Pineapple And Matcha Mousse Sablé Breton Tart
Makes: 1 small tart ideal for one (or even two) person(s). Measures approximately 4” x 4”.
If you read Sablé the right way (saa-blay), and your mind went straight to Michael Scott, know that you’re not the only one. IYKYK.
ingredients
Notes:
*Be as precise as possible with the ingredient measures, for the best results. I highly recommend using a kitchen scale for the exact measurements in grams.
*The matcha mousse yield is more than required for this recipe. Excess can be refrigerated for up to 5 days and can totally be devoured as a dessert by itself!
GROUP A: SABLÉ BRETON
63g AP flour
2.5g baking powder
1 egg yolk (do not discard the white - it will be used for making the mousse)
40g granulated sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
42g salted butter
Pinch of salt
GROUP B: MATCHA MOUSSE
85g milk (I got frisky and used an unsweetened vanilla flavoured soy milk - it worked really well)
52g heavy cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
32g granulated sugar
1/8 tsp salt
8g cornstarch
1 egg white (yolk is used to make the tart base)
7g salted butter
1/2 tsp matcha powder
42g very cold heavy cream
GROUP C: FILLING & TOPPING
1/4 cup fresh pineapple bits
Fresh pineapple slices
1/2 tsp desiccated coconut
1/2 tsp freshly grated lime zest
1/2 tsp fresh lime juice
Cardamom bitters (if you don’t have these, use a pinch of ground cardamom)
method
Make the sablé breton tart: Mix the flour and baking powder in a medium sized bowl. In another larger bowl, whisk the egg yolk, sugar, and vanilla till the mixture is pale and thick. Add the butter and whisk well again. Fold the dry ingredients into this batter and knead by hand to form a uniform mass of dough. Place this dough on a piece of plastic wrap and place another piece over it. Roll the dough to about 1/4” thickness. Refrigerate and chill for at least an hour before baking. Once chilled, preheat the oven to 350F. Cut the dough out in your shape of choice (if you have any dough remaining, make tartlets, or freeze for later use). Score with a fork or knife and bake for 17 - 20 minutes, till golden brown. Cool on a wire rack till it is time to assembly the tart.
Make the matcha mousse (can be made up to 2 days in advance): Whisk the salt, cornstarch, and sugar in a medium bowl. Add the vanilla and egg white. Whisk well again.
Add the milk and 52 grams of heavy cream to a saucepan and simmer on medium-low heat. Pour a bit of this mixture into the egg white mix and whisk that continuously to prevent any curdling. Pour this mix back into the saucepan, and keep whisking for another minute.
Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into another bowl. Whisk in the butter till completely dissolved. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap in such a way that the wrap sticks to the surface of the custard mixture. Refrigerate to cool for at least 2 hours. After cooling time is up, whip the remaining 42 grams of heavy cream to moderately stiff peaks (the peaks don’t have to have a very defined pointy shape, but the mixture should not fall out of the bowl when turned upside-down). Fold this whipped cream and matcha into the cooled custard base. Transfer to a squeezy bottle or piping bag fitted with a tip, till it’s time to assemble the tart.
Prep the tart fillings & toppings: While the custard base of the mousse is cooling down, mix the pineapple bits with the fresh lime juice and cardamom bitters and let this mixture sit. Toast the desiccated coconut in a pan till it’s golden brown, thene set aside till it’s time to assemble.
Assemble the tart: Pipe the matcha mousse in little swirls all along the border of the tart base. Fill the space in between with the prepared pineapple bits. Pipe more mousse swirls all over, then top them off with fresh pineapple slices. Finally, sprinkle a healthy dose of the toasted coconut and freshly grated lime zest. Eat right away, or refrigerate in an air-tight box for up to one day, for the best experience (or the tart base starts to get soggy!).
Adapted from the original recipe posted by the ever-amazing Ruth Tam.
