A Perfect Raspberry and Blueberry Tart with Bavarian Cream
More than twenty years ago I spent a beautiful two weeks in the South of France together with my uncle's family. We stayed in a pink house in the hills of Grasse surrounded by a blossoming garden full of roses, jasmine and lavender. My room faced this fragrant oasis, a French picture book scene in white, blue, red and pink. I used to sit on my bed with the windows wide open, watching the curtains fly in the warm wind, mesmerized by the scent that caught all my senses. Grasse has been known as the "world's perfume capital" since the end of the 18th century. Thanks to its warm climate it is ideal for flower farming, this is where the best parfumeurs get trained to distinguish between thousands of scents. Although I didn't go there with any professional intentions I'm sure my sense of smell wasn't the same after this holiday!
This leads me to another sense, the sense of taste! My family is very passionate about food and so are my aunt and uncle. We went to amazing restaurants and kept the cooking in the house quite simple but nonetheless delicious. Salads, fruit, pasta but also quail and fish were on our table. One afternoon, we invited some friends to come over for tea and the lady who took care of the house offered to bake a fruit tart. Her creation was one of the prettiest I've ever seen and definitely one of the best I have ever eaten. It was very simple, a perfect short crust base topped with circles of four or five different berries, all sweet and ripened under the French sun. We all loved it!
I'm a big fan of these summer tarts, buttery short crust and fruit is just my kind of combination. This is a cake you can enjoy in the hottest temperatures when heavy cream cakes are already out of the question.
This holiday will always remind me of this wonderful cake and the memories of the smell and the hills of Grasse will always inspire me to bake a tart. Today I gave it a raspberry and blueberry layer on top of a delicious Bavarian cream, fluffy, light and full of vanilla. The pastry is crisp and light but strong enough to carry the cream without getting soggy. This is a perfect tart to me - so good that I always bake two of them straight away!
Raspberry and Blueberry Tart with Bavarian Cream
For 2 tarts in 22cm / 9" tart pans you need
blueberries 200g / 7 ounceras
pberries 100g / 3.5 ounces
For the short crust base
plain flour 400g / 14 ounces (I use white spelt flour type 630 but you can use any other plain flour)
granulated sugar 100g / 3.5 ounces
salt 1/4 teaspoon
butter 200g / 7 ounces
organic egg yolks 3
water 3 tablespoons
Combine the flour with the sugar and salt. Cut the butter with a knife into the flour until there are just little pieces of butter left. Continue with your fingers and work the butter into the flour until combined (there shouldn’t be any lumps of butter left). Add the egg and water and continue mixing with the hooks of your mixer until you have a crumbly mixture. Form 2 discs, wrap in cling film and put in the freezer for 15 minutes.
Set the oven to 200°C / 390°F top/ bottom heat.
Roll out the dough between cling film and line your tart pans with the flat pastry. Prick it with a fork and blind-bake in the hot oven for 20 minutes or until golden. Let the tarts cool completely before you take them out of their pans.
For the Bavarian cream
organic egg 1
organic egg yolks 2
sugar 80g / 3 ounces
a pinch of salt
milk 250ml / 8.5 ounces
vanilla bean, slit slightly, 1/2
gelatin sheets 2
heavy cream, whipped, 230g / 8 ounces
Soak the gelatin sheets in cold water for a few minutes.
Whisk the egg, egg yolks, sugar and salt till thick and fluffy.
In a sauce pan, bring the milk together with the vanilla bean to the boil. Take the vanilla bean out, scrape the seeds out of the bean into the milk. Whisk the egg mixture into the hot milk and put the pan back on a medium heat, stirring constantly. When the cream is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (it will take around 5 minutes depending on the temperature) take it off the heat.
Squeeze the soaked galatin sheets into the egg mixture and crumble the sheets in. Whisk well, fill in a bowl and let it cool for a few minutes before you put it in the fridge to bring it to room temperature.
Gently fold in the whipped cream and cool in the fridge for 2 hours until the cream is set.
The fruit tart
Divide the Bavarian cream between the 2 tarts and spread evenly. Garnish with the fruits and serve immediately or keep in the fridge.
The crust is best when it's fresh but we still enjoyed a couple pieces after the tart had been in the fridge.
