Like the classic French fresh fruit tarts you see in fancy pastry shops, this berry tart has serious panache.
That’s if you want to make it that way.
But to make it easier for you to enjoy summer celebrations, the approach has been simplified.
The pastry cream filling has been replaced with a sweetened cream cheese, and a simple press-in crust has been used.
And if you can’t be bothered to arrange your berries neatly, you can just pile them on top.
After all, when was the last time someone took a photo of your dessert?
Serve topped with a dollop of whipped cream and you have the perfect, impressive summertime dessert.
Fresh Summer Berry Tart
Start to finish: 1 hour (25 minutes active)
Crust
375 ml (1 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
175 ml (3/4 cup) granulated sugar
2 ml (1/2 tsp) salt
125 ml (1/2 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut up
30 ml (2 tbsp) cold water
Filling
2 pkgs (each 250 g/8 oz) cream cheese, softened
5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla extract
15 ml (1 tbsp) lemon juice
125 ml (1/2 cup) powdered sugar
Fresh berries (such as raspberries, strawberries, blackberries and blueberries)
Heat oven to 190 C (375 F). Coat a 23-cm (9-inch) tart pan with a removable bottom with baking spray.
In a food processor, pulse together flour, sugar and salt. Add butter, then pulse together, adding cold water as needed, until a meal forms that sticks together easily when you squeeze it.
Press mixture into tart pan, making sure to press dough up sides. Prick bottom of the crust with a fork. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the edges just start to turn golden and the centre is slightly firm to the touch. Let cool on a wire rack.
Once the crust has cooled, make the filling. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat together cream cheese, vanilla, lemon juice and powdered sugar. Spread filling evenly in the shell. Top with berries and serve.
Makes 8 servings.
Nutrition information per serving (values are rounded to the nearest whole number): 506 calories; 280 calories from fat; 31 g fat (20 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 92 mg cholesterol; 52 g carbohydrate; 7 g protein; 2 g fibre; 290 mg sodium.