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Phil Howard's comprehensive and thorough salted caramel tart recipe will yield a luxurious dessert, with praline macarons and ginger and vanilla ice cream adding further decadence. The sweet dough recipe yields one kilo, so freeze any excess and use for another dessert.
For the sweet pastry, sift together the flour, icing sugar, ground almonds and salt before adding into an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the chilled butter and turn the mixer onto a medium speed
Combine the dry ingredients with the butter until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. While the paddle is still running, add the eggs and allow the pastry to just come together
Transfer the pastry from the mixing bowl onto a lightly floured work surface and knead lightly for 15-20 seconds to bring together until smooth. Pat down to a thickness of 5cm and wrap in cling film. Allow to rest in fridge for a minimum of 3 hours or ideally overnight
4
For the salted caramel filling, place the caster sugar in a heavy-based pan and place over a high heat. Once the sugar starts to melt, swirl the pan to keep the sugar moving as it caramelises. Stir gently with a wooden spoon if needed
280g of caster sugar
5
As soon as the caramel achieves a rich hazelnut-bronze colour, add the Madeira and allow it to boil away vigorously. WARNING: the caramel may spit, so make sure you stand away from the pan
50ml of Madeira
6
Slowly pour in the cream and whisk briefly to combine, then add the salt and briefly whisk again. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool
Pass through a fine sieve into a clean bowl and set aside to rest for 10 minutes. Skim off any bubbles from the surface, then set aside in the fridge to chill
9
For the macarons, place the icing sugar and ground almonds in a food processor and blend for 30 seconds
Combine the caster sugar and water in a heavy-based pan and place over a high heat. Bring to the boil, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar
150g of caster sugar
50ml of water
11
Cook, without stirring, until the syrup reaches 113°C on a sugar thermometer. Meanwhile, whisk the egg whites in an electric mixer set to full speed until loose meringues form
Gradually add the hot sugar syrup, whisking continuously for 5 minutes, until the meringue has cooled and is thick and glossy
13
Using a large metal spoon, fold in the icing sugar and almond mix and the praline paste until you have a smooth, glossy, deflated mixture. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a 1cm nozzle
15g of praline paste
14
Pipe 2cm rounds at 5cm intervals on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment. Dust the macarons lightly with icing sugar and set aside for about 20 minutes, until just dry to the touch
icing sugar, for dusting
15
Place in an oven preheated to 150°C/gas mark 2 and bake for approximately 12 minutes, until the macarons are firm to the touch, have risen slightly and have formed an aerated ring at the base
16
Remove from the oven, allow to cool for 5 minutes, then lift the macarons off the tray and set aside to cool completely. Store in an airtight container
17
For the praline cream, bring the milk to the boil in a heavy-based pan. In a bowl, mix the eggs and egg yolk with the caster sugar and cornflour until combined
Pour the hot milk into the cornflour mix and stir until thoroughly combined. Return to the pan and bring back to the boil, whisking constantly. Cook for 1 minute, then remove from the heat
19
Soak the gelatine in cold water for approximately 5 minutes, or until softened. Squeeze out any excess moisture, then add to the mix and whisk until melted. Add the butter and whisk until smooth
3/4 gelatine leaf
50g of unsalted butter, chilled and diced
20
Transfer the mix to a bowl set over ice and whisk until cooled. Whisk in the praline, then lightly whip the cream and fold it in also. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a 5mm nozzle and store in the fridge
35g of praline paste
40ml of double cream
21
For the ice cream, combine the milk, cream, glucose, trimoline, orange zest and ginger in a heavy-based pan. Scrape the vanilla seeds from the pod and add to the pan along with the empty pod, bring to the boil
Meanwhile, lightly whisk the eggs and sugar in a bowl. Add the hot milk mix and whisk to combine, then pour back into the pan. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the mixture reaches 84°C - until thick enough to coat the back of the spoon
Pass through a fine sieve into a clean bowl set over ice to cool quickly. Cover and keep in the fridge. Churn the ice cream up to 3 hours before use, then store in the freezer until ready to serve
24
Remove the tart mix from the fridge 1 hour before cooking and the pastry 30 minutes before rolling
25
Roll out the pastry on a cool work surface to a thickness of 3mm as round as possible. Dust the pastry sparingly with flour as you go to prevent it from sticking to the surface
26
Place the rolling pin at one edge of the pastry round and loosely roll up the pastry around the pin. Carefully unroll it over the tart ring, set on a heavy flat baking sheet
27
Carefully manoeuvre the pastry into the tart ring to line it, trying to avoid tearing or stretching it. Ensure the pastry is tucked right into the corners of the ring. If it tears, either push it back together again or patch it up with excess pastry and some egg wash
28
Allow the excess pastry to hang over the rim of the ring. Prepare 2 large sheets of cling film, big enough to hold the baking beans and overlap the tart edge. Lay the sheets together for strength
29
Line the pastry case with the stuck together cling film, then fill with baking beans. Place in an oven preheated to 160°C/gas mark 3 and bake for 20 minutes, or until the rim of the pastry case is golden. Remove from the oven and lift out the cling film with the baking beans. Return the tart case to the oven
30
Bake for a further 5–10 minutes or until the base is a pale golden brown. Remove from the oven once more, brush any cracks with beaten egg (or repair larger ones with a tiny amount of raw pastry) and set aside to cool
31
Return the tart case to the oven and heat up for 5 minutes. Then, remove again and fill with the caramel mix. Carefully return the tart to the oven
32
Reduce the heat to 110°C/gas mark ¼ and bake for 40 minutes - or until the filling is just set when the tart is gently moved to and fro (the cooking time will vary according to the temperature of the mix when it was poured into the tart case)
33
Remove the tart from the oven and set aside to cool. While it is still warm, trim off any excess pastry using a small serrated knife: cut away from the tart, angling the blade as horizontally as possible, so that crumbs don’t fall on to the filling. Leave to cool completely
34
To assemble the final dish, sandwich together 8 pairs of macarons by piping a small quantity of praline cream onto the flat base of 8 halves, then topping with the other halves
35
Using a large, sharp serrated knife, portion the tart into 8 portions. Wipe the knife between cuts to ensure a polished finish
36
Dust each portion generously with icing sugar and use a blowtorch to caramelise the surface (optional)
icing sugar, for dusting
37
Lay out 8 plates. Pipe a small dot of praline cream on to the centre of each plate and set a piece of tart on this (it will stop the tart from moving). Stand a macaroon on another dot of praline cream. Finish with a scoop of ice cream
Phil Howard has always been a ‘chef’s chef’, quietly notching up years of service and influencing the industry immeasurably. In March 2016, he sold his iconic two Michelin-starred restaurant The Square to open Elystan Street in Chelsea.
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Salted caramel tart with praline macarons, praline cream and ginger and vanilla ice cream
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