Berry Tart

If you want a super showy and super delicious dessert and don't have a lot of time to spend, this is the dessert for you.  Any berry will work, or for that matter, any soft summer fruit.  Make this when the fruit is at it's peak!

This starts off with an easy shortbread crust, the same one that you would use for shortbread cookies:

10 tablespoons softened butter, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. vanilla extract

In a mixer bowl beat butter and sugar, salt and vanilla until fluffy.  Mix in flour.  Press into a buttered and floured 8" round cake tin or 8" sq. pan (I use a tart pan with removable bottom) and sprinkle with additional 2 tablespoons sugar.  Cut into wedges or squares and pierce with fork tines. Bake at 325 degrees for about 45 minutes or until lightly browned.  While it is still warm,  re-cut the wedges or squares along the scoured lines.  Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan. - See more at: http://knitionaryrecipes.blogspot.ca/search/label/cookies#sthash.vKum1jiO.dpuf

10 tablespoons softened butter, softened

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. vanilla extract

In a mixer bowl beat butter and sugar, salt and vanilla until fluffy.  Mix in flour.  Divide dough in half and press into two buttered and floured 8" round tart pans with removable bottom, but a cake pan will work just as well.  Press the pastry up the sides and sprinkle with additional 2 tablespoons sugar.  Cut into wedges and pierce with fork tines. Bake at 325 degrees for about 25 minutes or until lightly browned.  While it is still warm,  re-cut the wedges along the scoured lines.  Cool for 15 minutes.

Pastry Cream:  

8 oz. mascarpone cheese (ok to sub. with fresh cream cheese, but try not to use the "block" kind if you can help it)

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Beat the above ingredients together until well mixed and fluffy, one minute at the most.  Spread in cooled crusts.  Top with berries, it will take about 2 cups fruit per tart.

Glaze:  

1/3 cup berry jam

2 tablespoons Grand Marnier or orange juice

Heat the two ingredients in saucepan until just melted.  Sieve out any seeds and cool slightly.  Gently spoon glaze over the tarts and refrigerate until ready to serve. 

Serve with sweetened whipped cream.

 

10 tablespoons softened butter, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. vanilla extract

In a mixer bowl beat butter and sugar, salt and vanilla until fluffy.  Mix in flour.  Press into a buttered and floured 8" round cake tin or 8" sq. pan (I use a tart pan with removable bottom) and sprinkle with additional 2 tablespoons sugar.  Cut into wedges or squares and pierce with fork tines. Bake at 325 degrees for about 45 minutes or until lightly browned.  While it is still warm,  re-cut the wedges or squares along the scoured lines.  Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan. - See more at: http://knitionaryrecipes.blogspot.ca/search/label/cookies#sthash.vKum1jiO.dpuf

10 tablespoons softened butter, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. vanilla extract

In a mixer bowl beat butter and sugar, salt and vanilla until fluffy.  Mix in flour.  Press into a buttered and floured 8" round cake tin or 8" sq. pan (I use a tart pan with removable bottom) and sprinkle with additional 2 tablespoons sugar.  Cut into wedges or squares and pierce with fork tines. Bake at 325 degrees for about 45 minutes or until lightly browned.  While it is still warm,  re-cut the wedges or squares along the scoured lines.  Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan. - See more at: http://knitionaryrecipes.blogspot.ca/search/label/cookies#sthash.vKum1jiO.dpuf

Flash freezing berries

Flash freezing berries is easy.  DON'T wash them!  Simply lay them out on a baking tray and place in the freezer uncovered for an hour or two until frozen solid.  When you take the tray out, give it a sharp tap and the berries will loosen.  Put them in a freezer bag and squeeze out the air and put them in another bag so they are double bagged.  Wash them just before you want to use them.  These will last up to a year if you double bag.

