Black Licorice Creme Brulee Tarts Recipes

BLACK LICORICE CREME BRULEE TARTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place eight 4-inch round flan rings (1 inch high each) on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper; set aside.
• Make the tart shells: Process flour, cocoa, granulated sugar, and salt in a food processor until combined. Add butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. With machine running, add eggs; process until dough just comes together. Shape dough into a disk; transfer to a lightly floured work surface.
• Roll out dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut out eight 6-inch rounds, and fit into the flan rings. Patch cracks with leftover dough if needed. Refrigerate tart shells on baking sheet until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Prick bottoms of shells with fork tines. Bake on sheet until firm, 13 to 15 minutes. Let cool completely on wire racks.
• Make the filling: Put cream and licorice into a medium saucepan over high heat. Bring almost to a boil. Remove from heat, and stir. Cover, and let stand at room temperature 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Reheat licorice cream over medium heat. Whisk egg yolks, granulated sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Slowly whisk licorice cream into yolk mixture. Pour through a fine sieve into a medium bowl, pressing on solids. Pour mixture through another clean sieve into another bowl (do not press on solids), and stir in Pernod. Divide custard among tart shells. Bake on sheet until centers are just set, 14 to 15 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate tarts on sheet until cold, about 1 hour (up to overnight).
• Sift 1 teaspoon superfine sugar evenly over each tart. Hold a small handheld kitchen torch at a 90-degree angle 3 to 4 inches from surface of a tart, and move flame back and forth until sugar is caramelized and deep golden brown. Repeat with remaining tarts, and serve.

CREME BRULEE TART

Steps:

• Roll the puff pastry 1/4-inch thick and pierce it all over with the tines of a fork. Line a flan ring with the pastry and chill the ring for 20 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Line the flan ring with parchment paper or coffee filters and fill the shell with pie weights. Bake the pastry shell for about 25 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown. Remove the shell from the oven and let cool to room temperature. Remove the pie weights.
• Distribute the fruit evenly over the bottom of the shell, then pour in the Creme Brulee. Smooth the top with a long-bladed spatula.
• Just before serving, heat a caramel iron on the burner of a stove. Sprinkle the sugar evenly over the top and carefully caramelize the sugar with the hot iron. Alternately, place the tart under a hot broiler, near the heat, for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the sugar caramelizes. Or use a small blow torch to caramelize the sugar.
• In a large metal bowl set over a bain marie, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until the mixture is light and thick enough to form a ribbon. This takes quite a long time; be strong and patient. Remove from the heat.
• Carefully whisk in the cream. Add the vanilla bean. Place the bowl back over the bain marie and cook slowly for about 45 minutes, stirring frequently. Take care that the water does not boil. The custard will be done when the mixture adheres to your fingers without dripping.
• When the custard is done, remove from the heat and whisk in the butter, a little at a time, until all of it has been incorporated. Strain through a fine strainer into a bowl. Chill at least 6 hours or overnight.