WHITE CHOCOLATE TART WITH CHERRIES

For the pastry: 250g plain flour 125g unsalted butter 90g caster sugar One large egg Chilled water Pinch of Maldon salt For the white chocolate custard: 300ml double cream A little vanilla extract 200g white chocolate Two free-range eggs Three tbsps unrefined golden caster sugar Extras: One large punnet ripe British cherries A little fresh lemon juice Mint leaves, fresh thyme or lemon verbena for garnish First, let’s make the pastry: in a food processor, whizz the flour, sugar and butter together until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.

With the power still on, add the egg and then a trickle of chilled water, until it just brings the pastry together into a medium-soft dough. Shape into a rough thick disc by hand, wrap in clingfilm and chill for at least an hour. Heat the oven to 200ºC/Gas 6.

On a wide, well-floured work surface, roll out the pastry in a rough circle, about the thickness of a pound coin. Line the tin with the pastry, pushing it into the corners, trimming away the excess, but leaving

plenty of overlap, then cut out a similar-sized disc of baking parchment.

Screw it into a tight ball, then carefully unfold it and push it gently into the pastry case, making sure it gets to every corner. Fill the case with baking beans and chill the tart for another hour.

Bake the tart for about 15-20 minutes, or until it is set and pale golden in colour, then remove the parchment carefully and bake for a further five minutes to fully cook the base.

If any holes have appeared, brush them immediately with a little egg white to seal. Leave the tart case to cool on a wire rack.

Turn the oven down to 140ºC / Gas mark 1 and make the white chocolate filling; gently warm the cream with the vanilla extract and when just about to boil, remove from the heat and add the chocolate, whisking until smooth. Whisk the eggs with the sugar until smooth, then whisk in the warm chocolate cream.

Set the pastry case on a sturdy baking tray and pour in the chocolate mixture as deep as you dare. I tend to pour mine in when it’s resting on the shelf in the oven, but it’s up to you.

Bake the tart for 30 minutes, or until the custard has set with just a hint of a wobble. Remove carefully from the oven and allow to cool completely. To assemble the tart, pit the cherries and cut them in half. Toss them in a little lemon juice as you go, to hold the colour. Carefully arrange the cherries, cut-side-up, on top of the tart in a neat overlapping pattern. Garnish with mint, thyme or your preferred herb, and serve generous wedges to your guests.