Roasted Grape Mascarpone Tart Recipe
This Roasted Grape Mascarpone Tart will blow your mind. The flaky pastry and creamy mascarpone filling balance the flavour sensation that the roasted grapes impart. Sweet, juicy and intense rasped grapes drizzled in honey and thyme will blow your mind!
Servings: 10 slices
Calories: 308kcal
Ingredients
Sweet Shortcrust Pastry Tart Shell
- 220 g plain flour (all-purpose)
- 40 g powdered icing sugar (confectioners’ sugar)
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- 110 g unsalted butter cold and chopped into small cubes
- 1 large egg cold, lightly beaten
- 15-30 ml water ice cold
Lemon Mascarpone Filling
- 500 g mascarpone cheese cold
- 120 ml double cream (heavy cream) cold
- 30 g powdered icing sugar (confectioners’ sugar)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 lemon zest
Roasted Grapes
- 400 g Sable Grapes red and/or black
- 45 ml runny honey
- 4 Sprigs thyme leaves
Instructions
Make Sweet Sweet Shortcrust Pastry Tart Shell
- Rub the butter into the flour. In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, confectioners’ sugar, and salt. Add the butter and toss until the cubes are coated. Rub the mixture together between your fingers until it reaches a breadcrumb consistency with a few hazelnut-sized pieces of butter still visible.
- Add egg and water. Make a well in the centre and add the egg. Using a fork, mix the egg into the flour. Add 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of the ice-cold water, and use your fingertips to bring the dough together. If the dough isn’t clumping together, add more water sparingly.
- Bring the dough together and refrigerate. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured countertop, and use floured hands to shape the dough into a ball, taking care not to overwork it. Flatten slightly into a disc, and wrap well in plastic wrap. Place in the fridge for at least 1 hour to let the dough rest.
- Roll out dough. Remove the chilled dough disc from the fridge and set it aside on your countertop for 15 minutes or so to allow the dough to warm up slightly so it’s easier to roll out. Trying to roll dough that is too cold will cause the edges to crack. To roll out, lightly flour your countertop and rolling pin, and using firm, even strokes, roll from the centre outward, turning the dough a quarter turn every few strokes. Roll the dough out to the thickness of a coin (⅛-inch (3-mm) thick) and into a 12-inch (30-cm) circle.
- Prepare dough in the tart tin. Flour the base of a 9-inch (23-cm) shallow fluted tart pan with a removable base, and gently lift the dough and place it into the prepared pan. Use your fingers to push the dough up the sides of the pan and into the grooves. Using a sharp knife, trim off the excess dough from the rim. Refrigerate the prepared tart shell for at least 1 hour to allow the dough to relax further. (My preference is to leave the shell overnight in the fridge and continue with the recipe the next day. If you do this, cover it well in plastic wrap to ensure that the dough doesn’t dry out.)
- Blind bake. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Once the dough is chilled, prick the tart base all over with a fork, and then line it with parchment paper and fill it with pie weights all the way up the sides. Blind bake for 15 minutes, and then remove the parchment paper and pie weights. Return the tart back to the oven and bake for 15 minutes, or until the base is dry and golden in colour. Remove from the oven, and leave the tart shell to cool fully.
Make Lemon Mascarpone Filling
- Place the mascarpone cheese, cream, powdered icing sugar, vanilla bean paste, lemon juice, and lemon zest in the bowl of an electric stand mixer and beat on medium until light and fluffy. Refrigerate until needed.
Roast Grapes
- Pre-heat oven to 180°C (350°F). Place grapes on a baking tray, drizzle honey over, and toss lightly together. Scatter thyme leaves over the grapes and place in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes until grape skins have just started to burst and juice from the grapes forms a sticky syrup with the honey.
Assemble
- Spoon mascarpone mixture into the tart shell and spread out evenly with an offset spatular. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Once chilled, place roasted grapes onto the mascarpone filling and spoon the syrup from the base of the baking dish over the grapes. Decorate with another drizzle of honey and thyme leaves. Slice and serve immediately.
Notes
Step-by-Step Photos: My blog post includes helpful step-by-step photos to help guide you through making this recipe.
To store: Wrap well in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Pro Tips:
- Keep pastry ingredients cold. This pastry recipe benefits from cold butter, cold egg, and cold water.
- Be careful not to overwork the dough. This will only activate the gluten in the flour which will cause shrinkage when baking and create a tough pastry.
- Refrigerate the dough after forming and when the tart pan is lined with it.
- Don't overwhip the mascarpone filling. It'll become grainy if you do.
- Roast the grapes for long enough so they become sticky. This draws out their flavour.
Nutrition
Calories: 308kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 23g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 104mg | Sodium: 99mg | Potassium: 129mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 1222IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 93mg | Iron: 1mg