Easy as One, Two, Three, Four, Raspberry Tart

This simple tart is a sweet'tart of mine. I love raspberries, crumbly and flaky crust, and smooth cream fillings. There's nothing really complex to this pastry but it satisfies the sweet craving. There is great texture and burst of flavor. It pairs well with tea, coffee or dessert wine.

Four components make up the raspberry tart - baked tart shell, pastry cream lightened with whipped cream, fresh raspberries and strained raspberry jam.

Easy right? It is! And this one can prepare ahead of time. It looks fabulous on an antique cake stand.

When you're baking a tart shell make sure it's baked until golden brown. This caramelizes the sugar in the flour, it makes the pie shell smell nutty and buttery. You let it cool in the pan, and then put it in the fridge before use. Freshly baked tart shells can be very delicate so it's not advisable to use right away. When left in the fridge it will not get soggy because all the moisture in the pie dough should have evaporated and what remains is the fat and milk solids from the butter and the nutty toasted flour.

For the filling, which is custard based - Pastry Cream, you can add lemon curd and whipped cream folded in. The pastry cream serves as structural base for the additional ingredients as well as providing velvety texture of the filling. The whipped cream lightens the pastry cream and makes it smooth to the palette.

Another thing I am quite particular about is color. For the most part we eat with our eyes first and with desserts color plays a major "come on". Fresh fruits seem to always find its way in almost everything that I make. I'm a big fan of raspberries.

So, in the event that you feel that you want to make this tart for brunch or entertaining friends drop me a like and would gladly walk you through the process.

Happy Baking!