Chocolate Raspberry Tart with Torched Meringue Recipe

How to make Chocolate Raspberry Tart with Torched Meringue

Method

  1. Make the pastry first. Place the flour, 40g sifted icing mixture and cocoa into a mixing bowl. Use your fingertips to rub in the butter until sandy. Add enough iced water to bring the mixture together then form into a disc. 
  2. Roll out the dough between 2 sheets of baking paper, then use it to line a shallow 23cm loose-bottomed tart tin. Trim the top rim to create a smooth edge. Rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
  3. To make the coulis, rinse the frozen raspberries and place in a small saucepan with the sugar. Set over a medium heat and cook until the raspberries soften and collapse. Mash with a fork, add lemon juice to taste and pass through a fine sieve. Refrigerate until needed.
  4. Preheat the oven to 180°C (or 160°C fan-forced). Prick the pastry base with a fork to prevent it from rising. Place a piece of baking paper on top of the tart shell and fill with baking beans. Cook for 15 minutes, remove the paper and baking beans and place back in the oven for 10 minutes or until cooked through. Set aside to cool.
  5. Reduce the oven temperature to 140°C (or 120°C fan-forced). To prepare the filling, place the chopped chocolate into a mixing bowl. Simmer the cream in a small saucepan set over a medium heat. Pour the warm cream over the chocolate and leave for 2 minutes to melt the chocolate. Whisk until combined and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Whisk in the 2 whole eggs and honey then pour into the pastry shell. Bake for 25 minutes or until just set but with a slight wobble. Set aside to cool to room temperature then refrigerate until firm.
  6. To make the meringue, place the egg whites and 125g caster sugar into the metal bowl of a stand mixer and set it over a pan of gently simmering water (or you can use any metal mixing bowl). Whisk until the sugar dissolves and the temperature reaches 65°C (using a candy thermometer) . Place in the stand mixer with the balloon whisk attachment and whisk for 6-8 minutes or until it reaches room temperature and is nice and stiff.
  7. Place the meringue into a large piping bag with a star nozzle. Randomly pipe meringue stars onto the chocolate filling, leaving gaps for the raspberries. Use a blowtorch to torch the meringue until the edges are tinged. You don’t want to burn it. Dot the raspberries around the meringue, drizzle with berry coulis and serve.

Tip: Any leftover pastry can be re-rolled and cut into shapes to make cookies.

Optional: For a deep, bitter chocolate flavour, use chocolate that’s at least 70% cocoa solids.