Blackberry and Brambley Apple Crumble

METHOD:

For pastry:
To make the pastry, fold butter with sugar in a large bowl until smooth. Mix in eggs completely and then fold in flour, mixing until dough begins to stick together. Form dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

For ice cream:
In a saucepan, bring milk, cream, half of the sugar and vanilla to a boil. In a medium bowl, whisk remaining sugar with egg yolks. Pour hot mixture over the eggs and whisk constantly to temper. Return mixture to pan and reheat until it thickens over the back of a wooden spoon. Remove and cool. Place custard in ice cream machine and proceed according to manufacturer’s instructions

For almond cream:
In a large bowl whisk butter and sugar until white. Fold in eggs and ground almonds. Allow to set in refrigerator.

Brambley compote:
Place apples, zest and juice of lemon, cinnamon, cloves, sugar and Calvados in a saucepan. Cook a saucepan over medium heat until soft. Set aside to cool.

For the crumble:
Knead butter and sugar by hand until crumbly. Fold in ground almonds, flour, and cinnamon. Gather together into a ball and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to set in refrigerator.

To assemble:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove pastry from refrigerator and allow to soften. Cut dough into 4 equal portions. Roll out each piece of dough on lightly floured surface.
Line 4 stainless steel individual tart rings with pastry. Fill tart shells ¼ of the way with almond cream. Spoon apple compote over cream, filling ¾ of the way. Top with whole blackberries and sprinkle generously with crumble. Place tarts onto a baking tray and bake for 12 to 15 minutes.

To serve:
Remove each tart from its ring and place in the center of a plate. Top with vanilla ice cream. Crush remaining blackberries and garnish around the plate.