Finnish Blueberry Tart

I am a sucker for a good Finnish dish. I haven't tried one I don't like yet...although I wasn't a fan of Kaalilaatikko as a kid which is a cabbage bake. I remember my brother and I cringing when we knew it was coming knowing it was cabbage, although I do recall I didn't actually mind the taste. I think I would like it now though, I will try it out myself one day.

A few months ago I got my hands on a cute little cookbook called the Nordic Bakery Cookbook, I wrote about it here. I decided to try the blueberry tart a few weekends back. Although I don't recall ever eating blueberry tart as a kid my Mum has said my grandmother often made berry desserts when she was a kid and she had to go out and collect the berries herself. We don't have that luxury here in the city, unfortunately, however in Finland the forrests are full of berries so berry based desserts are very popular.

In the Nordic Bakery Cookbook they use a rye crust however I decided to use my grandmother's famous ricotta pastry (quark pastry). You will find this pastry appears in quite a few of my recipes, sweet and savoury, and they are the basis for the Finnish Christmas Jam Tarts known as Joulutorttu. The pastry calls for a whole 250g block of butter, and as much as I can hear my arteries screaming out NOOO, my taste buds are screaming out YEEES! The pastry simply melts in your mouth. Although initially I wasn't sure how this quark pastry would tie in with the crème fraiche filling of this tart I was very pleasantly surprised. Of course after I had a wee slice (or two) I took the rest into the office, and the compliments were abundant. So I can confirm now the pastry was a hit with this very light but tasty filling.

This recipe is adapted from the Nordic Bakery Cookbook using my grandmother's famous quark pastry.

Pastry:

250g butter, cubed at room temperature

250g ricotta

250g plain flour

Mix butter and flour together with your fingers to form a crumby consistency.  Add ricotta and combine well to make dough. Roll out into a disc shape, wrap in cling wrap and place into the fridge for 30 minutes.

Take the pastry dough out of the fridge and roll out on a floured surface, fold into three (like an envelope) and roll out again. You need to make a circular shape to cover a 25-27cm flan tin, at about 10mm thickness. You may need to add a bit of flour to the dough to make it workable and less sticky. Once rolled out gently lift the dough with rolling pin and place into the greased tin. Press into the sides and cut off any excess.

Filling (adapted from the Nordic Bakery Cookbook):

150ml crème fraiche

150ml sour cream

1 egg, lightly beaten

40g caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

250g blueberries

To make filling simply place all filling ingredients except the blueberries into a bowl and mix well.

I didn’t blind bake the pastry case before adding the filling but I would recommend you do so. Cover the base with baking paper and baking weights or a handful of rice and bake in preheated oven at 180^oC for 10-12 minutes, until slightly golden. Remove from oven and add filling, top with blueberries and bake at 200^oC for 25 minutes or until set and crust is golden brown.