Raspberry Meringue Heart Tarts

INGREDIENTS

Vanilla pastry – total weight – 625g

• 300g cake flour
• 150g cold butter, cubed
• 50g icing sugar
• 30g caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 1-2 tbsp. iced water

Raspberry curd

• 30ml lime juice
• ¼ tsp. lime zest
• 80g egg yolks
• 1 cup frozen raspberries, thawed (½ cup raspberry puree after straining)
• ½ tbsp. cornflour
• Pinch salt
• 100g cold butter, cubed

Swiss meringue

• 3 egg whites
• 1 cup caster sugar
• Pinch tartaric acid
• 1 tsp. vanilla paste

DIRECTIONS

1. Grease and line the base of 6 individual heart tart cases.

Vanilla pastry – can be prepared and cooked the day before (keep the cooked pastry case in an airtight container at room temperature)

1. Place the flour, butter, icing sugar, caster sugar and egg into the food processor and process until together in a ball. If a little more moisture is required add a little iced water at a time until it forms a ball. Wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for an hour.
2. After the pastry has rested, roll out to be 3-5mm thick.
3. Cut large enough pieces to be pressed into the tarts cases and line the tart cases. With the remaining pastry, you can cut out some little heart shapes for the plate. Rest the tarts for a further 30 minutes.
4. Pre-heat the oven to 170°C.
5. Cook in the oven for 5 minutes blind bake and then remove the beads and bake for a further 10-12 minutes.
6. Once golden, remove and let cool to room temperature.

Raspberry curd – can be done the day before

1. Puree the raspberries and strain through a fine sieve.
2. Place the lime juice, lime zest, egg yolks, raspberry puree and cornflour into a stainless steel bowl and place over a pot of boiling water and whisk until it thickens (about 20 minutes). Take the curd off the heat and whisk in the cold butter until the butter has melted and incorporated thoroughly.

Swiss meringue

1. In a clean stainless steel bowl, place the egg whites, caster sugar, tartaric acid and vanilla paste. Whisk over a pot of boiling water until the sugar has dissolved. Take off the heat and place into the bowl of the bench mixer. Whisk until stiff peaks are formed and the meringue is glossy (about 10 minutes).

Assembly

1. Place the tart case onto the plate and fill the tarts with raspberry curd. Flatten the top with the back of a knife or a palette knife.
2. Place a small round nozzle into the piping bag and fill with the Swiss meringue. Pipe small teardrops onto the heart tarts.
3. Light your butane gas burner and lightly pass the flame over the meringue to give it a little colour.
4. Serve with fresh raspberries.