Very Berry Tart Recipes

THE QUICKEST BERRY TART

Steps:

• You can make the pastry by hand, or in a food processor. If making it by hand, sieve the flour and icing sugar into a large mixing bowl from a height.
• Chop the butter into small cubes, then gently work the it into the flour and sugar with your fingers until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
• Beat the egg and add to the mix with the milk and gently work it together using your hands until you have a ball. Don't work the pastry too much or it will become elastic and chewy, not crumbly and short.
• Sprinkle some flour over the dough and a clean work surface, and pat the ball into a thick flat round. Sprinkle over a little more flour, then wrap the pastry in clingfilm and pop it into the fridge to rest for 30 minutes.
• Lightly oil the inside of a 25cm non-stick loose-bottomed tart tin.
• Dust a clean surface and a rolling pin with flour, then carefully roll out the pastry, turning it every so often, until you've got a circle about 0.5cm thick.
• Roll the pastry over the rolling pin, then unroll it into the tin, making sure you push it into all the sides.
• Trim off any extra pastry, and use it to patch any holes, then prick the base of the case all over with a fork, cover with clingfilm, and pop it into the freezer for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4.
• Line the pastry case with a large piece of greaseproof paper, pushing it right into the sides.
• Fill the pastry case right up to the top with uncooked rice, and bake blind for 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Take the case out, carefully remove the rice (save it for baking blind another time) and greaseproof paper, and return the case to the oven to cook for a further 10 minutes, until it's firm and almost biscuit-like. Leave to cool completely.
• Finely grate most of the orange zest into a bowl and whisk with 2 tablespoons of vanilla sugar and the cream until you get a silky mixture that forms soft peaks.
• Put half the berries into another bowl and use a fork to mash them up with the remaining tablespoon of vanilla sugar. Break up the meringue nests into rough pieces.
• Gently fold the mushed-up berries, and the meringue pieces, into the cream.
• Tip the cream mixture into the cooled tart case and gently shake it to help spread it out to the edges. Use a spatula or the back of a spoon to spread it out evenly, then sprinkle the remaining berries all over the top.
• Finely grate over the remaining orange zest and serve right away, with a dusting of icing sugar.

SUMMER BERRY TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375°F. Place the oven rack in the middle of the oven.

BERRY TART WITH NO ADDED SUGAR

Steps:

• Whisk flour, cinnamon, and salt together in a large bowl. Cut butter into the flour mixture using a fork or a pastry blender until it resembles coarse meal or small peas. Sprinkle water over the flour mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time, and use a fork to pull the mixture together until a dough is formed.
• Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and work quickly to mold it into a large ball. Press into a 5-inch disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until cold, at least 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Roll cold dough onto a lightly floured surface into a large 14-inch circle with a thickness of 1/4 inch. Gently fold dough in half and transfer to a 10-inch tart pan. Unfold dough, press into the bottom and sides of the pan, and trim any extra dough to fit neatly. Prick dough with the tines of a fork and lay a sheet of parchment paper over top. Place pie weights or dried beans on top of the parchment paper.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove pie weights or beans and parchment paper, and bake until golden, 5 to 10 minutes longer. Remove from the oven and let cool.
• Meanwhile, combine mascarpone cheese, cream, creme fraiche, and pudding mix for filling in a medium bowl. Beat with a whisk attachment until still peaks form. Fill cooled tart shell with filling, smoothing the top with a rubber spatula. Place berries in a decorative arrangement on top of filling. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

BERRY TARTLETS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Using a 4-in. round cookie cutter, cut 12 circles, rerolling scraps as necessary. Press circles onto bottoms and up sides of ungreased muffin cups., Mix sugar and cornstarch; toss with berries and lemon juice. Spoon 2 tablespoons filling into each cup. Bake on a lower oven rack until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly, 24-26 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack; cool completely., For topping, beat cream until soft peaks form. In another bowl, mix lemon curd, sugar, vanilla and 1 tablespoon whipped cream; fold in remaining whipped cream. Spoon over filling. If desired, top with fresh berries. Refrigerate until serving.

BERRY TARTS

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, lemon zest and salt; cut in butter until crumbly. Combine eggs, water and lemon juice until smooth; drizzle over flour mixture. Toss with a fork until mixture is moist enough to shape into a ball (dough will be sticky). Divide in half; shape into balls and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Remove from the refrigerator; let stand 15 minutes before rolling. , On a floured surface, roll the dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut into 3-in. circles. Ease into 2-in. tart pans, pressing pastry onto the bottom and sides of pan. Bake at 400° for 10 minutes. Cool. , Place three to four berries in each shell. In a bowl, combine sugar, flour and lemon zest. Stir in sour cream and egg yolk. Spoon 1 tablespoon of filling over berries. Place pans on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes or until pastry is golden and filling is set. Cool in pans for 1 minute before removing to wire racks.

