof bowl or saucepan, and sprinkle with instant coffee if using. Over a double-boiler or in a microwave, gently heat cream until just simmering. Pour over chocolate and stir until smooth. Allow to cool for 5 min. Add 1 tbsp of chocolate mixture to beaten eggs and mix well. Stir tempered egg mixture into the chocolate until combined.
Reduce oven temperature to 150°C. Pour chocolate mixture into tart shell and smooth the top. Cover with foil and bake 25 min until filling is partially set. Remove foil and leave uncovered in the warm oven for 10 min. Remove tart from oven and cool to room temperature on a wire rack. Refrigerate until completely chilled.
To prepare spiced oranges, reserve zest from 1 orange. Peel and segment all the oranges, reserving the juice. In a small saucepan, combine the juice, water, sugar, spices, and zest. Bring to a simmer; simmer 5 min until syrup has thickened. Strain syrup and drizzle over orange segments.
Dust chilled tart with cocoa. Cut into wedges and serve with spiced oranges.
Notes
The tart pastry can also be prepared using 190 g gluten-free flour for an extra-crumbly crust.
************
And now... here is my modified version.
Ingredients
120 g plain flour
70 g cake flour
15 g (1/4 cup) cocoa, plus extra for dusting
70 g caster sugar
120 g salted butter, chopped and kept chilled
1 egg, lightly beaten or 3 tbsp aquafaba, chilled
1-2 tbsp water, chilled
Chocolate filling
300 g good quality dark chocolate
1/4 tsp instant coffee (optional)
300 g whipping cream
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Spiced oranges
3-6 whole oranges
35 g caster sugar
60 ml (4 tbsp) water
1-2 star anise fruits
4 cloves
1/2 cinnamon stick (or about 1/2 tbsp fragments)
In a medium bowl, whisk together the plain flour, cake flour, cocoa, and sugar. Chill in refrigerator for 5 min. Toss butter in flour mixture, then rub with fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add more flour if necessary. Mix in beaten egg. Add chilled water as necessary until the dough just comes together. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a disc. Wrap on cling film and refrigerate for at least 30 min.
Lightly grease a 24 cm (9.5") fluted flan tin. Place dough disc between two sheets of piece of parchment paper or aluminium foil, and roll to 5 mm thickness. Remove the sheets and ease pastry dough into the tin. Press dough into the tin, smoothing out any air bubbles, and trim the edges with a sharp knife. Line with aluminium foil and refrigerate for at least 2 h.
Preheat oven to 180°C. Remove tin from refrigerator and fill with pastry weights or beans. Blind-bake for 15 min. Remove foil and weights; bake another 10 min until firm.
Meanwhile, prepare the chocolate filling. Place chocolate in a large heatproof bowl or saucepan, and sprinkle with instant coffee if using. Over a double-boiler or in a microwave, gently heat cream until just simmering. Pour over chocolate and stir until smooth. Allow to cool for 5 min. Add 1 tbsp of chocolate mixture to beaten eggs and mix well. Stir tempered egg mixture into the chocolate until combined.
Reduce oven temperature to 150°C. Pour chocolate mixture into tart shell and smooth the top. Cover with foil and bake 25 min until filling is partially set. Remove foil and leave uncovered in the warm oven for 10 min. Remove tart from oven and cool to room temperature on a wire rack. Refrigerate until completely chilled.
To prepare spiced oranges, reserve zest from 1 orange. Peel and segment all the oranges, reserving the juice. In a small saucepan, combine the juice, water, sugar, spices, and zest. Bring to a simmer; simmer 5 min until syrup has thickened. Strain syrup and drizzle over orange segments.
Dust chilled tart with cocoa. Cut into wedges and serve with spiced oranges.
Notes
The tart pastry can also be prepared using 190 g gluten-free flour for an extra-crumbly crust.
Saturday 7 January 2017
Recipe: Strawberry Melba Sauce
My first post of this year is about dessert. Of course.
Melba Sauce is one of those completely delicious things that seems to disappear off store shelves after you have become hopelessly addicted to it. Unfortunately, with fresh raspberries being as expensive as they are in this country (or simply unavailable), preparing the authentic version of this sauce is from scratch difficult.
Below is a workaround version I created that fairly approximates the taste of the bottled sauce. At any rate, it goes well with ice-cream, toast, and cake.
(The photograph below features two squares of zesty magic custard cake.)
Strawberry Melba Sauce
Ingredients
250 g fresh strawberries, roughly diced
50 g dried currants
1/2 cup (125 ml) raspberry conserve
1/4 cup (4 tbsp) caster sugar
3-4 strips thinly-peeled lemon rind (no pith)
Pinch salt
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Add just enough water to the currants to cover them, and soak for at least 10 minutes. In a small, non-reactive bowl, mix sugar and lemon rind. Stand for 10-15 minutes.
In a small saucepan, mix strawberries, raspberry conserve, and soaked currants (including all liquid). Place on the stove over low heat and bring to a simmer. Simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes until the fruit breaks down. Stir in the pinch salt and the lemon rind mixture until all the sugar has dissolved; remove from heat. Stand for 5 minutes.
Strain sauce into a heatproof bowl using a fine-mesh strainer or cheesecloth, pressing down with a wooden spoon to ensure that all the liquid passes through. Transfer the strained sauce to a clean saucepan and simmer further until thickened, if desired. Alternatively, microwave on low heat for 1 minute at a time, stirring in between.
Allow sauce to cool slightly, then stir in lemon juice. Transfer to a sterile, airtight jar. The sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for about 3 weeks.
Allow sauce to cool slightly, then stir in lemon juice. Transfer to a sterile, airtight jar. The sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for about 3 weeks.
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