Raspberry Tartlets

Raspberry

Dessert

MasterChef Switzerland winner Sandra Girbal fills a homemade tartlet with pistachio mixture, vanilla cream, raspberries and meringue, then flambés it to finish.

Sandra Girbal

Ingredients (4 servings)
150	g	fresh raspberries
2	twigs	fresh mint

For the dough

Ingredients (4 servings)
125	g	self-raising flour
15	g	ground almonds
50	g	icing sugar
1	pinch(es)	salt
75	g	unsalted butter, cold
1		egg

For the pistachio mixture

Ingredients (4 servings)
20	g	shelled and crushed pistachio nuts
20	g	butter
20	g	sugar
10	g	self-raising flour

For the vanilla cream

Ingredients (4 servings)
0.5		vanilla pod
200	ml	whole milk
2		egg yolks
15	g	cornflour
30	g	sugar

For the meringue

Ingredients (4 servings)
1		egg white
50	g	sugar

For the dough, mix flour, ground almonds, icing sugar and salt. Add the cold butter in small flakes. Rub everything between your hands to form a crumbly mass.
Beat the egg. Add half to the flour mixture. Set the remaining egg aside to use for the pistachio mixture. Quickly mix everything together to form a firm dough. Wrap in cling film and chill for about 30 minutes.
For the pistachio mixture, finely grind the pistachios or crush them in a mortar. Mix with butter, sugar, flour and remaining egg.
Remove the dough from the fridge, roll it out on a little flour to a thickness of approx. 3 mm. Line the tartlet moulds with the dough, prick the bottoms several times. Place in the freezer for approx. 15 minutes to rest. Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Remove the tartlets from the freezer and bake on the middle rung of the oven for about 20 minutes until golden brown. After 10 minutes remove from the oven and spread the pistachio mixture thinly on top. Return to oven to finish baking. Leave to cool.
For the vanilla cream, slit the vanilla pod, scrape out the seeds and pulp inside and add both to the milk. Bring the milk and vanilla slowly to the boil. Whisk the egg yolks, cornflour and sugar together and add this mixture to the milk whilst stirring continuously. To thicken the vanilla cream, bring to just before boiling point over low to medium heat, stirring continuously until the mixture starts to thicken. Remove the pan from heat. Continue stirring the cream for 1-2 minutes. Strain into a bowl. To cool, place a sheet of cling film directly on top of the cream to prevent a skin from forming.
To finish, beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks, approx. 3 minutes. Beat in the sugar. Continue beating until the mixture is firm and glossy and you can no longer see grains of sugar in the mixture. Pour into a piping bag with a nozzle. Stir the vanilla cream well and spread into the cooled tartlets. Arrange the fresh raspberries on top. Pipe the beaten egg whites between the raspberries and flambé using a kitchen blowtorch.
Garnish with mint leaves and chopped pistachios if desired.