FRUIT AND NUT TART
This is a great recipe for clearing out the cupboard – old chocolate, dried fruit, nuts, flour, sugar, the lot.
Preparation 30 minutes, plus chilling Cooking 35 minutes Serves 8-10
FOR THE PASTRY
85G BUTTER, CUBED
1 MEDIUM EGG
1 MEDIUM EGG YOLK
200G PLAIN FLOUR, PLUS EXTRA FOR DUSTING
80G ICING SUGAR, SIFTED
¼ TSP SEA SALT
FOR THE GANACHE
80G DRIED FRUIT (SUCH AS RAISINS, SULTANAS AND CRANBERRIES), PLUS EXTRA TO DECORATE 80G CHOPPED NUTS (SUCH AS HAZELNUTS, ALMONDS, WALNUTS, PISTACHIOS), PLUS EXTRA TO DECORATE 200ML DOUBLE CREAM
200G DARK OR MILK CHOCOLATE (OR A MIXTURE), BROKEN INTO SMALL CHUNKS
2 TBSP WHOLE MILK
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Put the cubed butter in the freezer for 5 minutes. Add the egg and egg yolk to a mug and whisk with a fork. Next, add the flour, sugar and salt to a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the chilled butter to the flour mixture and blitz for 30 seconds, until it resembles breadcrumbs. Pour in half of the egg mixture and blitz again to bring the dough together, adding a bit more egg if needed. Work the dough for as little time as possible. As soon as it resembles pastry dough, tip onto a worksurface, bring together with your hands very briefly, wrap in a large reusable freezer bag and chill for at least an hour, or preferably overnight.
Remove the pastry from the fridge 30 minutes before you roll out. Roll it out onto a well-floured worksurface, to a 3-5mm thickness, then roll up loosely onto the rolling pin and put on top of a 23cm diameter tart tin. Rip off an overhanging corner of pastry, roll it into a ball and dip it in flour. Nudge the pastry into the rivets of the case, using the ball. Put the tart on a baking sheet, put back in the large freezer bag, seal and chill for at least 40 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan oven) gas mark 6. Tear off a large piece of parchment paper and scrunch it up, then stretch it out again. Put the parchment paper on top of the chilled pastry. Pour in the baking beans to completely fill the pastry case and put in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes, until the pastry looks sandy and
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