Raspberry & White Chocolate Tarts

1. Make the pastry. Place the flour, icing sugar and cubed chilled butter into a good sized bowl. Rub the butter into the flour and icing sugar between your thumb and finger tips, until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Make a well in the centre of the breadcrumbs and add the beaten egg. Using a rounded pallet knife, or similar, cut through the mixture to make a dough. You may need to add a little cold water or milk to fully bring the mixture together. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and lightly knead the dough for 10 seconds. Shape the pastry into a ball and flatten into a disc. Wrap in cling film and place into the fridge for at least 30 minutes to chill.2. Make the white chocolate creme patissiere (creme pat). Pour the cream and milk into a moderate sized pan. Place on the hob and allow to come almost to the boil. Set the pan aside. In a medium sized bowl whisk the egg yolks and sugar together to combine. Add the cornflour and mix until smooth. Sit the bowl on a kitchen towel to keep it still whilst whisking. Pour half of the hot milk over the egg mixture whisking all of the time. Pour the egg mixture back into the pan, continuing to stir all of the time. Set the pan over a low heat and allow the custard to cook whilst stirring thoroughly all of the time with a wooden spoon. If the custard starts to go a little lumpy as it begins to thicken take it off the heat and beat well until smooth again. Continue to cook the creme pat until a line can be drawn on the back of the wooden spoon without the custard trickling back into the line. The custard should be thick. Add the vanilla extract and 40g white chocolate. Stir well, allowing the chocolate to completely melt. Pour the custard into a clean bowl (passing it through a sieve if necessary). Cover with clingfilm ensuring the clingfilm is in direct contact with the custard to prevent a skin from forming. Set aside to cool.3. Line the tart cases. Remove the pastry from the fridge and divide into 4 pieces of roughly equal size. Place one portion onto a lightly floured work work surface, lightly covering the remaining 3 which have been set aside. Roll the pastry out into a circle until it is about 3mm thick. Wrap the pastry around the rolling pin, lift it up (using the pin) and place into the flan tin. Gently tease the pastry into the case so that it sits into the edges well and picks up the shape of the fluted sides. If the pastry tears, patch it with surplus pastry. Avoid stretching the pastry. Line the remaining tart cases in the same way.4. Trim away the excess pastry. Use a pair of clean scissors to trim away the bulk of the excess pastry which over hangs the sides of the tart cases. Don’t worry about making it neat as the pastry will be trimmed neatly after it has been blind baked. Place into the fridge to chill for at least 10 – 15 minutes.5. Pre-heat the oven to 190c / 170 fan / Gas 5. Place a baking tray onto the middle shelf which is large enough to house the tart cases.6. Prepare to blind bake the pastry. Remove the lined tart tins from the fridge. Use a fork to gently prick the pastry base. Cut 4 squares of grease proof paper large enough to cover the base and sides tart cases. Scrunch up a piece and open it out. Gently lay it on top of the pastry, easing it into the edges. Weigh the paper down with baking beans or uncooked rice or pasta. Repeat with the remaining 3 cases.7. Blind bake the pastry. Place the cases into the oven (on the heated baking tray(s)) and cook for 15 minutes. After 10 minutes, you may need to rotate the cases. Remove from the oven and lift out the greaseproof paper which holds the baking beans / rice. With a sharp knife carefully trim away the excess pastry to neaten. Return the tart cases to the oven and bake for a further 10 minutes until the pastry is golden and cooked through.8. Cool. Remove the tart cases from the oven and place onto a cooling rack. After 5 minutes carefully remove the pastry cases from the tins and allow to completely cool. 9. Make the chocolate ganache. Pour the cream into a small pan and set over a medium heat. Allow the cream to heat through but avoid letting it boil. Meanwhile break the 60g white chocolate into small pieces. Place into a bowl. Pour the heated cream over the chocolate. Use a teaspoon to stir the ganache, gradually the chocolate will melt and the ganache will become smooth. Once the chocolate is completely melted and the ganache is smooth, set aside to cool and firm up a little. 10. Line the pastry cases with white chocolate (see note d below). Break the 40g white chocolate into a glass bowl set over a pan of simmering water (bain marie). Ensure the water in the pan doesn’t touch the base of the bowl. Set the pan over a medium heat and allow the chocolate to melt. Stir. Once the chocolate has almost completely melted remove the bowl from the pan. Stir. Use a pastry brush (or the back of a teaspoon) to apply a thin layer of the melted chocolate to the inside of the pastry case. Set aside to allow the chocolate to set.11. Begin to assemble the tarts. Once the chocolate inside the pastry case has set and the creme patisserie is completely cold assemble the tarts. Stir the custard thoroughly. Use a teaspoon to fill the pastry cases. Avoid over filling them. 12. Top with a layer of jam. Place the jam into a bowl. Add a few drops of water and stir well to slacken. Use a teaspoon to carefully spoon some of the raspberry jam over the creme patisserie. Avoid spooning the jam in one place which could cause it to sink into the custard. Use the back of the teaspoon to gently spread the jam out. 13. Complete the assembly. Arrange a few fresh raspberries on top of each tart (I used 7 arranged in a line). Spoon the cooled ganache into a piping bag fitted with a small plain nozzle (see notes b & c below). Drizzle the chocolate over the top of each tart. Finish with a scattering of freeze dried raspberries.14. Enjoy!
Notes. a)  Consider using ready made pastry cases if you’re short of time.  b) If the chocolate ganache has firmed up a little too much when you’re ready to pipe it onto the tarts simply warm it through gently until it is the consistency you’re happy with. c) Rather than using a disposable piping bag you may prefer to make a small piping cone with greaseproof paper. Alternatively, drizzle the chocolate with a teaspoon.  d)  The layer of white chocolate painted over the pastry base acts as a barrier preventing the custard from spoiling the pastry.  This step can be missed out if you’re serving the raspberry tarts straight away.