Blackberry & Meadowsweet Custard Tart with Hazelnut Shortcrust

Serves 12

6hrs (or do the dough resting overnight)

About the recipe

If you’re looking for a bit of a baking project on this rainy weekend, look no further. The hedgerows are heaving with blackberries, begging to be picked and enjoyed. I find it hard to resist a custard and fruit tart, as I’m sure you will once you’ve given this one a whirl. You’re getting three recipes in one this month! Don’t be intimidated by the multiple steps, the active time is relatively low and the reward is a really excellent tart. A meadowsweet custard cuts through the acidity of the blackberries, while the sweet nutty quality of the hazelnuts rounds this out into a perfect picture of September in Ireland. You should be able to find the last bit of meadowsweet flowers in hedgerows around the country, so get some while it's there and dry it out to use in recipes like this in place of vanilla.

Blackberry foraging is a great outdoor activity to keep small hands occupied too in between showers of rain. The blackberries are at their peak at the minute. You can preserve them until ready to use by simply washing them on return home and then freezing the fruits you don’t intend to use. You can also make jam, just make sure to store it in sterilised jars. Adjusting the sugar content of jam will affect how set it results. This is because the sugar attracts water from the fruit, allowing the pectin to bond together and form a web which sets the jam. For this recipe, we just need a small batch of jam, but feel free to multiply up that recipe to make a larger batch of jam if you wish.

The day before serving

Forage for the berries
Prepare and chill the pastry
Make the blackberry jam

The day of serving

Roll out and blind-bake the pastry. Allow to cool before filling
Make the custard, cool slightly and pour into the tart case while still warm
Allow the tart to set and top with more blackberries before serving

For the hazelnut pastry

70g hazelnuts
100g wholemeal flour
75g plain flour
30g sugar
150g cold butter, cubed
Pinch of salt
1tbsp ice water

For the blackberry jam

200g blackberries
200g sugar
Squeeze of lemon juice

For the meadowsweet and blackberry custard

750g whole milk
9 egg yolks
170g unrefined sugar
30g cornflour
50g plain flour
2tsp meadowsweet powder (or 1tsp vanilla powder)
200g blackberries

To finish

300g blackberries
Edible flowers to garnish (I used borage)

1. Prepare the blackberries

If you are foraging, pick only ripe fruit and leave overripe berries behind. Leave plenty for birds and other wildlife and avoid picking close to busy roads.
Wash the berries gently when you get home, freezing any fruit you don’t plan to use immediately.
You’ll need approximately 700g blackberries for the jam, custard and topping. Other berries can be used, but you may need to adjust the jam quantities depending on their sweetness or acidity.

2. Prepare the hazelnut pastry

Toast the hazelnuts at 160C fan for 6-8 mins until fragrant. Allow to cool before blitzing to a course crumb.
Add the wholemeal flour, plain flour, sugar, toasted hazelnut crumb and salt to a large bowl.
Add the butter and rub it into the flour mixture with your fingertips or use a mixer on a low speed. Stop when the large chunks of butter have disappeared, but you can still see little lumps of butter coated in flour and nut mixture. These little pieces of butter will help give the pastry a lovely crisp texture.
Add the iced water and gently bring the dough together, don’t overmix it.
Wrap the pastry in parchment paper and flatten it into a round, about 1.5 inches thick. Chill for at least 2 hours but ideally, overnight.

3. Make the blackberry jam

You can multiply up this recipe if you’d like to make larger batches. I recommend freezing the prepared jam in freezer bags if you go that route and take it out to use as you need it.

Put a spoon into the freezer before you begin.
Add the blackberries, sugar and lemon juice to a small saucepan, spreading it in an even layer.
Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for approx. 10 mins, stirring occasionally.
As the jam approaches the end of its cooking time, test whether it is set by dipping the back of the frozen spoon into the mixture. When you run your finger along the back of the spoon through the jam, it will hold the furrow you’ve created rather than immediately flowing back together.
Set aside to cool.

4. Blind baking the pastry case

Roll the chilled pastry into a round large enough to line a 12-inch tart tin.
The pastry may break because the nuts disturb its structure. Patch any cracks with small pieces of pastry and press them together with your fingers until the pastry case is cohesive.
Cover the pastry with the parchment paper used to wrap it for its refrigeration time. Place a sheet or two of tin foil over the top, tucking carefully into the corners. This ensures an even bake.
Fill the lined pastry case with baking beans, dry rice, dry chickpeas or sugar.
Freeze the case for 30 minutes
Bake for 35-40 minutes.
Remove the foil and baking weights. Reserve the rice, chickpeas or sugar for another baking project. Any pieces that fall through the foil will be caught by the parchment underneath.
Return the pastry case to the oven for another 5 to 10 minutes until golden brown.
Allow to cool and then spoon the jam into the base of the tart.

5. Make the Custard

Warm the milk with the meadowsweet (or vanilla), stirring gently until steaming.
In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks, unrefined sugar, cornflour and plain flour until smooth and pale.
Put a sieve over the bowl and gradually pour the warm milk into the egg mixture. Pour ¼ at first and whisk to combine, then add the rest a bit at a time to avoid shocking the eggs. Once it’s all combined, put the egg and milk mixture into a clean pot and bring it back over medium heat, whisking constantly until it begins to bubble and starts to thicken. This will take around 2-3 minutes.
Remove from the heat and immediately stir through the 200g blackberries, lightly crushing some of them as you mix. The berries will burst in the hot custard, creating streaks of blackberry and pockets of tart fruit throughout.
Immediately pour the warm custard into the prepared tart base. Allow to cool and transfer to the fridge to set for 4hrs.

To finish
Once fully set, arrange the remainder of the fresh blackberries on top. Garnish with meadowsweet flowers if you have them, I added some borage flowers to the edge.