White Chocolate Berry Tart #SundaySupper

My second post for Sunday Supper has me excited because I´m making a tart full of fruits that feels like summer. Some days I really don´t know what season it is.

We are having a tropical winter. How´s that possible you might ask? Well, when the weather reaches 22ºC (that´s like 72ºF) in the middle of winter, or when I can very well go get a pedicure and walk out of the salon wearing flip flops at this time of year, or it feels like it´s time to make ice cream, yeah, the word tropical fits perfectly.

Today I went shopping for fruits. And came back with mangoes, strawberries, passion fruit and blueberries. That´s a tropical winter fruit basket.  I´ve never paid much attention to seasonal produce as I´m doing now that I write this blog. I did eat seasonally, but it wasn´t planned. It just happened. I went to the supermarket, saw this and that, bought some and ate it in the simplest way I could find. Now, I do the same but try to find stores that sell good stuff. And the simple ways are getting much more sophisticated. Spices, herbs and flavor combinations I never imagined. And let´s not get into the roasting, caramelizing and braising. So, all in all, I´m eating great food with the same amount of work but twice the fun. It´s great to have a food blog.

Back to our fruit basket, I´m happy to be able to share recipes that will interest people from the other hemisphere. I´ve made this tart at least a dozen times. Usually with a plain sweet dough and strawberries. The  white chocolate and lemon juice (or lime) balance each other perfectly. Don´t be put off by the use of gelatin. It´s just a bit and really holds it together. The nutty, flaky dough filled with a sweet but faintly tart, pillowy mousse and then the berries that burst in every bite. Are you feeling the firecrackers yet? 

So this Sunday, since we´re celebrating an Independence, and then there are two more coming this month (Argentina july 9 and France july 14) I´ll start with the first of the three, because this is our 4th of July post after all, but I will also add the last, which can be celebrated with the same dessert since they have identical colors. My country´s will have to wait till I think of some interesting way of using light blue and white, our flag colors. Yeah, not really food friendly colors. Not at all. A bit of a challenge.

WHITE CHOCOLATE, STRAWBERRY AND BLUEBERRY TART

adapted from Bon Appetit, April 1996 and Pastry, by Michel Roux

Sweet dough (pate sablée):

1 ¾ cups (250g) all-purpose flour

Scant 1 cup (200g) butter, cut into small pieces and slightly softened

1 cup (100g) confectioners´ sugar, sifted

Pinch of salt

2 egg yolks

Put flour, salt and sugar in food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Add butter and process until it is combined, it will be clumpy. Add yolks and process until it barely starts to come together. Transfer to counter and work it a few turns until it becomes a homogeneous dough. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour or up to 2 days.

When ready to use, transfer dough to counter and, using a rolling pin and light strokes, roll out the dough, giving it a quarter turn and flipping it over from time to time. This will prevent it from sticking and helps keep it aerated. Continue until the dough fits a 9-inch (24cm) round tart pan.

Prick bottom of dough with a fork, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Ten minutes before baking, preheat oven to 375ºF / 190ºC.

Put a big piece of aluminum foil over chilled crust so it hangs over sides and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 15 minutes, remove foil and weights and continue baking until pie is a light golden color and feels dry.

Let cool completely on wire rack. Unmold onto serving plate.

Filling:

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

½ teaspoon unflavored gelatin

1 cup chilled whipping cream

5 oz. (140g) good-quality white chocolate, chopped

2 Tbs sugar

2 Tbs sour cream

Topping:

2 pounds (950g) fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced

7 oz. (200g) fresh blueberries, washed and dried

For filling: Place lemon juice in small bowl; sprinkle gelatin over. Let stand 10 minutes to soften.

In a bowl over simmering water, place ¼ cup and white chocolate, and stir until combined and smooth. Remove from water, stir in gelatin and combine well. Chill until cold and beginning to thicken but not set, stirring often, about 45 minutes.

Beat sugar, sour cream and remaining ¾ cup cream to medium peaks. Fold in cooled white chocolate mixture. Spoon mousse into crust. Refrigerate until completely set, about 4 hours.

For topping: Slice strawberries and arrange decoratively (in my kitchen that has yet to happen) over white chocolate cream. Sprinkle with blueberries. You can add a thin layer of strained apricot jam to make it shiny.

Can be made 4 hours ahead. Chill

Join me and all our great foodies this fourth of july. Check their outstanding recipes:

Main Dishes:

Tender & Sweet Crockpot Brisket Juanita’s Cocina

Savory Patriotic Chicken Kabobs Big Bear’s Wife 

Firecracker Salmon Rolls Comfy Cuisine

Red, White & Blue Grilled Pizza Momma’s Meals

Baby Back Ribs with Balsamic Peach BBQ Sauce Damn Delicious

Bubblin’ Brown Sugar Baby Back Ribs In The Kitchen With KP

Buttermilk Oven Fried Chicken The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen 

Grilled Hawaiian Teriyaki Beef Mrs. Mama Hen 

Cantaloupe and Prosciutto Salad with Perfectly Grilled Chicken and Potatoes Daddy Knows Less 

Texas Smoked Brisket Doggie At The Dinner Table 

Grilled Chicken in a Blueberry BBQ Sauce Small Wallet Big Appetite

Chicken Burgers with Curried Cabbage Slaw-Indian Soni’s Food for Thought

Finger Foods for the Fourth Pescetarian Journal 

Grilled Pork Satays with Peanut Sauce Tora’s Real Food 

Salads and Sides:

Southwestern Corn and Black Bean Salad Supper for a Steal

Roasted/Grilled Asparagus with Parmesan Katherine Martinelli

Patriotic Ranch Potato Salad The Meltaways 

Roasted Red Pepper & White Bean Salad Are you hungry

Texas-Creole Crawfish Potato Salad The Weekend gourmet

Spicy Italian Peppers in Sauce What Smells so Good?

Sangria Fruit Salad Cindy’s Recipes and Writings 

Stuffed Black Olive Cookistry

Mexican Quinoa Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing Dinners Dishes and Desserts 

Low Fat Pasta Salad Basic and Delicious 

Bean Salad with Pickled Vegetables Diabetic Foodie

Tomato and Mozzarella Appetizer Family Foodie

Desserts:

Red White & Blueberry Ricotta Cupcakes Sue’s Nutrition Buzz 

Red Velvet Brownies Magnolia Days

S’mores Pastries Daily Dish Recipes

Red, White and Blue Firecracker Cupcakes Chocolate Moosey

Caramel-filled Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Bean Buttercream The Messy Baker 

Strawberry and Cream Cake Cupcakes and Kale Chips 

Red White and Blue Coconut Rum Cake Family Spice

Individual Red White and Blue Triffles Chelsea’s Culinary Indulgence

Mini Carrot Cakes Mama’s Blissful Bites 

Plum and Apple Pies Cositas Bonitas

Fabulous Pairings by Martin from ENOFYLZ