Tarts Anon: sweet and savoury tart brilliance
Tarts Anon by Gareth Whitton & Catherine Way, Hardie Grant Books, RRP NZ$50. 📷 Armelle Habib
By Gareth Whitton and Catherine Way
Like so many did during COVID, the authors of this lovely tome spent their Covid lockdown baking. However, they had a bit of a head start on most of us as Gareth Whitton was the head pastry chef at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal in Melbourne. When that restaurant closed, he found himself working at a supermarket when the pandemic hit. His partner, Catherine Way, suggested they bake at home as a fun lockdown activity, which led to weekend baking sessions from their home kitchen as a side hustle. This ultimately resulted in the creation of the cult Melbourne business called Tarts Anon and today, they run two stores, employ over 15 staff, and create some seriously incredible tarts.
Their book begins with what they describe as a simplified version of their foundational pâte brisée. While their original recipe is made over three days, this one is much faster for the home cook. They devote 12 entire pages to this single recipe, complete with exhaustive step-by-step photos for each part of the process, and detailed text covering everything from resting and rolling to using baking paper and baking weights. Honestly, if you’re frightened of making your own shortcrust pastry, this book will set you straight. The introductory pages also cover glazing techniques, as well as how to evenly portion and slice the finished tarts.
Next, it moves into the actual goodies. The first chapter, Classic Tarts, features Vanilla Custard Tart, Plain Old Lemon Tart, Chocolate and Hazelnut Tart, and even Carrot Cake Tart. A word on the recipes: the measurements are very specific, as you’d expect from a professional pastry chef. There are no teaspoon measures; it’s weighing all the way, unfortunately. So, be prepared for ‘3g’ of baking powder, ‘7g’ of citric acid, and ‘20g’ of pectin ‘jaunt’ (we didn’t even know what this was, and the glossary of ingredients wasn’t very helpful; it simply stated that some of the pectins – yes, there are various, specific types – used in the book can be hard to find and need to be mail-ordered from a list of Australian-based suppliers). Luckily, not every recipe requires stuff like this.
If you’re thinking this baking seems a little technical, even more so than most baking, yes, it is. BUT, the tarts are so gorgeously finessed and pretty that you’ll want to challenge yourself to nail at least a few. Perhaps the Coconut Pandan Tart, with its gorgeous pale green glaze and rich coconut filling? Or the Chocolate Malt Tart, with its gooey layer of malt caramel, baked chocolate batter, and chocolate malt glaze? Or the burnished Rice Pudding Brûlée Tart? Every component of each tart is made from scratch; the fig leaf powder and the fig jam for the Fig and Honey Tart, for example. The smoked maple glaze and the pecan puree for the smoked pecan and butterscotch tart.
The chapter on Celebration Tarts offers fun, creative spins on classic bakes, including a Hot Cross Bun Tart, an Eggnog and Fruit Mince Tart, and a Passionfruit, Rhubarb, and Strawberry Pavlova Tart, with its fluffy meringue topping. There are also a handful of savoury tarts, and the Smoked Potato and Chorizo Tart and potato and raclette tarts look particularly amazing.
