I was recently given a new AEG Steambake oven (read the review here), and as part of the agreement between myself and AEG I wrote three recipes, the first of which is this chocolate tart with coconut and lime. Now I wanted to put the AEG Steambake through its paces and remembered way back to my Bake Off days when Paul Hollywood was impressed that I had used chocolate pastry. I had no idea it was notorious for being tricky in both getting it into the tin and also baking it. It burns easily, cocoa having such a drying quality.
So a chocolate tart with chocolate pastry it was, with the added accents of both coconut and lime. I apologise to all the coconut haters out there for yet another recipe to taunt them. What can I say? I love the stuff and am convinced everyone else does. I’m wilfully ignoring anyone who tells me otherwise. Please note this recipe DOES have conventional cooking instructions.
Do you want a brownie business update? The packaging has stalled. We are waiting for samples from abroad. I have also had a very early stage chat with a third party who may be interested in stocking my brownies. This is both exciting and also terrifying, as we’d need to invest more than we were planning to. If we started the business off with huge volumes of orders it is unlikely I’d be able to bake from my kitchen. So then we get into the whole do we hire a unit with a kitchen or convert our garage into a kitchen. And then I get scared as we’re spending much bigger amounts of cash than I had ever planned. But then what do you do, just always dream small? The best decisions I have ever made have been the ones I’ve found most terrifying. Hmmm. Answers on a postcard please.
Lots of great recipes like this in my books, Recipes from a Normal Mum, (available on Amazon, at The Works, Waterstones, WHSmith, The Book Depository and many smaller outlets) and The Power of Frozen (available through Amazon).
Last year: Banana & cinnamon muffins, Basic flapjack, Sweet & sour pork, Veggie chilli and Apple & marzipan galette.
Two years ago: Cherry & banana no churn ice-cream, Orange meringue pie and Roasted cauliflower, cumin and bulgar wheat salad.
Three years ago: Beery walnut bread, Gluten-free oat-topped chorizo, sweetcorn and tomato muffins and Orange butter biscuits.
Four years ago: Chocolate, hazelnut and orange wrinkly biscuits, Sticky Bounty rolls and Lemon & almond breakfast rolls,
Five years ago: Father’s Day man cake and Bakewell tart with a vanilla crust.
Prep Time: 4 hours
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 12
- For the pastry:
- • 175g plain flour
- • ½ tsp baking powder
- • 50g cocoa powder
- • 50g icing sugar
- • 140g butter
- • 3 large egg yolks
- For the filling and decoration:
- • 230g lime curd
- • 150g butter, softened
- • 150g caster sugar
- • 3 large eggs (at room temperature)
- • Zest of 1 lime
- • 140g desiccated coconut
- • 30g plain flour
- • 100mls double cream
- • 80g dark chocolate, melted
- • 50g coconut chips
Make the pastry. Sieve the flour, baking powder, cocoa and icing sugar. Rub in the butter. Add the egg yolks and bind together using a knife. (Or use a food processor with the blade attachment fitted). Form into a flat circle using hands, roll the pastry out onto a cocoa and floured work surface until the thickness of a pound coin and use to line a 23cm loose bottomed flan tin. Gently ease into corners and use a rolling pin to trim the top. Place in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight. Preheat the oven to 155C True Fan Cooking PLUS with 100mls water in the bottom of the oven. (Conventional 180°C/fan 160°C/gas mark 4). To make the topping, beat together the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add the eggs a little at a time, along with the zest, beating well after each addition. Fold in the desiccated coconut and flour and set aside. Spoon the curd into the case, then the coconut topping over the top (spoon around the rim first to seal the pastry to the topping) and bake for 35–40 minutes until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack in the tin. Once cool, remove from the tin drizzle with a little melted chocolate.
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Holly Bell 