Delicious Blueberry Tarts and a Giveaway!

We had the Missionary Sisters over for supper last Tuesday night and I cannot believe I am only getting to now tell you about these beautiful tarts that I made for our desserts!  I suppose half a week pretty much without internet has really made me fall behind on my posts.   But I am showing them to you today and that is what counts!






The blueberries are ripening on our bushes at the moment and I took advantage of this fact to bake some lovely little blueberry tarts for us all.   I have baked this before using apples and plums as a large tart, and it was gorgeous.  You can find that recipe here.  I decided that it would work very well as individual tarts and using blueberries.



It is a really simple recipe and always turns out.  It made 5 individual tarts, but my tart tins were 4 inches across.  If you made smaller ones you would get more tarts out of the recipe.  These were very filling and on the large side for delicate appetites.



The pastry is a real doddle to make. It goes together in the food processor, lickety split.   And you can have it rolled out in no time and lining your tarts.  There is no need to pre-bake the pastry either.  You just slap the filling in and bake them.



The filling consists of a vanilla sponge which bakes like a cake inside that sweet short crust pastry . . .  puffed up and golden brown . . . clustered around those lovely sweet berries, all sweet and sunken into the delicate sponge . . .  I erred on the side of caution when adding the berries. When I make these again, and I will do just that . . .  I will add even more berries.  A tasty brush of warm apricot jam finished them off.  We had them with clotted cream . . .  of course!

*Summer Blueberry Tart(s)*
Makes8 servings as a tart
or 5 individual tarts  

Printable Recipe  

This is a delightful tart, with a sweet shortcrust pastry, a sponge filling and lots of sweet fresh blueberries.   Feel free to charge it up by adding a mix of berries instead of just the blueberries.  It may seem like a lot of steps, but once you get everything assembled, they go together quickly and easily.  

For the pastry:

220g of plain flour (1 3/4 cup)

125g unsalted butter, chilled and cubed (9 TBS)

85g of golden caster sugar (7 TBS)

1 medium free range egg

For the sponge:

45g unsalted butter, at room temperature (3 TBS plus 1/2 tsp.)

90g golden caster sugar (7 1/2 TBS)

1 medium free range egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

90g of plain flour (1/2 cup  plus 3 TBS) 

You will also need:

several handfuls of fresh berries

3 TBS apricot jam, seived    

  

For the pastry, put the flour, butter and sugar into the bowl of a food processor.  Blitz to create a mixture resembling fine bread crumbs.  Beat the egg and then add it while the food processor is running on low, to create a soft dough that you can make into a ball.  (You can do this by hand, but you should grate the butter first as it will make it a lot easier.)  

To make the sponge, put the butter and sugar into a small mixing bowl.  Beat until creamy.   Beat in the egg and vanilla.   Sift the flour and baking powder together and then fold them into the creamed mixture. 

Preheat the oven to 160*C/325*F/ gas mark 3.   Have ready a tart tin with a removable bottom (10 inches in diameter) or five individual tart tins with removable bottoms.  Place on a baking tray.  

Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface using a lightly floured rolling pin, to one quarter inch thickness.   Carefully line the tin.  (If making individual tarts, divide into five equal sized balls and do the same)  Trim off any excess and discard.  (I just roll a rolling pin across the tops and it cuts it off evenly.)  Spoon an equal amount of the sponge mixture into the tart base (s), smoothing it over to the edges.  Sprinkle with the berries.  (You can use a mix of blueberries, halved strawberries and raspberries if you wish.  All are lovely, especially when mixed!)  



Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes.  The tart is done when the berries have sunk in a bit and looked cooked, and the sponge has risen and gotten golden brown in places.  Also the pastry is crisp and golden brown.  Allow to cool for several minutes  before removing to a wire rack.   Melt the jam in a small saucepan and push through a seive.  Brush some on top of the tart (s).  Serve warm or at room temperature with cream or ice cream.  

Note - If making individual tarts, start checking for doneness at 30 minutes.  Caster sugar is a type of fine granulated sugar.  Regular granulated sugar will work just fine if you cannot get caster sugar, or you can blitz the granulated sugar in a food processor for 30 seconds or so.  Golden Caster sugar is less processed and more natural than the white. White works just fine.  

And now for THE GIVEAWAY!  

  

I was recently sent a set of these "Clongs" from Dreamfarm to try out, along with a set to give away.  If you are not familiar with the Dreamfarm ethos, they are a company which is from Australia and which prides itself on designing interesting, useful and brilliant products for the home cook.  Unique, useful and problem solving, they are very innovative and their products are now available here in the UK.  

  

Clongs, available in black and red, are a brilliant version of cooking Tongs, but so much more than that!   



With their unique bend in the stainless steel handle they keep your counter tops clean and your tongs hygenic!  Their silicone tips are safe to use on non-stick cookware and are heat resistant to 260*C/500*F


  

They open and lock easily with one hand, thanks to the  click-lock button mechanism on the end of the handle.  And it does what it says, works with ONE hand.  Very clever indeed!  You just tap the end on the counter to release, and then again to lock.  Smart stuff!

  

They are also dish washer safe.  At 12 inches in length, I have found them to be a very useful piece of kit over this past week or so, and one that I find myself reaching for over and over again!  They worked beautifully when I did my Crispy Fried Chicken Breasts the other day, and I have been using them for a whole lot more than that.  Perfect for dishing out pasta, boiled potatoes, steamed veggies, tossing salads and serving salad leaves, sauteing spinach, etc.  There has been no end to their usefulness.  You can find the Dreamfarm products here in the UK on Amazon!

I love their sleek stainless steel arms and brilliant styling, as well as  their length, which help to keep your fingers safe from spattering fat. They also look them very attractive sitting in my utensil jug.   In short, I give them a ten out of ten and two thumbs up! I am very happy to say that the Dreamfarm people have sent me an extra set to give away to one of my readers!  So yes!!  There is an "identical to mine" set available for one of you too!  To be in it to win it, all you have to do is to leave a comment in the comments section in this post telling me which is your favorite one of all their products which you can see by visiting their home page!  I love all their stuff, but it would be really fun to see what you like as well!

I am really excited about being able to share these lovely Clongs with you!  And I hope you are too.  I will be picking a winner one week from today,  on August 5th at noon my time (12 pm GMT) so don't be left out!    Oh,  and unlike some giveaways, it doesn't matter to me where you live, as I will send them anywhere in the world, so get commenting!

Note - I will refrain from responding to every comment on this post as it will make things a lot easier for the giveaway.  Let it be noted I always appreciate each and every response!

Posted in: Dreamfarm Giveaway, feeding the missionaries, Fruit, pies and tarts, summer