makes
8
prep
2 hours
cook
1:50 hour
difficulty
Mid
makes
8
serves
preparation
2
hours
cooking
1:50
hour
difficulty
Mid
level
Ingredients
Crust
- 190 g bread flour
- 150 g butter
- 3 g kosher salt
- 40 ml water
Maple meringue
- 2 egg whites
- 1.5 g kosher salt
- 1 g cream of tartar
- 20 ml maple syrup
- 115 g sugar
Chestnut puree
- 400 g chestnuts, roasted and peeled
- 5 ml vanilla extract
- 235 ml water
- 115 g sugar
Whipped cream
- 115 ml whipping cream
- 10 g sugar
- 5 ml vanilla
- 20 ml pasteurised egg white
- powdered sugar, whole chesnuts and chocolate wafers, to garnish
Chilling time: 1 hour
Instructions
For the crust, put all the ingredients in a bowl and cut them together until combined using a pastry cutter, or use a food processor and pulse until combined.
Turn the dough out on to a floured work surface, shape it into a ball and then flatten it into a disc. Roll out the dough using a rolling pin to a thickness of 1/4 inch or 6.5 mm. Using any rounded shape, cut the dough into rounds slightly larger than the tart pans.
Press the dough rounds into the tart pans and cut away the excess. Dock the dough by pressing a fork into it over the entire surface, creating many holes. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 390°F/200°C. Place the tart pans on a baking sheet and bake them for 20 minutes. Remove the crusts from the pans and set them aside to cool.
For the meringues, turn up the oven to 250°F/120°C.
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and beat using a hand mixer, stand mixer or whisk until the mixture holds stiff peaks.
Prepare a pastry bag with a tip of your choosing. Spoon the meringue mixture into the bag then pipe 8 meringues onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake the meringues for 1 hour, remove them from the oven and set them aside to cool.
For the chestnut puree, place the chestnuts and vanilla in a pot and pour in enough water to cover them. Bring the pot to a boil, turn the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain the water from the chestnuts and set them aside.
Bring the 235 ml water and sugar to a boil to make a simple syrup, and then remove it from the heat.
Using a food processor, purée the chestnuts and simple syrup together. Pass the purée through a fine mesh sieve to ensure it is completely smooth. Add water to the purée to thin it out if necessary. It should be thin enough to pipe using a bag and a pastry tip and be similar to medium consistency buttercream icing.
Prepare a pastry bag with a tip of your choosing and spoon in a portion of the purée leaving some in the bowl.
Set the purée aside until you’re ready to assemble the tarts.
For the whipped cream, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and beat using a hand mixer, stand mixer or whisk until the mixture holds stiff peaks. Set the cream aside until you’re ready to assemble the tarts.
To assemble, Spoon and spread a small amount of chestnut purée onto each tart crust. Spoon a small amount of whipped cream on top of the chestnut purée.
Place a meringue on each tart crust.
Using a small offset spatula, cover each meringue with a thin layer of whipped cream. Pipe on the chestnut cream starting from the base of the meringue and moving up towards the top in a spiral pattern.
Garnish each tart with powdered sugar, 1 chestnut and 1 chocolate wafer.
This recipe was developed by Lemon Drop for her blog, . It reflects the dish of the same name from the video game Final Fantasy XIV.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
