Sun Flower Tart-Banh Bong Huong Duong Tart

Adapted from "Sun Flower Tart" of Roland Mesnier, White House Pastry Chef
Serve 8-10
Pate Sucree, chilled
Pastry Cream, Chilled
2 large ripe mango, peeled, cut into 1/6 or 1/8- in thick slices along the length
1/2 cup apricot jam
1/4 cup chocolate sprinkles or chocolate shaves.
1 Tbs crushed pistachio
10-in tart pan with removed bottom

Pate Sucree:
   1/2 cup sugar
   1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
   1/2 Tbs pure vanilla extract
   1 tsp grated lemon zest
   1/4 tsp salt
   1 large egg
   2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
Combine sugar and butter in an electric mixer bowl. Cream together at medium speed with paddle attached until smooth.  Add vanilla, lemon zest and salt. Then add egg, scraping the side once or twice if needed until incorporated . Stir in the flour until just combined. Put the dough into a large plastic bag (13-in or large each side)  and form it in a round ball.  Refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.  This dough is freeze well up to 2 months but need a aluminum foil outside that plastic wrap.  Defrost it in the refrigerator overnight.

Pastry cream
   2 cup whole milk
   2.5  large eggs or 4 egg yolks
   7 Tbs sugar
   5 Tbs corn starch
   2 Tbs unsalted butter, chilled (optional)
   1/2 Tbs  pure vanilla extract
   A pinch of salt
Bring the milk to simmering over medium high heat.
Whisk sugar and cornstarch together in a medium bowl. Whisk in the eggs or egg yolks. Add 1/2 of hot milk slowly to the egg mixture, whisking constantly.  Whisk the egg mixture back to the hot milk and return the pan to the heat.  Bring it back to a full boil, whisk constantly.  Remove from the heat. Stir in vanilla, salt and butter if desired. Transfer pastry cream to a bowl, allow to cool completely, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 2 days.

1. Roll the dough between 2 layers of plastic wrap into 13- in round about 1/8 thick.  Rotate the dough and loose the plastic wrap both sides  occasionally.  Lift the dough by fold it in halt over the rolling pan.  Gently put it atop of 10-inch tart pan. Press the dough firmly to the bottom and the sides. Use the rolling pin roll over the edge, remove all excess. Prick the bottom with a fork  about  12 times. Put it into a freeze for 15 minutes.  
2. Preheat the oven to 425o F.  
3. Spread  the pastry cream into the bottom of  the chilled tart shell.  Bake until the edge of the tart is golden brown about 20-30 minutes.  Remove from oven and let it cool completely on a wire rack. While the tart is slightly warm, peel and remove the skin formed on the top of pastry cream.
4. Place 3-in round cutter at the center.  Arrange mango slices like a sun flower petals. 
5. Boil apricot jam to a boil in a small sauce pan, strain the jam and brush lightly and evenly over the mango slices.
6. Scatter chocolate in an even layer inside the cutter and carefully remove the cutter.  Sprinkle crushed pistachio around the edge. Remove the tart from the ring, transfer it to a plate and serve. Sun flower tart will keeps up to 8 hours under a cake dome at room temperature.

Note:
   Make sure you have good ripe mango. I could not believe we did not have any good ripe mango at this time. The mango is sweet but still crunchy so I only used 1 large mango in the picture. You may arrange several layers of mango.
   Need to prick and freeze the shell before baking to prevent shrinking as it bakes.