Orange mascarpone and pistachio tarts

The inspiration for these little tarts come from a German food blog called What should I eat for breakfast today?  The original recipe was for an indulgent Christmas breakfast and the tarts have a seedy pastry base with pumpkin and sunflower seeds and coconut and potato flour - which sounds delicious but as I’ve never used coconut or potato flour before and as this blog is supposed to have cheap(ish) and easy to find ingredients I’ve used a dark chocolate pastry instead - because chocolate and oranges were just made for each other.  It’s still quite a Christmassy recipe but maybe more suitable for lunch or dinner or tea than breakfast.

I used my favourite Careme dark chocolate shortcrust pastry for the bases, which has no preservatives or additives and uses real butter.  If you can’t find a similar one you can make your own, or use any good quality shortcrust pastry made with real butter.  I think they’d also be nice with a chocolate biscuit cheesecake type base (see the cheesecake recipes).

You could leave out the saffron (as it’s rather expensive) but it gives the tarts a lovely orange colour and gives a little edge to the favour, so put it in if you can.

Orange mascarpone and pistachio tarts

Butter some small tart tins and cut out the pastry to fit.  Bake in a medium (180C) oven for about 15 minutes or until cooked.  Leave to cool completely.

For the filling :

250g mascarpone
1 orange - juice and zest
a pinch of saffron
1 tsp honey

pistachios for serving
orange zest for serving
candied oranges for serving (optional)

Mix the mascarpone with the orange zest and juice, the saffron and the honey.  Fill the tarts with a tablespoon of the mascarpone mix and decorate with the pistachios, orange zest and a small wedge of candied orange.  Serve immediately.

Port-poached cherry and chèvre cream chocolate tarts

I've adapted this recipe from one I found on Pinterest from a blog called The Bonjon Gourmet - it looked delicious and it actually tastes even more delicious than it looks.  I was a bit unsure about using the goat's cheese in a sweet dish but when combined with the cream and a little sugar it really complements the sweet port-poached cherries, with almost a cheesecakey taste.  I think this recipe would actually work really well with a biscuit crumb (see my cheesecake recipes) instead of the pastry, so I'll try that next time.   In fact, just the cherries and the chèvre cream would be great on their own if you want to simplify things.

Port-poached cherry and chèvre cream chocolate tarts

Makes six small tarts, or 1 large tart

Port-Poached Cherries :

1 1/2 pounds fresh cherries, stemmed and pitted
1 1/4 cups ruby port
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and scraped
6 tbsp sugar

Chocolate pastry :

1 cup plain flour
3 tbsp Dutch or dark cocoa powder
¼ cup icing sugar
120g chilled butter, chopped into cubes
1-2 tbsp iced water

Chèvre Cream :

3/4 cup crumbled, soft, fresh goat cheese
3/4 cup fresh cream
1 tbsp sugar
seeds from 1/2 a vanilla bean

Combine the pitted cherries, port, vanilla pod and scrapings, and sugar in a large stainless steel frying pan.  Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, swirling the pan occasionally, until the cherries are just tender (about 10 mins).

Strain the cherries into a heat-proof bowl.  Return the juices to the pan and simmer gently until they are thick, and syrupy for about 5 minutes, swirling the pan occasionally.  Let the cherries and the syrup cool to room temperature, then chill in the fridge for an hour.  (You can keep the cherries in their syrup for a couple of weeks in the fridge).

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Place six 3 small tart pans (the kind with removable bottoms) on a baking sheet. 

Put the flour, cocoa, sugar and butter in a food processor and whiz until it forms a breadcrumb consistency. Add the water and pulse until the mixture starts to form clumps. Tip it out onto a cool bench top and squash together then pat into a round. Refrigerate for 15 minutes then roll out between two sheets of baking paper.  Cut out rounds to fit the tart shells and press into the shells. Freeze the shells until they are firm, at least 15 minutes.

Line the shells wiht baking paper and baking weights or uncooked rice and bake until they are dry and fairly firm to the touch, for about 15 minutes. Let the tart shells cool completely. Store them in their rings for protection until ready to serve.

In a bowl, mix together the goat's cheese, cream vanilla seeds and sugar until stiff peaks form (don't over whisk it - if it starts to turn grainy add some more cream).

Put a spoonful of the chèvre cream each tart shell, top with the cherries and pour over a little juice.  Serve immediately. 

PS Pitting cherries is very messy - wear a black shirt!  Cherry/olive pitters are cheap and simple to use and save lots of hassle.