Today, you almost had me at quinoa. Or rather a twist on quinoa salad of a favorite ethnic variety. A recipe I’ve been craving, with bright flavors, creating lighter lunchtime fare. But then…this happened: Berry Tart With Lemon Curd Mascarpone.
Don’t be ashamed, be real. It’s okay you too like these berries more than quinoa. Even when you’re secretly giving me fist pumps and high fives. Even when your conscience is chanting, “Quinoa! Quinoa! Quinwwwwwaaaa!!!!!!”
My little Meyer lemon bushes have been wintering indoors like retired Upper East siders who call the southern beaches of Boca Raton their snowbirding home.
So there I was with hands on hips, staring these little bushes down as I pondered whether it was time yet to subject them to the harsh reality of the wild outdoors where they belong. Like swallows heading back to Capistrano, is it time for my two little lemons that bloomed over the winter to face the outdoor elements?
What? And leave their personal furnace vent and sunny west side disposition? Or would that be west side exposure? Just so long as it’s the good side of the west side we have a deal. Wazzup Westsiiiiiide?
Gosh, that makes me almost want to come back one day as a lemon tree. But only if you’ll call me Ms. Meyer.
But then, instead of lugging my two lemon trees with two lonely lemons outdoors, I started scheming about plucking those little suckers off their branches and, GASP, cooking with them.
I mean, they’d only been percolating for 3 months. Wasn’t it time?
In my mind, yes. In my husband’s mind, it’s doubtful. In fact, he’s going to be a little on the grumpola side when he comes home and sees our two little lemons…GONE. Gone before he had a chance to strip a zest or four for a super cold, shaken martini with a twist. Or four. Because I know that’s been his plot all winter long.
I hope this lemon curd will curb his martini with a twist of his home grown lemon craving. Yeah. Wish me luck with that.
I’ve been thinking about Becky’s lemon curd ever since I saw it come up in my RSS feed a few months back. I’ve bought it before at Trader Joes, but I’ve never made it myself. That is until I had thoughts of lugging those two lemon trees outside and getting my pants dirty. I’d rather get my pants dirty with lemon and sugar instead of wintered, lemon-ed soil. And thus, sugar and plucked lemons and lemon curd it was.
The crust is based on a recipe from Sweet Paul’s new cookbook Eat and Make, a cookbook I’m totally digging into. The recipe calls for almond meal and regular flour, for a bit of an almond flavor. That I also dig.
Instead of leaving the puckery-sweet lemon curd all alone in my almond crust, I headed for the fridge to scout about for cream cheese and discovered Mascarpone. Double bonus points for ingredients that lurk in the shadows. Whip cream? Check. Powdered sugar? All over my pants and thus check. Berries? Got those in droves thanks to yesterday’s Costco power shopping trip.
I even plucked the season’s first mint leaves from my garden. Maybe my lemons need to take a lesson from the mint, and head outside a little earlier. Then maybe they’d still be here. Shaken and being enjoyed in a very cold martini glass.
But then, you would have had quinoa today. Instead you’ll be chanting “Berries. Berries. Berrrrrrreeeeez!”
Berry Tart With Lemon Curd Mascarpone
Ingredients
For the tart crust
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- ½ cup almond flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons powdered sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter 1 stick, very cold and diced into ¼ inch pieces
- 1 egg yolk
- 1-2 tablespoons cold water
For the mascarpone filling
- ¾ cup whipping cream
- 1 8 ounce container mascarpone cheese at room temperature
- 1 heaping tablespoon powdered sugar
- 1 cup lemon curd store bought, or I used this recipe
- 1 pint strawberries hulled and sliced
- 1 pint raspberries
- ¼ cup strawberry preserves
- Mint leaves for garnish
Instructions
For the tart crust
-
Mix the all purpose flour, almond flour, kosher salt and powdered sugar in a large bowl. Add the unsalted butter pieces and work into the flour, creating thin sheets of butter in the flour. Mix the egg yolk with 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl and add to the flour and butter mix. Continue to work with your fingers until the mixture sticks together when pinched. Add another tablespoon of water if needed.
