There are few things better than baking with seasonal summer berries. Try out my Summer Peach Cake with Red Berries! Berries are quite possibly THE thing I love the most about summer. The presence of berry desserts signals holiday for me more than anything else. This tart makes the most of summer berries, giving them the chance to shine on top of a light tart. The berries are the stars, so choose the most seasonal and fresh berries you can get your hands on!
Choosing berries
As every Russian child that grew up in the city I loved going away to a “dacha” on weekends. We would get lost in the garden picking and eating copious amounts of fruits and berries. There are so many berries in the world, each with something special to bring. It’s a shame that most of the berries in our stores are strawberries, blueberries and raspberries, and perhaps blackberries if really lucky. In my world there were so much more! What about gooseberries, wild strawberries. black, red and white currants? Thankfully, due to the resurgence of farmer’s markets and people’s general interest in gardening my little summer heroes are popping up all over the place. This means we get to experience natures diversity and lots of desserts for me! I’ve chosen blueberries, raspberries and blackberries the first time I made this tart. Then a few days later I went to a farmer’s market and found red currants. I had to make another Summer Berry Tart using a generous amount of red currants! Choose whatever you can find and any berries that will make you happy!
Making the berry tart
First off, if you can find a great tasting all butter pre-made tart and it’s blazing hot outside, go ahead and purchase one! I am all about shortcuts in the kitchen as long as it doesn’t compromise the taste. If you need to make your own, make sure you leave enough time for the dough to rest in the fridge. It needs 30 minutes when first made, and another 30 minutes when added to the tart pan. Resting the dough gives the glutens a chance to rest, which results in less shrinking when baked and a better texture. The dough also gets more time to soak up liquids so they are more evenly dispersed. Now blind bake the tart shell, which means that it is partially or fully baked before moving on with recipe. In this case, it is the only part of the tart that is baked, with other layers added on top. Before blind baking, cover the tart with parchment paper, pushing it right into the edges. Fill it with beans or rice and put it in a pre-heated oven first for 10 minutes, and then for 10 more minutes without the parchment paper and beans or rice. While this is happening, whip the cream or creme fraiche with vanilla beans, icing sugar and rum until peaks begin to form. Crumble meringue nests into the cream for added sweetness and texture. Pile your chosen berries generously on top. I like to dust with icing sugar for added drama!
More Fruit Tart Recipes
Plum Tarte Tatin Rhubarb Bakewell Tart Peach and Blackberry Tart
