Sometimes You Make a Really Good Dessert Just Because.
Here is a tart that came about because I’d never made blueberry curd and had always wanted to do so. I couldn’t get it out of my mind recently and decided to just do it. I also love the combination of blueberries and lemon and figured that since I was on a curd jag I’d go ahead and make some lemon curd, too.
The lemon curd recipe is the one I’ve made so many times I could practically do it in my sleep. It’s Alice Medrich’s recipe and I’ll post a link to it. You simply put all the ingredients in a saucepan and cook it up. It couldn’t get any easier and never fails.
The blueberry curd is a different story. I first briefly cooked frozen blueberries with some lemon juice, just to soften them up, and then blitzed them in the food processor before pressing them through a fine meshed strainer. I put them back on the heat, added sugar and lemon zest and let it cook until the sugar had dissolved. After that it was simply a matter of adding egg yolks, cooking until it thickened and then adding butter. I made both curds the day before in order to give them plenty of time to set up and chill and it made it very easy to put together the tart the next day.
The next day I made the pastry crust. I used Jacques Pepin’s pie crust recipe and want to stress how important it is to completely fill the unbaked crust with pie weights. In order to have no shrinkage, I make sure the weights go completely up the sides. I usually bake my unfilled pastry crusts longer than is recommended in most recipes. I like my crust fully baked and browned. In this case I baked it for 35 minutes at 375 degrees and when I removed the foil and weights it was completely done. I didn’t even need to put it back in the oven to finish baking. I then left it to cool while I finished my fillings.
I mixed creme fraiche and a little melted gelatin into each of the curds. I thought creme fraiche would be a good choice for adding some tangy flavor and would keep the curd smooth and rich. The blueberry cream needed a little honey in order to round out the flavor. I spread the lemon mixture into the the pastry shell, chilled it for about a half hour and then layered on the blueberry cream. I had reserved a little of the lemon cream, dolloped it on top, swirled it around and let the tart chill for several hours before slicing and serving.
What a delicious dessert this turned out to be. The combination of lemon and blueberry is classic for a reason and I am so happy I finally got around to making blueberry curd. I didn’t need all the curd for the tart and happily enjoyed the extra curd spread on toast. It’s also good simply eaten by the spoonful – Just sayin…
Here is the link for the pie crust:
https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/rustic-apple-tart
Here is the link for the lemon curd:
https://food52.com/recipes/22935-lemon-curd
Blueberry and Lemon Curd Crème Fraîche Tart
8
servingsI filled this all butter crust tart with both blueberry and lemon curds, to which I added crème fraîche. Talk about a joy to both behold and eat! These flavors are sensational when combined.
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Ingredients
- Blueberry Curd Ingredients
12 oz. frozen blueberries, thawed
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2/3 cup granulated sugar
6 large egg yolks
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into 8 pieces
Pinch salt
- Blueberry and Lemon Curd Tart Ingredients
1 recipe Jacques Pepin pie crust, or your favorite pie crust - See Notes for recipe link
1 cup lemon curd, see Notes for recipe link
1 cup blueberry curd
2 cups crème fraîche, divided (You can easily make your own crème fraîche by stirring 1/4 cup of buttermilk into 2 cups heavy cream and letting it sit at room temperature until it thickens. It will take anywhere from 18 to 36 hours, so I always start it a day or 2 before I need it.)
1 tablespoon honey
1 1/2 teaspoons powdered gelatin
2 tablespoons cold water
Directions
- Directions for Blueberry Curd
- In a medium saucepan, combine thawed blueberries and all their juices with the lemon juice. Let simmer until the blueberries have softened, about 10 minutes.
- Let cool for a few minutes, add to a food processor and blitz until smooth as possible. Press through a fine mesh strainer, leaving behind only the solid remaining bits.
- Return to the saucepan and add the lemon zest, sugar, and egg yolks. Cook until it thickens and coats the back of a spoon (175 degrees). Remove from heat and add the pieces of butter, one at a time, stirring until each piece is melted before adding the next. Stir in a pinch of salt and press through the fine meshed strainer again. Cover with plastic wrap pressed onto the surface of the curd in order to prevent a skin from forming. Chill for several hours until set.
- Directions for Blueberry and Lemon Curd Tart
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees with a rack in the center. Roll out the pie crust and fit it into a 10 inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Chill in the freezer for 20 minutes. Line the pastry with foil and fill to the rim with pie weights. Bake for 35 minutes or until done. If necessary, remove the foil and weights and put it back in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes, in order to fully bake. Let fully cool on a rack at room temperature.
- Put the lemon curd in a small bowl, add 1 cup crème fraîche and stir to fully mix. Repeat with the blueberry curd.
- Add 2 tablespoons cold water to a small bowl. Sprinkle on the gelatin and allow to soften (bloom) for 5 minutes. Place in the microwave and heat on high for 10 to 12 seconds, only until the gelatin has fully dissolved. Do not overheat or the gelatin will not set. Quickly whisk half the melted gelatin into each bowl of the curd/creme fraiche mixture. Reserving 1/2 cup of the lemon cream, spread the rest over the bottom of the cooled pie crust. Chill for 30 minutes.
- Spread the blueberry cream over the lemon layer. Dollop the reserved lemon cream over the blueberry layer and swirl to create a design. Chill for at least a couple of hours. Slice and serve. Enjoy!
Notes
- Here is the recipe link for the pie crust:
https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/rustic-apple-tart - Here is the recipe link for the lemon curd:
https://food52.com/recipes/22935-lemon-curd