-
Press the dough into a buttered tart pan with a removable bottom (I used a long tart pan but you can use a 10-inch round pan) or 4-6 individual tart pans with removable bottoms. Prick the bottom with a fork and then refrigerate for about an hour.
-
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake the tart for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool completely before filling with mascarpone filling.
For the mascarpone filling
-
Whip the cream on high with a hand mixer or a stand mixer. Add the softened mascarpone cheese and powdered sugar and beat to mix well. Fold in the lemon curd with a wooden spoon.
-
In a separate bowl, mix the raspberries and sliced strawberries. Heat the strawberry preserves until thinned and mix into the berries. Spoon the mascarpone into the cooled tart crust and top with the berries. Garnish with mint leaves if desired.
Recipe Notes
Tart crust adapted from Sweet Paul's Make and Eat
Thank you for reading and supporting companies I partner with, which allows me to create more unique content and recipes for you. As always, all opinions are my own.
Are you following me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest? Thanks for reading and subscribe to FoodieCrush to have each post delivered straight to your e-mail box.
Subscribe and have every FoodieCrush post delivered straight to your e-mail inbox
Nazia @ This Baker Girl Blogs says
April 24, 2014 at 2:42 amSuch a gorgeous looking tart! I’ve been looking forward to berries all year and can’t wait to turn a few of them into this :)
Kathryn says
April 24, 2014 at 3:34 amThis is beautiful Heidi! So bight + vibrant.
Lily (A Rhubarb Rhapsody) says
April 24, 2014 at 3:56 amAs much as I love quinoa, it has nothing on this beauty. Wise choice!
Abby @ The Frosted Vegan says
April 24, 2014 at 6:56 amI’m jealous of your first mint leaves, it’s been too cold to even put out my mint plant yet! Love the beauty of this tart and look at your Smudge getting in on the action : )
heidi says
April 24, 2014 at 11:53 amSmudge was more than happy to help since it averted homework for a bit. I don’t know where she learned that. HA.
Christine from Cook the Story says
April 24, 2014 at 8:05 amThis is absolutely beautiful!
Sommer @ASpicyPerspective says
April 24, 2014 at 9:49 amLove, love your gorgeous pictures! Your tart is on my list for must try recipes for sure! Pinned!
Ali | Gimme Some Oven says
April 24, 2014 at 10:22 amGORGEOUS!!! And I’ll take a piece of this with the quinoa you mentioned, please. :)
heidi says
April 24, 2014 at 11:51 amIt’ll be coming at you soon. But minus the tart :)
Amanda says
April 24, 2014 at 11:48 amBeautiful tart! Those strawberries…. perfect! :)
[email protected] says
April 24, 2014 at 11:57 amOh my gosh what a gorgeous spring-time tart! Love how bright and fresh those beautiful berries look! Pinned!
Jessica @ A Kitchen Addiction says
April 24, 2014 at 12:00 pmGorgeous tart! I can’t wait to get my hands on some good, fresh berries!
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
April 24, 2014 at 12:44 pmSo gorgeous! Love the lemon curd mascarpone (and I’m not mourning the quinoa ;)).
Annalise @ Completely Delicious says
April 24, 2014 at 12:50 pmI bet this tastes like spring! And I’d give almost anything for a slice right now post-lunch. Jealous of your lemon tree, maybe I’ll have to get one too. 2 home grown lemons are better than none!
Kasha @ The FarmGirl Cooks says
April 24, 2014 at 12:51 pmAs much as I love quinoa, I’d gladly give it up for a slice of this tart.
Meg @ The Housewife in Training Files says
April 24, 2014 at 1:12 pmThis is seriously gorgeous! And looks absolutely delish. Once strawberries are at their peak, I cannot wait to make this. And devour it all!
