I recently had the esteeming opportunity to help my friends Kimmie and Bonnie at Punch Portland with a photo shoot they put together for the lovely wedding website Green Wedding Shoes.
The shoot was an example of a table the ladies of Punch might put together for a special event. They're a talented duo...taking flower arrangements above and beyond (one bouquet they did had radishes in it. RADISHES. It made me want to get hitched immediately, to anyone who would have me, just so I could walk down the aisle with one) and adding well thought out, adorable and elegant design elements like well-hunted antique treasures, beautifully coordinated fabrics, and in this case, my berry tarts. Imagine my delight when I was approached with the idea! My only hint was that the theme of the shoot was red and white...I was allowed full creative license beyond that point. Exhilarating.When Kimmie told me about her ideas for the shoot and that she wanted some sort of sweet treat for the table, my mind immediately went to tarts. They're something I love to make, can be made into virtually any size or shape, can take just about any sort of filling, and always look adorable. Tarts are a very honorable and noble pastry.
Tarts don't so much require a recipe as they do a formula. Figuring out the appropriate crust:filling:topping ratio is more important, and once you've tried out a few different methods, you'll be able to piece together the perfect tart based on the results you're after. Like a puzzle.
These tarts were made in a shortcrust shell which I weighed down and blind baked. Round of applause for using dried beans as pie weights? Anyone? I will never look at my ceramic-covered steel balls the same way again. In fact, they're up for grabs. Navy beans have won me over. I used the following recipe, adapted from Alice Medrich's Pure Desserts.
I've said it once and I will say it again....it's a phenomenal book. I had never used this crust recipe before, and it now remains in my repertoire. It's perfect.
Tart Crust
8 Tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/4c sugar
1t vanilla extract
1/8t salt
1c all-purpose flour
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine the melted butter with the sugar, vanilla and salt. Add the flour and mix just until well blended. If the dough seems too soft, let it stand for 5 minutes to firm up. Press evenly across the bottom and up the sides of the tart pan(s). Carefully trim up any ragged edges with a paring knife. Fill with pie weights or dry beans and bake for 15-25 minutes or until golden brown. The crust will continue to harden after it has been removed from the oven, so keep this in mind when determining when to remove it from the oven.
I piped a layer of pastry cream into the bottom of each shell and arranged sliced strawberries in concentric circles. I anchored them down by brushing on a glaze of warmed and strained 100% fruit apricot preserves....it's my understanding that this is a common tart glaze, especially when it comes to fresh fruit tarts. It makes perfect sense and works beautifully.
All photos were taken by Portland based wedding photographer Sara Gray. I just learned about her through this experience, and I'm glad i did. She is so talented and I am thrilled that my tarts were shot by her. It's the first time anything I have prepared has been professionally photographed, and I am so thankful to have had the experience. It was truly lovely.
