Method

Chocolate Pâte Sucrée

*Note – the recipe makes enough for 4 tarts, however, you might not quite get that out of 2 dough balls. In this case, simply take the leftover scraps of dough and re-roll it for any remaining tart shells.

1. Into a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer), add the cubed, cold butter and sift over the cocoa powder and icing/powdered sugar.

• • 100g Unsalted Butter, Cold & Cubed
  • 70g Icing/Powdered Sugar
  • 25g Cocoa Powder

2. With a paddle attachment or with the beaters on a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar for 2-3 minutes until it is evenly combined. Scrape down the mixture with a spatula twice during this time.

3. While still beating the mixture, pour in the eggs and beat to combine. After about 30 seconds, scrape down the bowl ensuring all the butter is scraped off the bottom of the bowl and then mix for another 30 seconds.

• • 50g Egg Yolks

4. Add in the flour, and mix on a very low speed, until the dry ingredients are just combined. Be careful not to overbeat the mixture, simply mix until no more flour is visible and the mixture is clumping together. It should take about 15 seconds.

• • 175g Plain Flour/All-Purpose

5. Split the mixture into two equal parts. Squeeze the mixture in your hand to form a rough ball. Place the first ball of dough onto a silicon mat. Place a second silicon mat on top and roll the mixture into a rough circle, getting it as thin as possible. If you don’t have silicon mats you can roll the dough between parchment paper but it will be very difficult as it will slip and slide all over the place!

6. Once you have a rough circle of dough, place it into the freezer for 30m. This dough will be for the base of the tart shells.

7. With the remaining dough, shape it into a rough log shape. Place the log of dough onto a silicon mat. Working with the silicon mat lengthways, fold it in half so you have a long vertical mat.

8. Roll the log of dough into a long vertical strip of dough. The reason we do this, is that we are going to use this portion of the dough to create the walls for our tart shells. By rolling it into a long vertical shape, we maximise the dough and reduce any wastage. Place the sheet of dough in the freezer for 30 minutes.

9. While the dough is chilling, take the perforated tart ring and very lightly grease the inside with some soft butter.

10. Remove the chilled dough from the freezer that you are going to use for the base of the tart shell.

11. Working quickly, peel the dough off of the silicon matt and place it onto your baking tray lined with a baking mat (ideally a perforated baking mat). Press the tart shells into the dough and peel away any excess dough. Arrange the 4 tart shells on the baking tray and place them back in the freezer.

12. Remove the dough from the freezer that we are going to use for the walls of our tart shell. Working quickly, peel the top of the silicon mat off. Use a knife to cut one long line of dough, then use a fluted pastry wheel to cut a line above that – ensuring the width is the same as the height you need for your tart shell. This will then give you a fluted top to your pastry. The most efficient way to cut the strips is like the design in the PDF (excuse the rough drawing!).

13. Cut 4 strips of dough in total and then quickly place these back into the freezer for 10 minutes. You need to work quickly so the dough doesn’t melt.

*Note – you may not have enough dough here for 4 tart walls depending on how you rolled it. In which case, start by cutting two walls and then re-roll the scraps to make another 2 walls.

14. Once chilled, remove the baking tray from the freezer that has the tart bases on and remove one strip of dough for the walls.

15. Work quickly and take the strip of dough and place it inside the tart ring, ensuring the fluted part of the dough is at the top. Use a knife to cut it to size so that there isn’t too much excess dough overlapping. Alternatively, you can measure a piece of paper on the inside of the tart ring so that it measures perfectly, then cut your strips of dough to this exact length so they fit perfectly when you place them inside the tart ring.

16. Use your fingers to press together the base and the walls. The idea is to slightly push down the base of the wall, so that it meets the dough on the base of the tart shell. Do this all the way around the tart shell so that there are no gaps in between the wall and the base.

17. You have to do this while the dough is cold, otherwise, if it is too warm, as you press the dough it will tear. If it does feel too warm, place it back in the freezer for 10 minutes then try again.

18. Remove the remaining strips of dough for the walls from the freezer and repeat this with the remaining tarts.

19. Once you have attached the walls and the dough, do not try and move the tart shells or lift them up as the dough will have softened and it will tear. Always keep them on the tray. Place the entire tray of tart shells in the freezer.

Orange Frangipane

1. Preheat the oven to 175C/350F.

2. Into the bowl of a stand mixer, add the room temperature unsalted butter along with the sugar & orange zest. Beat for 1-2 minutes, scraping down the bowl halfway through, until the mixture is smooth.

• • 100g Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
  • 100g Caster Sugar
  • Zest ½ Orange

3. Next, pour in the eggs in three parts (ensure they are room temperature) and beat again. Initially the mixture will look quite split, but scrape down the sides halfway through and keep beating for 1 minute. Don’t worry if there are a few lumps of butter left.

