Mont Blanc tarts

Mont Blanc tarts, combining the joys of white meringue, whipped cream and a chestnut purée, can often taste more fabulous than they look. We wanted to see if we could improve their visual appeal – bring in some more contrast by playing around with the colours, for example – but after various experiments (dark chocolate pastry, a lighter-coloured purée) we were beginning to think that the tried-and-tested route up this particular mountain was the only winning one.

It was a moment of pure synchronicity, then, that at one of our weekly pastry meetings there were various things lying around which came together in a flash: some empty tart shells, candied pecans, an open can of chestnut spread. At the same time, Helen and Yotam both grabbed an empty shell, filled it with the chestnut spread, spooned over smooth whipped cream and added the element that had been missing – the candied pecans – which brought the crunch and the look needed. There’s a metaphor in there, we’re sure, about climbing mountains, and not giving up, and things tasting all the sweeter when you’ve had to work just that little bit harder to earn them.