Grilled nectarine tart with coffee mascarpone ice cream

For those who didn’t knew already; I have a garden. A pretty big garden which I’m really proud of. We have a lot of plants and tree’s. We bought even a nectarine tree this year! Did you know that nectarines and peaches are genetically almost the same except for their skin? I know somebody (and that somebody knows when he reads this) who doesn’t like peaches but really likes nectarines.. So that’s a bit weird when you know this. Your mind can trick you easily!

I also planted peonies this year. I love every flower, but the peony is my favorite. I was sooo thrilled when I saw the first green spot coming through the black earth. I looked at it every day and even talked to it. I hoped so much to see a flower soon. But on a morning I saw something horrible. There were holes in the beautiful green leaves! Something had attacked my flowers! Who dare to do that! So, during the day nothing happened, of course. The crook didn’t want to be catched. But when the night fell I sneaked outside and there they were. Not one, not two, not even three but TWENTY snails on my poor little plant. They were crudled up all around it! I became so mad! Why did they attack like that. I have enough other big and strong plants, why did they had to take this one? So I took a tweezers out of the kitchen drawer and start pulling them off. I carefully (okay, maybe not really carefully) dumped them into the container were they would have more then enough green to eat. Don’t touch my dear plants!

So, every evening when the sun went down, I sneaked outside to remove the snails. After a week they were gone. I think they told each other to watch out for the evil snail witch. I don’t blame them.

Grilled nectarine tart with coffee mascarpone ice cream and caramel
makes 6 tarts
recipe idea from Tamara Graffen

 

Ingredients

Mascarpone ice cream

• 350 g mascarpone
• 60 ml whipping cream
• 240 ml water
• 240 g granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp strong coffee
• 2 tbsp lemon juice

Pate sucrée

• 150 g unsalted butter, room temperature
• 110 g icing sugar
• 1 g salt
• 1 egg
• 250 g all purpose flour
• 20 g cornstarch

Grilled nectarines

• 10 nectarines
• 120 g butter
• 150 g dark brown sugar

Caramel

• 100 g granulated sugar
• 50 g cold butter, in cubes
• 75 ml whipping cream
• 1/4 tsp salt

 

Instructions

 

Mascarpone ice cream

1. In a large bowl, whisk tohether the mascarpone and whipping cream. Set aside
2. Heat water, granulated sugar, coffee and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Let cook for 10 minutes or until the sugar syrup thickens a bit. Remove from fire and let cool a bit.
3. While whisking slowly add the sugar syrup to the mascarpone. Keep whisking until all syrup is added. Put bowl in fridge until completely cool, at least one hour.
4. Pour mixture in the ice machine and let run until your ice cream is ready. Spoon honeycomb through with a spatula.Put in freezer for at least 2 hours before serving.

Paté sucrée

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add the icing sugar and beat together. Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl and add the egg and salt. Mix until combined.
2. Sift the flour and cornstarch together. Add slowly to the butter mixture until just incorporated.
3. Remove from the mixer, shape into a flat disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or preferably overnight.
4. Take out your disk of dough and let it warm up for 5 minutes so it is easier to roll out. Lightly dust a work surface with flour. Roll out the dough to about 3 mm and line your tart tins. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes and preheat the oven to 175 ℃ (350 ℉).
5. Crumple up a piece of parchment paper and then smooth it back out again. Place in your tart tins and fill with dried beans, rice or pie weights. Make sure to press it into the corners of the tarts.
6. Blind bake the tart shells for 15 minutes, then remove the parchment and beans/rice/weights and bake for a further 8-10 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown. Let cool completely.

Roasted nectarines

1. Cut pits from nectarines, slice into thirds and place in a large bowl, add sugar and toss well to coat.
2. Pre-heat a grill pan over high heat. When hot, add butter to coat the base of the pan and quickly place nectarines flesh side down on the grill. Cook until dark grill marks appear on the flesh of the nectarines, about 2 minutes.
3. Once grilled, transfer nectarines to a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake in the pre-heated oven until tender but not falling apart, about 20-25 minutes. Remove nectarines from oven and slice into ½ cm slices. Set aside on a lined baking tray until needed. 

Salted caramel

1. Heat cream in a small saucepan on low heat. The cream may not boil.
2. Put sugar in a pan or skillet and heat until the sugar starts to melt on the edges. Move the pan gently or stir carefully (you don’t want the sugar to clump together). Heat until the caramel is golden brown, or until the temperature is 170℃.
3. Put butter into caramel and stir until melted. Add now the hot cream, a little bit at a time, and stir until you have a smooth caramel. Stir in salt. Set aside to cool.

Assembly

1. Devide the nectarines into the tart shells and drip some caramel onto the nectarines. Put a scoop of ice cream on top and drip again with some caramel.