Today the 4th season of “Game of Thrones” is about to end, so we let us inspire by this series for this recipe . Here comes… the mysterious Night’s Tart, a crumbly shortcrust pastry enclosing a vanilla custard heart, topped with blueberry jam and tiny meringues. You’ll be able to gaze at a starry sky in each slice of the tart .Why should we dedicate a tart to the night, the darkest time of the day, when killers operate and the Others wake up? The night is dark and full of terrors, of course, but it has its own charm too. Moreover, even the longest night will see its end, at the first light of dawn… And after dawn, if we survive, we will have to have breakfast .
The preparation of the Night’s Tart is a bit laborious, but the night is long, so you’ll have all the time to prepare it… and then the tart will certainly reward your hard working .
We think that this recipe could be located North of the Seven Kingdoms, because blueberries do not need much warmth to grow. Since the preparation is a bit long, the brothers of Night’s Watch couldn’t probably enjoy it… You’ll most probably find it in the castle of a nobleman, perhaps even at Winterfell .
And after this long incipit, quite nerdy, let’s get to the kitchen…
If you try one of the recipes on the blog, take a photo and publish it on Instragam with the hashtag #fratelliaifornelli and tagging our profile @fratelliaifornelli.
Crostata della notte
Ingredients
For the Pâte Sucrée Dough
- 250 g white flour
- 50 g whole wheat flour
- 130 g butter
- 75 g sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 egg
- 1 yolk
- 1/2 vanilla bean
For the vanilla custard
- 400 ml milk
- 4 yolks
- 1/2 vanilla bean
- 80 g brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon flour
For the topping
- Blueberry jam
For the tiny meringues
- 20 g egg whites
- 40 g caster sugar
- some drops of lemon juice
Instructions
For the Pâte Sucrée Dough
-
Start by beating together the butter, the egg, the yolk, the sugar and the vanilla until fluffy.
-
Add flour and salt and knead vigorously until the dough is smooth and compact.
-
Let the dough rest for at least half an hour in the fridge.
For the vanilla custard
-
Heat the milk with the vanilla seeds.
-
In a bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar and flour.
-
Combine the two mixtures and heat up to 90°C, stirring constantly with a whisk, until the mixture will be thickened.
For the meringues
-
Combine the egg whites, the lemon juice and half of the sugar. Using a whisk, mount it until stiff. Once mounted, add the remaining sugar and keep on beating for a couple of minutes.
-
Cover a baking tray with baking paper, be sure that it is perfectly tight.
-
Fill a pastry bag and form tiny meringues directly onto the tray. We used a small and smooth tip, so our meringues were of about 0.5 cm of diameter.
-
Bake the meringues in the fan oven at 80°C for 30-35 minutes.
Assembling
-
Take a springform of 24cm of diameter, cover the bottom with baking paper and butter the sides.
-
Roll out the pâte sucrée, then cut a disc to cover the bottom of the form. Now cut strips of dough of 2.5-3 cm of width. Use these strips to cover the edges of the tart.
-
Do not forget to puncture the bottom with a fork, to prevent it from puffing up during the baking .
-
Pour the vanilla cream onto the tart and smooth it using a spatula.
-
Bake the tart at 180°C for 25 minutes, then let it cool before continuing.
-
Pour the blueberry jam over the cake. Do not be too greedy and do not exagerate with the thickness of the jam, otherwise when you cut the slices, it might leak out.
-
Arrange the meringues on top of the tart, so as to form a beautiful starry sky :).