Berry Tart With Lemon Curd Mascarpone

Another fabulous recipe from Cyndy!! 
Thanks Cyndy for another fantastic contribution.


 My inspiration today came from Heidi at Foodiecrush.com.  I spied the luscious berry tart she made...  she had me at Curd. I currently have a small assortment of fresh made curds in my fridge.  Lemon, Meyer lemon, peach and pineapple.  Why?  because I was in a mood and had the fruit and it sounded great at the time. Now  I have to use it up, and while using it on my toast in the morning is great, I have to use them up or give them away so they won't spoil.  I'm trying to use them and am finding some pretty good recipes & ideas.  I decided to go with a graham crust on this one. I have to try the pastry crust  but I had graham crumbs that needed to be used.  Also, I thought I had almond meal and I didn't.  I used only strawberries this time but i'm very sure you can use pretty much any berry since they pair nicely with the Lemon Curd Mascarpone.  


About the crust.  MAKE the pastry crust. I love the taste of a good graham crust but this needs a solid crust to sustain the weight of the cream and berries and a good pastry crust is always delicious, so i'll include the recipe Heidi used.   I used my standby recipe for the lemon curd and it's the same one I used in making the Frozen Lemon dessert cups.... hmmm, I should make that again.   The creamy Lemon Mascarpone heightens the flavor of the sweet juicy strawberries & it was delicious.  The perfect ending to a good meal.  


Check out Heidi's blog, the picture of her tart is gorgeous.  My thanks to Heidi at foodiecrush.com, this recipe is in my keeper file.  Lemon Curd recipe is at the bottom of the post.  

                                Berry Tart With Lemon Curd Mascarpone


Ingredients:

For the tart crust

1 ½ cups all purpose flour
½ cup almond flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons powdered sugar
½ cup unsalted butter, 1 stick, very cold and diced into ¼ inch pieces
1 egg yolk
1-2 tablespoons cold water

For The Mascarpone Filling


¾ cup whipping cream
1 8 ounce container mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
1 heaping tablespoon powdered sugar
1 cup lemon curd
1 pint strawberries, hulled and sliced
1 pint raspberries
¼ cup strawberry preserves
Mint leaves for garnish


Instructions:

Pastry Crust:


Pre-heat your oven to 375°

Place the first 4 crust ingredients in a good sized bowl and whisk to combine.  Start adding the butter a few pieces at a time cutting them into the flour.  Add 1 tbsp of the cold water to the egg yolk whisk until mixed then add to the flour mixture.  Use your hands to finish combining the flour mix until you can hold a piece of dough in between your fingers and it holds together when pinched.  Add, more water if dough needs more a little at a time.


Butter the bottom and sides of  your tart pan (with removable bottom).  Put dough into tart pan and press into pan and up the sides. Using fork tines, prick the dough.  Cover and refrigerate the dough for about an hour.  Bake in pre-heated oven for 12 - 15 minutes until golden .  Let cool completely, then fill with cream filling

Filling:

In a medium bowl, whip the cream to soft peaks.  add the cream cheese and sifted powdered sugar.  Beat on med speed until combined.  Add the lemon Curd to the cream mixture and fold gently.  My mixture was a bit thick but I was able to spread it easily onto the cooled crust.

I didn't use the strawberry preserves on my tart. I wanted the sweetness of the fresh strawberries to shine through and they did.  If you want to use the preserves, heat them just until thin enough to coat the berries (pour over berries in bowl and mix until just coated) and place on top of tart carefully and garnish as desired. I used chocolate mint leaves and lemon zest curls.

Lemon Curd:
Source- Dessert Magazine

1 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest( used 4 tbsp)
2 cups granulated white sugar
4 Extra large eggs yolks, plus 3 large whole eggs
3/4 cup butter (1-1/2 sticks), cut into small pieces


Using a large heavy bottomed sauce pan I whisked the egg yolks and whole eggs then added the lemon juice, sugar & zest and whisked until the mixture was combined.

Stir constantly over medium heat making sure to whisk around the edges of the pan until mixture is thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon.   This should take about 10 minutes.  Remove from heat and whisk in the butter whisking well until the butter is melted. 

Strain curd through fine mesh strainer into bowl.  I did this while it was still warm. The curd will thicken further as it cools. Let the curd cool for about 10 - 15 minutes then place in the refrigerator and give it a stir once in a while to help it cool further.  Once cooled, place plastic wrap directly on top of the curd to keep a skin from forming.  Keep refrigerated.  I put mine in mason jars.  It should keep for about a week or two in a very cold refrigerator

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