Franquetta tart
Professional

Franquetta tart

Made with Andoa Noire 70% Pure Peru

PASTRY CHEF INSTRUCTOR ÉCOLE VALRHONA

8 steps

Makes six Ø 16cm tarts

Recipe Step by Step

01

WALNUT SHORTBREAD CRUST

  • 470g French-style pastry flour
  • 180g Raw cane sugar
  • 60g Franquette walnuts
  • 4g Salt
  • 240g European-style butter
  • 100g Eggs
  • 1064g Total weight
Make the dough in a stand mixer. Rub the dry ingredients and walnuts into the cold, cubed butter.
As soon as the mixture is completely even, add the cold eggs. As soon as you obtain a smooth dough, stop mixing. Store in the refrigerator or spread out immediately. Bake at 300°F (150°C).
02

PEAR COMPOTE

  • 845g Fresh pears
  • 85g Sugar
  • 70g Water
  • 4g Pectin NH
  • 1004 g Total weight
Wash, peel and cut the pears into 0.5 × 0.5cm cubes. Cook the pears on a low heat with the sugar and water.
After 13/15 minutes of cooking, cool the pears slightly to approx. 105°F (40°C), add the pectin NH mixed with a small amount of sugar, and bring to a boil again for 3/4 minutes. Store in the refrigerator.
03

WALNUT WHIPPED GANACHE

  • 155g Heavy cream 36%
  • 155g Whole milk
  • 60g Acacia honey
  • 155g Franquette walnuts
  • 55g Cocoa butter
  • 415g Heavy cream 36%
  • 995g Total weight
Lightly roast the walnuts in the oven at 300°F (150°C), then grind them in a blender to make a walnut paste.
Heat the smaller portion of milk with the honey. At 140°F (60°C), gradually pour the mixture onto the walnut paste and melted cocoa butter and emulsify them together thoroughly. Immediately mix to make a perfect emulsion. Add the larger portion of cold cream. Blend again and store in the refrigerator (ideally overnight). Whisk the mixture.
04

CRÈME ANGLAISE

  • 441g Whole UHT milk
  • 187g UHT cream 35%
  • 125g Whole eggs
  • 51g Caster sugar
Mix the eggs and sugar without beating too much. Bring the cream and milk to a boil and combine the two mixtures.
Heat the mixture to 183°F (84°C) and mix with an immersion blender to combine.
Use immediately or cool quickly in the refrigerator.
05

ANDOA 70% CRÉMEUX

  • 275g ANDOA NOIRE 70% 
  • 725g Crème anglaise
  • 1000g Total weight
Heat and strain the crème anglaise. Next, gradually combine it with the melted chocolate, mixing it in all the while with a spatula. Immediately mix to make a perfect emulsion. Leave to set in the refrigerator.
06

SALTY SUGARED WALNUTS

  • 170g Franquette walnuts
  • 90g Sugar
  • 35g Water
  • 5g Fleur de sel
  • 300g Total weight
Bring the syrup to a boil and add the walnut kernels and fleur de sel.
Spread the nuts out onto a tray lined with a silicone mat and bake them in the oven at 285/300°F (140/150°C) for approx.
10 minutes so they are candied.
Leave to cool and store in a dry place.
07

COOKED WALNUT CREAM

  • 170g European-style butter
  • 170g Raw cane sugar from Reunion Island
  • 170g Franquette walnuts
  • 170g Eggs
  • 70g Franquette walnuts
  • 70g ANDOA NOIRE 70% 
  • 820g Total weight
Make the cream in a stand mixer. Mix the larger portion of walnuts with the sugar, eggs and cold cubed butter. Gently whisk
the mixture in the stand mixer. Add the walnut kernels and the Andoa Noire chopped into large chunks. Set aside or use immediately.
08

ABSOLU CRISTAL SPRAY GLAZE

  • 301g UHT whole milk
  • 128g UHT cream 35%
  • 85g Whole eggs
  • 35g Caster sugar
Bring the milk and cream to the boil and pour over the eggs previously mixed (without blanching) with the sugar.
Cook everything at 84°C and mix to homogenize.
Use immediately or store in the refrigerator, cooling quickly.

Assembly and finishing

Franquetta tart

Roll out the shortbread crust to a thickness of 3mm and use it to line some greased De Buyer-Valrhona 15.5cm tart tins (ref. De Buyer 3098.06). Bake the tart cases at 300°F (150°C) for approx. 15-20 minutes, fill them with 125g of walnut cream and bake at 340°F (170°C) for approx. 12/15 minutes. Leave to cool. Create a 14cm spiral of Andoa crémeux on a sheet of guitar paper using a piping bag fitted with a plain round 8mm nozzle. Freeze. Use a 14cm ring to help you fill the tart with 100g of pear compote. Freeze. Whisk until the texture is consistent enough to use in a piping bag or with a spatula. Cover the pear compote with 50g whipped ganache and smooth the latter’s surface using a spatula. Turn over the frozen crémeux spiral and place it in the center of the tart. Using a piping bag fitted with a 12mm nozzle, pipe some droplets of crémeux around the edges of the tart so that they overhang its edges. Use a spatula to trim away the excess whipped ganache that overhangs the tart’s edges. Freeze.
Make the candied walnut kernels. Set aside. Use some tempered Andoa Noire to mold some “mini Christmas baubles” (ref. 18824). Leave to set, remove from the mold and assemble, set aside. Using a piping bag fitted with a 6mm nozzle, make some spirals of Andoa crémeux inside a 3cm half-sphere silicone mold. Fill some other half-spheres with 4g pear compote and 5g walnut whipped ganache. Smooth their surface and freeze them. Remove the half-spheres from their molds, assemble them together and place the spheres on the tarts. Use a spray gun to glaze the tarts with Absolu Cristal spray glaze heated to 160/175°F (70/80°C). Decorate the tarts with candied walnut kernels and a few chocolate “mini Christmas baubles” (ref. 18824).