Feb 11
17

Valentine Raspberry Mascarpone Tart on Hazelnut Popping Candy base

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Valentine Raspberry Mascarpone Tart on Hazelnut Popping Candy base

raspberry mascarpone on a hazelnut, chocolate & popping candy base

I discussed my views on the day of love  yesterday and now we know that I don’t mind a day, if not a year dedicated to love! (The more hearts the merrier!)

I wanted to make a sweet special something, with a bit of a wow factor. The problem is that I am not a baker, not even an amateur one. The irony being, I love desserts.

 But fridge tarts and the like are something I have been making since my late teens. Who hasn’t done a version of a chocolate fridge tart? I’ve been toying with the idea of using that old childhood favourite popping candy  or pop rocks as it’s also known, since last year, and came across Heston Blumenthal’s Popping Candy Chocolate Cake . But I didn’t want to make a chocolate mousse topping, as gorgeous as it looks in the numerous versions of this cake that I ogled.

popping candy

Enter, a very easy to make whipped raspberry mascarpone layer, studded with lush raspberries that are so abundant here at this time of year, sitting coyly on a hazelnut and milk chocolate popping candy base. In case you’re wondering, the addition of chocolate and hazelnut paste does not alter the pop of the candy. A very naughty surprise, that had my husband and I in giggles for every little tart we ate. Some childhood pleasures still continue to tickle I’m glad to say.

*Note: Heston’s recipe calls for 100g of popping candy. I only had about 30g. I can tell you it’s more than sufficient. I can only imagine that 100g would literally take you to the moon and back! *

Pop, there goes my heart!

Ingredients

Makes 1 x 12 cm ring cake or 1 small tower and 5 cupcake hearts

For the topping:

1 tub mascarpone, beaten by hand with a wooden spoon, just till it softens

3 T raspberry flavoured jelly powder (jello)

3 T boiling water

2 T cold water

100g raspberries and a handful reserved for decorating

For the base:

85g hazelnuts

40g milk chocolate, melted

2ml allspice

30g popping candy

Method

Heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius and roast nuts till lightly golden brown. 5 minutes was sufficient in my oven. Take care not to burn them.

Process nuts till smooth- I left a few crunchy bits.

Mix the melted chocolate, allspice and popping candy into the pureed hazelnuts.

Place ring on a plate and line with the popping candy base. I also used silone heart shaped cupcake holders, and distributed the popping candy base evenly amongst them.

Leave in fridge to harden while you make up the topping.

Dissolve jelly powder in the hot water. Add cold water and stir. Allow to cool till luke warm.

Tear up raspberries roughly and add to mascparpone, beating to mix.

Add jelly and mix well.

Spoon topping over bases and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.

Decorate with raspberries if desired.

crowning glory

sweetest heart

Any celebration or declaration of love would not be complete without a bit of poetry, and this one, as abused as it is, has certainly stood the test of time….An excerpt from e e cummings (I respect a man who insists on smalls for his name!), I carry your heart with me:

“here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart
i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)”
 
 
 

 

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Comments (17)

  1. nina on 11 February 2011

    Oh my hat no you didn’t!!! My children will go absolutely mad for this. How very innovative!!

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  2. Merlot_girl on 11 February 2011

    Yum! This looks amazing I almost licked my screen.. hehe

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  3. Ishay on 11 February 2011

    Thanks Nina- my surprise and delight lies in the fact, that *after* adding the choc and nut puree, the popping candy still does it thing. We had such fun eating this!

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  4. Ishay on 11 February 2011

    Thanks Mel!so easy, so few ingredients.

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  5. Karen on 12 February 2011

    You have me convinced. On condition I can find the popping candy in my neck of the woods this sounds like an absolute valentines delight!! Well done, will keep you posted!

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  6. Ishay on 12 February 2011

    Hey Karen, please give it a bash- you can get popping candy at Sweets from heaven/cosmic candy and at stores that sell old fashioned candy like liquorice sticks and the orange oval sweets.

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  7. Linda on 13 February 2011

    Ishay, if Valentine had tree you’d be at the top of it! Pop, pop, pop …

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  8. Ishay on 13 February 2011

    Hi Linda- thanks for visiting! Pop goes my heart (it does lend itself to the cheese factor, doesn’t it!) :)

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  9. Cakelaw on 24 March 2011

    I love the idea of just using Heston’s base and topping it with something else – I too am not that keen on the chocolate mousse, as Chubby Hubby says it is very dense.

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  10. Desiree on 03 November 2011

    Hi there,do you have any idea where I can buy popping candy in Cape Town please???? I have been into more sweet shops than I care to remember, but to no avail!!!!

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  11. Ishay on 03 November 2011

    Hello! I understand your frustration. I buy a number of bags of popping candy from the candy shops at airports (like cosmic candy and sweets from heaven). Try them! Regular stores never seems to carry them. Good luck!

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  12. Food and the Fabulous » The Best of 2011 – a look inside Food and the Fabulous Blog on 31 December 2011

    [...] Raspberry Mascarpone Tart on Hazelnut Popping Candy Base [...]

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  13. Raquel on 28 January 2012

    I adore your recipe the way you’ve presented it! It has a mascarpone base, and whenever I see desserts with mascarpone bases, I think of tiramisu, which then leads me to think of ladyfingers. I might make a small adaptation and add some ladyfingers that have been lightly soaked in raspberry liquor or some such ingredient. Thanks so much!

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  14. Gina on 15 April 2012

    Think this recipe sounds fab! Love the use of the popping candy and raspberries…two of my faves :D just one question though, do you have to keep it in the fridge when its made? I’m planning on making it for my partner :D Thanks for sharing

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  15. Ishay on 15 April 2012

    Hello.

    Yes, mascarpone needs to be kept in the fridge. Note: different popping candies will give different effects. Some, like the one I used are still active for a long while. Others have a little less pop. Hope your partner enjoys your treat!

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  16. Darren on 14 October 2012

    Hi, this recipe looks amazing. Can you please clarify for me what the measurement “T” stands for? Is this tablespoon or teaspoon? Or something different?

    Thanks

    Darren

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  17. Ishay on 14 October 2012

    Hi Darren. Thank you! The capital T =tablespoon and t= teaspoon. Have fun making it :)

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