Delicious UK - (10)October 2020

P u i t sd ’a m o u r
(wellsoflove)
MAKES12.HANDS-ONTIME 55 MIN,
OVEN TIME 25-30 MIN, PLUS CHILLING

MAKE

AHEAD

Makethecrèmepâtissière
andthepastryupto
a dayahead,thenassemble
tobake.Keepthebakedtarts
somewherecoolinanairtight
containerforupto2 days.

FOOD

TEAM’S

TIP

Flattenthedoughintoa
discabout2cmthickbefore
chilling– youwon’tneed
torollit foraslong.Makesurethe
doughstayscool– usingshort,
sharprollswillhelpprevent it
from breaking up.

FORTHECRÈMEPÂTISSIÈRE

• 250mlwholemilk


• 1 tspvanillaextract


• 60gcastersugar


• 2 largefree-rangeeggyolks
  (savethewhitesfor the meringue)


• 20g cornflour

FORTHEPASTRY

• 125gunsaltedbutter, at room
  temperature


• 50gcastersugar


• 1 mediumfree-rangeegg


• 200gplainflour, plus extra for
  dusting


• ½ tsp fine salt

FORTHEBANANAS

• 2 bananas


• 3 tbsp icing sugar

FORTHEMERINGUE

• 2 largefree-rangeeggwhites
  (fromthecrèmepâtissière above)


• 120gcastersugar


• 3 tbspdesiccated coconut
  (optional)

YOU’LLALSONEED...

• Electrichandmixer;12-hole
  muffintin;8-9cm round
  cookie cutter

USEFULTOHAVE...

• Compostablebakingpaper;
  doughscraper;pipingbag
  witha 20mmplainnozzle;
  cook’s blowtorch

1 First,makethecrèmepâtissière:

putthemilkandvanillaina small

saucepanandsetasideuntil

needed.Putthe60gsugar,egg

yolksandcornflourina heatproof

mixingbowlandwhiskvigorously

usinga balloonwhiskfor

1-2minutesuntilpaleandfluffy.

Putthemilkovera highheatand

allowit tocometotheboil,then

pourit ontotheeggsina thin

streamwhilewhiskingconstantly.

2 Whentheeggandmilkmixtures

arewellcombined,pourthemback

intothepanwhileofftheheat,then

returntoa medium-highheatand

whiskconstantlyandvigorously

asthemixturethickens.Youmust

ensurethewhisktouchesthebottom

ofthepanatalltimes.Oncethe

mixtureisverythick(thiswilltake

2-3minutes),removethepanfrom

theheatandpourit ontoa lipped

plate.Coverwithdampcompostable

bakingpaper,ensuringit’stouching

thesurfaceofthecustardtostop

a skinforming.Chilluntil cold

(seeMakeAhead).

3 Forthepastry,putthebutterand

50gsugarina mixingbowlandbeat

togetherwithanelectrichandmixer

ora woodenspoonfora coupleof

minutesuntilsoft.Youcansimply

addtheeggandwhiskwiththe

mixer,butthemixturewillprobably

splitatthispoint.Whilethat’sokay,

I liketotrytogetit toemulsify,so

putthebowlovera panofbarely

simmeringwaterasyouwhiskand

everythingshouldcometogetherto

forma smooth,thickemulsion.

(Don’tletthebowllingeroverthe

water,however,asthelastthing you

wantistoscrambletheegg.)

4 Addtheflourandsalt,thencut

everythingtogetherusinga dough

scraperorbutterknife.Assoonas

themixturestartstoclump,tipit

ontoa pieceofclingfilm,bringit

togetherintoa smoothball,then

shapeintoa disc.Wrapit upand

chillforatleast2 hours (see tip and

MakeAhead).

5 Heatthegrilltohigh.Slicethe

bananasinto5mmdiscs.Putthem

ona bakingsheetanddustliberally

with icing sugar. Toast the bananas

underthegrilluntildarkly

caramelised– justtheoneside

isfine(seeMakeAhead).

6 Heattheovento200°C/180°Cfan/

gas6.Dusttheworksurface

generouslywithflour,thenrollout

to3mmthick.Cutout 12 discslarge

enoughtolinetheholesofa 12-hole

muffintin.Lineeachholeinthetin

witha pastrydiscandput3 slicesof

bananainthebottomofeach.Take

thecrèmepâtissièreoutofthe

fridge,transferit toa mixingbowl

andbeatvigorouslywitha wooden

spoonuntilit’smuchlooser.

7 Dividethecrèmepâtissière

amongthepastrycasesandlevel

it offwitha spoonasbestyoucan.

Bakefor25-30minutesuntilthe

pastryisgoldenandthecrème

pâtissièreisswollenwitha dark

patchontop.Removefromtheoven

andallowtocoolcompletelybefore

removingfromthemuffintin.

8 Forthemeringue,puttheegg

whitesandsugarintoa heatproof

bowlandsetovera panofbarely

simmeringwater.Usinganelectric

handmixer,whiskthesugarand

whitesuntilyouhavea verythick,

smoothandglossymeringue– it’ll

takea good5 minutes.Removefrom

theheatandwhiskfora minute

moretocoolandreachstiffpeaks

(whenyouliftthewhiskout,the

peakwon’tdrooptooneside).

9 Whenthetartshavecooled,top

themwiththemeringue.Whilea

rusticapproachofsimplydolloping

themeringueontopwitha spoonis

delightful,I prefera neatermethod,

soI usea pipingbagand20mmplain

nozzletopipelittledomesontoeach

tart.Putthecoconutintoa shallow

bowlanddelicatelydipeach

meringue-toppedtartinthecoconut,

coveringthetopentirely.Or,if you

don’thaveanycoconut,youcould

brownthemeringuewitha cook’s

blowtorch(asinthepicture,right)

orflashthetartsina mediumoven

for5 minutesasyouwould with

alemonmeringuepie.

PERTART317kcals,13.9gfat

(8.5gsaturated),5.6gprotein,

41.6gcarbs(27g sugars), 0.3g salt,

1.6g fibre