Case #3: Scandalous Bohemian Tart

 

Scandalous Bohemian Tart under a sugar cage bonnet with edible flowers 

Mrs Hudson is not calling Irene Adler a tart, you understand. 

Indeed, I quite admire The Woman—the way she made her way in the world, and the way she bested Mr Holmes. It’s also a relief not having him making merry over the cleverness of women of late, having myself been the subject of too many of those jokes.

However, if we’re going to create a recipe for “A Scandal in Bohemia,” it should be inspired by the adventure’s  famous heroine, and I can think of no dessert better suited to eclipse all others than a fresh fruit tart of several components—ripe, juicy, buttery, crumbly, creamy, boozy, crunchy, flowery-sweet.

[Note: the prune purée should be started the night before.]

The Shortbread Crust

1 stick unsalted butter 

1/3 cup sugar 

I rounded cup all purpose flour 

Pinch salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract 

Cut together ingredients with two knives, then work lightly with your fingers until everything is combined into small crumbs. Press into tart pan. Poke the bottom with a fork. Chill for 30 minutes, then bake at 350 for about 30 minutes until golden brown. Let cool while you prepare the fillings.

The Fillings

Pastry cream: 

1 1/2 cups milk

1/4 cup sugar

1/8 cup cornstarch 

2 egg yolks (or 1 egg)

2 tablespoons butter 

1 tsp vanilla extract 

Whisk the cornstarch, egg yolks and 1/4 cup of the milk in a medium bowl and set aside. Bring the rest of the milk, the sugar and the pinch of salt to just short of boiling point in a small saucepan over medium heat. Pour the hot milk into the egg and cornstarch mixture in a slow, narrow stream while whisking quickly to avoid cooking the eggs. Pour this mixture back into the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture thickens. Take off the heat, add the butter and whisk to incorporate. Cool completely in refrigerator and then put into piping bag.

Prune purée:

2 cups pitted prunes

Brandy 

Vanilla extract or orange zest

Put the prunes in a bowl. Pour brandy over them. Cover and leave overnight so the prunes soften and absorb the brandy. You’ll need enough moisture to make a smooth purée. If there’s not enough liquid when it’s time to purée, you can add a little hot water, orange juice, or more brandy. (Mrs Hudson doesn’t judge you.) Add a teaspoon of vanilla extract or orange zest for flavour, and purée to a smooth, pipeable consistancy. Put in a piping bag.

A note about prunes: Mrs Hudson can hear you, you know. I’m standing right here. Not everyone loves prunes, but trust me on this. This is not your grandmother’s dried plums. A vanilla-scented purée of brandied prunes is a delicious treat. If you have some purée left over after making the tart you can do as the French do and pipe it into plump whole prunes. Maybe you don’t like the idea of prune on prune, but are you going to argue with the French over patisserie? 

Pipe the pastry cream and prune purée side by side into the cooled tart shell, using any design you like. 

The Fruit and Glaze

Get the ripest plums you can find. Slice them and let them drain a bit in a colander if necessary. Arrange them on top of the filling. Heat a small amount of apricot jam and brush on top of them. This helps to keep the fruit fresh and adds shine.

The Sugar Cage Bonnet 

Granulated sugar

Water

Corn syrup or glucose (optional)

Edible flowers 

Ok, are we ready for this part? Mrs Hudson has never made a sugar cage before, but let’s give it a try.

Get a metal or Pyrex bowl big enough to fit over your tart. Grease well or spray with cooking spray. You can use the inside or outside of the bowl. I used the inside for mine.

Put a cup of sugar in a saucepan and add about a quarter cup water. The exact proportions aren’t very important but there should be mostly sugar in the pan. If you have corn syrup or glucose on hand you can put a tablespoon in to help with texture but it’s not essential. Bring the mixture to a boil. You can use a wet pastry brush to brush down any sugar crystals that form on the side, but don’t mix after the boiling starts. Heat slowly to about 150 C/300 F or until brittle strands form when a bit of the mixture is dropped into water. At this point you’ll see that it has become thicker and is just starting to turn gold. Don’t let it burn.

MRS HUDSON WOULD LIKE YOU TO BE VERY CAREFUL ABOUT THIS NEXT PART.

Boiling hot sugar can cause very serious burns. Don’t let children do this part. Don’t do it yourself unless you’ll take care to keep the sugar away from your skin.

Take the pot off the heat as soon as it reaches the right stage. Working quickly (but safely) use a spoon to drizzle sugar over the greased bowl, creating a sort of basket with a lacy network of strands. Let cool enough to set.

If you have a preferred deity, this would be a good time to enlist his/her/their help. Gently loosen the sugar network, and then place the bowl over the tart, hoping it will slide out.

It did! A little breaking here and there but it mostly created a solid dome. Hooray!

Now pretty up your bonnet with some edible flowers. 

A photo of the finished tart is a the top of this post. Below is a serving suggestion.