Fresh Summer Tart with Macadamia, Lemon Verbena and Strawberries by Julie Mengel

(This recipe appeared in the Summer 2022 issue of Pastry Arts Magazine)

Sweet strawberries are definitely a favorite ingredient during summertime. In this dessert, they’re mingled with fresh lemon verbena and fat macadamia nuts, to create a dessert that is a delicious combination of crunch, softness and perfume that satisfies all of your senses.

Yield: 8 servings

Lemon Verbena Mousse

• 1.5 gelatin sheets
• 50 g lemon juice
• 50 g granulated sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla paste
• 5 g lemon verbena leaves
• 97 g heavy cream
• 50 g Greek yogurt

1. Dissolve the gelatin in cold water for around 20 minutes.

2. Pour the lemon juice, sugar and vanilla paste into a pot and heat it up to boiling point.
   Remove from the heat and melt the gelatin in the lemon syrup. Strain it into a high container and leave it to cool at room temperature until it´s 86˚F (30˚C).

3. Add the lemon verbena leaves and blend with an immersion blender for about 1 minute. Allow to cool.

4. Whip the cream and mix it with the Greek yogurt. Add a little bit of the cream to the syrup and mix well. Then add the rest of the cream and gently fold it together. Pour the mousse into silicone molds and place it in the freezer for at least 4 hours.

Feuilletine

• 50 g all- purpose flour
• 50 g confectioners’ sugar
• 50 g melted butter
• 50 g egg whites

1. Preheat the oven to 347˚F (175˚C).

2. Combine the ingredients and smoothly distribute the dough on a piece of parchment paper in a thin and even layer. Bake it for 7 minutes or until golden brown. Let it cool and crush it to small bits in a plastic bag.

Macadamia Short Crust

• 140 g all-purpose flour
• 25 g macadamia flour
• 50 g confectioners’ sugar
• ½ tsp ground cardamom
• Pinch of salt
• 75 g unsalted butter, cold and cubed
• 25 g whole egg

1. Blend the all-purpose flour, macadamia flour, confectioners’ sugar, cardamom, salt, and butter cubes in a food processor for a few seconds until combined. Add the egg and quickly blend again. Roll it out between two pieces of parchment paper. Let it rest in the refrigerator for around an hour.

2. Gently place the dough into 4 tartlet pans (3.5ʺ/9 cm diameter). Trim the edges of the dough with a sharp knife to fit the tart pans. Place the tart shells in the refrigerator while making the frangipane.

Macadamia Frangipane

• 50 g macadamia flour
• 50 g granulated sugar
• 50 g unsalted butter, softened
• 25 g whole egg
• ¼ tsp ground cardamom

1. Preheat the oven to 392˚F (200˚C).

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the macadamia flour, sugar, butter, egg and cardamon until light and fluffy.

3. Add a thin layer of frangipane in each of the tart shells, then add a tsp of the feuilletine on top of the frangipane and bake for about 15 minutes. Let cool completely.

Macadamia Praline

• 60 g granulated sugar
• 60 g macadamia nuts
• ½ tsp salt
• 60 g Callebaut Gold caramel chocolate 30.4%

1. Melt the sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until it turns to golden caramel.

2. Remove the pan from the heat, add the nuts and quickly mix them with the caramel. Pour the mixture onto a piece of parchment paper and let it cool completely at room temperature.

3. Chop it into smaller pieces, put it in a blender with the salt and blend until it turns to macadamia butter (it takes a long time – have patience).

4. Melt the chocolate in a microwave and add it to the macadamia butter. Blend it again and add a thin layer of praline in each of the tart shells and place them in the refrigerator until it sets.

Strawberry and Rose Pepper Layer

• 1.5 gelatin sheets
• 300 g frozen strawberries
• 45 g granulated sugar
• 25 g lemon juice
• 15 crushed rose (pink) peppercorns
• 100 g fresh diced strawberries

1. Dissolve the gelatin in cold water for about 10 minutes.

2. Put the frozen strawberries, sugar, lemon juice and crushed peppercorns in a pot and heat gently. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes, then pour through a strainer and save the juice. Melt the gelatin in the juice. Add the fresh diced strawberries and let the content cool down to 68˚F (20˚C).

3. Divide the strawberry mixture among the tart shells and leave it to set in the refrigerator.

Chocolate Straws

• 200 g dark chocolate 70%

1. Temper the chocolate and pour it into a pastry bag. Cut a small hole in the bag and make long straws of chocolate on plastic. Leave it to set, then gently remove the plastic.

Assembly

Fresh lemon verbena leaves

1. Remove the mousses from the silicone molds and place one in the center of a plate. Do the same with the remaining mousses. Let thaw in the refrigerator.

2. Cut the 4 tarts into 8 halves and place each half beside a mousse. Decorate the tarts with fresh lemon verbena leaves. Decorate with 2 Chocolate Straws on top of each mousse and serve.

About Julie Mengel

Julie Mengel is a Pastry Chef in Copenhagen, Denmark. Her signature style is simple, graphic and organic, with a little Nordic inspiration.