Phi @ The Sweetphi Blog says
April 24, 2014 at 1:32 pmhaha, yum, I’m totally not ashamed to say I’d rather have this beautiful berry tart with lemon curd over quinoa !
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar says
April 24, 2014 at 2:38 pmThat mascarpone is such a fabulous idea! I love this tart!
Cecile @ My Yellow Farmhouse.com says
April 24, 2014 at 5:41 pmWhat a beautiful presentation! I love this recipe and I love the idea of adding marscapone to the lemon curd. (I’m glad you didn’t go for the quinoa today..)
Tieghan says
April 24, 2014 at 9:47 pmLove these colors and flavors! So pretty!
Denise | TLT says
April 25, 2014 at 12:07 amMove our quinoa and welcome berry tart! Seriously: this is such a gorgeous tart! And anything with mascarpone and lemon curd is good in my opinion. Seriously, I could eat spoonfuls of those two. But you do things elegantly of course, with this stunning tart. I know what I will be making this Spring!
xoxo
Laura (Blogging Over Thyme) says
April 25, 2014 at 6:02 amOh yes. This is definitely a faceplant dessert ;)
Crista says
April 28, 2014 at 7:45 pmwhoa. looks AMAZING.
Madonna/aka/Ms. Lemon says
April 28, 2014 at 8:13 pmI have to make this, it has all my favorite ingredients. Pinned.
gesta di tarquinio il superbo traduzione italiano polacco says
April 30, 2014 at 5:02 pmMay I simply just say what a relief to discover an individual who really understands what they’re talking about on the web.
You definitely realize how to bring an issue to light and make it important.
A lot more people need to look at this and understand this
side of the story. I was surprised you’re not more popular given that you surely possess the
gift.
shawn says
May 1, 2014 at 6:03 pmyou have a killer camera and you know how to use it. and the recipes looks pretty awesome, too.
shawn says
May 1, 2014 at 6:03 pm*recipe (oops)
Mary Ann says
May 1, 2014 at 8:20 pmHi. Do you let the tart crust cool in the pan or remove it after taking it out of the oven? Looks great – going to give it a try this weekend.
Jerri says
May 3, 2014 at 4:52 pmMade this last week and it IS as delicious as it looks. I have one question though… For the filling you say to whip the cream on high and add the mascarpone. This may seem like a silly question, but how long should you whip the cream? I whipped until stiff peaks and it worked, but wasn’t sure if whipping to that stage was what you meant. Just curious.
Although I love quinoa too, this tart was awe.some! Glad you went with it.
Mary Ann says
May 5, 2014 at 11:05 amThat was delicious.
Kelly says
May 11, 2014 at 8:52 pmMade this for Mother’s Day and it is delicious! Thank you for sharing! I added a tsp of white balsamic to my preserves for berry enhancement.
Julie says
May 18, 2014 at 8:55 amThis looks great and just in time for strawberry season! Happy I found your site!
online bingo says
September 20, 2014 at 6:26 pmThanks fοr finally talking about >Berry Tart With Lemon Curd
Mascarpone <Liked it!
green superfood powder says
September 22, 2014 at 8:33 amI loved as much as you’ll receive carried out right here.
The sketch is attractive, your authored subject matter stylish.
nonetheless, you command get got an shakiness over that you wish be delivering
the following. unwell unquestionably come
more formerly again since exactly the same nearly
a lot often inside case you shield this increase.
Montreal Escort says
September 23, 2014 at 9:55 pmI loved as much as you will receive carried out right here.
The sketch is attractive, your authored material stylish.
nonetheless, you command get got an edginess over that you wish be delivering the following.
unwell unquestionably come further formerly again as exactly the same nearly a lot often inside case you shield this increase.
