Catherine Fulvio's Chocolate Berry Tart

Directions

To prepare the pastry:

1. Place the plain flour into a bowl, rub the butter into the pastry so that it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the orange zest and icing sugar.
    
2. Beat the egg yolk and pour into the flour, add in enough cold water to form pastry dough.
    
3. Wrap the pastry in parchment and leave in the fridge for at least ½ an hour to rest before rolling out.  

To bake the pastry: 

1. Line the base of a 20cm loose base deep flan tin with parchment and brush the sides with melted butter and dust with plain flour.  
    
2. Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/gas 6.
    
3. Roll the pastry out thinly on a floured surface, large enough to fit into the flan tin comfortably and to line up the sides, leaving a little extra over the edge on top.  Place in the fridge for 20 minutes and then trim off the top edges neatly with a sharp knife or the rolling pin.
    
4. Prick the base of the pastry with a fork but don’t pierce all the way through.
    
5. Line the pastry with parchment paper, fill with baking beans and bake for 16 minutes or until just baked through. Remove the parchment paper with the beans.
    
6. Brush the pastry with beaten egg white and return to the oven for about 8 minutes until lightly golden and set.

To prepare the filling:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4. 
    
2. Then pour the Avonmore double cream, Avonmore fresh milk and vanilla extract into a large saucepan and heat until it just reaches boiling point. 
    
3. Place the chocolate drops, cinnamon and nut butter into a large bowl and then pour the hot cream/milk mixture over the chocolate and whisk until smooth.
    
4. When slightly cooled, add the beaten eggs then pour the mixture into the baked pastry.
    
5. Transfer to the oven and bake until set which will be about 15 to 16 minutes.
    
6. Leave the tart to cool completely before decorating.
    
7. Just before serving, to decorate, arrange the raspberries and strawberry halves around one side of the tart and place mini Easter eggs and sprigs of small lemon balm in between.
    
8. Serve with Avonmore Freshly Whipped Cream.        

Recipe: Catherine Fulvio. 

Website: www.thecookeryschool.ie