Miso caramel cheesecake tarts with miso caramel cream sauce

Makes 8 Cakes, Bread and Pastries

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Method

To make the pastry, put the flour and sugar into the bowl of a processor and pulse to aerate. Add the butter and process to form a breadcrumb texture. Add the yolk and 3tbsp water and pulse to form a pliable paste. Tip on to a sheet of non PVC cling film and bring into a ball, squashing it down as you wrap it. Chill for 25 minutes.

Divide the pastry into 6 pieces and roll each piece out to 2mm thick. Use it to line 6 x 12cm x 3cm deep, fluted loose-based tart tins. Re-roll the trimmings to line 2 more tins. Alternatively, use a 23cm fluted loose-based tin. Chill the tins on a tray for 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200C/ 180C F/Gas 6. Line the pastry with circles of scrunched up baking paper to come up the sides, then add baking beans and bake blind for 12-15 minutes until golden. Lower the oven temperature to 170C/150C F/Gas 3. Remove the beans and paper and cook for a further 5-7 minutes until golden and crisp. As the pastry cases cool, gently loosen them in the tin to make them easier to remove once filled.

Meanwhile, to make the filling, put the miso in a large bowl and mix in the cornflour followed by the mascarpone. Add the sugar, then add an egg at a time, beating between each addition. Put the cream and the chocolate in a small pan over a very low heat and stir to melt the chocolate. As soon as the mixture is smooth, stir it into the egg mixture.

Pour the filling into the tart shells to come 5mm below the top edge of the pastry. Bake for 15-20 minutes until there is still a little wobble in the centre. Leave to cool and firm up a little before removing from the tins.

To make the miso caramel cream sauce and topping, boil a kettle with 100ml water. Stir the miso into the double cream.

Put the chopped nuts on a foil-lined tray. Put the sugar and 100ml just-boiled water in a small pan over a low heat to make a syrup. When it becomes clear increase the heat and cook until it becomes a rich golden caramel, taking care not to burn it. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter. Spoon around 5tbsp of the buttery caramel over the nuts and leave to harden. Add the miso cream mixture to the remaining caramel and stir until smooth, then transfer to a bowl. Crunch up the caramelised nuts a little with a heavy cook’s knife.

To serve, scatter the nuts over the tops of the tarts, then spoon over the miso caramel cream sauce in a zig-zag pattern.

This recipe was taken from the October 2021 issue of Food and Travel. To subscribe, click here.