A fruity feast for the senses featuring a pucker-up-and-kiss-me combination of tart and sweet.

If your idea of the perfect summer pastry is an old-fashioned freshly baked fruit pie cooling on the windowsill, its fragrant aroma drifting on the warm breeze, then read on: This free-form modern version, with its just-picked berries and smooth lemony cream, could be your new favourite. Simple to make and amenable to endless variations, it’s a fitting finale for any occasion and any age group. It might not be just like the one Mom used to bake, but then again, it just might be better.

 

Ingredients

Crust

• 1-¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• ½ cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes
• 4 tbsp ice water

Meyer lemon cream

• 1 cup water
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 2 heaping tbsp corn flour
• ½ cup fresh lemon juice (from about 2 Meyer lemons)
• 1 tbsp lemon zest
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into ½" cubes
• 4 egg yolks, beaten to blend
• ½ cup whipping cream
• 1 lb fresh raspberries

Directions

1 To make the crust, blend the flour, salt and sugar in a food processor until combined. Add the butter and process until the mixture is crumbly. With the processor running, slowly add the ice water, 1 tbsp at a time, until the dough just holds together, making sure not to overprocess. Remove the dough from the processor and roll into four balls; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

2 For the meyer lemon cream, add the water, sugar, flour, lemon juice, zest and butter to a heavy saucepan. Heat to a simmer, stirring constantly, until the butter melts. Remove the pan from the heat and gradually whisk in the beaten egg yolks.

3 Return the saucepan to a gentle heat and cook the mixture, whisking constantly, until thickened (don’t let the mixture boil). Strain into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap; place the lemon cream in the fridge until completely chilled.

4 Preheat the oven to 450°F. Beat the whipping cream with an electric mixer; gently fold into the lemon mixture.

5 To assemble, place the chilled dough on a lightly floured surface and roll the pastry into about four 4" rounds. Transfer the rounds to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a baking mat.

6 Spread 2 tbsp of the lemon cream evenly over each pastry round, leaving a 1-½" border around the edge. Arrange the berries neatly over the top and fold the sides of the pastry up to cover the berries, pleating where necessary. Brush the pastry with melted butter and bake for about 15 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown. Remove from the oven and serve the tart warm or at room temperature.


Makes 4 small tarts.