Susan VandenBerg
Pastry Chef/Owner, The French Tart, Providence, RI
Susan VandenBerg is, without question, the “Queen of Tarts”, or at least one of them. We worked together at a small kitchen in Winter Harbor, ME for a summer and we had people banging the doors down every morning for her delicious tarts & pies. This simple, delicious and versatile tart is great for all seasons. There is lots of room for experimentation in this recipe, play around with different fruits, nuts, herbs and spices.
It’s delicious for breakfast too!
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Tart dough:
Enough for three 10″ rounds of dough, each of which makes a nice sized crostata for 4-6 people. This dough will keep in the freezer for two months wrapped tightly in plastic wrap.
Whisk together:
400 gm (3 cups) all purpose flour,
40 gm (3TBS) sugar,
8 gm (1 1/2 tsp) salt;
Sand in, either by hand or on low speed with a mixer:
200 gm (14 TBS) diced, cool, unsalted butter until coarse crumbs form.
Add:
2 eggs
2 tsp cream
1 tsp vanilla
Blend just until the dough comes together.
Divide into 3 discs (each weighs about 250 gms or about 9 oz), wrap and chill for 1-2 hours before rolling out.
Prepare 4 cups of fruit
My favorite combination is apple (peeled, cored and sliced) with raspberries or blackberries, or apples just by themselves. Other good combos are plums, cherries and blueberries, or nectarines and blackberries. Let your imagination run wild!
Toss the fruit in 1/4 to 1/3 cup sugar, 1 1/2 tsp flour and a large pinch of cinnamon.
You can substitute other spices like nutmeg, ginger or herbs like rosemary or thyme, depending on your chosen fruit. and your personal tastes.
Crumb topping:
This is enough for one tart and probably two
Mix:
1/2 c flour
1/4 c sugar
Sand in with your fingertips
1/2 stick cool, diced unsalted butter to form coarse crumbs.
Add:
(optional) Add: 1/4 cup sliced almonds or any chopped nut you prefer.
Method:
- Preheat your oven to 400 (375 if using convection).
- Roll the chilled dough into a 10″ round
- Pile your prepared fruit in the middle, leaving about 2″ dough uncovered around the edge. The fruit may seem piled high, but it shrinks down as it bakes, so go for it!
- Fold the dough up around the edges, pleating as you go, to create a rustic round. Press the dough firmly to keep it from opening up during baking.
- Brush the dough edges with milk, sprinkle with sugar and place the crumb topping over the fruit.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes, add a bit more crumb topping, then bake until the crust and crumb are nicely browned and the fruit is bubbling. Depending on your oven that may take another 20-40 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.
- This is delicious served warm with a scoop of your favorite vanilla ice cream. They are also amazing with ginger ice cream.
- Keep any leftovers at room temp, covered with a piece of parchment paper These rustic tarts keep for two days and taste best warmed slightly in the microwave or in a 350 degree oven.
