Honey and Berry Tart

Life goes quiet nice here on Canadian soil. As the summer is way too far from now and I miss it so much, I decided to publish this recipe that I made on last august, when the summer was at its peaks and rainy days was a part of life. But what I miss most is the long days, when we can enjoy good outdoor temperatures, nature and we can go outside with Praline, who is by the way super adapted and loves to walk in the parks close to our home. However, enough complaints for today, I love winter too and it is awesome to enjoy every aspect of each season of the year, is something that I didn't have in Brazil and it is one of the best things about my new life in North America.

 

One of the good things about winter is I can seek new marchés, épiceries, boucheries, fromageries, etc. The Quebecois highly value what they produce here and it is very interesting that even in this time of the year the local markets, supermarkets, delis, etc., are very proud to display and sell products made nearby. Still, in winter time, most part of the products are imported, but when the spring comes, everything changes and we can enjoy the local products. Nevertheless, for now we can find the Charlevoix cheeses, the duck and foie gras of Canard Goulu farms, maple syrup made throughout the province, the smoked salmon from Fumerie Québecoise .... and so on. I could do an entire post only with the delights made here and in spite of not being Québecoise, I'm very proud of what they produce here. It is something that I really appreciate in this city!

 

Well, coming back to the recipe. The honey pastry cream is very simple to make, but at the same time give a very interesting result. It is not so sweet as the regular pastry cream is, but  it is surely well balanced. The base is a pâte brisée dough, which you can use for another sweet or even savoury tarts, with a lemon cream it is fantastic! You can also top the tart with many kind of fruits. Be creative and use whatever you have in your home, it is an absolutely flexible recipe and I love this kind of recipes, don't you?

So, that's it! It feels like -18°C outside, but with this tart I could dream about sunny and hot days for long time!

See you!

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Baking time: Approximately 20 to 25 minutes
6 servings


Pâte Brisée
200g flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
100g chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1 cm cubes
1 large egg, beaten to blend
About 2 tablespoons ice water

Filling - Honey Crème Patissière
1 and 1/2 vanilla bean
30g cornstarch
75g honey
350ml milk
4 egg yolks

Melted white chocolate to assembly
Mixed berries

1.  CRUST: Blend flour, and salt in processor 5 seconds. Add butter, using on/off turns, blend until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 1 tablespoon ice water and blend until most clumps form, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, at least 45 minutes. TIP: The dough could be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled. Let soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.
2.  Preheat oven to 190ºC (375ºF). Roll out the dough into a disk on a floured surface. Transfer the dough to a tart dish. Transfer again to the refrigerator and let stand 15 minutes. Line crust with foil; fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake until sides of crust are set, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the foil and beans. Pierce bottom of crust in several places with fork and continue to bake until the crust is golden and brown, about another 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on a rack.
3. FILLING: Put the milk in a saucepan (reserve 1/2 cup to dissolve the cornstarch). Scrape the vanilla seeds into the milk and throw in the pod. Bring just to a boil, remove from the heat, cover, and set aside to infuse for 10 to 15 minutes. Beat the yolks and honey to pale thick ribbons. Gradually whisk the milk into the egg mixture in a thin stream. Dissolve the cornstarch into the milk that was reserved, add it to the misture and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens. Strain and sete aside to cool with a buttered piece of waxed paper on top to prevent a skin from forming.
4. To assembly, pincel the bottom of the crust with the melted chocolate, top the filling and cover with berries. Chill tart until serving.