Recipe: Glazed Berry Tart with Mascarpone & Vanilla Cream

Method

First, make the pastry.

1. Sift the flour into a medium size bowl and add the salt. Cut the butter into small cubes, then use cutlery knives in a scissor motion to chop the butter and flour together.  Do this until  the butter has been broken into small pea-sized pieces. Then using  your thumbs and fingertips, gently rub the flour and butter together until it resembles fresh breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar.
2. In a small bowl combine the egg yolk and water. Beat with a fork to prevent streaks of yolk.
3. Add 25g of this egg yolk mixture to the crumb and using a cutlery knife distribute the liquid as quickly as possible. This will create flakes of pastry - if they are very dry add a little more of the liquid to any dry areas of crumb.
4. Use the flat of the knife to bring a few of the flakes and dry crumb together, then pull the pastry together with your hands and shape it  into a flat disc, wrap in clingfilm and  chill for 15 - 20 minutes before rolling it out. Heat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6.

Meanwhile, make the filling.

1. Place the mascarpone and cream in a medium sized bowl and whisk using electric beaters until thick enough to support the berries in the final tart. Stir in either vanilla seeds or vanilla bean paste and sieved icing sugar to taste – start with 1 tablespoon. Chill until required. Wash and prepare the fruit as appropriate (cutting larger strawberries in half for example).
2. Roll out the pastry to a thickness of about 3mm and use it to line the flan ring, or divide into 4 before rolling (if making individual tarts).Use a greaseproof paper cartouche and baking beans to support the sides, and bake the tartfor 15 – 20 minutes until the pastry is holding itself up and is looking less translucent and grey.
3. Remove the beans and the cartouche and return the pastry case to the lower shelf of the oven for 5 minutes or until the base is pale and dry. Allow it to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Prepare the redcurrant glaze.

1. Place the redcurrant jam in a small saucepan over a low heat and melt gently. Pare a strip of zest, then juice the lemon.  Add the pared zest and a few drops of lemon juice into the jam and stir gently to combine.  Don’t allow the jam to boil, you just want to melt it to a loose pourable consistency. Don’t stir it vigorously either; air bubbles will be incorporated which can cause the jam to cloud and they are difficult to remove.
2. Pass the jam through a fine sieve into a clean bowl, discarding the pared zest. Check the consistency of the glaze. It will thicken as it cools down and eventually It should coat the fruit with a light syrupy glaze. If the glaze does not do this, add a little warm water to loosen the jam and stir it in gently. The glaze must be cool when it is used on the fruit or it will cook it and the juices will run out.

Assemble the tart.

1. Spoon or pipe the mascarpone cream into the pastry case, and smooth  to ensure the surface is even. Arrange the fruit carefully over the surface and glaze with the redcurrant glaze.

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