Milk Chocolate Ganache Tarts with Candy Cane Meringues, Raspberries and Mint

• 150g cold unsalted butter, chopped
• 1 2/3 cup (250g) White Wings Plain Flour, plus extra for dusting
• 2 /3 cup(75g) CSR Pure Icing Sugar, sifted
• 1 egg, chilled
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
• Raspberries, to serve
• Small mint leaves, to serve
• Milk chocolate ganache
• 270g milk chocolate, chopped
• 200ml thickened cream
• Mini candy cane meringues
• 2 egg whites, room temperature
• 120g CSR Caster Sugar
• 1/8 tsp peppermint essence, or to taste

1. For shortcrust pastry, freeze butter for 10 minutes to firm. Process flour and icing sugar until combined. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add egg and vanilla; pulse until just combined. Turn onto a lightly floured bench and knead gently until smooth. Shape into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour to rest.
2. Roll out pastry between two large sheets of baking paper until 3mm thick. Refrigerate pastry for 2 hours to rest.
3. Using a 9cm round cookie cutter, cut out rounds of pastry; re-roll pastry scraps to make 12 rounds. Gently press pastry rounds into a 12-hole 1/3 cup (80ml) muffin pan. Dock base with a fork. Cut 12 10cm x 10cm squares of al foil. Line the base and sides of uncooked pastry with foil. Fill with rice or dried beans. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to rest.
4. Preheat oven to 190C conventional or 170C fan-forced. Bake pastry for 20 minutes. Reduce temperature to 170C conventional or 150C fan-forced. Remove remove foil and rice from tarts. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden. Cool in tin.
5. For chocolate ganache, process chocolate until finely chopped. Transfer to a medium bowl. Place cream in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until just hot. Pour over chocolate; set aside for 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth. Pour ganache into tart shells and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight to set.
6. For meringues, preheat oven to 100C or 80C fan-forced. Grease and line a large oven tray with baking paper Whisk egg white and a pinch of salt in an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking well between each addition, until sugar dissolves. Add peppermint essence to taste. Run a skewer dipped in food colouring down the sides of large piping bag fitted with 1 cm plain nozzle to form six stripes. Spoon meringue mixture into piping bag. Pipe mixture to form mini meringues, about 2cm in diameter, 3 cm apart. Bake for 1 ¼ hours to 1 ½ hour until dry to the touch. Turn off oven and cool completely with the door closed.
7. Top tarts with meringues, raspberries and mint to serve

Note: this recipe makes more meringues than required. Freeze extra meringues in an airtight container for up to 1 month.