April 10, 2014

Baking with Chef Audra Morrice at ToTT ~ Dark Chocolate Raspberry Tart with Port Jelly! (Recipe Included)



I'm happy to be back again at the cooking studio of ToTT (Tools of The Trade), this time to pick up some baking skills from Chef Audra Morrice! What made it more fun and interesting is the hands-on session (instead of just a demonstration), with us the participants getting direct baking experience by making the Dark Chocolate Raspberry Tart with Port Jelly ourselves.

Yes, the beautiful tart with a decadent filling of luscious dark chocolate ganache and a top layer of sweet port wine jelly, plump juicy raspberries and edible flowers you see in the photo here is made by yours truly, moi! Hehee, you want a slice?


The chocolate tart is easier to make than I thought under the detailed guidance of Chef Audra. Best known for being a finalist in Australia MasterChef 2012, she impressed with her ability to both cook and bake, producing some of the most consistent and amazing dishes on this popular television competitive cooking show.

In person, Chef Audra strikes me as a very friendly lady, always radiating a smiling countenance as she patiently takes us through the step-by-step process in getting our tart into form, while sharing handy baking tips. She displayed an obvious love and keen passion for her craft which translated into an informative and enjoyable interactive class for us.


Necessary kitchen tools such as mixer, non-stick fluted pan with removable bottom, wooden rolling pin and baking ingredients were already prepared for us ahead of class commencement by the staff of ToTT. They were also helpful in assisting us to clear the used utensils and sending our tarts to the oven and fridge when we have it ready, making the whole class proceeding like a breeze. Wow if only I can have a helper too when I bake or cook at home! Cleaning can be such a pain.

I was initially worried as I'm an absolute noob when it comes to baking but Chef Audra's explanation was so clear that we could follow all the instructions without a further need to refer to the recipe handed earlier to us. The most delightful part must be decorating our own readied chocolate tart with fresh raspberries, raspberry puree and edible flowers, all the finishing touches to our personalized creation. What a sense of accomplishment!


There were lots of laughter during our hands-on baking session, everyone seems to be enjoying themselves with none of the stress of needing to make the tart turn out perfect.

We had a whole family with kids in our classes and I thought it makes a very healthy bonding activity. A family which bakes together, stays together! This will also suit couples who are looking to do something different from the usual movie watching or shopping on their dates.

The bright, spacious and well-equipped ToTT studio certainly contributed in making the experience a highly pleasant one too. If you're keen on attending any of the baking or cooking classes, do check out http://content.tottstore.com/classes for more information.


Brought the end product to share with my friends after the class and they all love the taste of the chocolate tart! Don't think they are just paying me lip service as we finished everything haha.

I had rolled the dough really thin at risk of having it breaking apart (it didn't, except for a tiny edge) as I don't like the crust to be too thick, and it turned out to be wonderfully buttery and crisp. The use of dark chocolate ensured the sweetness level to be just nice for our preference, with refreshing tangy raspberries cutting through the richness of chocolate ganache. In short, it's delicious!

Suddenly, I feel like I'm one step closer to being a domestic goddess already LOL!!!

You can easily bake your own chocolate tart too, here's the recipe below :D


Dark Chocolate Raspberry Tart with Port Jelly

Pastry
  • 225g Plain Flour
  • Pinch Salt
  • 2 tbsp Icing Sugar
  • 2 tbsp Cocoa Powder
  • 140g Unsalted Cold Butter (chopped)
  • 2 tbsp Iced Water

Pre-heat oven to 200°C. Place flour, salt, sugar and cocoa in a food processor and process for 15 seconds until combined. Add butter and process until butter is finely chopped. Add iced water slowly until it forms a dough that just comes together when pressed. Wrap in cling wrap and refrigerate for 20 mins.


Ganache Filling
  • 500g Dark Chocolate, 70% Cocoa Solids
  • 200g Unsalted Butter (chopped)

Chop chocolate in a food processor until finely chopped. Place butter in a large bowl over a saucepan with 3cm of just-simmering water, tip chocolate onto butter. Turn off heat and stir occasionally until chocolate and butter have melted. Keep bowl on saucepan until ready to use.


Cherry Port Jelly
  • 375ml Cherry Port
  • 2 tbsp Caster Sugar
  • 5 leaves Gelatine (gold strength)

Pour port and sugar into a saucepan over medium heat, stir until sugar has dissolved. Boil for 5 minutes, remove from heat. Soften gelatine in cold water, squeeze out excess water and add gelatine to warm port mixture. Stir until dissolved, strain and keep warm until ready to use.


Raspberry Puree
  • 125g Raspberries (squished or frozen)
  • 1 tbsp Icing Sugar
  • 1 tsp Corn Syrup or Glucose

Place raspberries, sugar and glucose into a small saucepan and heat until liquid. Sieve out seeds.


To Decorate
  • 250-375g Raspberries
  • Edible Flowers

Directions to Assemble
  1. Roll pastry out between two sheets of baking paper to 3mm thick. Remove one sheet of baking paper and lay pastry over a 23cm round fluted tart tin with a removable base. Press into tin especially into sides. Remove baking paper and trim pastry. Refrigerate for 20 minutes. Blind bake for 13-15 minutes until sides are crisp. Remove baking paper and pastry beads and bake for a further 10 minutes until base is dry. Cool in fridge for 10 minutes.

  2. Pour warm ganache into cooled tart tin, shake gently to level. Allow half a centimetre for the jelly layer. Refrigerate for 10 minutes to set the ganache. Pour warm jelly into a jug, bring over to fridge and pour a layer of jelly on top on top of the tart. Allow to set in the fridge or until ready to serve.
  3. Decorate tart with raspberries, drizzle with raspberry puree and place a few flowers on top.


Thanks to Chef Audra Morrice, ToTT and FoodNews for hosting.


ToTT
Address: 896 Dunearn Road, #01-01A, Sime Darby Centre, Singapore 589472
Contact: +65 62197077
Website: http://www.tottstore.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ToTTStore

Opening Hours:
Store: Mon-Thu 11am-8pm / Fri 11am-9pm / Sat, Sun & PH 10am-9pm
Bistro: Mon-Thu 10.30am-7.30pm / Fri 10.30am-8.30pm / Sat, Sun & PH 9.30am-8.30pm


2 comments:

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  2. i I saw this page and wanted to bake the tart this weekend. However I have been sourcing for cherry port but can't seem to find it. May I know where did you get yours? Thanks!

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