Blueberry tartelette

Required recipes

• Hazelnut / Almond tart shell

It's recommended to have the tart shells ready before starting this recipe. They can be prepared even 1 week in advance and kept at room temperature in an airtight container.

Equipment

• Tart ring. Here I'm using DeBuyer oblong tart ring Ht 2cm

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Day 1

Blueberry gel and whipped ganache

250g Frozen berries - Fresh berries are the best option when they are available.

25g Caster sugar

1 vanilla pod (optional)

1. Put the frozen berries into a pot together with the sugar and the vanilla pod (scrape the seeds and use both them and the pod) and cover with kitchen film so that the pot is properly sealed. This will allow to keep the moist, avoiding the liquid to evaporate.

2. Cook in water bath at low heat for around 1 hour to extract the juice and soften the berries.

3. Remove from the heat and blend with a hand blender till smooth, then filter with a sieve to get the juice with the pulp together. You're going to use it in the gel and ganache preparation described below (the ingredient is reported as blueberry pulp there).

Blueberry gel

100g Blueberry pulp - When preparing this gel, do not combine with agar agar all the pulp. Keep always some to simplify the blending process.

2g Agar agar

1. In a small pot warm up the blueberry pulp.

2. When it starts to simmer gradually add the agar agar and stir for 1 minute.

3. Remove from the heat and let it rest in the fridge in a container covered with kitchen film.

4. Once the juice has set, cut it in small pieces and blend with a hand blender till smooth. Add some extra berries pulp for a smoother texture. If you exceed in adding the juice, you can balance with some xanthan gum.

5. Filter through a sieve to remove eventual lumps.

Blueberry whipped ganache

You can follow the recipe described here.

Milk chocolate crémeux

140g Milk chocolate

2 Egg yolks

14g Caster sugar

80ml Heavy cream

60ml Whole milk

40ml Rum (or a herb-based liqueur)

1g Gelatine sheet platinum (250 bloom, 1 sheet = 1,75 g)

1. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water (bain-marie), then remove from the heat. Alternatively, melt in the microwave in short bursts, stirring between each, until smooth.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk the sugar and egg yolks until combined.

3. Heat the cream and milk in a small saucepan until just below boiling point. Gradually whisk into the yolk mixture.

4. Return to the saucepan and cook gently, stirring constantly, until the custard thickens and reaches 83 °C. Remove from the heat.

5. Pour the custard over the melted chocolate, stirring in the center with a spatula until smooth and glossy.

6. Add the rum and emulsify with a hand blender.

7. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

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Day 2

Assembly

1. Whip the blueberry ganache to firm peaks, transfer to a piping bag, and keep chilled until needed.

2. Transfer the milk chocolate crémeux to a piping bag and refrigerate as well.

3. Pipe a layer of blueberry gel on the base of each tartelette. Place a few halved blueberries on top, pressing them gently into the gel. This adds extra texture and also helps anchor the chocolate crémeux.

4. Pipe the chocolate crémeux over the blueberries and smooth the surface with a spatula, filling the tart evenly to the rim.

5. Pipe the chilled blueberry whipped ganache. For the effect shown in the picture, cut the piping bag tip at a ~40° angle; the size of the cut will determine the fineness of the pattern.

6. Garnish with fresh blueberries and a few mint leaves for a bright, fresh contrast (never underestimate the power of mint!).

7. Optionally finish with a touch of gold leaf or flakes for an elegant detail.