I went to a wonderful dinner party last night. The host was serving Wahoo (tropical fish) and lobster and asked me to bring dessert. It's Michigan and January and we're eating a tropical feast!
I also discovered this really great tart crust and a quick and easy way to make custard! The whole vanilla bean is key!
I also discovered this really great tart crust and a quick and easy way to make custard! The whole vanilla bean is key!
Mango Pineapple Tart
modified from Bon Appetit, June 2003
serves 12
Crust
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup toasted almonds
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon (or more) water
1/2 teaspoon almond extract*
Filling
2 cups whole milk
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
6 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
3 1/2 teaspoons rum*
Assembly
1/4 pineapple, halved lengthwise, cored, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 mango, peeled, halved, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1/4 cup fruit preserves, melted*
Make the filling:
Heat milk in a heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Bring to simmer.
Whisk yolks, sugar, and cornstarch in large bowl to blend.
Gradually whisk hot milk mixture into yolk mixture; return to saucepan and whisk over medium heat until thick and beginning to bubble, about 8 minutes. Transfer to medium bowl. Cool slightly; mix in rum. Press plastic wrap onto surface of custard. Chill until cold. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.)
Make the crust:
Chop nuts in a processor until they are finely ground. Add flour, sugar, and salt and mix until well blended. Using on/off turns, cut in butter until pea-size pieces form. Add yolk, 1 teaspoon water, and extract; using on/off turns, blend just until moist clumps form, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and chill.
*Roll out dough between 2 lightly floured sheets of waxed paper to 1/4-inch thickness. Peel off top sheet of paper. Invert crust into 11-inch round tart pan with removable bottom. Peel off paper; press dough into pan. Trim edges. Refrigerate 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake crust until golden, about 25 minutes. Cool. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap and store at room temperature.)
Assemble the tart:
Remove vanilla bean from filling. Whisk filling just until smooth; spread in crust. Arrange pineapple and mango slices in concentric circles atop filling. Brush fruit with preserves. (Tart can be assembled 3 hours ahead. Refrigerate.)
***Notes:
1. The original recipe called for macadamia nuts, but lots of the reviewers on epicurious complained that your couldn't taste the macadamia nuts over the almond extract. I didn't have any macadamia nuts on hand anyways, so I used almonds. The almond extract taste is pretty strong and I think we'll try the crust next time without it.
2. The original recipe called for dark run, but all I had was the clear stuff, so I used that and it worked out just fine.
3. The original recipe called for apricot preserves. I used strawberry and it tasted great. I imagine you could use whatever preserves you have on hand.
4. Alternatively, you could just press the dough into your tart pan. I did it this way and my only complaint is that the corners of the crust were too thick. But the crust is really good, so the thick crust isn't a deal breaker.
Make the filling:
Heat milk in a heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Bring to simmer.
Whisk yolks, sugar, and cornstarch in large bowl to blend.
Gradually whisk hot milk mixture into yolk mixture; return to saucepan and whisk over medium heat until thick and beginning to bubble, about 8 minutes. Transfer to medium bowl. Cool slightly; mix in rum. Press plastic wrap onto surface of custard. Chill until cold. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.)
Make the crust:
Chop nuts in a processor until they are finely ground. Add flour, sugar, and salt and mix until well blended. Using on/off turns, cut in butter until pea-size pieces form. Add yolk, 1 teaspoon water, and extract; using on/off turns, blend just until moist clumps form, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and chill.
*Roll out dough between 2 lightly floured sheets of waxed paper to 1/4-inch thickness. Peel off top sheet of paper. Invert crust into 11-inch round tart pan with removable bottom. Peel off paper; press dough into pan. Trim edges. Refrigerate 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake crust until golden, about 25 minutes. Cool. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap and store at room temperature.)
Assemble the tart:
Remove vanilla bean from filling. Whisk filling just until smooth; spread in crust. Arrange pineapple and mango slices in concentric circles atop filling. Brush fruit with preserves. (Tart can be assembled 3 hours ahead. Refrigerate.)
***Notes:
1. The original recipe called for macadamia nuts, but lots of the reviewers on epicurious complained that your couldn't taste the macadamia nuts over the almond extract. I didn't have any macadamia nuts on hand anyways, so I used almonds. The almond extract taste is pretty strong and I think we'll try the crust next time without it.
2. The original recipe called for dark run, but all I had was the clear stuff, so I used that and it worked out just fine.
3. The original recipe called for apricot preserves. I used strawberry and it tasted great. I imagine you could use whatever preserves you have on hand.
4. Alternatively, you could just press the dough into your tart pan. I did it this way and my only complaint is that the corners of the crust were too thick. But the crust is really good, so the thick crust isn't a deal breaker.
Just calculated this as 9 or 10 points per piece. Next time I'll try to make it with less crust!
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