While the Mangosteen, Dragonfruit And Kiwi Tart with Coconut Cream is pretty, it also allows the flavour of the fruits to come through fairly unadulterated. One thing to note is that for a successful crème pâtissière free from lumps, you must whisk the shit out of it. I speak from experience.
INGREDIENTS
For the pastry
250g (9oz) plain flour, plus extra
for dusting
50g (1¾ oz) icing sugar
pinch of salt
finely grated rind of 1 orange
1 free-range egg yolk, beaten
125g (4½ oz) cold unsalted butter,
cut into cubes
50ml (2fl oz) ice-cold water
For the crème patissiere
4 free-range egg yolks
60g (2¼ oz) caster sugar
15g ( ½ oz) plain flour
15g ( ½ oz) cornflour
350ml (12fl oz) coconut milk
For the topping
4 strawberries, hulled and finely sliced
1 kiwi fruit, peeled and finely sliced
2 mangosteens, stems removed,
then split to remove the globes of white,
creamy fruit
1 dragonfruit, halved, flesh scooped out
and sliced
50g (1¾ oz) blueberries
2 tbsp peach or apricot jam
1 tbsp just-boiled water
METHOD
1 Sift the flour and icing sugar for the pastry into a large mixing bowl, then stir in the salt and the orange rind. Add the egg yolk and mix well, then
add the butter cubes and rub into the flour mixture with your fingers until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add 2 tablespoons of the iced water and mix until you get a loose dough; you may not need all the water. Once the dough comes together, clingfilm it and whack it in the fridge for at least half an hour.
2 For the crème patissiere, place the egg yolks, sugar and both flours in an electric mixer or a large bowl and whisk for about 10 minutes until smooth, pale and creamy. Heat the coconut milk in a saucepan until it boils, then take off the heat and leave to cool for 30 seconds.
3 Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) Gas Mark 6. Pour half the coconut milk into the egg and sugar mixture while whisking at a high speed for 5 minutes.
Pour the mixture back into the saucepan with the rest of the coconut milk over a medium heat, whisking all the while with a hand whisk. Heat until simmering – at this point it should be thickening rapidly. You want it to resemble a stiff jam. Take off the heat, leave to cool for 10 minutes, then cover with clingfilm touching the top of the crème patissiere. Place in a sink full of cold water, but not so that the saucepan floats. Cool completely.
4 Meanwhile, lightly dust a work surface with flour. Roll your pastry out to 1cm ( ½ in) thick, so that there is enough to line a 22cm (8½ in) springform tart tin or quiche tin and overlap the edges a little. There may be an excess – this can be frozen to be used another time. Carefully place the pastry in your tart tin, pushing it down on to the base and into the edges. Cut greaseproof paper out to fi t inside the tart case and around the edges and add ceramic baking beans. Bake for 15–20 minutes, so that the pastry is browned and crisp. Remove from the oven, lift the paper and beans out of the pastry case and leave to cool in the tin on a wire rack.
5 To assemble, spoon the crème patissiere into the pastry case so that it comes two-thirds of the way up the sides. Decorate the tart as you wish with the prepared fruit and blueberries. Lastly, mix the jam with the just-boiled water to loosen and use to lightly glaze the fruit and the pastry crust. Leave to cool before serving.
Chinatown Kitchen by Lizzie Mabbott is published by Hachette Australia, RRP$35.00, ebook RRP$19.99.
