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Serves: 4
TASTE OF CATER CARE FACT
Eggnog and Christmas go hand in hand and we wanted to create a festive dessert that recreated this drink’s distinctive flavour. Eggnog originated in medieval England and is based on a drink called posset that was made with hot milk that was then curdled with wine or ale and flavoured with a variety of spices such as nutmeg, mace and cloves.
Our eggnog custard is flavoured with vanilla and a touch of whisky and set in a homemade sweet crust pastry case. The tart is finished by topping it with marinated strawberries and roasted macadamia nuts which creates a perfect dessert for the festive season to share with family and friends.
INGREDIENTS
- 125gm Plain Flour – sieve.
- 30gm Caster Sugar
- ½ Lemon – finely zest.
- ½ tsp Vanilla Essence
- 60gm Unsalted Butter – room temperature.
- ½ Egg – crack and beat.
- As Required – Plain Flour
- As Required – Extra Virgin Olive Oil Spray
- As Required – Baking Paper
- 160ml Full Cream Milk
- 125ml Thickened Cream
- 5ml Vanilla Essence
- 2 Eggs – yolk only, beat.
- 1 tbs Cornflour
- 25gm Unsalted Butter – room temperature.
- 40ml Whisky
- 100gm Frozen Strawberries – thaw and drain.
- 30gm Icing Sugar
- 8 Strawberries – cut into small wedges.
- 40gm Unsalted Macadamia Nuts – lightly toast,
and roughly chop.
METHOD
- Pre-heat an oven to a moderate temperature – 160°C.
- In the bowl of a mixer, add the flour, caster sugar, lemon zest, first quantity of vanilla essence and butter, mix to thoroughly combine. Add the egg and mix until the ingredients come together to form a dough. Remove the dough from the mixer, wrap in cling wrap and place into the refrigerator for 30 minutes to allow the dough to rest.
- Lightly flour a clean work surface, divide the dough into 4 equal pieces, roll out each piece of dough to a 3mm thickness.
- Lightly oil 4x10cm diameter by 2cm deep fluted tart trays. Lay the pastry into each tart tray, gently pushing the pastry into all corners, making sure it evenly lines each tray before trimming off any excess pastry. Place the tart trays into the refrigerator for 10 minutes to firm. Once firm, line the base and sides of each pastry with a single layer of baking paper filled with baking beans. Place the tart trays onto a shallow baking tray and place into the oven to ‘blind bake’ for 10 minutes. Remove the tart trays from the oven, remove the baking paper and baking beans and return them to the oven. Continue to bake for a further 10 minutes or until the pastry is a light golden brown in colour, then remove and set to one side.
- Place a saucepan over a moderate heat and add the milk and cream. Mix to thoroughly combine, bring up to a gentle simmer, then remove the saucepan from the heat and set to one side.
- In a mixing bowl, add the egg yolks and cornflour, whisk to thoroughly combine. Add to the milk mixture, whisk again to thoroughly combine. Place back over a moderate heat. Bring up to the boil and boil for 10 seconds or until the mix has thickened. Remove from the heat. Add the second quantity of butter and whisky, whisk until the butter has melted and the ingredients have thoroughly combined.
- Evenly distribute the eggnog between the 4 x tart bases, place into the refrigerator for 2 hours or until it has set.
- In the jug of a blender, add the frozen strawberries and icing sugar, blend until the ingredients have been pureed. Remove from the jug and place the puree into a mixing bowl.
- Add the strawberries to the mixing bowl and gently mix until they are lightly coated in the puree, then set to one side.
TO SERVE
Remove the tarts from the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving. Top each tart with the marinated strawberries, and chopped macadamia nuts.
