Mixed Berry Tart

By leslee236

The pastry dough is somewhat crumbly but will hold together with a little kneading. When baking the crust, watch carefully so it does not get too brown. If it starts to darken, place a piece of aluminum foil around the rim.

Ingredients

• For the pastry:
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 8 Tbs. (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into
• 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 egg yolk, beaten with 2 Tbs. heavy cream
• For the vanilla pastry cream:
• 3 Tbs. granulated sugar
• 1 Tbs. all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbs. cornstarch
• 2 egg yolks
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 4 cups mixed berries, such as blueberries,
• raspberries, strawberries and blackberries
• Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Preparation

Step 1

Position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 425ºF.

To make the pastry, in the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, granulated sugar and salt and pulse a few times to mix. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the egg yolk mixture and pulse until the dough holds together when squeezed. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times until it comes together in a ball. Shape into a 5-inch disk, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the pastry cream: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the granulated sugar, flour, cornstarch and egg yolks on medium speed until thick and pale yellow, 2 to 3 minutes.

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk and vanilla and bring to a simmer. While stirring, pour half the milk into the sugar mixture until combined. Then pour this mixture back into the pan with the remaining milk and place over medium-low heat. Cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens and starts to bubble, 1 to 2 minutes. Be sure to scrape the sides and corners of the pan while whisking to prevent scorching. Pour the pastry cream into a clean bowl and cover the surface with parchment paper. Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for 1 hour.

On a floured surface, roll out the dough into an 11-inch round. Transfer to a 9-inch tart dish and trim the edges to make them flush with the rim. (If the dough starts to break, just piece it together in the dish.) Line the pastry with parchment paper, fill with pie weights, rice or beans and bake for 5 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350ºF. Remove the pie weights and parchment paper and, using a fork, poke holes in the bottom of the crust. Bake until the crust is golden, 15 to 20 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for about 1 hour.

To serve, spoon the pastry cream into the crust, arrange the berries on top and dust with confectioners sugar.
Serves 8.