Berry Tart

Whoa-ho! Finally I was able to make the perfect pastry crust which I've tried at least 4 times. This short crust pastry is actually super simple to made. One golden rule to make it crisp and crumbly is to use super chill butter and water plus a quick mix in food process. I tried it by hand before, the butter just didn't go as evenly with the flour as by using food processor. Eventually I needed to knead extra to gather the dough together which made the crust very tough.

For the filling, I used frozen berries instead of fresh ones. Just remember to put lot of sugar as frozen berries tend to turn a bit sour after cooking.

You've gotta serve the tart right after it's out of the oven when it's still hot. Who can resist to put on a little vanilla ice cream or whipped cream on the side!

(makes 2 tarts)
Ingredients:
For Short Crust Pastry:
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp white sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into little cubes, chilled
1/4 cup ice water

For Filling:
2 cups berries (fresh or frozen mix of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries)
1/2 cup white sugar
1 lemon zest
1 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour

Directions:
Place flour, salt and sugar in a food processor to mix. Add butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal. While the machine is running, pour in ice water slowly. The dough should hold together when pinched. Add a little more water if necessary.

Gather dough into 2 balls. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 mins to chill.

Remove the doughs from the fridge. Roll each dough on a floured surface into a 7" circle. Place the pastries onto the baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Combine berries, lemon zest, sugar and flour in a large bowl. Remove the pastry from the refrigerator and divide the filling between the two pastries, leaving about 1" border around the edges. Fold up and seal the pastry edges, leaving the center open.

Preheat oven to 400F. Place baking sheet on the center rack. Bake for 30 mins or until the crust is golden brown and the juice is bubbling. Remove from oven and serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.