[email protected] cookurplate. com says
March 30, 2015 at 3:21 amthis is so beautiful, a must try for me this weekend.. Thnx for sharing
Liane says
April 4, 2015 at 10:05 pmI made this tonight for dessert and was soooo excited to try it. I made the lemon curd that you linked to which was DElicious (the perfect balance of tart and sweet) and the tart was fairly easy to make. I’m not sure though if it was my error or maybe how it is supposed to be but I found that the lemon deliciousness was overtaken by the less flavourful whipping cream and mascarpone cheese. In fact some of my guests mentioned that they were surprised I had any lemon in there at all. I doubled the recipe so maybe shouldn’t have exactly doubled those two items. I’d be interested to try it again to see how it is with a single batch. Also, I only added enough jam to coat half of the strawberries and with the other half just added some powdered sugar because I didn’t want the jam to take over the flavour of the strawberries – even though it was homemade it still doesn’t have the flavour that fresh fruit has. Overall this was such a yummy and fresh dessert and I’ll definitely be making it again! I also can’t wait to try it with other berries and fruit.
Alexandra says
April 6, 2015 at 12:01 pmMade this for an Easter dessert. It was really, really good. I ended up kind of tweaking the recipe by tasting the mascarpone cheese mixture and adding a little more of this and that until it tasted to my liking. Made fresh strawberry preserves, and drizzled it on top before serving.
The only thing I wasn’t quite sure about was the tart – I found it to be just slightly too salty. Otherwise, it turned out great!
heidi says
April 8, 2015 at 11:50 pmHi Alexandra. Glad you tweaked it to make it your own. Maybe you used salted butter rather than unsalted and that made it saltier for you? Or could be I like salt :) so it tasted good to me. Thanks for the comment.
Cyndy says
June 13, 2015 at 6:03 pmI just made this and it’s out of this world delicious. I saw if first on Pinterest and knew I was going to make it. I used a graham crust and while it was good, the pastry crust would of been a better choice. Thanks for an amazing dessert, can’t wait to make the blueberry buckle!
I did a guest post on my friend Linda’s blog.
http://bestoflongislandandcentralflorida.blogspot.com/2015/06/berry-tart-with-lemon-curd-mascarpone.html
Rachel Page says
July 16, 2015 at 3:35 amBeautiful and must taste so refreshing!
Mary Chancellor says
March 8, 2016 at 3:55 pmHow beautiful! What dimensions are your rectangle tart pan? I ask because you also recommend a 10″ pan which has an area of 78.5 square inches, the rectangular tart pan I found on line boast of 13.75 inch by 4.25 inch dimension (although the base is smaller than the top) giving it an area of approximately 58 square inches. Did you have to make any adjustments for the lesser capacity of the smaller pan?
Beth-Ann says
March 24, 2016 at 2:53 amMicrowave lemon curd is the way to go http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/easy-microwave-lemon-curd-recipe
Deanne says
March 28, 2016 at 3:18 pmOmg! Just made this. I’m now at peace with myself and soon everyone that will be having some after dinner tonight will be too. The lemon curd was 10 stars, especially when I had a little spoonful the next morning. Wow. I did make it with cream cheese cause already had some . Can hardly wait to show it off and eat it!!! Thanks!
Lauren says
May 5, 2016 at 2:58 pmHi, I was wondering about the whipping of the cream. What are we looking for in the cream before adding the marscapone? Should there be soft or firm peaks before adding the marscapone or just slightly thickened cream?
Katharine says
June 12, 2016 at 10:42 amI would not recommend beating the cream for too long before adding the marscapone. A slightly thickened cream worked perfectly for me. It will counting to whip up as you add the other the ingredients.
heidi says
June 13, 2016 at 7:33 pmThanks for the whip cream tip Katharine. Glad you enjoyed it.
Debbie says
May 23, 2016 at 10:45 pmWondering how to store the tart crust if I make a day ahead. Also wondering if I can make the filling a day ahead? This would make a wonderful addition to a bridal shower dessert table. But I would need to make 4 or 5 and won’t have time the day of.
