Summer is almost over, so how about we mark it with this amazingly airy and delicious pistachio mascarpone blueberry tart? Over the summer this was our go-to tart. Easy to make and so darn delicious. It’s amazing we managed to go some weeks without it.
The pistachio mascarpone blueberry tart is a four-layer flavor adventure. The pistachio crust gives that nice little cookie-like crunch, and the blueberry jam provides the necessary sweetness. In contrast, the fresh blueberries complement the creamy vanilla mascarpone cream with their fresh sweet acidic taste.
It truly is one of the best desserts for the afternoon coffee or tea!
how to …
This is a fairly strait-forward tart where making the tart dough might be the most complex part of the process. However, with the help of the food processor, it’s not that bad.
The tart crust is baked blind and cooled before assembling the rest of the tart.
The blueberry lemon thyme jam is spread over the crust on top of which we just add, in no formal fashion or form, the vanilla mascarpone cream.
The mascarpone cream is mixed with some vanilla paste to add a bit of a fragrance to the cream. There is barely any sugar in the cream, but it is plenty since we already have a layer of blueberry lemon thyme jam. The jam gives just enough of the sweetness.
serving the pistachio mascarpone tart …
I find that the tart should cool down and kind of “arrange itself” in the fridge at least for several hours before serving. The cream needs to stiffen a bit which will make it much easier to cut the tart into more uniform pieces.
This little feature, resting in the fridge, makes this tart a great party addition since it can be made in advance. Even a day in advance.
Don’t worry, it will never be dense, but more of a cooled cheesecake texture but airier.
If you like some extra crunch, you can sprinkle some chopped pistachios over the blueberries.
Enjoy!
Pistachio mascarpone blueberry tart
Equipment & Tools
- Food processor
- Stand mixer
- 9in round tart pan
INGREDIENTS
Tart crust
- 80 g pistachios (unsalted, raw)
- 30 g powdered sugar
- pinch of salt
- 130 g pastry flour (Note 1)
- 60 g butter (Kerrygold, cubed chilled)
- 14 g egg yolk
Mascarpone cream
- 200 g mascarpone
- ¼ tsp vanilla paste (Nielsen-Massey)
- 10 g powdered sugar
- 225 g heavy cream (chilled)
Other
- 170 g blueberry lemon thyme jam
- 200 g fresh blueberries
INSTRUCTIONS
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Preheat the oven at 175°C.
- Wash the blueberries and place them on the kitchen towel to absorb all the water. Pat them dry with an extra towel if needed.
The tart crust
- Add pistachios, powdered sugar, and salt in the food processor. Pulse until the pistachios are finely ground.
- Add the pastry flour and pulse a couple of times to incorporate the ingredients.
- Add the butter and pulse until the butter is broken down into small pieces.
- Add the egg yolk and pulse until there are no traces of egg visible.
- Transfer the dough directly to the tart pan. Using an empty ½ cup measurement flatten the surface of the tart so that it is even throughout and thick approximately 0.5cm. With fingers evenly spread the rest of the dough to cover the sides of the tart pan.
- Even out the top edge of the tart pan with the knife.
- Place the tart in the fridge or freezer to cool down for at least 30 minutes.
- Take the tart out from the fridge or freezer and bake it blind for 15 minutes. (Note2)
- Remove the baking beans and the parchment paper. Bake for another 5 minutes or until the tart starts to take on color.
- Once baked, take out from the oven and let cool completely.
Mascarpone cream
- Once the tart is cooled start making the cream.
- In the stand mixer add the chilled heavy cream and mix on medium speed until it starts to come together.
- Add the vanilla paste and powdered sugar. Mix until you start to see ribbon effect in the cream.
- Start adding mascarpone by the spoonful and continue mixing on medium speed. (Note 3)
- By the time you add all of the mascarpone, the texture should be firm but not falling apart.
Assemble the tart
- Spread the blueberry lemon thyme jam uniformly on the bottom of the baked and cooled tart.
- Add the mascarpone cream. Level it with the spatula as much as you can. Don't worry if it is not perfectly flat.
- Spread the blueberries on top.
- Place the tart in the fridge to cool down and settle for at least several hours.
NOTES
- Pastry flour has a lower protein content than all-purpose flour, which is great for tart doughs since we want a more flaky and not chewy crust.
- Prick the tart bottom with the fork. This will allow the air from the bottom to escape and not inflate and break the tart while baking. Place parchment paper, the size of the tart, on the bottom, and add baking beans, dry lentils, or similar dry grain. The weight of the baking beans will also help the tart to bake without inflating the bottom part.
- Be careful not to start adding mascarpone too late. If this happens, the heavy cream is mixed for too long and it starts to turn into butter.
