Thursday, June 14, 2012

Rye Crust Blackberry Tartlets

Every time I leave the house lately, I return with more berries. I can’t stop myself. The season is too short here. Strawberries make a brief appearance at farmers’ markets, and blackberries come and go almost as quickly. When I see them, I grab them. The last bag full of blackberries I brought home were destined for little, rustic tartlets, and I knew I’d find a good option for the crusts in Good to the Grain. There’s a Rustic Rye Dough that’s used for Apricot Boysenberry Tarts in the book, and that was just the kind of whole grain dough I had in mind. The dough is made like a rough puff pastry. It’s rolled into a rectangle, folded into thirds like a letter, turned and rolled and folded two more times before being chilled. The result was flaky crusts with the added flavor of whole grain rye flour that made nice containers for fresh blackberries mixed with berry jam.

I mixed the dough by hand, but it could also be made in a food processor. Rye flour, all-purpose flour, a little sugar, and salt were sifted together in a bowl. Cold butter was worked into the flour mixture, and then apple cider vinegar and ice water were added. At that point, the dough was wrapped in plastic wrap and chilled for an hour. Next, the dough was rolled into a rectangle and folded into thirds. For the first fold, the dough was a little crumbly, but it came together during the next turns and folds. The seam of the folded dough was turned 90 degrees, and it was rolled into a rectangle and folded again. This was repeated one more time before wrapping the dough in plastic and chilling it again. While the dough chilled, the blackberries were combined with some berry jam. Since I was making little tartlets, I worked with half the dough at a time, rolled it out, and cut it into five-inch circles. The blackberry and jam mixture was spooned into the center of each dough circle, and the dough was gathered around the fruit. The tartlets were placed on a baking sheet which went into the freezer before being baked. Just before going into the oven, the tartlet edges were brushed with egg wash, a mix of turbinado sugar and cinnamon was sprinkled on the egg wash, and I added a few thyme leaves.

For serving, I topped the tartlets with fresh thyme sprigs from my herb garden for a pop of green on the sticky, dark, blackberry filling. I’ll still have blueberries for a bit when the local blackberries are gone. And, when all of this year’s berries are gone and I can no longer get my fix, at least there will still be peaches.

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28 comments:

  1. Wonderful! I love that flavorful crust and blackberry filling. I am a big fan of those fruits.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  2. This is not helping my berry obsession or pie obsession...

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  3. You always have great desserts. Very tempting!!! lovely

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  4. Yummy, this is a different crust that looks delish.

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  5. Okay, Lisa, this is the first time I've raised my eyebrows at one of your recipes. But I trust you - you've never steered me wrong - so I'm going to go with "YUM"!! It's just the rye that's throwing me, so I'm going to have to try this one soon :-)

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    1. Kristy: Rye can put people off since its often associated with caraway and dense, dark bread. Here, it's just lending some whole grain goodness to the dough. In the book, Kim Boyce describes the flavor of plain rye flour in a dough as milky. I'm not sure I noticed milkiness in the flavor, but it did have more interest than an all white flour dough.

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    2. That's exactly the reason it was throwing me, so thanks for the explanation. Sounds really delicious!

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  6. If not for my husband, I would probably make fruit tartlets everyday! I so wish to take a bite of that now!

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  7. I love the berry season too. Yes, it's way to short. I love the look of these blackberry tartlettes - how special are these and what beautiful colours. These would be an amazing dessert. May you find many more berries! xx

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  8. These tartlets are scrumptious! Love esp. the rye crust. How special!

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  9. Those little tartlets are adorable! I came home with the biggest blackberries from the farmer's market last weekend! I eyed them suspiciously and couldn't wait to get in the car so I could see if they were big but sour. They were so wonderfully sweet...I was quite surprised. I've heading back tomorrow morning for more...Father's Day dessert coming! You're right...on to stone fruit next.

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  10. These tartlettes are scrumptious looking my friend, absolutely divine :D

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

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  11. These little tartlets are gorgeous! And unique we the rye crust. We had some of the best blackberries in years here - I couldn't help bringing home way too many myself.

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  12. The tartlets were so good! Eric and I both enjoyed the ones I took home. I'll have to check out that crust recipe- the rye paired really well with the blackberries and the thyme was a perfect touch!

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  13. Don't these look snazzy! I think of all the foods, berries make me happiest. Beautiful tarts!

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  14. Oh my, these look so delicious. I wish I could get some blackberries but these rarely reach us in the south.

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  15. i think i'll forever associate rye with caraway, which is bad because i hate caraway. i'm thrilled to see thyme in these--nice herb choice!

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  16. These look simply perfect. I am with you on berries - can't get enough of them. Hope you have having a great Saturday!!

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  17. I like the fact you have taken a rustic approach to these tarts.They look very welcoming and would be a comfort when the Summer rain is pounding against the window.

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  18. Is there anything better than fresh berry season? What a great way to use them!

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  19. I love the nutty flavor of rye flour and I bet it pairs perfectly with the season's fresh berries! What gorgeous tarts!

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  20. looks so easy to prepare and delicious...mouthwatering!

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  21. I really like the addition of rye flour to the tart crust. Whole grain flours add another element of flavor to baked goods. Berry season seems so fleeting. And your scrumptious tarts are a reminder to bake and make jam now, before it is too late. A tempting dessert!

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  22. I'm the same way and tend to go on berry overload when they're in season! I love how rustic these tarts look.

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  23. Fun to use rye flour, Lisa. Will definitely try it. We get so spoiled in Florida with year round berries....not as good as picking your own as we can in the summer, but still. I've never baked much with blackberries, but this looks lovely. And I've always liked individual servings.

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  24. This tart is beautiful. I love the sound of that crust! Berry season in Israel is soooo short. And, we really only get strawberries. I wish it were longer!!

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  25. This really is the best summer dessert....fresh, simple, fruity and very cute. I will have to try rye flour in a crust now.

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  26. These look absolutely beautiful. Perfect summer dessert!

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