Berry Tart

This was a Mother’s Day dessert for my mom. It was such a warm spring day that I didn’t want to do anything real rich or warm. I settled on this fruit tart that ended up being very light and refreshing. It would be great for a summer barbeque with cocktails.

I used Martha’s tart dough recipe, which was a mistake. Don’t use it. It sucks. It’s stick and hard to work with, and then I crumbles after it bakes. No, instead use a REAL French tart dough recipe. I got this from a co-worker when I worked at a kitchen store. She was from France and would bake delicious tarts all the time. Her dough recipe is really simple to make and I’ve never had any problems with it.

Pate Brisée (French for Tart Dough) Recipe by Aurore Williams

1 ¾ cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt
½ cup butter
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla

In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, and salt. Add butter and work with fingers or pastry blender. Mix in the eggs and vanilla, first with a spoon then by hand. Work the dough until smooth. Split dough in half and roll out one half into a circle big enough to fit into your tart pan. Trim edges and bake as recipe directs. Makes 2 tarts.

I normally half the recipe, because I usually don’t make 2 tarts. It’s easier enough to split in half though, and it makes such a nice dough.

Despite the disappointing crust, the tart turned out really well. I was planning on using strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries, but my frozen blackberries were a little more juicy and falling apart than I wanted. The strawberries and blueberries worked nicely though. It was very patriotic! I thought it would be something perfect for the 4th of July!

I made the dough and pre-baked it the day before Mother’s Day and I also made the custard portion of the pastry cream the day before.

Pastry Cream:

2 cups whole milk (or what I did was 1 cup milk, 1 cup cream)
½ cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
4 egg yolks
¼ cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons butter

I cooked the milk, sugar, and vanilla over medium heat until it came to a simmer. I then realized that I was only supposed to put half the sugar in the milk mixture and put the other half in the egg mixture, but it turned out fine anyway. After whisking the egg yolksand cornstarchI added the hot milk mixture ½ cup at a time while constantly whisking. If you don’t, you’ll end up with a scrambled egg custard. After everything was incorporated, I put it back on medium-high heat for 2 minutes until it thickened. Then I transferred it back into a bowl and added the butter. I whisked until the butter was melted and the mixture had cooled somewhat. I then put this in the fridge with plastic wrap touching it, so it wouldn’t form a skin.

On the day of I folded in a cup of whipped cream (without any sweetener) to the custard mixture before smoothing it into the tart crust. I then sliced and arranged the strawberries and blueberries on the top of the cream.

I skipped the lavender syrup all together, which is what the recipe had called for. I didn’t have any lavender, and besides, I thought that the cream and the berries themselves were sweet enough. I didn’t want to make it overly sweet.

This was definitely a big hit. It not only looked beautiful, but it tasted amazing. I wished I had used my always faithful crust though.It’s something different than the usual gelatinous fruit tarts that many people make. It’s really easy to make too. You can do most the things before, and then just assemble everything the day of the event.