Grape and rapadura tart

SERVES 8 // PREP TIME 20 MINS // COOK 30 MINS (PLUS RESTING, CHILLING, COOLING)

Think of this as step up from a good old-fashioned glazed-fruit tart – the sweet custard base has a slight caramel taste from rapadura sugar and then is topped with lightly glazed grapes. This tart is best assembled just before serving, but all the components can be prepped and ready to go beforehand.

650 gm seedless red grapes (about 800gm with stalks) 50 gm caster sugar

60 ml (¼ cup) freshly squeezed orange juice Juice of ½ lemon

Finely grated lemon rind and pure icing sugar, to serve

SWEET PASTRY

180 gm softened butter

40 gm (¼ cup) pure icing sugar, sifted

2 egg yolks

250 gm (1⅔ cups) plain flour RAPADURA PASTRY CREAM

7 egg yolks

150 gm rapadura sugar

50 gm (⅓ cup) plain flour

600 ml milk

1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped

1 For sweet pastry, beat butter in an electric mixer until pale, add sugar and stir to combine, then add yolks and 1 tbsp iced water and stir to combine. Sift in flour and stir to just combine, then turn out onto a lightly floured surface and lightly knead until it just comes together. Flatten into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled (1 hour). Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface or between sheets of baking paper to a 32cm round. Line a buttered and floured 22cm-diameter, 5cm-high tart ring (see note) placed on an oven tray lined with baking paper. Trim edges, dock base with a fork and refrigerate to rest (1 hour). 2 Meanwhile, for pastry cream, whisk yolks and sugar in a large bowl until pale, add flour and whisk to combine. Bring milk and vanilla to a simmer in a saucepan over high heat, add to yolk mixture, whisk to combine, then return to pan and whisk continuously over medium-high heat until bubbling and thick (2-4 minutes). Transfer to a bowl, cover surface directly with plastic wrap and cool to room temperature, then refrigerate to firm up

(1 hour or overnight).

3 Combine grapes, sugar and orange and lemon juice in a wide saucepan over high heat and toss until sugar has dissolved and grapes are glossy, but not cooked (5 minutes). Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate, tossing occasionally, until chilled (30-40 minutes).

4 Preheat oven to 190°C. Blind-bake tart case until light golden (15-20 minutes; see cook’s notes p168). Remove paper and weights and bake until golden (5-10 minutes).

Cool until just firm, then remove from tin and cool completely on a wire rack (30 minutes).

5 To serve, whisk pastry cream to soften, spoon or pipe into tart case, top with grapes and lemon rind and dust with icing sugar.

Note Tart or cake rings are available from select kitchenware shops.