Almond tarts with beer cream

To prepare the almond tarts with beer cream, start by making the almond shortcrust: in a mixer, combine the all-purpose flour with the almond flour 1; if you can't find almond flour, toast 1 oz of blanched almonds in the oven and then finely chop them once cooled. Add the powdered sugar and salt 2, the grated zest of half an orange 3, and

finally, the cold butter cut into pieces 4; blend everything until you get a sandy mixture 5. Transfer it to a work surface and form the classic well in the center 6.

Add the whole egg and gather the ingredients with your hands, kneading 8 to obtain a smooth and homogeneous dough. Wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Meanwhile, prepare the beer custard: slightly heat the beer in a saucepan 10, without bringing it to a boil. In a bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar 11 until you get a light and creamy mixture 12;

add the sifted flour 13 and continue to mix vigorously with a whisk to combine all the ingredients 14. Gradually pour the warmed beer over the yolk mixture 15,

blend everything with the whisk 16 and bring the cream to the heat, passing it through a sieve first to prevent lumps 17. Cook the cream over low heat, stirring continuously with the whisk 18,

until it thickens 19: it will take about a quarter of an hour. Transfer the cream to a bowl and let it cool with a sheet of plastic wrap in contact 20. Take the almond shortcrust and roll it out with a rolling pin into a sheet about 1/5 inch thick 21.

With a round pastry cutter about 4 inches in diameter, cut out circles of shortcrust 22 (there will be about 9), with which you will line round molds with a diameter of 3 inches and edges about 1 inch high 23. We used non-stick molds; if yours are not, remember to butter and flour them first. Prick the bottom of the almond shortcrust with the tines of a fork and proceed with blind baking (see our Cooking School: how to do blind baking): place a sheet of parchment paper inside the tarts 24 and

fill them with dry legumes, so that the pastry does not puff up during baking 25. Bake them in a preheated static oven at 356°F for 15 minutes (if ventilated 320°F for 10 minutes), then remove the beans and continue baking for another 5 minutes. Remove the tarts from the oven, let them cool, and then remove them from the molds. Transfer the beer cream to a piping bag with a star tip and fill the tarts with it 26. Halve the passion fruits 27, soften the pulp by stirring it a little with the spoon, then

pour some pulp over each tart 28. Decorate with a few fresh mint leaves and flaked almonds 29: and here are your almond tarts with beer cream ready 30!