BoxerChef: The corniest mothershucking tart

Butter popcorn tart with conflake crust. On top I made homemade (carnation) caramel and corn dust and a nutmeg spiced merengue and bob's yer uncle. This is our entry dish for the Kings County Corn Bowl. But one of those ideas for dishes, if I'm critical, that can keep get way more complex than it needs to be. keep it simple is the rule.

I remembered loving the butter popcorn pot de creme made by pastry chef friend Matt Danko. Sinking past the layer of caramel and sea salt into corn and vanilla seed custard paradise. I was hooked. Some of my internship at Greenhouse Tavern was spent in the pastry kitchen with Matt Danko, the pastry chef and lineman. This pot de creme goes back to their philosophy about desserts...that you can't take your desserts, much less your savories, too seriously. Sounds good to me

Josh & I agreed we wanted to do a sweet. The flavors and textures were on point but the crust wouldn't hold together well. Afterward I went back to the drawing board and decided to use a simple shortbread recipe instead of cornflakes, dry milk, and butter which just doesn't hold together like a flour based crust. I cut the merengue and did a quick brûlée with superfine sugar. Just enough fire to brown it. On a hot or humid day, you'll see why merengue is a bad idea. Moisture kills merengue. its actually really easy to make if you don't mind taking a necessary few steps. I usually make enough shortbread for 2 11 inch tarts.

Butter Popcorn Tart. Shortbread, Caramel, Corn Dust & Sea Salt

SHORTBREAD CRUST

2 vanilla beans
5 tablespoons butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups sifted flour
zest of 1 lemon
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons cold milk or water
*11 inch pop up tart pan

BOURBON CARAMEL

2 14 oz cans condensed milk (look for Eagle)

3 tablepoons bourbon

CORN CUSTARD

4 cups heavy cream

6 ears of corn

1 bagful buttered popcorn

2 cups superfine sugar (plus 2 tablespoons extra for brûlée)

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

leftover vanilla beans and seeds of 1 bean

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 fresh chili, seeds removed

8 free range eggs yolks

2 tablespoons wondra or flour

maldon salt
dehydrated corn

*brûlée torch

Making your own caramel is easier than expected. Place the unopened cans of condensed milk in a sauce pan big enough for both cans and fill with water just enough to cover the cans. Bring to a boil and reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 3 hours. Keep checking the pan to make sure the water level always stays just above the top of the cans. Otherwise the cans will explode with a vengeance. Put the cans to one side and allow to cool. It will give you the most insane caramel. Open the lids, scoop the caramel out into a saucepan over medium heat. while whisking pour in bourbon little by little. The heat will cook off most of the alcohol but your left with a slightly less than thick buttery bourbon caramel. Set aside or in squirt bottles for drizzling.

First off make your pastry dough. with a knife score lengthwise down your vanilla beans. run your knife down the inside of each half (keep the pod for the custard mix. Set half the seeds aside for the custard). Mix together the butter, powder, sugar, and salt. Toss in the flour, vanilla seed and lemon zest. mix it all together by hand or processor. just enough till it looks like course breadcrumbs. Add milk and work together till it forms dough. Don't overwork though. Depending, you might need to add a dash more milk. flour it lightly and form into a nice rectangular log. the flour will keep it flaky and short. Wrap the log with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least an hour to harden up. Remove the chilled dough from the fridge and slice lengthwise, slightly thinner than an iphone. assemble the slices together, like a jig saw puzzle, over a floured surface. With a rolling pin and flour for dusting, roll out enough dough to just thicker than a silver dollar about 13 inches. Run a chef knife under the dough around, fold it over on top of itself and transfer to the tart bottom. Add the bottom to the tart lining, crease the edges, trimming off the excess, making sure the whole tart is uniformally the same silver dollar thinness all around. put in the freezer for an hour.

Now make your corn custard. Get a nice sized high sided stainless steel cooking pot. Shave your kernels from the cob and toss them both into the pan. Add the cream, empty vanilla pods, chili, popcorn, sugar, and salt and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and let it steep for an hour or a day. Wring out the cobs and discard. Strain the corn infused sweet cream. Discard the corn solids but you can also save the corn for cornbread or or add to polenta. To the cream, add your 2nd half of vanilla seeds and extract. place the egg yolks in a big bowl, whisk in flour making sure there are no lumps, and whisk in the corn cream.

Now lets put it all together. Preheat your oven to 350. Bake your frozen pastry shell blind for 15 minutes with 2 forks crossing in the middle, to keep the shell from rising too much. Keep and eye on it. You'll want it to just brown around the edges. Take it out, turn the oven down to 250 and careful fill your shell with the corn cream close to the brim. Place it in the oven an bake low and slow for about 45 minutes, or until its just browning and you can stick a fork through it without pulling up any custard. Now it's done. Let it cool. sprinkle your 2 tablespoons of fine sugar all around, turn on your torch, and make a nice brûlée on top so its hard to the touch. drizzle the caramel and crumble a handful of your dehydrated corn on top. It gives it a great corn pops flavor. Now tuck in and enjoy

more shots from the Brooklynauts Kings County Corn Bowl