When I say ‘deconstructed’ I mean this started off as a tarte, but the cases collapsed so I crumbled them in to glass ramakins!!! Not everything I cook works out so it’s good to put up some examples of things that need re-thinking half way through. Chocolate and pistachio is a pretty classic combination these days. The addition of the salted caramel is just jumping on current trends – well I didn’t think pulled pork would go!
The three components are made separately but they need to be made one after each other, so there is a bit of waiting around as things set and cool, but don’t let that put you off.
Serves: 2
Cooking Time: 2 hours
Ingredients
For the tarte cases/ base
- Pistachios, de-shelled, 50g, plus some for decoration
- Unsalted butter, 25g
- Caster sugar, 25g
- Cocoa powder, 25g
For the Salted Caramel
- 25g light muscovado sugar
- 2 tsp golden syrup
- Drop of vanilla essence
- 2 pinches of salt flakes
- 50 ml double cream
- 2 tbsp pistachio butter
Chocolate filling
- Dark Belgian chocolate, 70g, chopped in to pieces
- Unsalted butter, 30g
- 100ml double cream
- Light muscovado sugar, 1 tbsp
- 1 drop vanilla essence
- 1 egg yolk
Method
First you need to make the tarte cases. Blitz the pistachios (I use a coffee bean grinder) in to a powder. Add them to a bowl containing the butter (30g), caster sugar (25g) and cocoa powder (25g) and mix well until you arrive at a sticky dough. Wrap it in clingfilm and pop it in the fridge for an hour or so.
To make the tarte cases divide the dough in two and roll it out to a thin round (use 2 sheets of cling film to stop it sticking). Take the top sheet of clingfilm off and use the bottom one to place the base in a tarte dish (you’ll do this twice). Pop the bases in the freezer for ten minutes and then cook at 180oC for 12 minutes. This is the point mine went wrong. I didn’t have the right size tarte tins, so I used a Yorkshire pudding tin. It was too deep, so the cases collapsed in the oven. At this point I crumbled the bases in to glass dishes and carried one. For here on, the recipe is the same for tartes or deconstructed tartes…
To make the caramel, heat the sugar (25g), syrup (2 tsp), salt flakes (2 pinches) and vanilla essence (1 drop) until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture starts to bubble. Now add the cream (50 ml) and take off the heat. Stir for 1 minute and then add the pistachio butter (2 tbsp). Make sure the mixture is combined thoroughly and then spoon a layer on to the tarte/ crumb base.
The caramel will cool as you make the chocolate filling. For this, heat the sugar (1 tbsp) and cream (100 ml) until the cream is about to boil. Add this to a glass bowl containing the chocolate (70g) and butter (30g) and stir until everything is combined in to a glossy liquid. Whisky in the egg yolk and vanilla essence and you’re done. Just pour the chocolate mixture in to the tarts/ ramakins and top with crushed pistachios.
Serve with double cream and fruit if you fancy
