Blueberry Tart

Posted by Rachel

May 25, 2008

The folks I cook for looooooove berries – any berry that they can get their hands on. So, when berry season came around, I started hunting for the best sweet treats I could find. I found this recipe on Clotilde’s blog and knew I had found the one.

I was so jazzed about making a fresh berry tart, but when I got to my local organic food store, or “The Food Hole” as I like to call it, I was confronted with the unfortunate truth that blueberries weren’t quite in season yet. Yes, they looked and tasted delicious, but at $4.99 per 6 ounce container, I began considering some money saving options. I decided to experiment with using part fresh and part frozen blueberries. The result was a beautiful tart with some definite character. Mixing the plump, juicy fresh berries with the shriveled, yet still deliciously sweet, frozen berries provided some nice dimension. And, in addition to the original recipe I decided to add a little sweetened cream cheese design on the top. (Can you tell I am on a cream cheese kick?)

BLUEBERRY TART
serves 6-8
Pie Dough:
3/4 cup flour of your choice (If using a gluten-free flour, add 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum to this recipe)
6 Tbs. sugar
6 Tbs. butter or Vegan butter
dash of any type of milk (cow, goat, soy, rice, almond, coconut, etc.)

Filling:
1 1/3 cup blueberries
1 Tbs. creme fraiche or Tofutti sour cream
1 Tbs. sugar
1 egg

Finishing Touches:
1 Tbs. Turbinado sugar
1/4 cup cream cheese or Tofutti cream cheese, at room temperature
3T agave nectar

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray bottom and sides of tart pan with canola oil spray.

2. In food processor, mix sugar and butter until fluffy. Add flour and mix until dough is the texture of course crumbs. Add milk and mix until cohesive dough is formed. Transfer dough into oiled tart pan and press evenly into the bottom and sides. (No need to try rolling it out. You’ll only end up with a messy countertop.) Bake dough for approximately 20 minutes or until browned and firm.

3. Remove crust from the oven and pour in the blueberries. If using fresh blueberries, pop in the oven and cook 15 minutes. If using thawed frozen blueberries, cook only about 5 minutes, just enough to heat them up.

4. Meanwhile, beat together, creme fraiche, 1 Tbs. sugar, and the egg. Pour the mixture evenly over the top of the blueberries and cook another 15 minutes, or until the filling has set. Turn off the oven and leave the tart inside another 15 minutes.

5. Let cool completely and while the tart is cooling, combine the cream cheese and agave nectar in small food processor. Whip until soft, creamy, and smooth. Transfer the cream cheese mixture to a sturdy freezer zipper lock bag. Set aside on the counter until the tart has cooled completely.

6. Once the tart is cool, sprinkle the top with Turbinado sugar. Snip just the very tip off of one of the bottom corners of the zipper lock bag containing the cream cheese mixture to make a make-shift pastry bag. Decorate the top of the tart with the sweetened cream cheese as you wish.

7. Serve immediately.