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  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup pastry flour
  • 2/3 cup confectioner's sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 tablespoon heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoons vanilla
  • 4 tablespoons water, ice cold

1.  In a medium sized bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, the pastry flour, confectioner's sugar and salt

2.  Cut the stick of butter into small squares. Try to minimize how much you handle the butter, as your body heat will soften it - we want it to be as cold as possible.

3.  In a small bowl, combine the egg yolk with the vanilla and the heavy cream. Whisk them together until combined

4.  Put the bowl with the egg mixture into the fridge. Put the flour mixture as well as the butter into the freezer.

5.  After about a half hour, pull the flour and butter from the freezer. Add the butter and then, with a hand held pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour until it is well incorporated. Make sure there are no large clumps of butter left.

6.  Pull the egg mixture from the fridge and add it to the flour mix. Stir it thoroughly until well combined. Add the 4 tablespoons of cold water and combine until a dough forms. Press it into a disc, wrap in plastic and put it in the fridge for 2 hours.



7.  The dough is going to be sticky and harder to work with. To make things easier, the dough will need to be as cold as possible. I have found that the easiest way to roll out the dough is between two pieces of parchment paper. A marble rolling also seems to work well as it doesn't transfer as much heat into the dough. Try to handle it as little as possible as your body heat will soften the butter. If you find the dough becoming too difficult to handle, put it back in the fridge for 30 minutes or so.

8.  Prepare a tart pan with non-stick spray. When you have rolled the dough out to the needed size, carefully transfer it into the pan.

9.  Press the dough against the sides of the pan. If the dough tears anywhere or is too thin, tear off excess dough from the edges to patch it up. Run your rolling pin around the edges of the pan to cut off the excess dough.



10.  Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.

11.  Remove the crust from the freezer. Line it with aluminum foil and fill the bottom with pie weights. This will help the tart shell keep its shape. If you don't have pie weights, you can also use dried beans or rice in its place

12.  Bake the crust for about fifteen minutes. Remove it from the oven and turn the heat down to 350 degrees. Carefully remove the aluminum foil along with the pie weights. Return the tart shell to the oven and bake for another five minutes so that the bottom of the tart firms up more.

13.  Let the tart shell cool in the pan on a wire rack while you move on to the next stage - preparing the filling.

  • 1 stick unsalted butter
  • 3/4 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream
  • 2 cups pecan pieces (about a half pound
  • 2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • confectioner's sugar for decorating

14.  Cut the stick of butter into smaller pieces and place them in a medium sized saucepan.

15.  Melt the butter over a medium-high heat. Once it has fully melted, add the sugars and stir with a wooden spoon until the sugars have melted. Avoid using plastic spoons, as they could melt in the higher heat.

16.  Stir the sugars a few times until the mixture starts to come to a rolling boil. Stop stirring and let the mixture bubble for a minute or so. Take the pan off the heat and add the third of a cup of heavy cream. Stir it until it is smooth and then add the pecans.

17.  Pour the mixture into the tart shell and return it to the oven. Bake for about 20 minutes. The mixture will be bubbling around the edges and a skin will have formed on top of the pecan mixture.

18.  Let the tart cool in the pan on a wire rack. While it is cooling, heat the fourth of a cup of heavy cream in a saucepan. Watch it carefully! It will heat up quickly. Once the cream starts to boil, take it off the heat and add the 2 ounces of bittersweet chocolate. Stir the cream until the chocolate melts and the mixture is silky smooth.

19.  Pour the chocolate onto the top of the tart and gently spread it evenly around. Let the tart cool before decorating.

20.  Cut a piece of parchment paper into a circle the size of your tart. Fold the circle in half twice. Now channel your childhood art class snowflake-making experiences and cut a pattern into the paper. Unfold and place it on top of the tart. Dust the tart with the confectioners sugar and remove the pattern, taking care to not spill the sugar caught by the paper.

21.  Gingerly push the detachable disc out of the pan and set it onto your cooling rack. Serve and enjoy!






1. Measure the flours, sugar and salt into a medium sized mixing bowl. Cut the butter into small cubes and place them onto a seperate plate. It would be a good idea to wear gloves while handling the butter - you want it to remain as cold as possible so the gloves will reduce direct contact with your body heat.

2. Place the dry ingrediants as well as the butter into the freezer. Leave them in there for 30 minutes.

3. After the half hour has elapsed, take everything out onto the counter. First mix the butter chunks into the flour. Using a hand pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour and mix thoroughly. Mix until the butter is reduced to small, pea sized chunks and well distributed through the flour.

4. Add the vanilla to the dry ingrediants and mix until completely absorbed. Now add three tablespoons of the water and mix until it is completely absorbed. If the dough is not coming together yet, gradually add the remaining water until it does.

5. Shape the dough into a small disc and wrap it in plastic. It should be put into the fridge for at least two hours, idealy until the next day.

6.  When you are ready to shape the crust, pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.  Take the dough from the fridge and turn it out onto a well floured surface.  You will need to work fairly quickly as the dough will get harder to work with as it gets warmer.  Gently roll it out with a rolling pin, rolling only in one direction; starting at the center and rolling out to the edges.  Rotate the dough as you roll and add flour as it gets sticky.  If it is getting to sticky to work with, transfer it onto a plate and put it back in to the fridge to bring the temperature back down.

