Fresh Blackberry Tart

Wow this is exactly what the preggo lady ordered! Here I am, on the last leg of this pregnancy (rolling in at 34 weeks!) and have been bewildered by the lack of cravings for sweet treats. What the?? Seriously! I'd rather have salty sushi, Korean kim-chi, German sauerkrat, and a heaping bowl of savory pasta. Having that said, fruit has also been utterly appealing too and since this tart seemed simple enough, we gave it a whirl and I think my consumption of it has now induced the sweet treat cravings! Ha.

The glaze itself is fantastic; I could drink it in place of water everyday. A little scoop of somewhat melted vanilla ice cream on top makes the entire tart even more heavenly. Trader Joes was having a little special on their 12-oz containers of blackberries last week, so I purchased three of them and had ourselves a little slice of blackberry luxury. Our lips are still stained by the deep hue of purple/red.

I gotta say though: if you plan on making this, I hope your luck streams in better with the tart dough than mine did. For some reason, and it was probably my own fault, my tart dough did NOT come together AND seemed to be way too small of a recipe for a 9 " pan. What was my solution?? Doubling the recipe of course, and added a little less flour so that it would come together easier.

Well, wrongo wrongo: doubling was the wrong initiative. For one thing, my tart dough was way too thick after baking it; I personally believe tart crusts should be light, flaky, and relatively thin. Mine was heavy, thick, and almost sugar-cookie like. So, I recommend that you DO NOT double the tart dough recipe and just try to stretch it out to fit a 9" pan. Add a smidgen of milk if your tart dough is dry like mine was.. work with it, and make it work or use a another tart dough recipe if you wanna skip this mess all together.

That was the only real challenge I faced in this recipe. I added less sugar to the glaze than what recipe girl calls for, and the change is shown (this was a very good move). Other than that, well worth the few bucks you spend on the berries. The lemon zest in the dough isn't overpowering but is refreshing. Can I have this every week until baby comes??

It's a real, real winner and I do highly recommend.

Fresh Blackberry Tart

{recipegirl dot com}

Crust:

1 cup flour

1/4 cup butter (half a stick)

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2-1 tsp grated lemon peel

pinch of salt

1 egg

Filling:

2 cups fresh blackberries

2 Tbsp granulated sugar

Ice cream or sweetened whipped cream

Glaze:

2 cups fresh blackberries

3 Tbsp cornstarch

1/4-1/2 cup granulated sugar

pinch salt

In a food processor, combine all the crust ingredients. Roll out and place in a 9' springform or tart pan with a removable bottom. Roll up about 1 1/2 inches onto the sides.

Chill for 10-15 minutes, then bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes until lightly golden brown. Allow to cool, then remove the sides of pan.

Prepare the glaze by combining blackberries, sugar, cornstarch and salt in a saucepan. Add a little tap water. Mash the blackberries up with a fork. Bring to a boil, stir it occasionally, and remove from heat once it's thickened and the cornstarch and sugar are both well dissolved.

In a fine mesh sieve, drain the glaze into a bowl. Using a rubber spatula, press the berries against the sieve to get all the glaze out. You should have a bowl full of beautiful smooth blackberry glaze- allow to cool for a few minutes. Discard the seeds/remanants of what's left in the sieve.

For the filling, arrange fresh blackberries all over the crust. Sprinkle with 2 Tbsp of sugar. Pour glaze over all, and chill the entire tart for at least 1 hour.

Cut into wedges and serve with ice cream or whipped cream.