It’s raspberry picking time! There are so many places around Michigan where you can pick your own. Take advantage of the cooler almost-fall temperatures and harvest time to fill up on these fresh, tasty berries.
After getting your fill of eating the berries, try this recipe for a raspberry fruit tart. You’ll need a tart pan for this recipe – a pie plate just won’t do. You could try using a 9-inch springform pan in a pinch, but once you’ve tried making tarts, my guess is you’ll want to have one on hand anyway. Tart pans aren’t expensive, and you can find them at any large home goods store.
Pick fruit aplenty at the best cider mills in southeast Michigan.
You pre-bake the piecrust to keep it from getting soggy once you add the berries. To prebake, the oven will need to be at a higher temperature – and you’ll also want to add some weight on top of the crust, so it doesn’t get air bubbles in the dough. Simply place some heavy-duty aluminum foil on top, along with either uncooked rice or beans, and you’re set. (When you’re done cooking, carefully remove the aluminum foil and pour the beans or rice back into its container once they’ve cooled. You can still use them.)
The berries are the easiest part of the tart: Wash and dry them; then mix in cornstarch, sugar, and lemon. I like my tarts, well, tart, so I don’t add as much sugar as most recipes call for. If you want to increase the sweetness, go ahead and double the sugar.
No fresh berries? Don’t worry; this recipe works well with frozen berries, too (or do half and half). Thaw the frozen berries and follow the recipe according to the directions.
