It’s been 9 months since my last post. I know this because my last post was a Yuzu citrus recipe and Yuzu season has come back around again. I’m not worried that I don’t post here often. This space was always just for me really. I never wanted to monetize Chew Town nor did I want the pressure to continue posting here if I didn’t have capacity.
So I suppose I should fill you in on where I’ve been. A number of years ago I started a food photography business and it has grown exponentially until I have had no capacity for anything else. A year ago I moved into a commercial food photography studio here in Sydney and things really exploded. To keep up with demand and grow the business further I recently created Let’s Make Stuff to build on the success of my food photography business. Let’s Make Stuff is really me and a bunch of very talented mates who specialise in food. Together we are a content creation business offering recipe development, recipe testing, food photography, copywriting, social media management, food videography and food website development.
Oh, and I expanded into craft photography, videography and project creation (you can find my craft creations here) offering the same photography service to a range of craft clients.
So, it’s been busy and something had to give… and it was Chew Town.
But, it IS yuzu season and yuzu is my favourite fruit. So here is a delicious recipe for a Yuzu take on a Citron Tart (A citron tart is a French lemon tart). It consists of a chocolate pastry base and a just set yuzu curd filling. I used the discontinued Carême chocolate pastry here which is no longer being made (I have a very special stash of it in my studio freezer thanks to Carême) but their incredible Vanilla Bean shortcrust would work perfectly here too.
The fresh yuzu are from Mountain Yuzu and while this recipe could easily be made with lemons the yuzu version yields a heady fragrant citrus scent that only Yuzu can provide.
Yuzu Chocolate Tart
Ingredients
- 1 packet Careme Chocolate Shortcrust Pastry (discontinued) OR Careme Vanilla Bean Shortcrust
- 1 egg white
- 3/4 cup fresh yuzu juice
- Zest of 2 yuzu
- 3/4 cup caster sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 4 whole eggs
- 4 egg yolks
- 175g unsalted butter cubed
- Candied Yuzu Peel*
Directions
Line one large tart tin or 4 medium tart tins or 8 small tart tins (or a combination of medium and small like I did) with the pastry and place in the freezer for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile preheat oven to 170°C.
Line pastry with baking paper and ceramic baking weights (or dried chickpeas or dried rice) and bake for 15 minutes. Then remove the baking weights and baking paper and brush the insides of the tart shell with egg white (helps to set the base of the tart and make it very crisp). Pop the empty tart shells back in the oven for 5 mins for the base to crisp then remove the tart shells and set aside to cool. Leave the oven on.
In a medium saucepan combine the yuzu juice, yuzu zest, caster sugar salt, whole eggs and egg yolks and whisk off the heat until well combined. Add the cubed butter then place the saucepan over a medium low heat, whisking continuously until the butter has melted and the mixture begins to set to a thin custard consistency. Using a fine mesh strainer, pour the mixture into the tart cases through the strainer (to catch the zest as it strains through) and then return the filled tarts to the oven for a further 5 minutes (less for the smallest tarts).
Remove from the oven and set aside at room temperature to set for 1 hour. Serve warm with candied yuzu peel on top or refridgerate overnight if you need, ensuring you bring the tart back to room temperature to serve.
*Candied yuzu peel recipe can be found here
