Those following the MICHELIN Guide Instagram and Twitter accounts will already be familiar with our latest #MichelinGuideAtHome series, which brings recipes straight from your favourite chefs to your kitchen. For Mother's Day, we turn the spotlight on chef Clare Smyth, who shares her recipe for her iconic chocolate lavender tarts that are surprisingly simple to bake.
These bite-sized tarts have graced the tables at her two-MICHELIN-star restaurant CORE by Clare Smyth in Nottinghill, London since its inception in 2017. Delicate and crisp, the tart shells give way to warm, soft centres redolent of good chocolate and a light floral scent — the perfect morsels to bake and gift your mum this Mother's Day.
The tarts are inspired by the chocolate tart at L’Ambroisie, the 3 Michelin-Starred restaurant in Paris, and they have delighted diners at the end of every meal at Core ever since they opened two and half years ago, says Smyth.
“It is the simplest tart, but it is all in the execution. They must be eaten a few minutes after baking and served slightly soft in the middle.”
Smyth grew up on a farm in Northern Ireland before moving to England when she was 16. Best known for working as head chef at three-star Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in Royal Hospital Road, she moved on to open her own restaurant, CORE by Clare Smyth, in 2017 right in the heart of Notting Hill. It was quickly awarded two and then three MICHELIN stars in its first year of operations.
Now try your hand at her signature Chocolate Lavender Tarts and share your creations with us on social media with the hashtag #MichelinGuideAtHome.
Serves 15
SHORTCRUST PASTRY
150g Icing sugar
90g Egg yolks
375g Plain flour
188g Unsalted butter
5g Sea salt
1. Mix the butter, flour and salt together until it becomes a crumbly texture.
2. Cream the egg yolks and icing sugar together using a hand blender.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until it comes together as a dough.
4. Between parchment paper roll the dough to 5mm thick.
5. Cut 6cm diameter discs from the dough. Then, using round shaped moulds of 5 x 2cm, position 1 disc in between 2 moulds and press down. (Trim any excess dough with a small knife.)
6. Bake at 160°C for 6 minutes.
CHOCOLATE FILLING
108g Udzungwa 70% dark chocolate
125g Double cream
1g Dry lavender
2 Whole eggs
52g Pasteurised egg yolks
50g Caster sugar
1. Break-up the chocolate into small pieces.
2. In a small saucepan, heat the cream to 80°C, add the lavender and let it infuse for 4 minutes.
3. Remove from the heat and strain the cream through a sieve into a bowl. Add the chocolate and mix to create a ganache.
4. Keep this at room temperature.
5. Mix the eggs and sugar with an electric whisk until they are light and fluffy, creating a sabayon consistency.
6. Slowly pour and fold the ganache into the egg mixture using a spatula, until it forms a light brown mousse.
7. Place into pipping bags.
TART PREPARATION
1 Tart
30g Chocolate filling
1. Pipe the chocolate mix into the tart case until it is level with the rim.
2. Bake at 180°C for 4 minutes.
3. The tart should have a very slight wobble. If it is too liquid, cook for a further 30 seconds then remove from the oven and allow to rest.
