Berry Tart

A tart is a type of baked dish that is comprised of a filling over a pastry base with an open-top not covered with pastry. It is commonly made up of flour, fat, and water to bind. While its filling may be savory or sweet or savory. However, contemporary tarts are mostly made with custard or fruit-based, especially berries.

Interestingly, tarts are known to have originated from pie-making business during Medieval times or parts of the tradition of layering food.

History of tart making

The shortcrust or enriched dough was said to be first used in 1550. During this period, making tart was considered high-cuisine and a famous food for noble families.

While it started as savory with meat fillings, tart nowadays becomes sweeter and made mostly with fruits, such as different berries.

Thus, tarte, a French word, can be roughly translated to either pie or tart, as the two are the same, except that a pie consists of covering the filling in pastry, while tarts are left open.

Tarts have a bottom crust that is thinner with straight sides. The crusts of tarts are usually firm and crumbly but not entirely flaky.

Types of Tarts

1. Gypsy tart 

Gypsy tart consists of evaporated milk, pastry, and muscovado sugar. It was known that Gypsy tart first came from the Isle of Sheppey by Steve London and Scott Arthur in the county of Kent in England.

2. Manchester tart 

Manchester tart is a classic English baked tart made of shortcrust pastry shell, with raspberry jam, custard filling, with coconut flakes, and Maraschino cherry on top.

3. Norman tart 

Norman tart is a shortcrust pastry-based type of apple tart from Normandy. It is filled with sliced almonds, apples, sugar, and creamy egg custard on top. Norman tart is baked until the topping is nearly caramelized. In French, this type of tart is called Tarte Normande.

4. Butter tart 

Butter tart is a kind of small pastry tart that is mostly known in Canadian cuisine. This sweet tart is made of filling of butter, egg, syrup, sugar and baked in a pastry shell with its top being crunchy.

5. Custard tart 

Custard tart has an outer pastry crust filled with egg custard and baked.

6. Quiche tart

Quiche tart is a French tart made of pastry crust and filled with delicious custard and pieces of seafood, meat, cheese, and vegetables. The best-known type of Quiche tart is quiche Lorraine, which features bacon or lardons, and is usually made of cheese.

7. Berry tart

Berry tart is mainly made of berries. Blueberries, for example, give a phytochemical punch and health advantages beyond any other fruit.

Interesting facts about tarts

1. The biggest tart in the world weighed 2177.50 kg (4800 lb 9 oz).
2. This largest tart was baked by French chefs Dominique and Christine Leveque in Chamblanc, France, on August 10, 2008, according to Just Fun Facts.
3. Rudolph The Ruby-Nosed Reindeer Tart was the world’s most expensive Christmas tart.
4. The Rudolph The Ruby-Nosed Reindeer Tart was priced at £475 (about $615) per tart.
5. The Rudolph The Ruby-Nosed Reindeer Tart was costly because it was also made of a 7.1ct cut, polished and heat treated ruby.
6. We R Family Foundation Limited (Hong Kong) achieved the longest line of tarts consisting of 2,333 tarts. It happened at Lok Fu Plaza in Hong Kong, China, on December 9, 2018. 
7. The overall length of the longest line of tarts measured 186.64 m (612 ft 4 in), and consisted of 2,333 tarts, each 8 cm long.
8. A total of 777 eggs, 11.664 kg sugar, 23.33 liters of milk, and 108.87 liters of water were used to make the longest line of tarts.

Berry Tart Recipe 1

Crust

1 cup raw unsweetened, shredded coconut

1 cup raw walnuts

2 cups water

6 medjool dates

¼ tsp sea salt

½ tsp vanilla

Filling

1 cup blackberries, blueberries, or raspberries

Topping

1 tsp vanilla paste

2 tbsp sugar

1 cup raw, unsalted cashews

2 cups water

Steps in cooking:

1. As recommended by Homegrown Recipe, just put walnuts in 2 cups of water overnight. Halve dates and remove the pit. Drain walnuts, reserving 1 tbsp water. Out walnuts, coconut, dates, vanilla, salt, and reserved water to a food processor and blend until smooth. 
2. Press dough into tart dish. Chop fresh fruit filling. Fill the tart with berries and refrigerate for about 2 hours.
3. Soak cashews in 2 cups of water for 4-6 hours. Drain cashews, reserving ½ cup water. Put cashews, sugar, vanilla paste, and reserved water in food processor. 
4. Blend for a few minutes. Have it chilled for around one hour. Dollop onto tart just before serving.

Berry Tart Recipe 2

Ingredients

2 cups flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup cold butter, cut into tiny pieces

3 Tbsp very dry white wine

4 cups fresh blueberries, small strawberries or raspberries, washed and dried

1/2 cup water

1 Tbsp powdered gelatin

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Steps in cooking:

1. Mix flour, 1/4 cup sugar and salt. Sprinkle the flour mixture with the butter pieces and blend together with a pastry blender or pulse a few times until sand-like consistency in a food processor.
2. Add the wine and mix with a spatula by pressing the flour and liquid together until it can be formed into a ball, do not over mix. Wrap the dough with wax paper or plastic and chill for 1 hour.
3. Heat oven to 350 F.
4. Roll out the dough to fit into a 10? tart or pie pan. Cut and roll the dough edges for a smooth finish then pierce the dough a few times across the bottom. Cook the shell for 15 minutes and allow to cool.
5. Combine water, lemon juice, 1/2 cup sugar and 3/4 cup of berries into a saucepan, mash the berries and stir well. Boil until it becomes syrupy.
6. Remove sauce from heat and add gelatin. Stir until gelatin is dissolved. Set aside and allow to cool slightly.
7. Spread the cooled syrup evenly across the bottom of the cooked shell. Artfully arrange the berries, gently pressing them into the gel.
8. Allow to rest and set before serving, about 40 minutes.