Recipe: Pink Praline Tart

1 Prepare the pastry in advance (at least 2 hours but the day before is very good) and let it rest in the cold so it loses all elasticity

2 Line the tart tin with a sheet of pastry (about 3 mm thick), let it rest in the cold, or even in the freezer for 15 minutes, which stabilizes it during cooking and prevents it from shrinking.

3 Bake the pastry blind (without filling) for about 15 minutes at 210°C (410°F) with the usual precautions: bottom pricked, covered with a disc of baking paper and balls or dried beans or other sacrifices to prevent the pastry from puffing up and deforming during cooking.

4 After cooking, remove the balls/beans and paper and brush the bottom with egg white and return to the oven for 2 minutes or more depending on the degree of cooking of the tart bottom and the color of the edges (brushing is not essential because the praline cream that will be poured in next will not risk soaking the bottom if the tart doesn't drag too much but this will add a bit of crunch).

5 Let the empty tart cool on a rack.

6 While the tart is cooling, crush the pralines with the bottom of a heavy saucepan in a cloth (the coating and almond), pour the cream into a small pan then the pralines in pieces and bring gently to the fire: when the cream is melted and begins to tint pink, stir, increase the heat and watch as if cooking a caramel.

7 Stop cooking at 115°C (240°F) (as for caramel, the bubbles shrink when the temperature starts to exceed about 105°C (220°F) and the temperature increase accelerates due to the evaporation of the water in the cream, so be careful!