The Boy Who Loved To Eat

Preparation Time: 2 hours

Cooking Time: 27 minutes

Serves 8

Ingredients:

For the pastry:

225g plain flour
100g butter, cubed (cold)
50g caster sugar
1 free-range egg

For the crème patissière:

100g caster sugar
4 medium egg yolks
60g cornflour
500ml milk
3 tsp vanilla extract
40g butter

For the decoration:

250g raspberries
150g blueberries
2 tbsp seedless raspberry jam

For this recipe, you will need a 28cm tart tin.

1. Pre-heat the oven to 190C/170C Fan/Gas Mark 5.
2. Measure the flour and butter into a food processor and process on the slowest setting until only just rubbed in. The mixture will begin to look like breadcrumbs and should start to develop a yellowish tinge. Do not over-process as this will cause the butter to melt.
3. Add the sugar and gently mix before adding an egg and a tablespoon of water. Process until the mixture begins to clump together. Do not overmix as this will make the pastry tough.
4. Remove the dough from the food processor and shape into a ball.
5. Lightly flour a work surface and sprinkle some flour over the topside and underside of the ball. Gently flatten down and smooth the edges of the dough until you have a circular, disc-like shape.
6. Flip over and continue to flatten the dough down, smoothening the edges bit by bit until the disc is of about the same thickness as a regular shop-bought block of pastry.
7. Dust with flour on all sides and pinch together wherever the edges have split.
8. Wrap in cling film and chill in the freezer for half an hour.
9. Re-flour your work surface – I like to create a tiny molehill of flour at the top left hand corner of my counter to avoid ever having to reach too far for any – flour your rolling pin all over and place your pastry disc directly in the centre of the surface.

Top Tip: When rolling out the pastry, you must remember to work quickly to prevent the butter melting entirely. Open a window or do whatever necessary to keep the pastry cool.

10. Start rolling out your pastry from the centre upwards, then from the centre downwards. Rotate the pastry 90 degrees and repeat this process, rolling from the centre upwards, followed by the centre downwards.
11. Flip the pastry over and dust the surface underneath with more flour. The aim is to keep the pastry moving constantly to avoid it sticking to your workspace or becoming too hot.
12. Continue rolling out, rotating, rolling out and flipping your pastry until it becomes too big to flip over and but is large enough to fill your tart tin.
13. Carefully lift up the rolled out pastry and slip the base of the tart tin directly underneath its centre. Making as few folds as possible, gently fold the pastry inwards until fully contained within the boundary of the base, and then slowly lift the base back into the tin.
14. Gently unfold the pastry from the centre outwards, and firmly press into the sides of the tart tin.
15. Roll the rolling pin over the top of the tin to remove loose edges of the pastry and patch any holes up where necessary.
16. Prick the base of the pastry all over with a fork and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.
17. Line the pastry case with parchment paper and fill with baking beans. Place on a preheated baking tray and bake blind for 15 minutes. Remove the beans and return to the oven for a further 10-12 minutes until the base is cooked. Leave to cool in the tin.
18. For the crème patissière, whisk the sugar, egg yolks and cornflour together in a bowl until smoothly combined and set aside.
19. Pour the milk and vanilla extract into a large heavy based saucepan, bring to the boil and then remove from the heat. Pour about a quarter of the hot milk onto the egg mixture and whisk together.
20. Return this mixture to the rest of the milk in the pan. Put back over a gentle heat and cook, stirring continuously, until the mixture becomes extremely thick. The addition of the cornflour should be creating a firm starch network.
21. Add the butter and stir in to melt. Place a disc of baking parchment directly on the surface of the crème patissière to stop a skin forming.
22. Leave to cool for an hour. The crème patissière must be completely set.
23. Remove the pastry case from its tin and place onto a cake stand or plate. Whip the set crème patissière very gently with a spoon until it becomes just soft enough to spread over the base of the pastry, but not so soft that it pours.
24. Decorate the surface of the tart with raspberries, arranged into concentric circles, and lightly place a handful of blueberries in the centre to hide the last bit of the pastry cream.
25. Spoon 2 tbsp of seedless raspberry jam into a small heavy based saucepan and add 1 tbsp cold water. Bring the boil and reduce until the syrup has thickened considerably.
26. Paint each circle of raspberries with the raspberry syrup to give your tart a glossy sheen and return to the fridge until ready to serve. When suitably hungry, cut yourself a slice and share with friends and family.