Bastille Day Berry Tart

How does an American celebrate Bastille Day? By making a tart, bien sûr! I created the bleu, blanc and rouge of the French flag out of blueberries, white cherries and raspberries across a base of baked custard with a hint of Grand Marnier orange liqueur. I adapted a couple of recipes from the Barefoot Contessa to create this tart. I used her tart shell recipe from her Lime Curd Tart, and adapted her custard recipe from her Strawberry Tart. The custard is supposed to be a cold pudding that you spoon into the baked tart shell and arrange fruit on top. Though I thought I followed the recipe to a ‘T’ it never set up in the refrigerator. So instead, I baked my soupy custard in the pre-baked tart shell and it turned out perfectly!

Tart Shell

Adapted from Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Recipe

1. In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar until combined. Add vanilla.

2. In a medium bowl, sift flour and salt. With mixer on low, add to butter mixture.

3. Once fully mixed, dust countertop with flour and turn dough onto counter. Press into tart pan, poke all over with a fork and chill covered in plastic. In the meantime, make the custard.

4. Once chilled and custard is ready, cover with parchment and dry beans and bake for 12 minutes at 375°F. Remove the parchment and beans and bake for an additional 8 minutes.

Vanilla Custard

Adapted from Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients

• 6 egg yolks, room temperature

• 3/4 cups sugar

• 3 Tablespoons cornstarch

• 1 1/2 cups milk, scalded

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 Tablespoon Grand Marnier orange liqueur

• 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter

• 1 Tablespoon heavy cream

Recipe

1. In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat egg yolks and sugar on medium speed until very pale and thick. Reduce speed to low and add cornstarch.

2. Continue speed on low and slowly pour scalded milk into the egg mixture. Transfer mixture into a medium saucepan and stir continuously over low head to cook and thicken, about 10 minutes. Once the mixture comes to a boil, whisk vigorously for 2 minutes and remove from heat. Stir in vanilla, Grand Marnier, butter and cream. Strain through a sieve to remove any cooked egg bits and refrigerate until well chilled.

3. Once chilled, pour custard into a pre-baked tart shell. Place the pan on a baking sheet and add water to cover up to 1/4” up the side of the tart pan. Bake for about 20 minutes at 375°F or until the center is no longer wobbly.

4. Once slightly cooled, layer fresh fruit on top of the baked custard and serve.

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