Citrus tart with orange, grapefruit and lemon by Miquel Guarro

The pastry side of the Escola Hofmann in Barcelona underwent a major renovation shortly before the pandemic broke out. It has changed both in its leadership and in some of its team members. For all these reasons, we have received the visit of Miquel Guarro who is now in charge of an establishment that has become one of the clearest references of modern pastry in Spain and that faces the future with successes and many new ideas.

The tartlet proposed by Miquel Guarro is an ode to the most common citrus fruits, orange, grapefruit, lemon, mandarin, and blood orange.

“The idea is to take advantage of the full potential of these organic citrus fruits by using 100% of them. We are interested in both their pulp and their peels. In addition, we recover ancient techniques such as the peel confit, which can perfectly be used in today’s pastry”

Citrus tart

Vanilla sablé

390 g 82% fat butter
300 g powdered sugar
140 g almond flour
600 g all-purpose flour
90 g strong flour
1 u vanilla bean
9 g fine salt
140 g fresh eggs

Mix the flours together with the sugar, salt, and vanilla bean in the cutter. Sift the result. Mix all the solids in the machine with the shovel and add the butter at refrigerator temperature cut into small cubes. Work until a homogeneous soil texture is created. Add the tempered eggs and knead until a compact dough is left. Form two squares of about 800 g with the dough and wrap them in cling film touching the squares. Let rest in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours. Roll the dough to 2.5 mm. Let the slices rest in a tin lined with parchment paper for 1 hour in the fridge. Cut strips 46.5 cm long and 2.4 cm high. Punch 14 cm diameter discs. Line the rings and let stand in room temperature for a minimum of 1 hour. Precook in a dry convection oven at 160º C, 12 minutes with an open draft. Reserve in a dry space.

Pastry cream

400 g whole milk
100 g 35% MG cream
90 g sugar
100 g pasteurized yolks
45 g cornstarch
0,5 g fine salt
1 u Tahiti vanilla bean

Heat the cream and milk to 75ºC and let the vanilla bean infuse for 15/20 minutes. Temper the yolks to about 18-20ºC, add the starch and work vigorously with a whisk. Add the sugar and salt to the infusion and bring to a boil and blanch the yolks. Finish cooking the mixture at 85ºC. Spread in a clean and disinfected deep baking tray. Cover with cling film touching the cream.

Jasmine and orange blossom frangipane

75 g 82% fat butter
180 g pastry cream
20 g eggs
50 g powdered sugar
140 g almond flour
20 g cornstarch
1 g fine salt
6 g orange blossom water
3 g jasmine tea
1 g impeller

Soften the butter, and mix with the rest of the ingredients in a cutter, work it until it is a smooth and homogeneous cream. Let the cream rest for an hour in the fridge. Whiten the cream in the mixer. Arrange the cream in a sleeve with a smooth number 8 nozzle.

JOINT COOKING:

Place a 100 g frangipane spiral into the pre-baked tart. Oven configuration: dry convection oven at 160ºC 22/24 minutes with open draft.

Boiled oranges: Bring the water to a boil and add the oranges

Put the heat on medium power and boil for 15 minutes. Take the oranges out carefully so that they do not break. Repeat the same operation 6 times with the same oranges.
When you retrieve them for the last time, leave them to drain for 1 hour in the fridge, remove the peduncles and use.

Mandarin orange compote

50 g sugar
6 g pectin nh
120 g boiled and chopped oranges
80 g mandarin juice
60 g natural orange juice
30 g thousand flower honey
2,5 g gelatin sheets

Dry mix the sugar together with the pectin. Mix the oranges in a saucepan together with the juices and honey. Add the pectinated sugar to the saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes over low heat. Add the gelatin sheets.

Almond ganache

100 g Inspiration almond couverture
110 g toasted almond paste
290 g 35% fat liquid cream
15 g invert sugar
1,5 g gelatin sheets

Melt the almond couverture. Heat the cream together with the invert sugar to about 60ºC. Add the previously hydrated gelatin sheets to the cream. Pour the cream over the couverture and emulsify. Add the almond paste and finish emulsifying the mixture correctly. Leave to crystallize for 24 hours in the fridge. Arrange in a sleeve with a number 10 nozzle.

Candied lemon peel

5 u lemons
200 g water
200 g sugar

Cut the lemons in 4 and obtain the peel without any pulp. In a saucepan with water and a little salt, add the peels and bring to a boil over a low heat, keep cooking for 15 minutes. Repeat the action 3 to 5 times. Drain the peels well. Bring the syrup to a boil. Let the syrup stand for 1 minute off the heat and add the peels. Cover the saucepan with cling film directly touching the syrup and let it rest for 24 hours. Strain the syrup and separate the peels. Bring the same syrup to a boil and repeat the same action a total of 5 times.

Candied orange peel

4 u oranges
200 g water
200 g sugar

Cut the oranges in 8 and retrieve the peel without any pulp. In a saucepan with water and a little salt, add the peels and bring to a boil over a low heat, keep cooking for 15 minutes. Repeat the action 3 to 5 times. Drain the peels well. Bring the syrup to a boil. Let the syrup stand for 1 minute off the heat and add the peels. Place cling film over the saucepan touching the syrup and let it rest for 24 hours. Strain the syrup and separate the peels. Bring the same syrup to a boil and repeat the same action a total of 5 times.

Montage

For 4 tartlets.
Slice 8 oranges, 8 mandarins, 4 grapefruits, 4 blood oranges, and 4 lemons, peeling off the pith and zest. We will use also almond sticks, rolled with peel, cold gelatin.
Put the citrus segments to drain lightly on blotting paper. Place 60 g of compote on top of the frangipane. Place 110 g of ganache on the compote trying not to touch the sides of the tartlet. Place the drained citrus peels.
Arrange the drained segments. Cover with cold gelatin. Decorate with almond sticks.