• • 100g Whole Egg

4. Finally, add the ground almonds and plain flour. Beat until the mixture forms a smooth paste, about 30 seconds.

• • 100g Ground Almonds
  • 15g Plain, All-Purpose Flour

5. Add the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a round tip nozzle.

6. Remove the tart shells from the freezer and pipe the frangipane in. Fill the tart slightly below halfway as we need to ensure there is enough room for the ganache once it has baked.

7. Place the tarts in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until lightly golden on top. Watch the tarts very closely for the first 5 minutes as sometimes, the pastry can slip down from the edge of the tart ring. If you see the pastry slipping ever so slightly, simply open the oven and use your finger to gently press the dough back against the tart ring then it will stay in place.

8. Once baked, remove from the oven and allow them to cool completely.

Gianduja

1. Add your roasted hazelnuts into a powerful food processor, along with the icing/powdered sugar.

If you don’t have roasted hazelnuts, take hazelnuts with the skin on, and place them in the oven at 175C/350F for 8-10m or until the skins start to burst. Remove them from the oven and let them cool, then peel off the skins. Pop them back in the oven very briefly until lightly golden.

• • 160g Roasted Hazelnuts
  • 68g Icing/Powdered Sugar

2. Blend the mixture on a medium high speed until it forms a smooth paste. Initially it will go a little chunky and you will need to scrape down the sides of the mixer 3-4 times to ensure it is fully incorporated. Depending on the power of your food processor, it should take 2-3 minutes until you have a smooth paste.

3. Once smooth, remove it from the food processor and scrape the mixture into a bowl.

4. Add the dark chocolate into a bowl and melt it over a pan of gently simmer water.

• • 230g Dark Chocolate

5. Pour the melted chocolate into the blended hazelnut paste and stir the mixture to combine. You can use the mixture immediately or store it in a plastic container to use later for the ganache. It will set it like a soft chocolate.

Gianduja Ganache

1. Into a tall jug, add the gianduja.

• • 150g Gianduja

2. Meanwhile, add your heavy/double cream to a medium saucepan and bring it to a gentle simmer.

• • 260g Double/Heavy Cream

3. Once hot, pour this over the gianduja. Let it sit for 2 minutes then blend till smooth.

4. Take the cooled tart and pour the ganache onto the top of the frangipane. Fill the tart, until the ganache is slightly below the rim.

5. Place the tarts in the fridge until you are ready to decorate. The ganache will be quite liquid so we need it to set up so it is still soft, but not too firm. 1.5 hours in the fridge or 30 minutes in the freezer should be perfect.

Gold Chocolate Discs

1. Temper 200g of dark chocolate – for a full video on how to temper check the Bake It Better classes.

2. Pour the half of the tempered chocolate onto an A4 sheet of acetate.

3. Place a second sheet of acetate on top and then using a rolling pin, or a wooden rod and carefully run it along the top of the acetate, smoothing out the chocolate until it is an even thickness.

4. Place something heavy on top like a book, and let it set at room temperature for 30-60 minutes. Repeat with the remaining chocolate on a second pair of acetate sheets.

5. Once the chocolate has set, take a cookie cutter, slightly smaller than the size of your tart. Heat it up with a blow torch or run it under some hot water so that it is hot.

6. Peel off the top sheet of acetate and cut out 2 circles from the first sheet of chocolate, and two from the second sheet.

7. Peel the chocolate discs carefully off the acetate and place them in the fridge for 5 minutes.

8. After 5 minutes, add a small amount of edible gold dust to a bowl and use a brush to dust it onto the disc so that it is evenly covered. Leave at room temperature until you are ready to assemble. If it is particularly warm in your house, leave them in the fridge.

Assembly

1. Remove the chilled tarts from the fridge. The ganache should be set on top but still be ever so slightly soft. This means it will be easier to press the hazelnuts in. If it is too firm, quickly and gently heat the top with a blow torch.

2. Take your roasted hazelnuts and chop them in half. Try and cut them so they relatively equal in size. This may be slightly more hazelnuts than you actually need but sometimes they don’t cut perfectly in half so you have a few that aren’t “aesthetic” enough!

• • 300g Roasted Hazelnuts

3. Place the halves of roasted hazelnuts all around the tart, starting from the outside and working your way into the centre. It is a bit of a laborious process but worth it for final presentation.

4. For a clean design, ensure the hazelnuts are all facing the same direction.

5. Remove the gold chocolate discs from the fridge and carefully lift it on top of the hazelnuts.

6. Take a heat gun, or a hair dryer and very gently melt the gold disc onto the tart. Try to avoid using a blow torch as this is more likely to burn the chocolate. You can also place the tart into a warm oven for a minute or so! Keep an eye on it!

7. Let the tart come to room temperature before serving.