I am quite amused with myself as to how I am swinging between berries and citrus this spring. Are you a berry lover or a citrus fan" Either ways, this recipe is for everyone.  I think mandarins are gorgeous fruits who somehow get overshadowed by the other citrus varieties in recipes. Ever since I discovered Gold Nugget Mandarins, which are 100% seedless and really, really sweet my inspiration to create with Mandarins have gone up by several notches. To show the versatility of the mandarin, I have used them in various ways- freshly sliced, chocolate dipped and bruleed in my presentation. I wanted to do a candied and a dehydrated version too but I was running short of time. Maybe, next time!

And of course, the tart has lots of mandarin zest as well.  It is egg-less, creamy and delicious without a lot of effort.
Mandarin Lover’s Tart

Makes an 8 inch round tart
One 8-inch ready tart/pastry shell (or home made, recipe here )

400 ml thickened/heavy cream

150 ml full cream milk

3 tsp powdered gelatine

1 tbsp sugar (more if you like it sweeter)

50 g white chocolate chips

1 tbsp mandarin zest

1 drop orange food colour (optional)

For decoration

Extra mandarin slices (from 4 whole mandarins), for presentation

50 g dark chocolate

2 tbsp castor sugar

fresh basil leaves
Cook tart shell accordingly to instructions.  Place the tart shell on to a baking tray. This will make it easier to move the shell in and out of the refrigerator. In a large, heavy ...