Honeycomb and Chocolate Tart & the joy of teaching

Food illustration by Sophia Katharina x the food and love project

Story and recipe by Madhavi @MihaPatisserie @MadhaviM:

I'm a huge fan of dark chocolate tarts and I don't think tarts get their due! Sweet pastry is extremely tricky to master and a lot of young chefs struggle with this. I hosted a workshop for a 16-year-old boy who's extremely passionate about pastry last year during the peak of the pandemic. His mom got in touch with me and was coordinating for over a month planning this surprise for him for his birthday. We did a 4-hour zoom workshop which included theory and baking science and he baked along with me following each step and understanding the nuances. I love teaching and this recipe really brought this whole one on one zoom class together for me. He mastered it and I was really proud of him! At 16, I wish I had such clarity and knew I wanted to be a chef at that time. His parents were extremely supportive and overall it was a really fun day and experience for all of us, the teacher, the student and the proud parents!

Recipe:

Honeycomb and Chocolate Tart

1 Tart - 40 Minutes

Pate sucree

70% Dark >Chocolate Ganache

Honeycomb

Seasalt

Chocolate ganache

150g Cream

15g Honey

130g 66% Caribe or darker pure couverture chocolate

45g Unsalted/ Salted Butter

Pinch of salt(if using unsalted butter)

Take a saucepan and bring the cream and honey to a light simmer.

If you are using a chocolate block, chop it into small chunks of chocolate. If you are using calletes, weigh them and place them in a mixing bowl on the side.

Once the cream and honey are heated, pour over the chocolate and let it stand for 10 minutes.

Mix the chocolate mixture and once cooled to 50 degrees add the butter and emulsify.

using a hand blender helps to emulsify better.

Pour over the baked and cooled tart shell.

Chill in the fridge for 3-4 hours.

Garnish once cooled.

Garnishing Ideas:

Honeycomb, flakey sea salt, roasted hazelnuts, merengues, Salted honey caramel Quenelle of cream, Chocolate mousse quenelle, Microgreens, Mint, Cacao nibs

Pate sucree (Eggless)

68g Unsalted Butter

52g Icing Sugar

135g Maida/Flour

28g Almond Powder/ Maida

25g Ice cold water

Pinch of salt

- Paddle unsalted butter and icing sugar together till smooth

- Weigh flour. Almond powder (replace with flour if unavailable) and a pinch of salt.

- Add ice-cold water to bring together.

- Do not overmix

- Wrap in cling wrap and keep in the freezer till ready to use.

- Remove from freezer/chiller. Work the dough and line your tart tin.

The dough can be wrapped and stored in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Baking time and temperature: 175 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes.

Honeycomb

50 g Castor sugar

2 tbsp Honey

Pinch of salt

1 tsp baking soda

- First prepare your tray with Silpat. Keep your work area uncluttered and clean as you will need to work fast.

- Place the pot on heat with the sugar, honey and salt and let the mixture melt first. Turn up the heat to medium and let it simmer until it gets a golden colour like maple syrup. - This takes 3 minutes, set a timer! Be careful not to overcook.

- Turn off the heat, and get prepared with your whisk and spatula because the next step happens fast. Whisk the baking soda in fast and stand back to watch the syrup turn into a thick foam.

Quickly stop whisking and use your spatula to pour this immediately onto your Silpat tray.

- Let it cool down and break it into shards.

- Store in an airtight container, it gets sticky fast in a humid environment.