Rosie’s Filled Sablée Pastry Shells

Rosie
Rosie

Series 10

Raspberry and mint crème pâtissière provides the filling for these crumbly pastry shells. The filling is then topped with a dome of lemon bavarois containing a yuzu gelée. Yuzu is a citrus fruit often used in southeast Asian cooking, particularly in China (from where it originates) and Japan. It’s a bit like a lemon, lime and grapefruit all rolled into one. These desserts are fiddly to make, but stunning to serve, so worth the effort.

Serves: 9
Difficulty: Challenging
Hands-On Time: 3 hrs, plus chilling
Baking Time: 17 mins
  • Ingredients
  • Method
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Method

Step 1
Make the pastry. Beat the butter and sugar together in a stand mixer fitted with the beater, on medium speed until creamy. Add the remaining ingredients and mix on low speed, until the mixture clumps together. Turn out onto a work surface and bring together into a disc, then wrap in cling film and chill until needed.

Step 2
Meanwhile, make the yuzu gelée. Soak the gelatine leaves in a bowl with 4 tablespoons of water. Meanwhile, pour 100ml of water in a small pan with the yuzu juice and sugar and place over a medium heat. Bring almost to the boil, then remove from the heat.

Step 3
Remove the gelatine from the water, shaking off the excess, and add to the pan with the juice mixture. Add a few drops of yellow colouring and stir until the gelatine has dissolved. Pour into 9 holes of the silicone tartlet tray. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes, or until set.

Step 4
Make the raspberry crème pâtissière. Place the egg yolks, flours and sugar together in a medium bowl and beat with a wooden spoon.

Step 5
Pour the milk into a medium pan and bring to a simmer over a medium heat. Gradually pour the hot milk onto the egg mixture, stirring all the time. Pour the crème back into the pan, place over a low heat and stir for about 3–4 minutes, until thick enough that a spoon pulled through the mixture leaves a path. Remove from the heat.

Step 6
Place the raspberries, raspberry gin and mint leaves in a liquidiser and blend until smooth. Then, pass the mixture through a sieve to remove the seeds – you will need 100ml of smooth pulp. Stir this into the custard, cover the surface with cling film to stop a skin forming and transfer to the fridge to cool completely.

Step 7
Make the lemon and white chocolate bavarois. Soak the gelatine leaves in a bowl with 4 tablespoons of water. Meanwhile, heat the milk in a medium pan on a medium heat until almost boiling. Remove from the heat.

Step 8
Place the egg yolks and sugar in a small bowl and beat with a balloon whisk until combined. Whisk the milk into the egg-yolk mixture, then return to the pan and cook over a low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the mixture thickens to a thin custard. Stir in the chocolate and lemon zest until the chocolate has melted, then remove from the heat.

Step 9
Remove the gelatine from the water, shaking off the excess, and add to the pan. Stir until dissolved, then pour into a bowl and allow to cool for 15 minutes.

Step 10
Pour the cream into a bowl and, using a hand-held electric whisk, whisk to soft peaks. Fold this into the bavarois and pour it into the hemisphere moulds (you may have a little left over – set it into an individual glass to enjoy as a cook’s treat).

Step 11
Turn the gelée out of the tartlet moulds and place one in each hemisphere of bavarois. Place these in the fridge to set for 2 hours (or place in the freezer for no more than 30 minutes, then place in the fridge until needed).

Step 12
Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/Gas 4. Roll out the chilled pastry to 2mm thick. Use the pastry rings to cut 9 circles, reserving the trimmings, then place the rings on the baking tray and place the pastry circles inside to form a base.

Step 13
Gather up the pastry trimmings into a ball and roll it out large enough to cut 9 strips, each 2cm wide and 18cm long. Place 1 strip inside each pastry ring and smooth the seams to form a pastry case. Chill for another 15 minutes.

Step 14
Line each chilled pastry case with a circle of scrunched-up baking paper and pour some baking beans into each one. Blind bake the pastry cases for 10 minutes, then remove the beans and paper and bake for a further 7 minutes, until golden brown. Leave to cool.

Step 15
Make the lemon glaze. Soak the gelatine leaves in a bowl with 4 tablespoons of water. Meanwhile, place 75ml of water along with the sugar and liquid glucose in a small pan over a low heat. Heat gently until hot but not boiling, then add the chocolate and stir until melted. Once melted, stir in the condensed milk and remove from the heat.

Step 16
Remove the gelatine from the water, shaking off the excess, and stir into the pan along with the lemon extract and a little yellow food colouring. Pour into a bowl and leave at room temperature to cool for about 30 minutes, until it reaches 30°C/86°F on a cooking thermometer.

Step 17
Start to assemble the desserts. Spoon the raspberry crème pâtissière into the pastry shells, filling them three quarters full. Set aside.

Step 18
Place the hemisphere moulds in the freezer for 15 minutes so that each bavarois is easier to remove from its mould. Place a wire rack over a tray (to catch the drips) and, when they’re ready, pop out the bavarois onto the rack.

Step 19
Pour a little glaze over an upturned cup to test its consistency – it should thickly coat the cup. When it’s ready, pour a little glaze evenly over each bavarois. Leave to set in the fridge for about 15 minutes.

Step 20
Using a palette knife, lift one coated bavarois onto each tartlet on top of the filling and decorate each with a tiny fleck of silver leaf. Refrigerate until ready to serve.