Saturday was set to be a big one. A long, heavy going, physically draining day, of which I was really looking forward to as it meant we were trying something completely different (and hey that’s always a good thing right, especially when it comes to creating a garden.)
I also had a sneaky suspicion that our already rather empty fridge and cupboards would look especially sad and sombre after a physically long and heavy day. In preparation for all of this sure I could have gone shopping but…I didn’t. Instead, the night before I made a tart shell, and not just any tart shell, but a tart shell that would happily encase a pile of mascarpone and cream goodness the following day. A drizzle of some delicious local honey and enough summer berries to make it all worth while.
The next day with tired arms and weary feet, the small people helped assemble the tart. With mascarpone whipped, all that was left was to pile all the berries on, one for the tart, one for them. It seemed to work out.
Summer Berry Tart
Pastry
150g cold butter
50g sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla
300g plain flour
1 tbls cold water
In a blender, pulse your flour, sugar and butter until it resembles bread crumbs. Tip out to a large mixing bowl and add vanilla, egg yolk and cold water. Knead mixture lightly until it comes together to form a dough. Roll dough between two pieces of baking paper, to about .5cm and rest in the fridge for about half an hour. Shape into your greased tart tray.
Bake blind at 180C for about 20 minutes, or until golden.
Allow tart shell to cool completely before you add the middle mixture.
Middle Mixture
300g mascarpone
300mls whipped cream
1 tsp vanilla or scraping of a vanilla pod
2 tablespoons of honey
Whip cream to soft peaks and then gently whip through the mascarpone and vanilla. Spoon mixture into the tart shell and drizzle honey over it all.
Berries
All your favourites, pop them in, and make it look gorgeous.
Eat with enthusiasm and the knowledge that there will be room for a second slice in there.
cityhippyfarmgirl 
Oh delicious. Good food planning too. It makes it easier to cook from scratch when you prep a day a head. Your garden project sound exciting. Exhausting but exciting! The magpies have targeted all our strawberries this season. Cheeky things.
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Oh that sucks Zena. My small girl was asking if we could set up a strawberry patch the other day…(minus the magpies hopefully.)
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What a beautiful tart and I love how the little people helped you decorate it. Good on you for making it when you were already weary xx
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A perk at the end of the day right.
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Making tart shells ahead is such a fabulous way to eat great food with so little effort on the day isn’t it? I like to freeze them too, along with yummy fillings like caramelised onion or roasted veggies, especially if I’m heading into a busy patch that includes friends coming to ours for a meal. Then it’s just a matter of pouring liaison over the top and popping it into the oven on the day. Your tart looks so elegant and tempting – I bet the kids were very proud of their efforts 🙂
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I always feel like I’m ahead of the game a little when I do one the day before, (it’s the little things that I enjoy right 🙂 ) I’ve been saying I will do some caramelised onions for I think two months now…sigh, still not done. Maybe tomorrow…maybe.
And the kids were proud of their efforts, they insisted on candles, I believe it was a favourite toys birthday.
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Oh this is a gorgeous tart Brydie. Your garden project sounds exciting! x
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It is Jane, it really is!
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Brydie, you are a baking genius. Good on you prepping a day out, makes things taste a whole lot better when you are tired and achey from a big day huh? I love your Summer Berry Tart, its beautiful. I keep buying berries to bake with, but they somehow find their way to my tummy before that happens. Oops!
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The berry season is so small it’s hard not to Anna! I’d happily eat all kinds of berries all throughout the year…and no the frozen ones, just don’t cut it.
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Its not summer here in Florida but with temps in the 70’s and 80’s it kind of feels like it. Your tart is so pretty and I’m sure delicious.
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It was Karen 🙂 I suspect another may be on the horizon in the not so distant future.
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Scrumptious tart! I would happily work in anyone’s garden if that was the end of day treat. Hope the big effort in the garden shows rewards real soon.
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Me too Tamara…I may quietly sob a little if we can’t grow anything after all the effort!
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Making this with freshly raided mulberries this week, lovely thanks Brydie xx
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sounds perfect Rose. Let me know how you go.
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I have a freezer full of apricots, apricot puree and cherry puree and a fridge crammed with fresh cherries. I also had a small bag of bright red gooseberries, a gift from my local health food shop. Making the most of the season is easy. After eating 20 of the apricots while I was processing them yesterday, I am going to take it VERY easy today 😉
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I’ve seen very little stone fruits this season. I’m not sure if they’ve been a little low in supply or I’m really not looking hard enough. Perhaps I could come down and raid your freezer Ms Narf? 🙂
Actually while I’m there raiding, I might take a peak at your dehydrator, which brand do you use and are you super duper happy with it?
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I have a 9 tray Excalibur. I have had it for so many years I bought it last century (same with my Vitamix) and I am ashamed to say I didn’t use it for quite a few years but I use it all of the time now and it was well worth it’s purchase price. The best thing about it is that it has square trays that slide in and out of the dehydrator that you can put in as many or as few trays as you like and it has an adjustable temperature knob. More expensive than a regular dehydrator but worth it. I do my research, I save up and I get the very best value for my money whenever I make a purchase. I think they are a lot cheaper now than when I bought mine as I had to get mine sent to W.A. (where I come from originally) from Queensland. I would seriously recommend them BUT in saying that, where you live, you could completely and utterly make and use a solar dryer. There are some seriously excellent free plans online and twood be a great thing to construct with your kids.
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I thought you might have the mighty Excalibur…hmm, I’d love to think my building skills are up to making one, but as quite often happens my ideas are far better than the actual actions. Will keep musing on this one, not living in an apartment now, certainly does open the creating possibilities a little.
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I saw an amazing creation that was a series of homemade trays made from thin pine frames with some kind of netting stretched over it and tacked on. Each tray was suspended from the other tray by 4 ropes and the top tray was hung up to a tree branch and the whole lot was covered with draped net curtain. It certainly didn’t look difficult to achieve and you could make it a “thang” to do with your kids.
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This looks SO good. And sounds like the perfect reward at the end of a hard day gardening!
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There is no denying it Sarah…it WAS good!
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Oh yum! xo
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Save you a slice for next time Julie.
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