7.  Use your pan as a guide to show how much you need to roll the dough out.  When it is large enough, carefully transfer it into the pan.  One easy method is to dust the dough with flour and carefully fold it in half.  Add more flour and fold it in half a second time.  This folded dough can now be easily placed into the pan and then unfolded.  Press the dough into the sides of the pan.  If there are torn or bare spots, you can touch them up with excess dough.

8.  Work your rolling pin over the top of the pan to cut off the excess crust.  Place a piece of aluminum foil over the crust and fill it with either ceramic pie weights or with beans.  The crust should now be baked for about a half hour.  Remove the crust from the oven and carefully take off the foil along with your weights.  If you would like the crust to be harder and crisper, you can put the uncovered crust back into the oven for five to ten more minutes.  Otherwise, place the pan on a wire rack to cool.


While the tart shell is cooling, you can make the mousse filling:



9.  The chocolate needs to be melted in a double boiler. A metal mixing bowl will also suffice. Fill the bottom of a large pot with water and bring it to a rolling boil. Remove the pot from the heat and place the double boiler on top of the pot. The steam from the water will melt the chocolate.

10.  The melted chocolate should be warm to the touch but not overly hot. Once it is at this approximate temperature, add the three egg yolks and stir thoroughly.

11.  Either in an electic mixer or by hand, whip the egg whites until soft peaks start to form.  To ensure the best performance from your egg whites, make sure there is no yolk left behind when you seperate them.  Also make sure your bowl is spotlessly clean.

12.  When the whites have been fully whipped, add the tablespoon of granulated sugar and combine thoroughly.  Spoon half of the whites onto the melted chocolate.  With a spatula, carefully fold the egg whites into the chocolate until they are well combined.  Do the same with the remaining egg whites.

13. In either an electric mixer or by hand, whip the heavy cream until soft peaks are starting to form. Add half of the whipped cream to the chocolate and, as you did with the egg whites, carefully fold it in to the mixture.

14. When your mousse is fully combined, spoon it out on to the tart shell. Place it in to the fridge until is has completely cooled

15. In a mixer, puree the raspberries along with the two tablespoons of sugar. Fold the fruit in to the remaining whipped cream, and then carfully spread this on top of the tart. Serve and enjoy!




1.  In a medium sized bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, the pastry flour, confectioner's sugar and salt

2.  Cut the stick of butter into small squares. Try to minimize how much you handle the butter, as your body heat will soften it - we want it to be as cold as possible.

3.  In a small bowl, combine the egg yolk with the vanilla and the heavy cream. Whisk them together until combined

4.  Put the bowl with the egg mixture into the fridge. Put the flour mixture as well as the butter into the freezer.

5.  After about a half hour, pull the flour and butter from the freezer. Add the butter and then, with a hand held pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour until it is well incorporated. Make sure there are no large clumps of butter left.

6.  Pull the egg mixture from the fridge and add it to the flour mix. Stir it thoroughly until well combined. Add the 4 tablespoons of cold water and combine until a dough forms. Press it into a disc, wrap in plastic and put it in the fridge for 2 hours.



7.  The dough is going to be sticky and harder to work with. To make things easier, the dough will need to be as cold as possible. I have found that the easiest way to roll out the dough is between two pieces of parchment paper. A marble rolling also seems to work well as it doesn't transfer as much heat into the dough. Try to handle it as little as possible as your body heat will soften the butter. If you find the dough becoming too difficult to handle, put it back in the fridge for 30 minutes or so.

8.  Prepare a tart pan with non-stick spray. When you have rolled the dough out to the needed size, carefully transfer it into the pan.

9.  Press the dough against the sides of the pan. If the dough tears anywhere or is too thin, tear off excess dough from the edges to patch it up. Run your rolling pin around the edges of the pan to cut off the excess dough.



10.  Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.

11.  Remove the crust from the freezer. Line it with aluminum foil and fill the bottom with pie weights. This will help the tart shell keep its shape. If you don't have pie weights, you can also use dried beans or rice in its place

12.  Bake the crust for about fifteen minutes. Carefully remove the aluminum foil along with the pie weights. Return the tart shell to the oven and bake for another five minutes so that the bottom of the tart firms up more.

13.  Let the tart shell cool in the pan on a wire rack while you move on to the next stage - preparing the filling. You can turn your oven off while you are doing this


14. Combine all the ingredients in a medium sized bowl. With a wire whisk, stir vigerously until everything is well combined. Cover the bowl with plastic and let is sit for about 30 minutes to allow it to thicken.

15. After a half hour, return the oven to 375 degrees. Pour the mixture into the tart shell. Return it to the oven and bake for about ten to fifteen minutes. The filling should be set up and jiggle when shaken slightly.

16. Allow the tart to cool on a wire rack until it is down to room temperature. At this point, put it in the fridge and leave it there for at least a few hours, ideally until the next day.

When the tart is completely cooled, you can prepare the whipped cream topping:

17. Put the cream, vanilla and sugar into the bowl of your mixer. Using the wire whisk attachment, gradually increase the speed to high until the cream is light and fluffy, while starting to form soft peaks.

18. Spoon the whipped cream onto the tart. Serve and enjoy!

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