Pistachio Mini Tarts

By Yevhenii Ivanets, KICA Brand Chef

These charming petits tartes combine the crispness of shortcrust pastry with a soft pistachio financier, crowned with a delicate pistachio Chantilly cream dome. Each tart is sprinkled with crumbly pistachios, creating a harmonious blend of textures and the rich, nutty flavor of pistachios in every bite.

Yield: 20 tartlets

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Gelatin Mass

• 3 g powdered gelatin (200-bloom)*
• 18 g cold water

1. Pour the powdered gelatin into a clean container and add the cold water. Gently stir with a spoon. Place the mixture in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes to allow the gelatin to swell and bloom.

2. At this point the gelatin is ready to be used. You can make it in advance and store it in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

*Note: If you’re using gelatin sheets instead, take the same weight as you would with powdered gelatin and soak the sheets in cold water (they should be fully covered with water). The gelatin sheets should absorb exactly the right amount of water they need in 15 minutes. Then squeeze them and use immediately.

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Pistachio Chantilly Cream

• 225 g heavy cream 35%, divided
• 25 g granulated sugar
• 15 g Gelatin Mass (from above)
• 100 g cream cheese 65%
• 20 g pistachio paste

1. Pour 35 g of the cream into a saucepan, then add the sugar and Gelatin Mass. Heat this mixture to 176°F (80°C), until the sugar and gelatin have dissolved.

2. Meanwhile, place the cream cheese into a tall measuring cup. Pour the hot mixture over it and process everything with a hand blender until smooth. Add the remaining 190 g of cream and the pistachio paste to the mixture and mix everything with a spatula.

3. Transfer the Chantilly cream to a clean bowl, cover it with cling film so that it is touching the surface of the cream, and refrigerate for 12 hours to stabilize..

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Almond Shortcrust Pastry

• 100 g all-purpose flour
• 40 g confectioners’ sugar
• 15 g almond powder
• 55 g unsalted butter 82%, diced and cold
• 1 g sea salt
• 20 g whole egg

1. Sift together the flour, confectioners’ sugar and almond powder and put mixture in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Combine all the ingredients at low speed. Add the cold diced butter and salt and continue mixing for a few minutes at low speed until the mixture resembles wet sand. Add the egg and mix at low speed until combined. The dough should be smooth and soft.

2. Place the dough between two parchment paper or acetate sheets and roll it to a thickness of 1.5 mm, starting from the center.

3. Transfer the rolled-out dough to a tray, cover well and refrigerate for 6 hours to stabilize.

4. Cut out 20 circles of dough using a 2.3ʺ (6-cm) round cutter, then place them into 2ʺ (5-cm) tart pans and press to form shells. Cut off the excess dough with a knife and prick the bottom part of the shells with a fork. Refrigerate the lined tart pans for at least 30 minutes to allow them to stabilize.

5. Brush the shells with Egg Wash and bake at 293°F (145°C) for about 8–10 minutes, until golden.

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Egg Wash

• 100 g egg yolks
• 30 g heavy cream 35%

1. In a bowl, combine the egg yolks and the whipping cream, mixing well.

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Brown Butter

• 75 g unsalted butter 82%

1. Put the butter in a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Continue cooking on low-medium heat for several minutes until milk solids separate from fat and float to the top. When ready, the butter will reach a temperature of 284°F (140°C) and turn golden brown.

2. Strain the finished butter through a paper towel-lined sieve into a separate bowl. Allow the brown butter to cool down to 104-122°F (40-50°C) at room temperature.

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Pistachio Financier

• 17 g all-purpose flour
• 55 g confectioners’ sugar
• 30 g Iranian pistachio powder
• 1 g sea salt
• 20 g Iranian pistachios, chopped
• 50 g egg whites, room temperature
• 10 g pistachio paste
• 50 g Brown Butter (recipe above)

1. Sift together the flour, confectioners’ sugar and pistachio powder and place in bowl. Add the salt and chopped pistachios and whisk to blend. Add the room-temperature egg whites and pistachio paste and mix with a rubber spatula until smooth. Gradually add the brown butter 104-122°F (40-50°C) to the mixture and mix well with a spatula. Cover the batter with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 6 hours to mature.

2. Transfer the batter to a pastry bag. Pipe the financier batter into the baked tart shells, filling them halfway, and bake at 302°F (150°C) for about 15 minutes. Cool at room temperature.

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Pistachio Praline

• 200 g green pistachios
• 25 g water
• 132 g granulated sugar
• 2 g sea salt

1. Dry the pistachios in the oven at 248°F (120°C) for 10–15 minutes. Cool.  

2. Pour the water in a saucepan and add the sugar. Start to warm them up until the sugar has dissolved. You can swirl the saucepan, but don’t stir the mixture otherwise the syrup will crystallize. Cook it to 347°F (175°C) maximum, until it turns a light caramel color.

3. Pour the caramel on top of the pistachios, sprinkle them with sea salt and allow them to cool at room temperature for about 20 minutes.

4. Put the pistachios with the caramel in a food processor and blend into a semi-liquid texture at low speed, increasing it gradually. (Note: If your food processor is not powerful enough, add a bit of neutral flavored oil (sunflower, grapeseed or canola oil) to make the blending process easier.

5. Transfer the praline to a clean bowl and allow to cool completely. The finished praline can be stored at room temperature in a closed container for 3 months, and for up to 1 year in the freezer.

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Assembly

• 200 g Iranian pistachios

1. Place the Chantilly cream in the bowl of a stand mixer and whip it with a whisk attachment at medium speed until smooth and voluminous. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a 0.8ʺ (2-cm) round tip.

2. Place 50 g of the Pistachio Praline into a paper cornet.

3. Process the pistachios in a food processor on low-medium speed to obtain medium-sized pieces. Reserve some whole nuts for further decoration. Sift the nut pieces through a coarse-meshed sieve. Use larger pieces for decoration, set the fine pieces aside. Cut the remaining whole nuts in half.

4. Pipe domes of Chantilly cream on top of the tarts, then pipe some pistachio praline in the middle of each dome. Sprinkle the cream domes with processed pistachios to cover them completely and garnish with pistachio halves. Store the finished mini tarts in the refrigerator for up to 72 hours.

Watch the chef assemble the mini tarts at www.youtube.com/shorts/N5sR6XOfN6E

(This article appeared in the Winter 2024 issue of Pastry Arts Magazine)