Blueberry + Lemon Custard Tart

Crisp buttery pastry, creamy lemon custard and fresh blueberries bursting with summer flavour.

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 2 cups (250 grams) All purpose flour
• 1 stick plus 1 tablespoon (140 grams) butter, diced
• 1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar
• 1 egg yolk

For the custard:

• 2 cups (480 mls) whole milk
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch or plain all purpose flour
• 4 egg yolks
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1.3 cup plus 1 tablespoon (85 grams) sugar
• 4 tablespoons (55 grams) butter, diced

To finish:

• 1 and 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
• additional lemon zest
• icing sugar for dusting

– If using metric cups, reduce volume measures by 1 tablespoon for every cup of dry or liquid ingredients – 

Equipment:

• Food processor
• 10 inch tart pan with a removable bottom
• Medium saucepan and whisk

Directions:

Using your trusty food processor, blend the butter into the flour and sugar until it’s all sandy crumbs. Add the egg yolk and process until mixed into the crumbs. you will still have crumbs, they will just be a bit more yellow than before.

Now the fun begins! Tip the crumbs out onto the bench and start to knead it together. It will be a giant pain at first but keep going. Even when you are convinced that it won’t come together and the recipe is totally wrong. Chin up. It will come together as the heat from your hands warms the butter and makes it all stick together.

Press it out into a disc and wrap it up in plastic wrap or put it in a zip lock bag (once you go to the bag you will never go back). Chill the dough for at least 2 hours in the fridge.

While the dough is doing it’s thing, we can make custard. Take a deep breath and ignore the ghost of instructions past and trust the fuss free cheating method. Put all the custard ingredients except the butter into a medium saucepan. Even the eggs. Now whisk it until its all mixed together. Feeling like a rebel? Good.

Now put the pot on a medium-low heat and whisking gently, let it slowly come up to a simmer. It will thicken as it heats, and as soon as you see gloopy bubbles pushing through, let it cook for 1 minute then take it off the heat. Take the custard off the heat and whisk in the butter until it’s all smooth and glossy.

Cover the surface of the hot custard with plastic wrap to prevent a skin forming and let it cool. I usually don’t want to wash another bowl so I just leave it in the saucepan.

Preheat the oven to 180C (350F). Lightly grease a 10 inch tart pan with butter and set aside. Roll out the tart dough to a generous 1/8 inch (4-5 mm). Carefully transfer the dough to the pan and press it in. The dough is very forgiving for patching so use any offcuts to fill in gaps if you need to. Trim the top so it’s nice and even.

Pop the crust in the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the shell is golden brown and firm. Cool the tart shell in it’s tin on a wire rack. While it’s still a bit warm loosen the edges of the tin so it’s easier to remove later.

When everything is cold, you can put the tart together. Spread the custard in an even layer over the base of the tart shell. Cover the top with fresh blueberries and sprinkle over a little extra lemon zest and icing sugar.

Cook’s Notes:

• The blueberries in this recipe can be replaced with raspberries or any other soft summer fruit
• If you need to keep the tart overnight once it’s filled, you can spread a thin layer of melted white chocolate over the base before filling with custard. This will help seal the crust and prevent it from absorbing moisture.

 – This tart will keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days – 

Adapted from Patisserie – Mastering the Fundamentals of French Pastry.

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