Tarte Passion Framboise (Passionfruit Raspberry Tart)

i just realized i don't make tarts or cookies as often as i would like mainly due to the weather. the dough gets soft and sticky really easily and i simply don't like going through the hassle of re-freezing & re-rolling the dough, but i decided i want some variety in the stuff i bake so i forsee i'll be making stuff like cookies, tarts & bread more often from now on.

this passionfruit raspberry tart is taken from the ladurée book and also one that i've set my eyes on for quite sometime. i also seen a couple of blogs with this and the reviews were pretty good so i decided to try. i trust the ladurée book anyway coz i tried the strawberry orange flower marshmallows & pistachio financiers and they were fantastic, this had to be good as well.

indeed, it was fantastic! the passionfruit curd was one of the yummiest citrus curds i made (credit goes to LOTS of butter) and the tart shell was also the crispiest i've ever made as well. it remained crisp even upon refrigeration! the only thing i didn't like is the raspberries - tons of them which did nothing to the tart except to make it look pretty. i can safely say that a meringue topping would be a better option, so i'm sticking to the shell & filling in future but with a meringue topping.

recipe source : ladurée sucré

ingredients (makes two 10cm (D) and two 7.5cm (D) tarts) :

200g raspberries

for the passionfruit curd (cream) :

125g butter, room temp

1 sheet gelatin

1 egg + 1/2 egg yolk

75g sugar

1/2 tsp cornstarch

63ml passionfruit puree

1 tbsp lemon juice

for the pate sucree aux amandes (sweet almond dough) :

60g butter, very cold, diced

35g icing sugar, sifted

12g ground almonds

1 pinch fleur de sel

1 pinch vanilla powder or few drops of vanilla extract

1/2 egg, lightly beaten

100g cake flour, sifted

directions :

1. to make the passionfruit curd, soften gelatin in cold water for 10 mins. in a bowl mix eggs, yolk, sugar, cornstarch, passionfruit puree & lemon juice. drain the gelatin sheets and squeeze hard to remove excess liquid. in a saucepan, cook the passionfruit mixture over low heat, stirring for a few mins until thickened and bubbling. remove from heat & incorporate gelatin. allow to cool slightly then add in softened butter. blend mixture with hand blender until emulsified. set aside to cool.

2. to make the sweet almond dough, whisk butter until homogenized then add icing sugar, ground almonds, fleur de sel, vanilla, egg & flour, making sure each ingredient is fully incorporated before adding the next. combine ingredients just until the dough comes together, do not overwork the dough. this will give the pastry a desired crumbly texture. form the dough in a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. refrigerate at least 2 hrs before using. butter the tart tin. on a floured work surface, roll out dough to 2mm thick and press into the tin. refrigerate for 1 hr, then remove tart shell from fridge and use a fork to prick the surface of the dough all over. fit parchment papers over the tins then press down. place baking weights or dried beans on top and bake in a preheated oven of 170C for 20 mins until lightly colored. remove weights and bake a further 10 mins until browned. cool. spoon passionfruit cream over and decorate with raspberries.