Confessions of a Liberal Puritan

I had some leftover sour cream to use up last weekend and two more lemons that I'd bought just because, so I made my favorite berry tart recipe . . . without the berries, that is, which I added Thursday night before taking it to work to share yesterday -- the shortbread crust and the lemon sour cream filling alone, once baked, keep really well in the refrigerator for up to a week, I've found).

Since I used strawberries, blueberries, and red raspberries to cover the top of the tart, I called it "red, white & blue berry tart" in honor of Memorial Day (even though the only really "white" part of the tart comes from the whipped topping on the side, but why quibble?). My co-workers loved it, and several of them asked for the recipe, so I thought I'd post it here, as well, just in case anyone else wants to do something tasty and impressive-looking with all the fresh berries available right now:

"Red and Yellow Berry Tart" (adapted from a recipe by Andrea Sarto for the restaurant Paloma in Berkeley, CA)

[Note: This recipe isn't nearly as complicated as it appears at first glance. The crust and filling are actually quite simple and fairly quick to make, and since they can be made days ahead of time and kept in the fridge with no ill effects, you can afford to put a little time into an artful arrangement of the fresh berries and the application of a jelly glaze closer to the time you plan to serve it, if you wish.]

Shortbread Crust:

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened [but I just use plain stick margarine, half-melted in the microwave]
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Lemon Cream Filling:

4 egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
grated zest of 2 fresh lemons [there's no substitute for this ingredient, IMHO, but you can juice the leftover rind-less lemons for lemonade or lemon meringue pie, as I did, afterwards]

Berry Topping:

4 to 6 cups raspberries (any color -- red, yellow, purple, black), blackberries, boysenberries, blueberries, or strawberries, or a combination (2 to 3 pints total). [The picture with the original recipe showed red raspberries only on top of the tart, but with yellow cape gooseberries served with each piece as a garnish, hence the "Red and Yellow" in the name of the tart.]

Glaze:

1/2 cup red currant jelly
2 tablespoons water

Shortbread Crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter [or margarine], powdered sugar, and vanilla until thoroughly blended. [I find that a hand whisk does this perfectly well, especially if the margarine is pretty much melted to start with. Putting the completed crust in the freezer or fridge for a little while before baking helps to firm it up.] Add the flour. Use the paddle attachment of an electric mixer or stir [or whisk] until the flour is just incorporated. With your hands, pat the dough into a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom [or a 10-inch china tart pan, which is what I've always used and found perfectly satisfactory] until it is evenly distributed. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown. [Even if the sides of the tart crust shrink during baking, they'll probably still be plenty high enough for the relatively thin layer of lemon cream filling, so don't worry.] Let cool. Leave the oven on for baking the filling.

Lemon Cream Filling: In a mixing bowl beat the eggs and sugar for 1 minute at medium speed. [Again, a hand whisk works perfectly well for making the filling, in my experience.] Add the sour cream, vanilla, and finely grated lemon zest. Beat [or whisk vigorously] for 1 minute. Pour into the cooled crust and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the filling puffs up [quite noticeably, like a shallow souffle, though it flattens back down soon after coming out of the oven] and is firm and golden. [My filling always seems to take an additional 10 minutes, or thereabouts, to reach this stage, so trust your eyes and your finger on the surface of the filling, rather than the timer.] Let cool. Remove tart from pan [or leave it in the Corning Ware ceramic tart pan for serving, as I do].

[At this point, the tart can be kept in the refrigerator -- uncovered, or covered with something that does not touch the surface of the lemon cream filling -- for at least 5 days with no loss of quality or flavor at all. In fact, the tart actually seems easier to serve with the additional time for the crust and filling to firm up, before adding the berry topping.]

Berry Topping: Arrange the berries attractively on the cooled filling.

[I always work in a circular pattern, concentric rings of various berries, starting from the outside in, using the larger berries -- such as halved strawberries, cut side down -- on the outer rings and the smaller berries towards the middle, though I often save a large raspberry or something of that sort for the very center of the tart, surrounded by a ring of smaller blueberries, perhaps. This time around, I had just a handful of strawberries to use, so I evenly spaced the halved strawberries, pointed end facing the center of the tart, around the edge of the tart, then filled in the space between the strawberries and the next few rings inward with the blueberries which I had in large quantities, followed by a ring of lush red raspberries, then more blueberries, and a raspberry in the middle. Think 'mosaic tile' and go to town with your design, unless you're just using one type and color of berry to cover the entire tart.]

Glaze: In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the jelly and water to a boil, stirring constantly until smooth. Reduce for 1 or 2 minutes. With a small pastry brush, apply the glaze all over the berry topping. [Depending on the thickness of the glaze, I've often found it more effective to just use a spoon to drizzle the glaze all over, until all the berries are shiny and there's a bit of glaze covering any parts of the lemon filling still visible between the berries. When I made the glaze Thursday night, I found that my jar of 'red currant jelly' seemed to have been mis-labeled by the manufacturer, and was instead a black currant jam, so I left the strawberries and raspberries naked and just spooned the too-thick, too-dark, too-opague currant mixture over and in between the blueberries, which it pretty well matched in color. That worked just fine, tasting good and looking beautiful. So you can play fairly fast and loose with the texture of the glaze and its application without in any way damaging the quality of your dessert, in my experience. I just wouldn't try it with any other jelly/jam than some form of currant, for fear of upsetting the flavor balance of the whole tart.]

Chill the tart for at least 1 hour, either uncovered or covered in a large plastic container that doesn't touch the tart. Garnish each serving with whipped cream [or 'whipped topping' from the grocer's freezer case works just fine, too].