Caramelised White Chocolate Tart

I made this tart back in August, when raspberries were most definitely more in-season than they are now (I have a decent backlog of recipes). This could, however, be topped with other fruits (such as stoned fruits) or indeed defrosted frozen berries. Alternatively, you could omit the fruit altogether- this tart would be perfectly delicious without toppings, but you could go for a few more nuts or a caramel drizzle if you felt it lacking. (Add some ground ginger to the pastry and/or filling and/or ginger syrup to the filling and decorate with honey roasted nuts and you'd have a wonderfully autumnal/Christmasy dessert).

Recipe from Plumful

Caramelised White Chocolate Tart

Ingredients:
For the shortcrust pastry
75g cold butter
75g plain flour
pinch salt
15g icing sugar
For the filling
100g good quality white chocolate
100ml double cream
75g cream cheese
1tbsp icing sugar
240ml double cream
40g plain flour
75g sugar
pinch salt
To decorate
100g raspberries/ other fruit
handful chopped pistachios
     

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 120C/250F/½ mark.

2. To caramelise the chocolate, break it into small pieces and transfer to a baking dish. Bake the chocolate for about 40 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. After 40 minutes, remove from the oven, stir in the salt and leave to cool.

3. For the pastry, rub the butter into the flour until the consistency resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the sugar then mix in ice cold water, 2tbsp at a time, until the pastry forms a smooth ball. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

4. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/mark 4.

5. On a lightly floured surface, roll the pastry out to a 2-3mm thickness. Transfer to a tart tin, line with baking paper and baking beans/raw rice and blind bake for 15 minutes. Remove the beans/rice and bake for another 15 minutes, until light golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool before removing from the tin.

6. For the filling, whisk the cream cheese and add the cream and sugar ,beating until soft peaks form. Fold in 80g caramelised white chocolate, whilst it is lukewarm and liquid (if it has solidified, heat gently to melt in a microwave oven or a bowl over a pan of simmering water). Pour the mixture into the pastry case. Decorate with the fruit, drizzle with the remaining chocolate and sprinkle over the pistachios. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.