Sweet and tart with a delicious lemon custard nestled in a shortbread tart.
Ingredients
FOR THE SHORTBREAD CRUST:
1 stick Plus 6 Tablespoons Cold Unsalted Butter, Cut Into Pieces
½ cups Sugar
1-½ cup Flour
FOR THE BERRY MIXTURE:
1 cup Fresh Cranberries, Halved
2 Tablespoons Sugar
2 cups Blueberries
Powdered Sugar, For Dusting
FOR THE LEMON CUSTARD:
4 whole Large Eggs
1 whole Egg White
1 cup Plus 2 Tablespoons Sugar
2 whole Lemons, Zest And Juice (2 Should Yield About 6 TBS Lemon Juice)
6 Tablespoons Flour
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 400 F.
For the shortbread crust:
Using your fingers, combine the butter, sugar and flour in a medium sized bowl and blend together until coarse crumbs form. (If you don’t want to use your fingers, I use a pastry blender to incorporate the ingredients).
Pour the mixture into an un-greased non-stick 9-inch spring form or cake pan and press down evenly to form a crust. Bake the shortbread crust until lightly golden, about 20 minutes.
Remove the shortbread from the oven and reduce the temperature to 325°F.
For the berries: Toss the cranberries with the sugar in a medium-sized bowl. Add the blueberries into the cranberries and toss. Scatter the berries evenly over the baked shortbread.
For the lemon custard: In a large bowl using a mixer with whisk attachment, beat the eggs and egg white with the sugar until thick and pale yellow. Whisk in the lemon zest, the lemon juice and the flour. Pour the lemon mixture over top of the berries (which you scattered onto the crust).
Bake the tart until the custard is set (the middle of the tart should just barely wiggle), about 35-45 minutes. Remove pan from oven and set it on a cooling rack. Let the tart cool completely, then dust with powdered sugar.
Colleen’s Notes:
– The top of the custard doesn’t brown much so it’s hard to tell if it’s done, but it shouldn’t be wet and liquid. The custard is done when it firms up in the center. This may take longer than 35-40 minutes depending on the size pan used as well as your particular oven.
– I keep this in the refrigerator until about 30 minutes prior to serving (unless it is a hot day and I am making the all blueberry version in which case I keep it in the fridge until serving).
– When cutting that first piece of your tart, use a sharp knife and press down firmly. Since you are cutting through a shortbread crust, it will just take some pressure then it will just “snap” and you are good to go!
– Just before serving sprinkle a bit more powdered sugar over top. It makes it so pretty! If you don’t have a sugar shaker, just put a bit of powdered sugar in a small strainer and whack it on the side as you move it around over top the tart.
