Apple and Berry Rustic Tart has a quick prep and can be easily customized with your choice of fruits, spices, and even herbs! A rustic tart is a great way to make a simple but elegant fruit dessert.
What I think of as dessert when it is cold outside are baked fruit desserts. One of the homiest desserts I can think of is a rustic tart. Rustic meaning it’s prepared free hand on a baking sheet and not perfect and proper in a removable bottom tart pan. Almost any time of the year, marvelous fresh fruit is available… and for me a delicious combination in winter is apples or pears with berries.
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Another wonderful thing about this fruit combination is you have flavoring options. You can go with no spice, a single spice, or even more than one spice. Try cinnamon, coriander, cardamom, nutmeg, or even curry powder!
Ingredients
You can also use fresh herbs like basil, thyme, or oregano. AND, I always add a little citrus juice and/or zest. I’m a big fan of lemon. It really brightens the flavor of both sweet and savory dishes.
Instructions
Begin making this rustic tart by peeling and chopping the apples. Cutting the apples into small pieces helps the apple to cook quickly and be tender at the same time as the pie crust turns a lovely golden brown.
Then unroll your pie crust pastry onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
Mix the chopped apples, blackberries, spices, cornstarch, sugar and lemon juice in a large bowl.
Next, mound the fruit into the center of the pie crust and leave a border of at least 2 inches, uncovered with fruit. Fold the crust border up and over the fruit, brush with egg white, and generously sprinkle the crust with sparkling sugar.
The apple and berry tart is now ready for the oven and will need to be baked for 40 to 50 minutes. You want the crust to be golden brown and the fruit tender when pierced with a sharp knife.
A little egg wash around the edge of this rustic tart brings a nice golden color to the pastry. Hmmm? But, which one to use? Water? Cream? Egg? What part of the egg? Whole? White? Yolk? Let me help you decide with a chart I composed comparing pastry washes.
I chose to use a simple egg white wash for this tart, because egg white will help adhere the sugar to the crust. But it will not add extra browning to the crust. If I were to use a whole egg or egg yolk wash, the pie crust would become too brown before the filling is cooked.
Think about it… a bit of pastry, two fruits, some sweetener (I used sugar), and a spice or herb and you have an incredible personalized treat!
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Recipe
Apple and Berry Rustic Tart
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 Refrigerated Pie Crust, (or Homemade Crust)
Filling
- 2 Granny Smith Apples or Bartlett Pears, Peeled, Cored, and Chopped
- 9 oz Blackberries, Raspberries, or Blueberries
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
- ¼ Cup Granulated White Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Corn Starch or Arrowroot
- ½ Teaspoons Ground Coriander or Cinnamon
- ½ Teaspoons Freshly Ground Nutmeg
Finish
- 1 Egg White
- 3 Tablespoons White Sparkling Sugar, Turbinado Sugar, or Pearl Sugar
Garnish
- 1 Tablespoon Powered Sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Following the manufacturer’s directions, unroll 1 pie crust and place it on a large parchment lined baking sheet.
- In a medium sized bowl gently mix the chopped apples, blackberries, lemon juice, white granulated sugar, corn starch, ground coriander or cinnamon, and ground nutmeg.
- Spoon the filling into a mound in the center of pie crust leaving a 2” border uncovered with fruit. Fold the crust border up and slightly over filling. Gently press the overlapping crust to seal.
- In a small bowl, beat the egg white with a whisk until frothy. Brush the exposed crust with the beaten egg white and then sprinkle the crust with the chosen sugar.
- Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the fruit filling is tender when pierced with a fork.
- Remove from oven, cool, and transfer the tart to a serving plate.
- Dust the tart with powdered sugar for extra beauty and serve.
Nutrition
