Salted Chocolate Tart with Beetroot Sorbet
This recipe is pretty special to me, one of the more memorable cooks in the MasterChef Australia kitchen, It was something I made for Nigella, one of my absolute idols. xx
Salted Chocolate Tart
125g unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
30g icing sugar, sifted
240g plain flour
1 egg
fine salt to taste
Filling
170g thickened cream
150g dark chocolate 70%, chopped
50g milk chocolate, chopped
1 tsp salt flakes, or to taste
Beetroot Sorbet
250ml fresh beetroot juice, from aprox 450g fresh beetroot
75g caster sugar
1 sprig rosemary
1 tbsp liquid glucose
1 tbsp raspberry vinegar
1 tbsp morello cherry juice (alternatively you can do 2 tbs of either the raspberry vinegar or the morello cherry juice)
Meringue
1 egg whites
60g caster sugar
Rosemary Salt
1 tsp finely chopped rosemary
1/2 tsp salt flakes
METHOD
Preheat oven to 180C.
Butter and flour 4 x 10.5cm loose-based, fluted tart tins.
Pre chill ice cream machine as per manufacturer’s instructions.
Salted Chocolate Tart
Prepare the pastry by combining butter and icing sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Add the flour and mix until combined.
Add egg and a pinch of salt and mix until mixture forms a ball. Remove dough from bowl and gently knead into a flat disc. Wrap in cling film and rest in fridge for 30 minutes.
Roll out between 2 pieces of baking paper. Divide the dough into four and roll out between two sheets baking paper, to circles of approximately 15cm diameter. Press into tins, trim excess and blind bake for 10 minutes. Remove paper and weights, prick pastry bases lightly and return to oven for 7-8 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and set aside to cool in the tins until needed.
For the ganache filling, place the cream and half the salt into a small saucepan over medium heat and warm the chocolate until hot but not boiling.
Place both chocolates into a large, heat-proof bowl. When the cream is hot, pour over the chocolate and stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth, shiny and well combined.
Season liberally with remaining sea salt flakes to taste.
Cool the ganache to room temperature then pour into the cold tart tins. Transfer the filled tarts to the fridge for 10 minutes to set then set aside at room temperature until needed.
Beetroot Sorbet
Place beetroot juice, sugar, rosemary sprig and glucose into a large saucepan over medium to high heat. Stir to dissolve the sugar and glucose then remove from heat.
Strain the mixture through a fine sieve, then add vinegar and morello cherry juice. Set the bowl over an ice bath to cool, stirring occasionally. When mixture is cool, transfer to an ice cream machine and churn according to manufacturer’s instructions, until firm.
Once the sorbet is churned, transfer to an airtight container and place in the freezer until firm.
Meringue
Use a hand held electric mixer to whisk the egg whites and sugar together in a large bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Whisk until mixture is thick and glossy. Spoon into a piping bag and set aside in the fridge until needed to serve.
Rosemary Salt
Combine both ingredients into a small bowl. Use your fingers to blend together. Set aside in an airtight container until needed.
To Serve
Place tarts onto serving plates. Pipe several dots of meringue around the plate and use a blow torch to colour. Sprinkle the tart with rosemary salt and add a scoop of beetroot sorbet to the side of the tart.