Strawberry panna cotta tart

I combined my love for panna cotta and tarts in this dessert. The crisp pastry is a perfect companion to a smooth and silky panna cotta. For some freshness I also added marinated strawberries and a pinch of homemade mint sugar.

Pouring the panna cotta in a tart shell seemed like a wrong thing to do, because the pastry might go really soft really quick. To prevent the sogginess of the pastry I made a almond caramel for the bottom part of the tart. The caramel worked great and it oozed out of the tart when cut.

The tart is a simple way to impress guests, it's fast and delicious but it still looks refined.
The strawberries can be replaced by different kinds of seasonal fruit, and the panna cotta can be flavored with different spices, chocolate or other extracts.

Strawberry panna cotta tart

(Makes one 22cm)

Time:

Preparation: 25min

Cooking: 15min

Baking: 25min

Setting: 3 hours

For the panna cotta:

• 450g heavy cream
• 21/2 teaspoon gelatin
• 3 tablespoon water
• 1 vanilla bean
• 50g granulated white sugar

For the shortcrust pastry:

• 120g room temperature butter
• 90g icing sugar
• 1 egg
• 240g all-purpose flour
• 15g almond flour
• a pinch of salt

For the almond caramel:

• 120g heavy cream
• 150g white granulated sugar
• 10g butter
• 100g chopped almonds
• pinch of salt

For the marinated strawberries:

• 250g fresh strawberries (sliced)
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• fresh mint leafs + granulated sugar (muddled together)

Making the pastry:

Place butter in a bowl of you electric of hand held mixer and beat until light and fluffy. Add icing sugar and beat together. Add one egg and beat until incorporated. Mix together almond flour, salt and all-purpose flour together in a separate bowl. 

Add it to the batter and beat just until it comes together. Kneed the dough together with your hands until it comes fully together. Make a disc and wrap in a plastic foil, place in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Roll out the dough on a piece of parchment paper to prevent the sticking. Place in a tart shell and press all around the tart shell. Roll off the extra pastry that hangs from the shell. Refrigerate the tart base for 30 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 175°C (347°F).

Line the chilled tart base with parchment paper and fill with baking beans or rice. Place in the oven and blind bake for 20 minutes. Take the tart out of the oven and remove the baking beans. Place back in the oven for 5-10 minutes or until the bottom of the tart is golden. 

Set aside to cool completely.

Making the almond caramel:

Place the sugar in a medium sized pot and place on medium heat. Meanwhile pour the cream in a small sauce pan. Place on low heat.

Cook the sugar until it turns dark amber then add the hot cream. Whisk and add butter and almonds. Whisk the caramel and set aside to cool completely. 

Pour the caramel on a baked tart shell and place in the fridge while you make the panna cotta.

Making the panna cotta:
Pour the cream in a small sauce pan. Split the vanilla bean in half and scrape out the seeds. Add the vanilla and seeds to the cream and heat. Once the cream is hot (but not boiling!) turn the heat off, cover the pot and let the cream to infuse with vanilla.

Soak gelatin in water and set aside to bloom. Turn the heat back on the vanilla infused cream and heat until very hot but not boiling. Add gelatin and stir. Pour the mixture through a sieve in a jug. Set aside to cool to room temperature. 

Blitz with immersion blender and pour on the caramel. Refrigerate until fully set.

Marinating the strawberries:
Slice the strawberries, add the sugar and lemon juice. Place in the fridge to macerate.
Place the strawberries on the set panna cotta and sprinkle with mint sugar, decorate with chocolate and enjoy.