Miso Butterscotch Tart
I discovered this recipe in Japanese Patisserie and I was immediately intrigued. I remembered the miso butterscotch cake that I had at Spot Dessert Bar and how good it was, and sought to try to recreate this. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out quite as well as I was hoping. Personally for me, this is a bit too rich / decadent, without the light sponge cake as a vessel to lighten it. I think this could be good as a petit four dish, but I don't think I'd make it again as the individual dessert style. Anyways, for this recipe I ended up making individual tarts 4-inch tarts, which depending on the shape of your tart trays could probably make 6-8.
Active Time: 1 hr
Total Time: 2 hr
Ingredients
sweet shortcrust pastry:
> butter (135g, ~1.25 sticks)
> sugar (90g)
> egg (1)
> AP flour (270g)
miso butterscotch filling:
> dark brown sugar (112g)
> butter (112g, or 1 stick)
> sweet miso paste (1.5 tbsp)
> eggs (2, beaten)
> raisins / dried fruits (~180g)
> walnuts (~70g, chopped)
> lemon zest (1 lemon)
> Japanese whiskey (2 tbsp)
everything else:
> whipped stiff heavy cream
Instructions
making the sweet shortcrust pastry:
1. Cream the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl, just until well combined.
2. Add the egg, beat until smooth and completely incorporated.
3. Add in the flour, gently fold until just combined (do NOT overwork the dough)
4. Form the dough into a ball / disc, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
5. Roll the pastry out thinly on a lightly floured surface. Cut into appropriate sizes using a bench scraper, line the tart pans as neatly as possible. Trim away untidy edges and chill in the fridge for at least 15m.
6. Bake the tarts at 400F with pie weights / baking beans, for ~12-15m, until golden and cooked through.
7. Remove the parchment paper and pie weights and set the tart shells aside.
putting everything together:
1. Cook the dark brown sugar, butter, and sweet miso paste in a saucepan over low heat, mixing occasionally to ensure everything combines. When melted, remove from the heat and let cool to just warm.
2. Whisk in the beaten eggs until fully combined. Add the dried fruit, lemon zest, chopped walnuts, and whisky, and stir together.
3. Spoon the mixture into the cooked pastry cases. Bake in the preheated oven for around ~20m at 350F, until the tarts are just set in the middle.
4. Optionally, top with a bit of whipped stiff heavy cream.
Notes/Tips:
> As usual, make sure that your butter is at room temperature (or at least, mixable) before attempting to make the sweet shortcrust pastry
> I found that this recipe makes roughly ~6-8 4-inch individual sized tarts. Alternatively, the recipe also claims that this makes ~20 petit four sized pastries, but I don't have the tin. You could probably also use a muffin tin for a slightly smaller tart and smooth surface.
> You'll want to generously flour your rolling pin and surface when rolling out the pastry, otherwise things will start sticking. A LOT.
> Do NOT skimp out on chilling the dough. Make sure it's reasonably cold before proceeding. Otherwise, it'll become way too sticky / greasy and difficult to work with when rolling it out.
> The original recipe actually called for 100g currants, 50g golden raisins, 50g raisins. Unfortunately, I couldn't find either of the first two so I just went with all raisins instead. I also upped the walnut amount a little, from 50g to 70g. Aside from the butter, sugar, miso paste, and eggs, most of the other ingredients can be adjusted accordingly.
> 2 tbsp is quite a bit for whiskey, and you'll probably find that the flavor is decently strong. You can consider reducing this down a bit if it's too strong for you.