Summer Fruit Tart

So after what felt like the longest winter in eternity, we've finally had some well deserved sunshine and I think I speak for everyone when I say I hope it's not going anywhere anytime soon.

Fruit tarts are always a favourite on holiday and are highly requested by my mum for me to bake so I thought it was the time. Although there's a lot of steps involved and time spent waiting around for things to chill before the next step, it's not too complicated and definitely worth it for a good looking dessert on a summers day.

Ingredients; 

Pastry; 

• 350g Plain flour
• 125g Unsalted butter
• 120g Caster sugar 
• 2 Eggs, 1 egg yolk 

Creme pâtissière:

• 500ml Whole milk 
• 2tsp Vanilla extract 
• 6 Egg yolks 
• 120g Caster sugar 
• 50g Plain flour 

Topping; 

• Strawberries, Raspberries, Blueberries
• Icing sugar 

Method;

1. Begin by making your pastry to allow it to have enough time to chill.
2. In a large bowl, rub together the butter (cold from fridge and cut into small chunks) and the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. 
3. Mix in the sugar and then add in the two eggs and the egg yolk. Combine using a spatula until the mixture comes together to form a dough. 
4. Cover with clingfilm and place in the fridge for at least an hour to chill. 
5. Whilst waiting for the pastry to chill, you can make the filling. 
6. In a large pan, heat the milk and vanilla extract together until warmed through. 
7. Add the eggs, flour and sugar together in a separate bowl and whisk until the mixture becomes lighter in colour and everything is combined. 
8. Slowly pour in the milk a little at a time to the egg mixture until it is all added. 
9. Then transfer this back to the pan and heat over a low heat and stir continuously until it thickens. It takes a while but make sure to keep stirring so it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. 
10. Once thickened, pour into a clean bowl and cover with greasproof paper to stop a skin forming on top. 
11. Preheat your oven to 180degreesC and grease and lightly flour your tart tin. I used a large one but this mixture should be enough for 10-12 individual tarts too. 
12. Take your pastry out of the fridge and roll out onto a lightly floured work surface. It should be 2-4mm thick. Line your tin with the pastry and lightly press down. 
13. Cover with greaseproof paper and fill with baking beans - rice, lentils etc do the same job! 
14. Place back in the fridge to chill for another half an hour. 
15. Now you can blind bake your pastry case for 15 minutes and then remove the greaseproof paper and bake for another 8-12 minutes until golden brown and cooked all the way through. 
16. Take out of the oven and leave to chill slightly before transferring to cooling rack to chill completely. Trim the edges of the pastry case - I probably could've been bit neater with this but everyone loves the rustic look! 
17. Once cooled, spoon in the creme pat mixture and spread evenly over the pastry. Leave this to set a little before decorating with your fruit to stop all the fruit from sinking - ask me how I know this...
18. Dust with icing sugar and enjoy!