Pudding Baking Puddings

Ben Tish’s Saffron and Bay Custard Tarts with Sticky Blackberries Recipe

This is a very sophisticated dessert - taking the classic pud to the next level with sweet, sticky blackberries.

20 minutes plus chilling time prep, 50 minutes plus cooling time cook

Serves 6-8 slices

Ingredients

Olive oil for greasing the tin

1 large free-range egg, beaten, for an egg wash

For the ma’amoul pastry

200g plain white flour

65g icing sugar

50g fine semolina flour

200g unsalted butter, chopped

1 tbsp orange blossom water

1 tsp ground cherry kernels (mahlab)

For the sticky blackberries

100ml pomegranate juice

25g caster sugar

3 black peppercorns

1 cinnamon stick

Grated zest of ½ unwaxed orange

200g blackberries

For the saffron and bay custard

300ml double cream

4 fresh bay leaves

A large pinch of saffron threads

3 large free-range egg yolks and 1 large free-range egg, beaten together

2 tbsps caster sugar

Method

1 Preheat the oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas Mark 6. Grease a 20cm fluted tart tin with a removable base and set aside.

2 First make the pastry. Mix the flour, icing sugar and semolina flour together in a bowl. Melt the butter over a low heat, then pour over the flour mixture. Add the orange blossom water and ground cherry kernels and, using your fingers, mix well until you end up with a malleable pastry.

3 Transfer the pastry to the tart tin and use your fingers to press it across the base and up the side, leaving a good edge to account for shrinkage. Place in the fridge for 10 minutes to set.

4 To make the sticky blackberries, place the pomegranate juice, sugar, peppercorns, cinnamon stick and orange zest in a saucepan over a high heat and bring to a boil, then continue boiling until the liquid reduces by half. Reduce the heat to low, add the blackberries and simmer for 4 minutes, or until they are tender and the syrup is rich and sticky. Turn off the heat and set aside to cool.

5 Once it is cool, remove the blackberries from the syrup and set aside with the syrup separately.

6 Line the pastry with baking parchment and cover with baking beans or uncooked rice. Bake the pastry for 10 minutes, or until set and just baked – it should still be quite pale in colour.

7 Meanwhile, make the custard. Place the cream and bay leaves in a pan and heat until bubbles appear around the edge. Turn off the heat and add the saffron threads. Whisk the 3 egg yolks and the whole egg with the caster sugar in a bowl until light and pale, then slowly whisk in the warm cream until fully incorporated – do this slowly to avoid curdling. Pour back into the pan and heat very gently, stirring, until it thickens.

8 Remove the pan from the heat and pour the custard through a fine sieve into the pastry case, then add the bay leaves. Arrange the blackberries in the custard and finally brush the edges of the pastry with egg wash.

9 Place the tin on a baking sheet and return the tart to the oven for 20 minutes, or until the custard is just set and the pastry has browned. The blackberries will have started to burst through.

10 Place the tart on a wire rack and leave for 20 minutes before removing from the tin and leaving to cool completely. The blackberry syrup can be poured over the tart when serving.

Recipes extracted from Mediterra by Ben Tish, published by Bloomsbury. Photography by Kris Kirkham.