Oléron Berry Tart

From Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichel

• Ready In: 5 hrs 40 mins
• Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 1 1⁄2 cups  sifted flour
• 1⁄4 cup sugar
• 1⁄4 lb sweet butter
• 2  tablespoons  cream
• 1  egg yolk
• 3⁄4 cup  blanched almond
• 3⁄4 cup sugar
• 3  tablespoons butter, softened
• 3  large  egg yolks
• 1  teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4  cups fresh raspberries

Directions

1. Pastry.
2. Combine flour and sugar in a bowl, cut butter into flour/sugar mixture, toss then rub with your fingers until it resembles corn meal.
3. Combine cream and egg yolk and add to the butter/sugar/flour mixture.
4. Lightly mix until it forms a ball, add a little water if necessary to hold it together (1 or 2 tablespoons at the most).
5. Sprinkle flour on a board and gently knead the dough with the heel of your hand until the flour has been worked through.
6. Wrap ball of dough in plastic and refrigerate for 3 hours.
7. After 3 hours, remove dough and allow to sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes.
8. Roll the dough into an 11-inch circle and line an 8- or 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom.
9. Be careful not to pull the edges.
10. Place prepared crust in the freezer for 10 minutes.
11. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
12. Line the frozen tart shell with foil and fill with dried beans to weigh it down.
13. Bake 20minutes that remove foil and beans and return to the oven for 4 or 5 minutes or until golden.
14. Cool while preparing filling.
15. Filling.
16. Process almonds and 3 tablespoons of the sugar in a food processor to a fine powder.
17. Cream butter and remaining sugar.
18. Add egg yolks and sir until smooth.
19. Add the ground almond sugar mixture and the vanilla.
20. Spread almond cream into the baked and cooled tart shell.
21. Arrange 2 cups of the raspberries over the top of the cream.
22. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons sugar and bake at 350 for 40 minutes.
23. Remove from oven and cool for 2 hours.
24. When you are ready to serve, cover with the remaining 2 cups of raspberries.
25. Optional glaze: melt 2 tablespoons of currant jam and 1 tablespoon water in a pan and allow to cool, then brush over fresh berries.