Raspberry tart
This French raspberry tart starts with a pâte sucrée shell (a crisp, melt-in-your-mouth sweet pastry made with butter and powdered sugar), filled with silky vanilla pastry cream and covered edge to edge with fresh raspberries. The bright tang of the berries cuts through the richness of the cream, giving you a tart that feels elegant yet is easy to love.
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Prep
- 1 hr
- Cook
- 35 min
- Rising or chilling
- 3 hr
- Total time
- 4 hr 35 min
- Method
- Oven-baked
Ingredients
Tart shell (pâte sucrée)
Vanilla pastry cream
Raspberries and glaze
Instructions
Step 1
Beat 110 g softened unsalted butter with 70 g powdered sugar and a pinch salt until smooth, add 50 g eggs, then add 25 g almond flour and 200 g all-purpose flour and press it together gently with a spatula just until combined. The less you mix, the crisper and more tender the shell will be. The dough is ready when it gathers into a soft ball with no dry streaks of flour.
Step 2
Press the dough into a flat disk between two sheets of plastic wrap and chill it in the fridge for 60 minutes. Buttery tart dough is very soft and only rolls out thinly without tearing when it's cold. It's ready when it feels as firm as a stick of butter straight from the fridge.
Step 3
Roll the dough out about 3 mm thick, line a 23 cm tart pan with a removable bottom, press it snugly into the corners, then roll the rolling pin across the rim to trim off the excess. Prick the base with a fork and put the pan in the freezer for 15 minutes. A cold, firm shell keeps its sides upright in the oven; it's ready when the sides are evenly thick with a clean, level rim.
Step 4
Preheat the oven to 180°C with a rack in the middle while the shell sits in the freezer. A steady oven temperature browns the shell evenly from the base up the sides. The oven is ready when an oven thermometer reads exactly the temperature you set.
Step 5
Line the shell with a sheet of parchment paper, fill it to the top with dried beans or rice as pie weights and bake for 15 to 18 minutes. The weights keep the base from puffing and the sides from slumping while the butter melts. This stage is done when the rim of the shell looks dry and pale golden.
Step 6
Lift out the parchment and weights and bake the empty shell for another 10 to 12 minutes so the base cooks through and dries completely. A crisp base won't go soggy under the moist cream. The shell is ready when the base is evenly golden brown with no pale, damp spots; then let it cool completely in the pan.
Step 7
Heat 300 g whole milk until it steams, and meanwhile whisk 54 g egg yolks with 65 g granulated sugar and 25 g cornstarch, then slowly pour in the hot milk, tip everything back into the pan and stir constantly over medium heat. Once the cream starts to bubble, keep stirring for one more minute so the cornstarch cooks fully, then take it off the heat and add 20 g unsalted butter and 4 g vanilla extract. The cream is ready when it is thick, glossy and smooth and the whisk leaves clear trails on the surface.
Step 8
Spread the cream in a shallow dish, press plastic wrap directly onto the surface and chill it in the fridge for about 60 minutes. Wrap that touches the cream stops a dry skin from forming. It's ready when it is cold throughout and as set as thick Greek yogurt.
Step 9
Whisk the cold cream for a few seconds until it is soft and smooth again, then spread it evenly in the cooled tart shell and level it with the back of a spoon. Loosening the cream first lets you spread it evenly without cracking the shell. The cream layer is ready when it is level and sits about half a centimeter below the rim.
Step 10
Stand 375 g fresh raspberries close together in concentric circles, working from the outer edge toward the center with the pointed tips facing up. Packing them tightly lets the berries support each other and makes the tart look generous. The top is ready when almost no cream shows between the berries.
Step 11
Warm 40 g fruit jam with 10 g water over low heat until runny, strain out the seeds, then brush it lightly over the berries with a pastry brush. A thin coat of jam keeps the fruit fresh longer and gives it an irresistible shine. The tart is finished when the berries are evenly glossy; chill it for thirty more minutes before slicing.
Equipment
- Oven
- Tart pan
- Rolling pin
- Small saucepan
- Whisk
- Spatula
- Pastry brush
- Parchment paper
- Plastic wrap
- Kitchen scale
- Mixing bowl
- Refrigerator
Tips
- Don't rinse raspberries under a strong stream of water; just pick them over and wipe them gently, because they crush easily and soak up water.
- Brushing a thin layer of melted white chocolate over the base of the shell before adding the cream helps it stay crisp longer.
- Assemble the tart within a few hours of serving so the shell doesn't soften.
Storage
Once assembled, the tart is best eaten the same day and keeps in the fridge for up to two days. The baked shell keeps in an airtight container for three days and the pastry cream keeps in the fridge for three days, so you can simply assemble the tart when you need it.
Common problems and how to fix them
- The sides of the tart shell slumped in the oven.
- The dough wasn't cold enough or the weights didn't reach the rim. Freeze the pan for at least fifteen minutes and fill the weights right up to the top of the sides.
- The pastry cream is lumpy or tastes of raw starch.
- The cream was heated too quickly or didn't boil long enough. Stir constantly over medium heat, let it bubble for one more minute and strain it through a sieve if you see lumps.
This recipe is based on the common ratios for this bake and is written entirely in our own words.
