This fruity, creamy tart is the definition of mouthwatering, and if you’ve got an ice cream machine you can serve it up with your own homemade sorbet.

Serves: 6 | Prep. time: 1.5 hours | Cook time: 2 hours | Dish deets: Vegetarian

Ingredients

Raspberry sorbet

• 200g sugar
• 200g icing sugar
• 250ml water
• 75g glucose
• 1kg frozen raspberries

Sweet pastry

• 225g unsalted butter
• 150g icing sugar
• 1 egg
• 450g plain flour
• 1 Tbsp milk

Filling

• 12 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 450g caster sugar
• 8 passionfruit pulp
• Juice and zest of 3 lemons
• 350ml double cream

Tart

• 1 egg yolk
• Icing sugar, for dusting

Making it happen

Raspberry sorbet

1. Boil all ingredients for 5 minutes, then simmer for a further 30 minutes. 2. Place in ice cream machine and churn for 1 hour.

Sweet pastry

1. Cream together the butter and sugar, then add the egg and combine well. Sift and add the flour and the milk and combine gently to form a smooth paste. 2. Shape into small flat disc, then wrap in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes. 3. Preheat oven to 200 °C or gas mark 6. 4. Remove the chilled pastry from the fridge and roll out into a thin, even layer on a floured surface. Line a 24cm diameter, 3.5cm tall tart tin with the pastry, leaving 2cm of overhanging pastry around the edge. 5. Line the tart base with grease-proof paper; fill with baking beans and blind bake for 15 - 20 minutes, or until golden and dry.

Filling

1. Beat the eggs and egg yolks together and add the sugar, passionfruit, lemon juice and zest. 2. Beat in the cream, then strain through a fine sieve to remove the passionfruit seeds and set aside until required.

Tart

1. Remove the tart tin from the oven and remove the baking beans, leaving the base to cool a little. 2. Remove the paper and trim the excess pastry with a small serrated knife to leave a smooth, neat edge. 3. Whisk the egg yolk with a dash of water. Brush the inside of the tart shell and bake for a further 5 minutes to seal. 4. Pour the filling mixture into the cooled tart base, reduce the oven to 100 °C and bake the tart for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until firm and set with a slight wobble. 5. Once cooked, remove the tart from the oven and leave to cool in its tin until room temperature. Chill to set firmly. 6. To serve, dust the tart liberally with icing sugar and cut into even slices. Serve with a scoop of sorbet.

Chef Paul Howells

“We call our food rustic European. I started my apprenticeship in the Isle of Wight as a 16-year-old, followed by stints in London, Paris, Stockholm and Ireland. I met Emma in Galway and came to New Zealand. Five years after opening The Little Bistro in Akaroa, we sold up and opened Twenty Seven Steps. We’re about to open a sister wine bar called ‘Downstairs’."

What is your favourite guilty pleasure? You shouldn’t feel guilty of any pleasure, if you ask me.

Read our full Q&A with Chef Paul here.

twentysevensteps.co.nz