Strawberry Blueberry Custard Tart

Strawberry Blueberry Custard Tart

 

 

It's hard to walk past those beautiful big California Strawberries in the grocery store and not think of a delicious fruit tart.  Especially I see beautiful ripe blueberries right next to them calling out to me.  The berries are beautiful this time of year and my imagination runs wild with all the things I can do with them. This time I could just picture gorgeous berries resting on a base of  the most delicious and creamiest vanilla custard, chilled perfectly to the right temperature. Oh My Goodness.

Strawberry Blueberry Custard Tart

For the crust:  

2 1/2 cups finely crushed graham crackers

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted

3 1/2 tablespoons sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, stir together graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and sugar until blended. Press mixture into bottom and sides of tart shell. Bake crust until lightly darkened in color, about 15 minutes. Let crust cool completely.

Pastry Cream: 

1 1/4 cups whole milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3 large egg yolks

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons cornstarch 
4 tablespoons cold butter

2 tablespoons heavy cream

Using a mixer with a large bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar on med-high for about 3 minutes or until yolks turn a pale yellow.  Then add the cornstarch and mix on low until blended in.

In medium sauce pan, bring milk to a simmer. Then slowly pour the warm milk into the bowl with egg mixture, whisking to blend. Then pour back into the sauce pan and cook over medium heat until mixture is thick. Bring to a boil, and then immediately reduce the heat to low and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Remove from heat and mix in butter, vanilla, and heavy cream.  Pour into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place plastic actually touching the pastry cream so it does not form a film when cooling. Place in the refrigerator until cold and thick.  Remove from refrigerator and spoon into cooled crust. Smooth on top and add your toppings.

Topping:

3 cups strawberries and blueberries, rinsed and prepared

Apricot Glaze:

1/2 cup apricot jam or preserves

1 tablespoon water

Heat the apricot jam or preserves and water in a small saucepan over medium heat until melted. Remove from heat and strain the jam through a fine strainer to remove any fruit lumps.  After arranging fruit on top of pastry cream, brush with glaze.

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