Berry Cream Tart

Here’s the fruit tart that’s always beckoning from pastry shop windows: a traditional pastry cream topped with fresh fruit and glazed with melted jam. For an even smoother pastry cream, see the variations.

2 cups whole or low-fat milk (do not use fat-free)

4 large egg yolks, at room temperature

1⁄2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1⁄4 teaspoon salt

1⁄3 cup all-purpose fl our

1 prebaked, cooled tart crust made from Sweet Pastry Dough
in a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom

2 cups raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, sliced hulled strawberries, or a combination of any of these

1⁄4 cup red currant, raspberry, or white grape jelly

1⁄2 tablespoon water

• Place the milk in a medium saucepan over medium- low heat until a few wisps of steam come off the surface; adjust the heat so that the milk does not come to a simmer but remains this hot.
• Beat the egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until thick, satiny ribbons run off the turned-off beaters, ribbons that do not immediately dissolve back into the mixture, about 4 minutes.
• Beat in the vanilla and salt until smooth, then beat in the fl our until fully dissolved, scraping down the sides of the bowl to make sure every grain is incorporated.
• Beat about half the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture, then beat this combined mixture back into the hot milk in the pan until smooth. Reduce the heat to low (if you’re working with an electric stove, use a second burner just now turned to low) and cook, stirring constantly, until thick, smooth, and just beginning to bubble, about 3 minutes.
• Pour into a large, clean bowl. Press a sheet of plastic wrap onto the top of the pastry cream and refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours or overnight. (It can also be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.)
• Gently peel off the plastic wrap and use a rubber spatula to spread the pastry cream into the prebaked, cooled tart crust.
• Arrange the berries and/or strawberries over the top of the tart, working in circles and standing the berries up on their larger fl at ends.
• Place the jelly and water in a small saucepan over low heat and stir until the jelly melts. Use a pastry brush or feather to paint the berries or fruit on top of the cream with jelly until glistening.

Makes one 10-inch tart