If you’ve got a stick blender, use it here to blitz the mixture and make it extra smooth.
5. Transfer the custard to a bowl and lay cling film or baking parchment on the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming. Leave to cool and then chill for at least 4 hours or overnight.
GÜ TIP You can use powdered gelatine rather than leaf gelatine. Put the powder in a bowl, add 1½ tablespoons of cold water, mix well and then let it soak for 10–15 minutes.
GÜ WAYS TO USE THIS RECIPE Use this custard to fill the Chocolate Eclairs instead of the creamy chocolate custard. It is also delicious just as a cream and as a dessert in its own right. Served over roasted or caramelised pineapple and sprinkled with the Chocolate Pecan Crumble it would be perfect for a brunch dessert.
CHOCOLATE SWEETCRUST PASTRY
Here’s our recipe for a classic light and crisp pastry, but with chocolate added – of course! You will find that the pastry is used in various recipes throughout the book, which is why we’ve given you a choice of quantities here. The instructions also describe how to ‘blind bake’ a pastry case. This means to pre-cook a tart pastry base to give it a good start before you add a wet filling, so it will be nice and crisp once baked with its filling inside.
SMALL QUANTITY
MAKES 24 MINI TARTLET CASES
75g plain flour
pinch of salt
50g unsalted butter, softened
1 lightly heaped tsp cocoa powder
25g icing sugar
1 egg yolk
EQUIPMENT
24-cup mini tartlet tin
LARGE QUANTITY
MAKES 1 × 26CM ROUND TART CASE OR 1 × 20CM ROUND TART CASE WITH SOME SPARE TO MAKE MINI TARTLETS
150g plain flour
pinch of salt
100g unsalted butter, softened
1 lightly heaped tbsp cocoa powder
100g icing sugar
1 egg
EQUIPMENT
26cm or 20cm round fluted tart tin, depending on the main recipe requirement
1. Sift half of the flour into a large mixing bowl, then add the salt and butter and blend together well with a spatula until smooth.
2. Sift the cocoa powder, icing sugar and remaining flour over the butter mixture and rub them in with your fingertips until it forms even-sized breadcrumbs.
3. Beat the egg lightly in a jug and mix this into the flour and butter mix with a fork until it just binds together and forms a dough. (Be very careful not to overmix as the pastry will become tough.)
4. Wrap the pastry in cling film and place in the fridge for 2–3 hours before rolling out.
5. Each of our tart recipes calls for a tart case that is baked blind. To do this, preheat the oven to 170°C/Gas mark 3. Butter the tart tin and cut out a circle of baking parchment that is 10cm larger than the diameter of the tin.
6. Dust a work surface with flour and unwrap the chilled pastry. Roll it out thinly and use it to line the tart tin. Lightly prick the base all over with a fork. Tightly crumple the baking parchment in your hand (to make it easier to fit inside the pastry case), then flatten it and use it to line the pastry case. Fill the base with baking beans.
7. Place the tart tin on a baking sheet and put it in the oven for 10–15 minutes until there is no or a very little wet patch left. Remove the baking sheet and tart tin from the oven, and carefully lift out the paper filled with beans. Then return the baking sheet and tart tin to the oven and cook for a further 10 minutes or until the pastry case is nearly cooked and feels dry.
GÜ TIP To make everything as easy possible, use butter that has been standing at room temperature; your beating arm won’t complain nearly as much.
GÜ TIP Roll out pastry between sheets of baking parchment as it makes this job so much easier and won’t stick to your work surface.
GÜ TIP Another way to prevent the pastry from becoming too soggy once a filling is added, is to brush the cooked pastry with a thin layer of melted chocolate. This works on all tarts that do not require baking once the filling has been poured in, such as the Raspberry Ganache Tart.
Once you learn to make this easy recipe you’ll see what a brilliant all-rounder it is. Ganache is a classic thick chocolate mixture and it can be used hot as a chocolate sauce or dip; cold whisked up as a milkshake, poured over a cake as a shiny glaze, made into truffles, used to sandwich together cookies or macaroons, or chilled and beaten as a fluffy icing for cupcakes. Clever ganache!
MAKES ABOUT 450G
160g dark chocolate (about 50% cocoa solids), broken into small pieces
60g milk chocolate (34% minimum cocoa solids), broken into small pieces
300ml whipping cream
EQUIPMENT
Stick blender (optional)
1. Put the dark and milk chocolate pieces into a heatproof bowl. Pour the cream into a saucepan and bring it to the boil. Pour it over the chocolate and stir with a spatula until the chocolate has melted and become smooth. If you have a stick blender, then use this to blitz the hot ganache, as it makes the mixture smoother and helps it to set.
2. Use the ganache hot as a sauce or glaze, or pour it into a bowl, leave it to cool and then put in the fridge for 4–6 hours until set. Use as needed.
GÜ TIP The higher the cocoa solids in your chocolate, the firmer your ganache will be.
GÜ TIP If you’re feeling lazy you can buy pots of Gü Ganache in the supermarket too.
Make this unusual cooked chocolate crumble to scatter over finished dishes to give extra texture and flavour.
MAKES ABOUT 225G
60g pecan nuts
50g unsalted butter, softened
25g demerara sugar
25g light soft brown sugar
2 tsp cocoa powder
60g plain flour
1. Preheat the oven to 140°C/Gas mark 1. Put the pecan nuts in a plastic bag and finely crush them with a rolling pin or other heavy object.
2. Put the remaining ingredients in a bowl and rub them together very well with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Then stir in the crushed pecans.
3. Spread