Rick Stein’s French Raspberry Tart
A beautiful, homemade version of a French patisserie classic, this sweet tart is filled with fresh raspberries and crème patissière. Served with whipped cream, it makes for an impressive dinner party dessert.
From the book
Rick Stein’s Secret France
A culinary journey across France with Rick Stein
All of your favourite recipes from the BBC series
Secret French recipes alongside authentic classics
Introduction
This comes from Christine Ferber’s pastry shop, Maison Ferber, in the Alsace village of Niedermorschwihr. Now try to pronounce that! Such tarts are the sort of thing that delights the eye as you gaze through the shop window.
Ingredients
| For the sweet pastry: | |
| 85g | softened butter |
| 85g | caster sugar |
| 3 | egg yolks |
| 175g | plain flour, sifted |
| For the crème patissière: | |
| 250ml | whole milk |
| 1 | vanilla pod, split, and seeds scraped out |
| 3 | egg yolks |
| 50g | caster sugar |
| 10g | plain flour |
| 10g | cornflour |
| To decorate: | |
| 400g | fresh raspberries |
| 5 tbsp | redcurrant jelly |
| To serve: | |
| whipped cream |
Essential kit
You will need a loose-bottomed 25cm tart tin.
Method
For the pastry, mix the butter and sugar in a bowl, then add the egg yolks to make a smooth paste. Add the flour and mix to bring the dough together in a ball. Wrap it in cling film and chill for up to 20–30 minutes until firm enough to roll.
For the crème patissière, bring the milk to the boil with the vanilla pod and seeds, then remove the pan from the heat. Mix the egg yolks, sugar and both flours in a bowl to form a paste.
Gradually add the warm milk to the egg and flour paste, removing the vanilla pod, and stir well until you have a smooth custard. Rinse out the milk pan and pour in the custard mixture. Bring it to the boil over a medium heat and stir continuously, until the custard is really thick. Remove the pan from the heat. Cover the surface of the crème patissière with cling film or greaseproof paper, then set aside to cool.
Preheat the oven to 190°C/Fan 170°C. Roll out the pastry and use it to line a loose-bottomed 25cm tart tin or 8 individual 10cm loose-bottomed tart tins. Line the pastry with greaseproof paper and add baking beans, then bake for 10 minutes. Remove the paper and beans and put the pastry back in the oven for another 4–5 minutes to finish cooking. Set aside to cool.
Carefully remove the pastry from the tin or tins and fill with the chilled crème patissière. Smooth the top with a damp palette knife. Arrange the raspberries on top in concentric circles. Warm the redcurrant jelly in a pan with a tablespoon of water. Using a pastry brush, generously paint the raspberries with the warm jelly, then leave to set. Serve with whipped cream.