Larcher says
June 10, 2016 at 10:22 pmMade this tonight for a dinner party. I made the crust exactly, used a 9″ pan. I made a quick lemon curd “finecooking” recipe, which was great because I didn’t have a lot of time. I started making this at 1:00 in the afternoon and was still able to zip out the door to my BBQ at 5:00. Great recipe! Will definitely make again!
Katharine says
June 12, 2016 at 10:40 amVery delicious. A few things-do not let the cream beat for too long before you start to add the other ingredients as it can easily be over whipped. Also the one cup of lemon curd that was called for was not nearly enough in my opinion so I added the entire three cups that came out of the recipe I used. Turned out beautifully.
Rebekah Moore says
June 25, 2016 at 8:52 amI made this recipe and it was fantastic!! I generally prefer deserts to be more tart than sweet so I used the full lemon curd recipe in the filling (about 1 1/3 cups) and did not coat the berries with preserves. Everyone loved it and I will be making it again!
heidi says
June 28, 2016 at 7:21 pmI’m so glad you liked it Rebekah, it’s one of my favorites too.
Lynne says
September 3, 2016 at 6:15 pmI was so excited to try this as it looks beautiful. I am trying to figure out where I went wrong though as I beat the whipping cream to soft peaks and added the mascarpone and powdered sugar and the whole thing liquified and curdled :-( . Where did I go wrong? I am saving the tart and trying again tomorrow, but any advice is appreciated.
Biljana says
January 3, 2017 at 5:30 pmI would like to know as well which whipping cream to use, as this happend to me as well a while ago… And also i would apprecuta if someone told me how much butter is that in grams?! ☺ Never use cups in Europe… Always weighting. Thank you so much….
Ana says
January 22, 2017 at 2:44 pmThis was a yummy tart! I think that I may not have whipped the heavy cream long enough as it significantly watered down after the addition of the marscapone and the lemon curd. We had a bit of an overflow situation, but overall most of the cream stayed on the crust. Looking forward to making this again!
Sarah Timmer says
February 1, 2017 at 1:43 pmThis is my new favorite. The only Chang I have made is using a shortbread crust with pre-made shortbread cookies and butter. Other than that, this recipe is Amazing!!!
heidi says
February 7, 2017 at 5:31 pmI’m so glad you liked it Sarah, it’s one of my favorites too.
Rachely says
March 22, 2017 at 2:18 pmI made this tart last weekend for my house party and it was so amazing! Everybody loved it!
Deborah Copithorn says
April 15, 2017 at 1:37 pmLooks great way more filling than necessary for this size tart
Fandangle says
May 26, 2017 at 2:23 pmI made this tart last weekend and I’m making it again now. It was super. I used a whole jar of lemon curd in my topping. It’s my new favorite. Thank you for the recipe!
xx
nancy says
July 15, 2017 at 3:48 pm1 cup butter is 227 grams, so use about 110 g for this recipe.
1 cup flour is 113 g, so use about 170 g for this recipe.
Liz says
April 30, 2018 at 3:21 pmCan I substitute the almond flour and use all regular flour in this recipe?
fjallraven kanken backpack says
May 7, 2018 at 9:09 pmI am really impressed!
fjallraven kanken backpack says
May 7, 2018 at 9:10 pmThank you for sharing with us!
golden goose sale says
May 7, 2018 at 9:13 pmYou produced some decent points there.
golden goose sale says
May 7, 2018 at 9:14 pmI found a lot of information here!
pinko sale says
May 7, 2018 at 9:22 pmI attended the conference and the material was amazing.
pinko sale says
May 7, 2018 at 9:24 pmThis is my new favorite.
Cynthia says
June 26, 2018 at 5:05 pmThis dish was mentioned in the New York Times which is why I think it got so many hits today, if you were wondering.