Passion fruit and lime crème brûlée tart
- Published: 1 Sep 16
- Updated: 18 Mar 24
Forget custard slices – our passion fruit and lime crème brûlée tarts are show-stopping desserts that’ll get your guests talking.
- Makes 12
- Hands-on time 1 hour 15 min, oven time 20 min, plus chilling
Ingredients
- 2 x 375g packs ready-rolled all-butter puff pastry
- 2 tbsp raspberry jam
- 400g raspberries
For the filling
- 350ml single cream
- 2 tsp vanilla bean extract or one vanilla pod, split
- 100g caster sugar
- 5 medium free-range egg yolks
- 20g cornflour and 20g plain flour, mixed into a paste with 60ml water
- 3 gelatine leaves (we used Costa Fine Leaf)
- Juice 1 lime
- 6 ripe passion fruit
- 100ml double cream
- Icing sugar to dust
You’ll also need…
- 30.5cm x 20cm x 5cm brownie tin with slide out base (we used one by Silverwood, available from good cookshops)
- 4 large non-stick baking sheets
- Chef’s blow torch (optional)
Method
- Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6. Put one pastry sheet onto a large non-stick baking sheet. Put another baking sheet on top. Do the same with the other pastry sheet (see tip). Bake the sheets for 20-25 minutes or until the pastry is golden and crisp. Remove from the oven and, straightaway, use the tip of a sharp knife to lightly score the top of one of the pastry sheets into 12 equal rectangles (don’t cut all the way through). Leave the pastry sheets to cool and crisp up, then transfer to a chopping board.
- Using a sharp knife, trim both pastry sheets using the brownie tin as a guide, so the pastry will fit in the tin perfectly. Put the un-scored pastry into the bottom of the tin, then brush with a very thin layer of raspberry jam.
- To make the filling, put the cream into a large saucepan and warm through over a low heat. Mix the vanilla, sugar, egg yolks and cornflour paste with a balloon whisk in a heatproof mixing bowl. Soak the gelatine in a small bowl of cold water.
- When the cream is steaming but not simmering, pour it over the egg mixture, then stir with a balloon whisk. Return to the saucepan over a low heat, then stir until the custard thickens. It will take up to 15-20 minutes to fully thicken and start to bubble (it’s ready when it holds it shape if you dollop a little onto a saucer). Drain the gelatine leaves and squeeze out any excess water, then add them to the custard. Cook on a low heat, stirring constantly, until the gelatine leaves have melted, then remove the custard from the heat immediately.
- Pour the custard into a large mixing bowl, let it cool for 10 minutes, then add the lime juice and the seeds from the passion fruit and mix thoroughly. Using an electric mixer, whisk the double cream to soft peaks (when you lift out the beaters, the peaks should fold over on themselves). Fold the cream into the custard using a metal spoon in a figure-of-eight motion. Pour the custard on top of the pastry in the tin, then chill for 20 minutes.
- Sift the icing sugar evenly over the scored pastry, then lightly caramelise it with a chef’s blowtorch (or put the pastry under a hot grill for 1-2 minutes until the sugar caramelises – watch it carefully).
- After the custard has firmed up in the fridge for 20 minutes, put the caramelised pastry on top and chill for a further 30 minutes (it will keep in the fridge for up to a day). To serve, slide out the base of the tray, then slide the tart onto a board. Use a sharp serrated knife and a smooth sawing action to cut the pastry into rectangles along the score lines. Serve with the raspberries on the side.
- Recipe from July 2016 Issue
Nutrition
- Calories
- 437kcals
- Fat
- 28.9g (14.9g saturated)
- Protein
- 7g
- Carbohydrates
- 35.4g (13.5g sugars)
- Fibre
- 3.3g
- Salt
- 0.6g
delicious. tips
If you don’t have 4 baking sheets, cook the pastry sheets one at a time (step 1).
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