Pink Grapefruit and Whisky Caramel Tart
I know that grapefruit isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but when it’s mixed with a whisky caramel, and layered on top of creamy custard which is surrounded by all butter pastry, it’s a winner.
There’s something about pink grapefruit that is so pretty, it has such an appealing hue that even if not a fan, it somehow draws me in.
I used whisky for the caramel, but this may not be for you. Leave it out of the dish all together if that’s what you want, but even though the alcohol burns off during cooking, whats left is an under current of richness to the caramel which adds a lot to the grapefruit layer. So the caramel grapefruit stays tart in the mouth, but becomes something luxurious.
Go on, give it a go and enjoy your sweet life!
Slice off the rind making sure to get rid of all that white pith.
What You Need
Pastry
350g Plain Flour plus extra for tin preparation
250g Butter – Cold plus extra for tin preparation
100g Castor Sugar
Golden pastry under that creamy custard
Custard Filling
250ml Milk
85g Castor Sugar
3 Yolks from Large Eggs – See Tip Box
1 Tbsp Plain Flour
1 Tbsp Cornflour
½ Tsp Vanilla Extract
Add the warm milk to the eg and sugar mixture before heating again to go thick
Caramel Topping
2 Large Pink Grapefruit
100g Castor Sugar
15ml Whisky - Optional
20cm Loose bottomed tart tin
Once the grapefruit has been removed from the caramel, let it bubble for a minute or two to reduce.
How It’s Done
Heat oven to 180c
Prepare Tart Tin
Rub butter around the inside of the tart tin making sure to get into all of the nooks
Dust the inside of the tin with flour, make sure flour covers all of the inside of the tart tin
Shake out excess flour
Set it aside until needed
Pastry
Place the flour and sugar into a food processor and let it whiz to mix the dry ingredients together
Cut the butter into very small pieces
With the food processor running, slowly add the pieces of butter, one at a time, until all added.
Be patient and let the food processor run until the mixture comes together into a dough – it will take a few minutes.
Once the dough is ready, remove it from the food processor and use hands, to bring together into a smooth ball – See Tip Box
Wrap the dough in cling film and let it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Once the pastry has rested, dust the worksurface with a little flour and roll the pastry out to about the thickness of a £1 coin.
Lay the pastry into the prepared tin leaving about 1 inch over hang
Scrunch up some non-stick baking parchment and then lay it on top of the pastry so that it completely covers the pastry
Pour baking beans of dried rice on top of the pastry
Sit the tin on to a baking tray and into the hot oven.
Blind bake for around 15 minutes – See Tip Box
Remove the beans and the paper and return to the oven for about 10 more minutes, until the bottom of the pastry is looking dry and golden brown.
Once the pastry is baked, run a sharp knife around the edge of the tin to remove the excess pastry and tidy up the edges.
Let the pastry cool
Once cooled, gently remove the pastry case from the tin
A nice thick ayer of that creamy custard in top of the all butter pastry
Custard
Place the egg yolks and sugar into a bowl and give a whisk to combine both
Add the flour and cornflour and whisk so that both are mixed in really well
Place the milk and vanilla into a saucepan and heat until just below boiling
While constantly whisking, slowly drizzle the hot milk into the egg mixture.
Pour all of the mixture back into the saucepan and on a gentle heat, and while constantly whisking, bring the milk to the boil
Let it boil until it becomes thick and glossy
Once ready, pour into a bowl and let it cool while the pastry bakes.
Pink Grapefruit Topping
Use a sharp knife to peel the pink grapefruit, making sure to remove all of the white pith
Slice the grapefruit into rounds about the thickness of 2 x £1 coins and set aside onto a plate, collecting all of the grapefruit juice.
Place the sugar and whisky (if using) into a dry frying pan and heat gently until the sugar melts
Let it very gently bubble, shaking the pan around, until the sugar turns into a deep caramel – See Tip Box
Tip the grapefruit slices and any juice, into the caramel
Stir to mix up – If the caramel hardens up when the grapefruit is added, keep heating and mixing until the caramel melts and becomes liquid again – Be patient
Remove the grapefruit slices onto a plate and let the caramel bubble for a minute or two just to thicken up slightly.
Layer the caramelised grapefruit over the top of the custard
Assemble
Pour the custard into the cold tart shell and level it out
Place the grapefruit pieces on top of the custard so that all of the custard is covered
Drizzle the caramel over the top of the grapefruit
Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving
Pour that amazing whisky caramel over the top of the grapefruit
Tip Box
Egg Whites – There will be egg whites left over so use for meringues or if you’ve room in your freezer, place them into ice cube trays and store until needed.
Dough - 1) Bring dough together – Bring the dough together into a smooth ball. Just knead enough to do this, but don’t over knead or the finished pastry will taste tough.
2) If the pastry break or develops holes when covering the tart tin, don’t panic, use extra pieces to patch it up
Blind Bake – Blind baking is a way of ensuring that the bottom of the tart isn’t soggy.
Use baking beads or uncooked dry rice to ensure that the pastry stays flat when baking
Caramel – 1) Don’t stir the sugar while waiting for it to melt. Shake the pan to mix up the caramel.
2) Once the grapefruit is added, the liquid from the grapefruit will make some of the caramel hard. Be patient and let the caramel heat up so that the hardened caramel melts again.
Let it sit in the fridge for about 1 hour before serving.