Pavlova

Pavlova

Individual meringues with whipped cream and berry sauce

for meringues:

4 egg whites, room temperature
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Beat egg whites with electric beater until foamy.  Add cream of tartar and vanilla and continue beating until doubled in volume.  Add sugar a spoon at a time until stiff and glossy.  On a parchment paper lined cookie sheet form 6-8 meringue"nests".  With a wet spoon make a depression in the center of each.  Bake at 250 F for 1 1/2 hours.  We like our meringues crispy, but the original recipe is to serve these soft and you would bake them less if you like them that way.  Cool. These store well in an airtight container.

for berry sauce:

2 tbsp. cornstarch mixed in 1 tbsp. water
2/3 c. sugar
2 cups fresh or frozen berries ( I used some of my frozen ollalieberries)
2 tbsp. citrus juice, freshly squeezed

Wash berries and place in saucepan with sugar and juice.  Cook over medium flame for 1 or 2 minutes.  Add cornstarch mixture and cook on medium/high flame to boiling.  Boil for 30 seconds.  Refrigerate.

To assemble:

Place on plate, spoon berry sauce over and top with slightly sweetened softly whipped cream. 

Serves 6-8

While this originated in either New Zealand or Australia, it's named after the Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova, and fitted perfectly into my Sochi Inspired Dinner.  Pavlova is more typically served as a magnificent meringue cake and cut or spooned into wedge servings.  I like making individual servings.

Ollalie Sorbet and Ollalie recipes

Every year in June we take a drive to berry country in Santa Cruz County to pick ollalieberries at Gizdich Ranch in Watsonville, CA.  Ollalies are a cross between a loganberry and a youngberry and are very similar to a blackberry but with a tendency to be larger and less seedy, plus they are my husband's favorite berry.   The drive takes less than an hour and has been a tradition for at least 30 years and we always make a fun day of it.  After we picked our fill, 28 pounds worth, we headed to a farm stand for a bag of the artichokes that also grow in the area, then made our way to Capitola Beach for a late lunch at a waterside cafe before heading home.  The day was  perfectly gorgeous!

When we get home the berries go right into the refrigerator and we deal with them the next day, too tired!  However, we did make an easy sorbet last night.  It is as beautiful as any jewel and tastes like nothing else under the stars!

This morning we work up early and made 22 jars of jam, some half pints and some full pint jars.  So many, but they will be gone in a year!  My son loves this jam and he will take home a jar each time he visits.   Throughout the year I'll make some jam tarts and use jam for a few other recipes, but mostly it will be on toast.  I'll give away a few jars as gifts and by next year, we'll be out and ready to do it all over again.

We save some berries for fresh eating and for giving away.  They only last a few days even under refrigeration.  The rest of the berries go into the freezer for smoothies and pies, I make one every Father's Day so that will be in a few days.   The Ollalieberry special below is heaven!  Here are the links!

Gizdich Ranch for directions and picking schedule

Watsonville, California

Ollalieberry

Capitola Beach

Ollalie Jam

 Ollalieberry Special 

Most gorgeous color, don't you think?

Ollalie Sorbet

In saucepan, heat to boiling 1 cup sugar and 1 1/2 cups water.  Boil one minute.

Put 4 cups washed fresh ollalieberries in blender.  Add hot sugar and water mixture, 

plus the juice of 1 small lemon and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.  Puree in food processor.

Strain through a fine strainer and discard pulp and seeds.  Refrigerate for 3 or more hours.

Process cold liquid in an ice cream maker until frozen.  

Makes one pint and lasts a few days in the freezer.

It is so good!

Strawberry-Marzipan Tart

Strawberry-Marzipan Tart

 

adapted from Lou Pappas

For filling, mix together the following:

7 oz. pkg of almond paste

1/4 C powdered sugar

2 T butter

1 egg yolk

1 T kirsch or other similar liqueur

 

For tart shell:

2 C flour (Gluten free ok)

3 T sugar

1 C cold butter cut into small pieces

2 T cold water

In food processor pulse first 3 ingredients until crumbly, add water and pulse a few more times.  Coat hands in flour and pat pastry into a 12 inch removable bottom tart pan then prick well with fork tines.  Bake at 425 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until lightly brown.  Cool.

5-6 C strawberries, washed and dried

1/3 cup strained red jam or jelly heated with 1 T liqueur

Spread filling into tart shell, arrange strawberries on top and brush jam mixture over top.

Refrigerate until serving.  Serve with sweetened whipped cream.  12 servings.

The original post was from Bad Girls Book Club Eats Again.

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