VERY BERRY LA TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• In a food processor combine the flour, 3 tablespoons of the sugar and the salt. Pulse in the butter and cream cheese until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 3 tablespoons cold water, 1/2 teaspoon of the lemon juice, the vanilla extract and egg yolk, and pulse until a dough forms. Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and form into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, then press down to flatten and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Using a rolling pin on a floured work surface, roll out the dough to a large circle, about 14-inches in diameter. Carefully place the dough into an 11-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Gently press the dough into the pan so there are no air bubbles around the edges. Roll the pin over the top of the tart to cut of the excess dough Prick the dough with a fork, and chill in freezer for 15 minutes.
• Line the tart shell with foil or parchment paper and fill it with pie weights or dried beans. Bake the shell until cooked but not browned, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the liner and pie weighs and cool the shell.
• Increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, combine the blackberries, raspberries, cornstarch, the remaining 3 tablespoons lemon juice and the remaining 3 tablespoons sugar, and gently toss to coat. Fill the crust and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, then cool to room temperature. Remove from the tart pan before slicing.

BERRY NUT TARTS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, beat butter and cream cheese until creamy; gradually add flour and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle. , Cut dough into 12 portions. Press onto the bottom and all the way up the sides of greased muffin cups. In a large bowl, combine the brown sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla. Stir in the cranberries and pecans. Spoon into prepared crusts., Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in the refrigerator.

MIXED BERRY TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly coat a 9-inch tart pan with cooking spray.
• Combine flour, butter, confectioners' sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor; pulse until a soft dough forms. Press dough into the bottom of the prepared pan; prick with a fork.
• Bake in the preheated oven until edge of crust is golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool; do not turn oven off.
• Place cream cheese in a large bowl; beat with an electric mixer until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Add sugar; mix until combined, 1 to 2 minutes. Add eggs; blend for 1 to 2 minutes. Add lemon zest and juice; mix until incorporated. Pour mixture into cooled tart shell.
• Bake in the preheated oven until filling has set, about 25 minutes. Chill thoroughly, at least 1 hour. Top with berries and garnish with mint.

VERY BERRY TART

Steps:

• Tart Shells: In medium-size bowl, whisk together cake flour and salt.
• In large bowl, beat together shortening and sugars until smooth. Beat in yolk and banana. Add vanilla.
• On low speed, slowly beat in flour mixture until dough comes together. Pat into disk; wrap; chill 30 minutes to 1 hour.
• Custard: In medium-size saucepan, mix sugar, cornstarch and salt. Gradually stir in milk. Bring to boiling over medium-high heat, stirring until thickened, 8 minutes. Boil 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low.
• In small bowl, whisk yolks slightly. Beat in about 1/4 cup hot milk mixture. Slowly pour yolk mixture into milk mixture in saucepan over low heat, stirring quickly and constantly, to prevent lumping. Heat, stirring, until custard thickens enough to coat back of spoon and registers 160 degrees F on instant-read thermometer, about 3 minutes.
• Remove saucepan from heat. Stir in banana and vanilla extracts. Scrape into a bowl; cover surface directly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.
• Once dough has chilled, heat oven to 325 degrees F. Coat four 3 -1/2 x 3/4-inch tart pans, four 3 x 1-inch tart pans, four 3 x 1/2-inch tart pans and four 2-1/4 x 3/4-inch tart pans with cooking spray.
• For 2 larger-size tart pans, use 3 tablespoons dough for each pan. For 2 smaller pans, use 2 tablespoons dough for each pan. With rolling pin, roll out each portion of dough into circle 1 inch larger than diameter of top of tart pan. Fit dough into pans, pressing over bottom and up sides. Prick bottoms lightly all over with fork. Place pans on baking sheet.
• Bake in 325 degree F oven until edges are lightly golden and tarts are slightly puffed, about 18 minutes. Transfer tart pans to wire rack; let cool completely. Use a small knife to carefully pry tart edges from pans; gently remove shells from pans. Makes about 16 assorted tarts.
• Glazed Fruit: Place tart shells on serving platter. Slice banana; place 1 slice in bottom of smallest tarts, 2 slices in the 3 x 1/2-inch tarts and 3 slices in 2 largest-size tarts. Cover banana slices with 1 to 2 tablespoons custard to fill tart to edge. Chill 90 minutes before serving.