Blackberry Tart

I'm back in the big city.
Classes will begin on the first of October, today I have an exam and then I have to arrange oh so many things before everything starts.

The day before yesterday Roberto and I went for a walk. I remembered that some years ago I had found a lot of blackberries and I thought that it would be useful to bring a little bag.
Result: we picked 950 gr (2.09 pounds) blackberries!



We decided to make a pie, had a lot of fun and had such a nice afternoon.

Pie Crust

2 cups flour (We used whole wheat)
230 gr (8 oz) cold (!) unsalted butter
1 tsp salt
5 TBS water

• Mix the flour and the salt in a bowl.
• Add the butter and mix until crumbly.
• Add the water one TBS at a time until you can work the dough with your hands like a bread dough.
• Place the dough on a work surface and divide it into two balls.
• Work one dough ball at a time, roll it out until the circumference will be 3-4 cm bigger than the baking pan.
• When you'll have two discs wrap them into plastic and place in the refrigerator for 45-50 minutes.

You can now place the first disc in the baking pan. Leave the edges of the dough outside the baking pan.



Filling

500 gr (1,2 pound) blackberries
70 gr (2 1/4 oz) cornstarch
1 cup sugar
the juice of half a lemon
1/4 tsb salt
50 gr butter

• Mix the blackberries with the lemon juice and add the cornstarch, the sugar and the salt.
• Place the mixture in the folded baking pan, then add the butter cut into cubes.
• Cover with the second disc of dough
• Fold the edges of the two discs together
• Cut some vents
  
• Cover with a beaten egg yolk
• Place in the oven at 190 °C (375 F) for 45 minutes
• Lower at 160 °C (325 F) and let bake for other 25 minutes.

Allow to cool befor serving.




I liked the fact that it wasn't too sweet, you tasted the backberries, not only the sugar.

Normally in March, or at the beginning of April, I would already have gone once to the seaside. At least to lunch on the sand and enjoy the first rays of the sun.
This year has been completeley different.
In March it rained, the same goes for April, and well, now it's May. May has been cold and rainy this year, with some days of sunny weather, but never too much.
Fortunately, my mood doesn't go along with the weather. But after these months, I just needed the sun to shine.

So,
Why am I saying this?
Because today was the first wonderful, sunny, pleasant, warm with a bit of cool summer breeze day of 2010. And I am so happy!
Ok, I have been studying. But studying on the balcony, with a cup of tea and sunglasses, isn't the same as studying in a cold, dark room.

(this is a detail of my mother's little tomato plants)

And obvioulsy I wanted to bake something. Given that Summer is here (I'm not saying it will last forever..) I thought of making some fruity tartelettes (tartlets, or?).
I have no tartelettes moulds, no similar kind of mould, nothing of that kind, so.. well I tried to make something similar from scratch.

Ok, stop talking and talking.
Here's the recipe:

Fruity tartelettes (with yogurt pie crust)



Dough

250 g all purpose flour
150 g yogurt (you can use both whole or low-fat)
65 g granulated sugar
65 g cold unsaltened butter
a pinch of salt

Mix flour, salt and sugar.
Cut the butter into little cubes and add it to the flour mixture. Mix and slowly add the yogurt until it becomes a consistent dough.
Wrap it into a sheet of plastic and place into the freezer for 3 hours.

Filling/Topping

1 apple
1 banana
10 strawberries
1 orange
70 g sugar
1 Tbs flour

1 egg

Cut the fruit in pieces/dices. Blend all the ingredients together.

---

Preheat the oven at 180 °C.

Now, after the 3 hours have passed, I rolled the dough out, cut big circles of it (7cm or so) (the dough was 2-3mm thick). Then I placed a tablespoon of fruit in the middle and wrapped the dough around it, just to make the borders, and not to let the fruit flow away.
Beat the egg and brush it onto the crust. (I haven't done this as you may see from the pictures)
When I used all the dough (and fortunately also all the fruit), I baked them in the oven for 20 minutes.
Let it cool on a rack for 10 minutes.


Today was a good day.
I hope the tartelettes will be good as well.

Have a nice evening!

HappyFroggy