For a Festive Fourth, Serve a Jumble of Summer’s Bounty
I can’t say I trust those who can rightfully bypass the last minute, totally unnecessary purchase of the most perfectly golden raspberries while waiting in line at the market to get to the scales.
They must be stronger than myself. It’s a restraint I can’t bare to apply, especially when I get to the tents early enough for a full gingham-spread covered in filled pints. And then of course I go through my mental gymnastics of all listing the reasons I should not pick up a box like “what will you do with them” and “how long will they last?” The answer in short is not long, since half of them were gone by then time I parked at home. Moral: if you have a spontaneous vision of beautiful, berry based recipes whilst in line at the market, be sure the key inspiration does not ride home in the passenger seat. Otherwise, they may not make it.
A jumble of cherries and berries, atop a tahini frangipane filled tart was the outcome of the trip, and since I had a batch of Claire Saffitz’s pâté sucrée on deck waiting for it’s time to shine, it only made sense. It’s made in the processor and her press-in method is a godsend. Do yourself a favor a take full advantage!!
But my favorite part is that the frangipane, an obvious result of seed + mill’s magical tahini imparting a lush and fluffy pillow for the fruits to rest, or, “jumble”
I based this mix off a bunch of random recipes I love, so go find them
If you’d like- on the blog!!! Then go to town with whatever you got at this mornings haul🍑🍒🍉🍓🍑🍑🍅happy summer
Berry Cherry Tahini Frangipane Tart
Makes 1, 8 or 9-inch tart
Sweet Tart Dough (pâte sucrée)
This dough recipe is by Claire Saffitz, from her book Desert Person. Her press-in method with this easy processor dough may look long, but trust me it’s actually quite simple and a real-quick cleanup. It’s my current favorite sweet tart dough, and it stays well wrapped in the freezer for a month and great to have on hand.
Tools:
food processor
8-9” tart pan, ring, or spring form pan
aluminum foil
stand or hand mixer (for filling)
Ingredients:
⅓ cup almond flour
1 cup of all-purpose flour
¼ powdered sugar
½ tsp salt
1 stick of cold butter, cut into ½ inch pieces
1 large egg yolk
½ tsp vanilla extract
To prepare the Sweet Tart Dough,
Make Dough:
Add the almond flour, all-purpose flour, powdered sugar, and salt to the processor, and pulse several times to combine.
Add the cold butter and with long pulses, process several times till the pieces of butter are no larger than the size of peas, and the texture of the mic is sandy and crumbly.
In a small bowl, whisk together the yolk, vanilla, and 4 teaspoons of cold water until mixed, then drizzle evenly over the flour mixture, being sure to get all of the mix (every last drop!) with a spatula from the bowl.
Process the dough in long pulses until a ball forms around the blade and no floury spots remain. Remove dough from the processor and pat into a ½ inch-thick disk and wrap in plastic. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or as long as 3 days.
Press dough into the pan:
Claire walks through the cutting, arranging and pressing process through a very handy photo set in her book if you have a copy- I will try and link a tart video from her too if I can find one where she’s using this method
When ready to bake the tart case, unwrap the chilled dough and cut the disk in half. Then, using a knife, slice one of the halves into 6 even strips of dough, which you’ll use to form the perimeter of the tart.
Roll each strip into ropes that are ½ inch thick, then arrange them inside the edges of the tart pan, ring, or springform, only overlapping each slightly. Press into place, and use a straight-sided, dry measuring cup to evenly press the dough into the sides of the pan or ring all the way around, until the dough extends slightly above the pan’s edge.
with the other half of the dough, cover the bottom of the oan in an even layer by pressing it into and across it. when you reach the sides, smooth and press the edges and bottom dough pieces together to seal. You can smooth and flatten the bottom with a floured measuring cup.
Place the lined pan into the freezer till the dough is completely hard, 15-20 minutes. While the dough is freezing, preheat the oven to 350℉.
Bake the tart crust:
Remove the frozen pan, and if you use a tart pan or ring, smooth the top edge of the dough by using a paring knife held parallel to the surface and slice horizontally along the rim of the pan, removing excess, so that the dough’s edge is flush to the top of the pan. Place the pan on a baking sheet and prick the bottom all over with a fork.
press a layer of foil onto the surface of the dough and up the sides, especially working into the space between the bottom and sides to prevent the crust from slumping in the oven.
Bake the tart until the edges are golden brown (by lifting foil to sneak a peek), start checking at around 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and peel off foil once done. Set aside to cool.
Tahini Frangipane and Berry or Cherry filling
The filing is based on this recipe from Food52
Ingredients:
1/2 cup of Seed + Mill tahini (or your favorite, high quality, runny tahini- but I can’t recommend any better than S+M!)
1/4 + 2 tbsp granulated sugar
4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 egg
1 pinch salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup of blackberries, raspberries, pitted sweet cherries, strawberries… or a mix of whatever you’d like!
if you are assembling and baking later, be sure to preheat the oven to 350℉ before starting the filling again. *
In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the tahini on high speed for 5 minutes, until slightly thickened (If you are assembling and baking later, be sure to preheat the oven to 350℉ before starting the filling again).
Gradually add the sugar and beat to combine.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl and whisk again—all of the sugar should be dissolved (and no longer visible).
Add the butter, piece by piece, scraping down the sides of the bowl, until fully incorporated.
Add the egg and salt and beat until well combined.
With an offset spatula, evenly spread out the tahini frangipane in the partially baked tart crust.
Scatter the berries or chosen fruit over the frangipane, then return the tart to the preheated oven and bake for 30-40 minutes till the crust is a deep golden. Turn the pan halfway through and check for color often. Remove baked tart and set aside to cool before assembling.
Assemble your showstopping tart:
Ingredients:
Your favorite mix or choice of fruits-- rainier and/ or dark sweet cherries, red raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, apricots, peaches, plums, whatever is ripe…
Add your jumble of festive fruits (optional, but why not enjoy summer’s bounty in its prime?!) atop the baked frangipane layer, in any fashion you fancy. Here’s what I did:
If you can snag some while at the market, pit some rainier and dark sweet cherries and slice in half or leave whole with their whimsical stems attached (if leaving some whole for a real dramatic entry, be sure to clue your guests into the possible lingering pits!).
I added and layered a few slices of an apricot, blackberries, red raspberries, and some golden raspberries and the mixed cherries in a very abstract and intuitive manner, however you can pull inspiration for your topping from any style you like! Maybe design a firework-like display of multi-colored swirls, or take a minimalist route and opt for one or two types of berries for more of an understated elegance.
