The inspiration for this tart came from a dessert Gareth used to make at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal in London. Roasted white peaches were macerated in jasmine syrup and plated with yoghurt cream, freeze-dried raspberries and a raspberry meringue, served alongside a cold-infused jasmine tea. Raspberry and jasmine are such an impactful flavour combination. A cheesecake custard with jasmine works perfectly as the high fat and dairy content softens the tannins in the tea and makes its fragrance the real hero.
Makes 1 tart
WHAT YOU NEED
1 × baked Shortcrust Pastry shell
70g (2½ oz) Dulce de Leche
For the raspberry gel
200g (7 oz) raspberries
80g (2¾ oz) water
110g (4 oz) caster (superfine) sugar
5g (0.2 oz) pectin NH
5g (0.2 oz) citric acid
For the cheesecake custard
200g (7 oz) cream cheese
360g (12½ oz) pouring (whipping) cream
10g (¼ oz) jasmine tea
125g (4½ oz) caster (superfine) sugar
240g (8½ oz) egg yolk
WHAT TO DO
For the raspberry gel
Put the raspberries into a narrow measuring jug or container and blend with a hand-held blender until very smooth.
Place a saucepan with the raspberry puree and water on the stove and bring to the boil. Combine the sugar with the pectin then add to the liquid and whisk this mixture in and boil again.
Remove from heat, add the citric acid, and use a hand-held blender to blend until smooth, then pass through a fine sieve. Allow the gel to cool and set until firm.
For the cheesecake custard
Gently microwave the cream cheese briefly to soften. Add the cream, jasmine tea and sugar to a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat, then remove from heat immediately.
To temper the egg yolks, add them to a mixing bowl and whisk in a small amount of the hot cream mixture until well incorporated. Then add the remaining cream mix and cream cheese and use a hand-held blender to blend until the mixture is shiny and smooth – to prevent any air from being incorporated into the mix, keep the head of the blender underneath the surface.
Strain the mixture through a sieve into a measuring jug to use straight away – you want to keep it as warm as possible to ensure it cooks evenly in the oven.
To bake
Spread the dulce de leche over the base of the prepared pastry shell and place in the oven. Pour the custard on top of the caramel layer. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the custard is slightly wobbly in the centre, then remove from the oven and allow to cool.
To glaze
Once the custard has cooled sufficiently, melt the raspberry gel in a small saucepan over a low heat (you can pop the tart into the fridge to help the custard to firm up, which will also help the gel set faster).
Then, once the gel has fully melted and has started to simmer slightly, pour 220g (8 oz) of the gel in a circular motion from the inside of the tart and moving outwards. Gently transfer the tart to the fridge to allow to set.
Once the gel is firm to the touch, remove the tart from the tin and portion into slices with a hot, sharp knife.
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