One of my greatest joys is playing in the kitchen. My usual style begins with some late-night web wandering in search for recipes to inspire for the following days session in the kitchen. I rarely stick to 1 recipe, but rather take inspiration from several, then throw in a good pinch of my own intuitive style for good measure. However, I hit the jackpot when I stumbled across this little gem by Gather & Feast and saw no need to look further or readjust. I’ve made this one a few times now and have added some notes and tips which I thought might be worthwhile to consider if you give it a go.

The widened eyes and appreciative noises received when friends and family saw the tart was a promising start and I was delighted that the taste test only delivered more eye boggling and oohs and ahhs... tick tick! Definitely recommend giving this one a crack as a dessert at your next dinner party, or even an afternoon tea for a bit of wow factor. So, please do gather the ingredients and feast your eyes & tastebuds on this one.

Find the full recipe here.

MY NOTES & TIPS ON THE ORIGINAL RECIPE

Of course, I used our original fresh chai blend (Calmer Chai) in this recipe. I steeped 3 tablespoons of our blend with 3 cups of boiling water for about 10 minutes, then strained. I then soaked the fruit in the strained liquid for about an hour

One time when I made this I soaked the dried fruit overnight as suggested in the recipe but found it way too intense with a slightly fermented taste. An hour or 2 of soaking I found was perfect before draining the liquid

I haven’t tried with Cointreau but can imagine it being a winner!!

I found the amount of fruit suggested to be more than needed to top the tart. I used around 2/3 of the suggested quantities.

Make sure you allow the tart crust to cool completely before filling with the mascarpone. If its still a little warm and you fill and then try to slice, it will collapse and run.

I went round over rectangle which worked a treat. Either way, make sure you use a collapsible base for easy removal.

750gm of mascarpone is a lot and not cheap! I found 500gm to be ok – just not as deep a layer of filling - or use my tip below

I also tried with half mascarpone and half fresh deli ricotta and had a great result. The filling was a little firmer and easier to slice neatly. However, 100% mascarpone is a bit more on the decadent side if you’re feeling fanciful ;)

Fresh chai and mascarpone tart

Mama Chai xx

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