Tarte au vin - Wine tart

Waiter, there’s something in my… is another food blogging event that I really like. The theme for this month is… topless tarts. I thought I’d give it a try both because I really like tarts and because it gives me a perfect excuse to try out a recipe I’ve had for a while.

The recipe is called Tarte au vin – Wine tart. It’s quite simple, but the wine gives it an uncommon twist.

For the crust I used a cocoa and almond pâte brisée with very little cocoa, because I didn’t want it to overpower the wine. I also added some cinnamon to complement the filling. Oh, yes, the filling. The wine I used is a Sicilian wine called Nero d’Avola, I thought it would work well with the almonds and the cocoa, but I guess other types of wine can be experimented. I did not use all of the filling that I made because when I poured it into the pastry shell it looked lie it was enough, however the filling layer turned out to be rather thin, so I think I’ll use the whole thing next time.

Tarte au vin

For the crust:
125 g butter, softened
75 g icing/confectioners’ sugar
25 g ground almonds
1 egg
200 g cake flour
5 g cocoa
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the filling:
200 ml red wine
2 eggs
20 g flour
60 g sugar
100 ml cream, 35% fat
2 eggs
1 teaspoon cinnamon

First prepare the crust: In the bowl of your mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter. Beat in the confectioner’s sugar sifted with the cinnamon. Add the ground almonds and beat again. Add the egg and beat until combined. Sieve together cocoa and cake flour, add to the butter, sugar and egg mixture and pulse until combined. Do not overwork it. Take the dough out of the bowl and shape it into a flat disk. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for an hour. Take out the dough and roll it out into a circle – I like a thin crust, I find that thicker crusts overpower the filling. Butter a tart pan and place the dough into it. Trim the edges. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least an hour – I usually make it one day ahead.

Preheat the oven to 175°C/350°F. Line the tart with parchment paper, fill with pie weights and prebake for 10 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare the filling: Place the eggs in bowl and whisk in the sugar and the flour. Heat the cream and pour over the egg mixture stirring constantly, much like the beginning of crème pâtissière. Add the wine and the cinnamon and combine.

Remove the weights and the paper, pour the filling mixture into the tart shell still in the oven and cook until the filling is firm to the touch. Serve cool.