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 aparti carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)”
Oh my hat no you didn’t!!! My children will go absolutely mad for this. How very innovative!!
Yum! This looks amazing I almost licked my screen.. hehe
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!
Thanks Mel!so easy, so few ingredients.
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!
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.
Ishay, if Valentine had tree you’d be at the top of it! Pop, pop, pop …
Hi Linda- thanks for visiting! Pop goes my heart (it does lend itself to the cheese factor, doesn’t it!) 🙂
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.
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!!!!
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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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!
Think this recipe sounds fab! Love the use of the popping candy and raspberries…two of my faves 😀 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 😀 Thanks for sharing
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!
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
Hi Darren. Thank you! The capital T =tablespoon and t= teaspoon. Have fun making it 🙂