Berry medley
Have you ever tasted something that made you swoon with delight? Janie Hibler brought this sinfully delicious tart to the Oregon Women for WineSense Christmas party on December 2, 1993, and my taste buds went straight to heaven. I bought her cookbook, Dungeness Crabs and Blackberry Cobblers, on the spot before she confessed that the actual recipe would be published the next week in the Oregonian.
It remains one of my five most favorite recipes. Her tart pastry recipe is the perfect compliment to the tart, and you can’t screw it up. Trust me. I can screw up a ready-made pie crust from the supermarket.
Favorite Tart Pastry
1 C. butter, chilled, cut into 1/2″ pieces
1 egg
1 T. heavy cream
1 T. lemon juice
1 tsp. granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
Directions:
2. Using the metal blade, process all the ingredients in a food processor until the dough starts to form a ball.
3. Place the dough on a floured surface and roll out to a 12″ circle, 1/8″ thick.
4. Carefully fold the dough over the rolling pin and transfer to the tart pan.
5. Push the dough into the corners with your fingers.
6. Trim off the excess dough by running the rolling pin over the top of the tart pan.
7. Prick the bottom and sides with a fork and bake for 8-10 minutes. (If using with the Cranberry-Blackberry Christmas Tart, refrigerate the dough/tart shell rather than bake it.)
Cranberry-Blackberry Christmas Tart
1 C. cranberries, coarsely chopped in the food processor
1 C. granulated sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 C. heavy cream
Directions:
2. Roll out the pastry (see recipe above ~ don’t bake it) and fit it into an 11″ tart pan (don’t cheat with a pie plate).
3. Put tart shell in refrigerator to chill while making filling.
4. In a medium bowl, toss blackberries and chopped cranberries.
5. In a large bowl, beat egg with a fork; stir in cream; blend in the sugar.
6. Sprinkle the berries over the crust and set aside.
7. Pour the egg mixture over the berries.
8. Bake 1 hour, 20 minutes. (If just using blackberries, bake for 1 hour, 10 minutes.)
9. Filling will not be firm, but will set up as it cools.
10. Cool 30 minutes before serving.
* The recipe can be made with any blackberry: Marionberry, Cascade or boysenberry, but not the tart loganberry. I have made it with fresh and frozen berries with no discernible difference in outcome.
This recipe is a blend of the recipe for Blackberry Cream Tart (page 268) in her cookbook with the one which appeared in the Oregonian.
Several years ago, one of my cousins visited from Illinois. I braved blackberry bushes (never again) to pick the berries for this tart as well as the blackberry sauce (see previous post) and served them with vanilla ice cream. Divine!
She invaded my kitchen to steal the leftover sauce which she took back to Illinois along with the recipe. I laughed because she’s a bit of a teetotalling, self-righteous, sanctimonious bitch. I’m betting she went straight to the liquor store to buy her own bottle of Framboise which probably remains hidden in the back of a kitchen cabinet. Yes, folks, it is that good.
Enjoy!
Related post:
Recipe: Blackberry Sauce, 7/13/15
Anne Caroline Drake 
YUM!!!!! God, these look so delicious! Thanks Anne Caroline~
They are, Kit. Your bounty of blackberries motivated me to share them.
Enjoy!
Sending hugs and best wishes,
Caroline