These tarts are so gorgeous you’ll want to stare at them all day! That being said, they taste even better than they look with luscious whipped cream, sticky berry jam, crumbly tart crust, and the delicate taste of nutty pistachios underlying all of the flavours.
Makes: 4 tarts
Prep Time: 8 hours
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
For the pistachio tart dough:
- 165 g / 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 32 g / 1/4 cup shelled pistachios (plus another 1/4 cup for garnish later on)
- 60 g / 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 g / 1/4 tsp. salt
- 127 g / 1/2 cup Crystal margarine
- 1 egg yolk
For the pistachio mousse:
- 56 g / 2 cups white chocolate
- 15 g / 2 tbsp. powdered sugar
- 56 g / 1/2 cup pistachios, preferably unsalted
- 43 g / 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 4 ml / 3/4 tsp. almond extract
- 177 ml / 3/4 cup heavy cream
For the berry cream:
- 118 ml / 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 15 g / 2 tbsp. powdered sugar
- 30 ml / 2 tbsp. of your favourite berry jam
For assembly:
- 118 ml / 1/2 cup good quality berry jam
- Fresh berries
Directions
For the pistachio tart dough:
- Put the flour, ground nuts, powdered sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse a couple of times to combine.
- Add the margarine and pulse until the margarine is cut in coarsely.
- Add the egg yolk and process in long pulses, about 10 seconds each, until the dough just starts forming clumps. Just before it reaches this clumpy stage, the sound of the machine working the dough will change.
- Press the dough into the shells in an even layer. Poke holes on the bottom with a fork. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Bake off the shells at 176°C / 350°F until they are light brown, about 20 minutes, rotating halfway through baking.
- Spread a thin layer of jam in the bottom of each tart shell after they’re cooled and before you make the pistachio mousse.
For the pistachio mousse:
- Melt white chocolate in a small bowl in the microwave and set aside.
- Grind the pistachios in a food processor until they are in small pieces. Add the powdered sugar and continue to grind them (the sugar will help prevent the nuts from clumping and will give you a finer texture). Process the nuts until they are a very fine powder, but stop before they start to turn into nut butter.
- Place 2.5 cm / 1-inch of water in the bottom saucepan of a double boiler, and bring to a simmer.
- Combine the eggs and the sugar in the top half of a double boiler and whisk them together. (Alternately, you can use a regular saucepan with a tight-fitting metal or glass bowl on top.) Put the eggs and sugar over the double boiler and continue to whisk them constantly as the mixture heats up. Whisk and heat the eggs until they are thick and creamy, with a texture almost like pudding.
- Once thickened, remove the eggs from the heat. Stir in the melted white chocolate and the almond extract, then stir in the ground pistachios. Refrigerate the mixture to cool off while you whip the cream.
- In a mixing bowl, whip the cream with a whisk attachment until it forms firm peaks. Fold the cream into the cooled pistachio mixture. Divide the mousse evenly between the four tart shells, and spread it into an even layer on top. Refrigerate the shells to set the mousse, for at least 6 hours or overnight.
For the berry whipped cream:
- Beat the heavy cream in a mixing bowl with a whisk. Gradually add the powdered sugar and the jam. Beat until stiff peaks form. You can also add a touch of pink food colouring to give it a rose colour, if desired.
To finish the tarts:
- Top each tart with a generous spoonful of berry whipped cream, and garnish them with fresh berries, and chopped pistachios.
Chef Notes
- This dish goes lovely with champagne or prosecco at dessert in the summer.
