You can use other summer fruits such as sliced apricots or peaches. If you would like a warm filling, make the pastry cream after you have cooked the pastry. Use a vegetable peeler to lightly peel the rind off the lemon - leave the white pith behind.
Pastry cream
450 ml | Whole milk, full cream milk |
1 | Vanilla pod, split |
5 | Eggs, yolks |
1 | Lemon, pared rind |
1 cup | Caster sugar |
2 Tbsp | Flour |
1 Tbsp | Cornflour |
Short pastry
100 g | Butter, softened |
¼ cup | Caster sugar |
1 ¾ cups | Flour |
½ cup | Cornflour |
To finish
250 g | Blueberries (Main) |
250 g | Raspberries (Main) |
1 | Icing sugar, for dusting |
Directions
To make the pastry cream
- Place the milk in a heavy-based saucepan with the vanilla pod and lemon rind.
- Place over a medium heat and bring to just below boiling point.
- Remove from the heat and allow the flavours to infuse. (I like to leave until the milk is almost cold).
- Remove the vanilla pod and scrape the seeds back into the milk.
- Discard lemon rind.
- In a bowl cream the egg yolks and sugar together until light and fluffy.
- Sift in the flours and fold in, then whisk in the infused milk.
- Rinse out the saucepan, then return mixture to the saucepan and place over a low heat.
- Whisk or stir (or both), continuously until the cream is very thick and you have cooked out the flour taste.
- Cover the surface of the cream with baking paper to prevent a skin forming and set aside while you make the short pastry.
To make the short pastry
- Heat the oven to 150C.
- Place the butter and sugar in a bowl and beat with a wooden spoon until light and creamy.
- Sift in the flours and mix until the pastry comes together in a ball. This pastry has a texture similar to shortbread.
- Press pastry into an enamel shallow pie plate or tart tin, then use the back of a metal spoon to smooth it out.
- Prick the base a few times with a fork and place in the fridge to chill for 10-15 minutes.
- Remove from the fridge and place in the oven to bake for 30-35 minutes until golden.
- Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
To serve
- Pile the pastry cream into the centre of the pastry and scatter the berries on top.
- Dust with icing sugar