Emily's Hot Dish

This is a great dessert for entertaining. You should make it a few hours in advance, but it can be served either chilled or at room temperature so it’s pretty low-maintenance. It’s made in two stages: first the crust is baked, then the filling is added and the whole tart is baked again. This is 1/3 of my summer entertaining menu; I pair it with roasted chicken and broiled asparagus with balsamic reduction for an easy dinner that’s sure to impress. Raspberries are in season now so don’t delay making this tart. I’ve adapted David Leibovitz’s Tart Dough a la Francaise to fit an 11” tart pan. The filling is adapted from a Cook’s Illustrated recipe. 

For the filling:
8 T butter (1 stick)
2 eggs
¾ C sugar
heavy pinch salt
½ T vanilla extract
½ T raspberry liqueur
1 T lemon juice
3 T flour
3 T heavy cream
1 pint fresh raspberries

To make the crust:

Heat the oven to 410 degrees. Place the butter, olive oil, water, and sugar in an oven-safe bowl. When the oven is heated, place the bowl in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. 

Remove the bowl from the oven, place on a heat-proof surface, and stir the flour into the hot butter mixture. Be careful as the butter might spatter a bit and it will definitely sizzle and bubble initially. 

Dump the dough into an 11” tart pan with a removable bottom. When the dough has cooled off enough to touch, press it out into the pan and up the sides with your hands. Dock the dough with a fork (this means to poke small holes into it all over) and bake in the 410 degree oven for 15 minutes. Remove and let cool. 

For the filling:
  
Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. In a light-colored saucepan, melt the butter and cook, swirling intermittently, over medium heat until it’s brown and toasty around the edges and smells nutty and delicious. Pour the melted butter into a heat-proof bowl and set aside. 

In another bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the sugar and whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Add the flour, whisk, then slowly add the vanilla, liqueur, lemon juice, and cream while whisking. Slowly pour in the butter (it should now be cool enough to touch) and whisk until the mixture is homogenous. 

Place the tart shell (still in the tart pan) on a cookie sheet. In the tart shell, place the berries evenly. I start in the middle and work outward in concentric rings. 

Slowly pour the custard batter over the berries, taking care not to pour too quickly lest you move the berries around. Bake for 30 minutes, rotating halfway through. The tart is done when it is set and the filling is golden brown on the surface. Cool for several hours, then remove from tart pan and serve. An 11” tart pan will serve 12, for a 9” pan cut the recipe by 2/3, using one egg plus one white and 6 T butter. A 9” tart pan will serve 8. 

C’est delicieux!!