Black & Blue {berry} tart with almond crust.

Oh this dish is heavenly.  My husband, sadly allergic to chocolate, loves fruit tarts.  I wanted to surprise him with this tonight to celebrate buying our 3rd house (2nd rental property).  Any reason to celebrate, really 😉

This is a two day dessert… you prepare the filling day one and day two you make the crust, bake it and fill it.  Of course, you also get to enjoy it on day two as well.

Ingredients for filling:

5 pints of black and blue berries
1/2 cup of sugar
1 tablespoon + 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons of corn starch
3 tablespoons of butter or butter substitute
2 teaspoons of grated lemon zest

Directions for the filling:

Combine 2.5 pints of the berries with sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan.  Over medium flame, start to crush the berries with the back of a spoon.  Continuously stir until the sugar dissolves and the berry mixture boils.  This should take around 8 minutes or so – allowing the mixture to thicken up.

In a separate bowl, whisk the yolks and the cornstarch.  Add a large spoonful of the hot berry mixture to this mixing bowl and whisk together.  This will temper the egg mixture so that you don’t have scrambled eggs.  Then pour the entire mixture (egg and berry) back into the saucepan.  Cook for about 4 additional minutes, stirring constantly.  Whisk in the butter and zest.  Remove and pour into a tupperware container with a lid.  Refrigerate for at least 22-24 hours.

Ingredients for crust:

1 cup of all-purpose flour
1/4 heaping cup of toasted almonds
2 tablespoons of sugar
1/8 teaspoon of salt
1 stick (1/2 cup of butter) cut into cubes (chilled)
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon of almond extract

Directions for crust:

Spray your 9 inch tart pan with removable bottom with non stick baking spray with flour.  Set aside.  In your food processor, add flour, almonds, sugar, and salt.  Blend for 1 minute.  Add the butter, pulsing until it resembles a coarse meal texture.  Whisk egg yolk and extract.  Add to the processor and blend until the dough gets clumpy in texture.  Remove and place into your tart pan.  Working from the center out, press the dough outward and up the sides until the bottom and sides are all covered.  Prick all over with a fork and refrigerate for 45 minutes.  Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Once the crust is done chilling, cover with foil and either using pie weights or dried beans – add to the top of the foil to keep the dough from rising.  Bake for 14 minutes.  At this point, remove the foil and beans carefully and return the dough to the oven to bake for an additional  18-20 minutes or until golden.  Let cool completely.

Once cooled, add the berry filling you made the day prior.  Spread evenly across the bottom.  Then top with the remaining berries.  I threw a few cherries on the top of mine for color 🙂  Refrigerate for 1.5-2 hours and then serve.  Enjoy!

— Knead to Cook