Black Licorice Creme Brulee Tarts Recipes

CRèME BRûLéE TART

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 9-inch tart pan with 1-inch rim and removable bottom with cooking spray. In small bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
• In large bowl, beat softened butter and 1/2 cup sugar with spoon until blended. Beat in 1 egg and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in flour mixture until well blended. Pat and press dough very firmly with floured fingers in bottom and up side of tart pan. Place tart pan on rimmed baking sheet.
• Bake 10 to 14 minutes or until crust is set in center but still pale. Cool 10 minutes. Using a flat-bottom measuring cup, carefully press to flatten partially baked dough in center and up sides.
• Meanwhile, in medium bowl, beat egg yolks, 1 egg and 3 tablespoons sugar with whisk. Beat in whipping cream and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Place tart pan on rimmed baking sheet. Pour egg mixture into partially baked crust. Carefully transfer to oven on baking sheet.
• Bake 30 to 34 minutes or until custard layer is just set. Cool on cooling rack 30 minutes. Refrigerate uncovered at least 2 hours.
• Before serving, set oven control to broil. Cover crust edge with 2- to 3-inch wide strip of foil to prevent excessive browning. Sprinkle top of tart with 2 tablespoons sugar. Place tart pan on rimmed baking sheet with top about 5 inches from heat. Broil 1 to 2 minutes or until top is brown and sugar is melted. Remove from oven. Remove tart from pan. This recipe is best made the same day it is served.

CRèME BRûLéE TART

Steps:

• Make tart shell:
• Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl (or pulse in a food processor). Blend in butter with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse) until mixture resembles coarse meal with some roughly pea-size lumps of butter. Add 3 tablespoons water and stir into flour (or pulse) until incorporated.
• Gently squeeze a small handful of dough: If it doesn't hold together, add water, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, stirring (or pulsing) after each addition. Do not overwork dough or pastry will be tough.
• Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 8 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather dough into a ball, then flatten into a 5-inch disk. Chill dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.
• Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 13-inch round. Fit dough into tart pan and fold overhang inward to reinforce side. Chill until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Lightly prick bottom of shell all over with a fork, then line with parchment or foil and fill with pie weights. Bake until edge is pale golden and side is set, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Carefully remove weights and parchment and bake shell until golden, 10 to 15 minutes more.
• Remove tart shell from oven and reduce temperature to 300°F.
• Make filling:
• While shell bakes, split vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape seeds into a heavy medium saucepan with tip of a paring knife. Add pod to saucepan with cream and milk. Heat over medium heat until hot, then let steep off heat 30 minutes.
• Whisk together yolks, whole egg, 6 tablespoons sugar, and salt in a quart measuring cup, then whisk into cream mixture until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve back into measuring cup.
• Put tart shell (in pan) in a 4-sided sheet pan. Put in oven, then pour custard into shell. Bake until just set but still slightly wobbly in center, 30 to 35 minutes (custard will continue to set as it cools). Remove tart from sheet pan and cool on a rack 30 minutes. Remove side of pan and cool to room temperature, about 1 hour more.
• Just before serving, sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons sugar evenly over top of tart. Move blowtorch flame evenly back and forth just above top of tart, avoiding crust, until sugar is caramelized and slightly browned. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

CREME BRULEE TART

Steps:

• Roll the puff pastry 1/4-inch thick and pierce it all over with the tines of a fork. Line a flan ring with the pastry and chill the ring for 20 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Line the flan ring with parchment paper or coffee filters and fill the shell with pie weights. Bake the pastry shell for about 25 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown. Remove the shell from the oven and let cool to room temperature. Remove the pie weights.
• Distribute the fruit evenly over the bottom of the shell, then pour in the Creme Brulee. Smooth the top with a long-bladed spatula.
• Just before serving, heat a caramel iron on the burner of a stove. Sprinkle the sugar evenly over the top and carefully caramelize the sugar with the hot iron. Alternately, place the tart under a hot broiler, near the heat, for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the sugar caramelizes. Or use a small blow torch to caramelize the sugar.
• In a large metal bowl set over a bain marie, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until the mixture is light and thick enough to form a ribbon. This takes quite a long time; be strong and patient. Remove from the heat.
• Carefully whisk in the cream. Add the vanilla bean. Place the bowl back over the bain marie and cook slowly for about 45 minutes, stirring frequently. Take care that the water does not boil. The custard will be done when the mixture adheres to your fingers without dripping.
• When the custard is done, remove from the heat and whisk in the butter, a little at a time, until all of it has been incorporated. Strain through a fine strainer into a bowl. Chill at least 6 hours or overnight.