Blueberry season is here. What to
make? Another blueberry crumb cake or muffin? A juicy blueberry pie? As
wonderful as these desserts are, sometimes it’s nice to try something new.
Sooooo, here’s my contribution: a riff on a Southern American classic, the
buttermilk pie. A variation on a recipe in my book Flavorful,
this buttermilk tart has a filling that is very similar
to cheesecake in flavor, though its texture is much less dense. I added
buttermilk to the tart dough, too, which makes the resulting crust very tender
and slightly tangy. Serve this dessert at room temperature, not chilled, and preferably
on the day you make it. That shouldn’t be a problem.
Makes one 9 1/2-inch tart,
serving 6 to 8
Tart
Dough:
1 ¼ cups (166 g) all-purpose
flour
1 teaspoon (4 g) granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon (1.6 g) salt
8 tablespoons (113 g) unsalted
butter, cut into ½-inch cubes and frozen for 20 minutes
3 tablespoons (45 g) cold
buttermilk
Eggwash
and sugar topping (for optional garnish):
1 large egg
1 teaspoon water
Granulated sugar for sprinkling
on top
Lemon
Buttermilk Filling:
¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
1 ½ tablespoons (12 g)
all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
5 tablespoons (70 g) unsalted
butter, melted and cooled
¾ cup (181 g) buttermilk
¾ teaspoon (3 g) vanilla extract
1 teaspoon (2 g) finely grated
lemon zest
2 tablespoons (30 g) freshly
squeezed lemon juice
Blueberry
Topping:
2 2/3 cups blueberries, divided
2 tablespoons (25 g) granulated
sugar
Make
the tart dough:
1. Place the flours, sugar and
salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse few times to combine. Add the
butter pieces and toss lightly with a spoon to coat them with flour. Blend the
fat and flour with about five 1-second pulses or until the mixture is the
texture of coarse meal with some of the butter pieces the size of peas.
Sprinkle the buttermilk over the flour mixture and process continuously until
the dough begins to clump together. Do not over-process; the dough should not
form a ball. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and shape it into a thick
4-inch wide disc. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill until firm enough to
roll, about 30 minutes.
2. Place unwrapped dough on a
work surface that has been lightly dusted with flour. Using a rolling pin, roll
the dough out into an 11-inch circle, lifting and rotating the dough often,
while dusting the work suface and dough lightly with flour as necessary. Roll
the dough up on the rolling pin and unroll it over a 9-inch fluted tart pan
with a removable bottom. Gently press the dough onto the bottom and up the
sides of the pan. Roll the pin over the top of the pan to trim off the excess dough.
Lightly prick the bottom of the dough with a fork at 1-inch intervals.
Refrigerate the dough in the pan for 20 minutes to firm up the dough. (If you like,
roll out the dough scraps and, using a 1-inch heart or flower-shaped aspic
cutter, cut out as many shapes as you can, place them on a small plate and
refrigerate them along with the tart shell. These shapes can be baked later and
used to garnish the tart.)
3. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Right before baking, line the dough with aluminum foil or parchment paper and
cover with pie weights or dried beans. Place the tart pan on a baking sheet and
bake for 15 minutes. Carefully lift the foil (along with the weights) out of
the tart pan and bake the crust for 8 to 10 minutes longer, until it just
begins to turn golden brown in spots along the edge. Transfer the tart pan to a
wire rack and cool while you make the filling. (If you’ve made the pastry
hearts or flowers, prepare the eggwash by whisking together the egg and water
until smooth. Brush the eggwash onto the small shapes, sprinkle them with
sugar, and bake them at 375°F for about 7 minutes, until they are just
beginning to turn golden. Cool and set aside.) Reduce the oven temperature to
300°F.
Make
the filling:
4. In a medium bowl, whisk
together the sugar and flour. Add the eggs and yolk and whisk until smooth.
Whisk in the melted butter, buttermilk, vanilla, lemon zest and lemon juice.
5. Place the tart pan on a baking
sheet and carefully pour the filling into the tart shell (it will fill the
shell). Bake the tart for 50 to 60 minutes, until the filling is just set in
the center. Cool the tart on a wire rack.
Make
the topping:
6. In a small saucepan, comebine 1
cup of the blueberries with the sugar. Place over low heat and cook, stirring
occasionally, until the berries release their juice and become saucy. Place the
berries and sauce in a fine-mesh strainer and set it over a bowl. Strain the
berries, pressing down on them to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard
the strained berries. Toss the remaining 1 2/3 cups berries in the blueberry
sauce.
7. Spoon the saucy berries over
the cooled tart, spreading them evenly.
Garnish
the tart:
8. Garnish the whole tart with
the pastry shapes.
