Summer Berry, Lemon, and Mascarpone Tart

Prep: 20 mins

Cook: 20 mins

Chilling: 20 mins

Total: 60 mins

Servings: 8 servings

Yield: 1 tart

This summer berry, lemon, and mascarpone tart will become your favorite dessert of the season as it is so simple to make. The pastry crust is the trickiest part, but just follow the instructions, and all will be fine. If making the sweet pastry crust is too much for you, feel free to use a store-bought one.

The filling is no-cook, so it only takes a few moments to make. Just top the rich, creamy tart with your favorite berries arranged in any pleasing way and serve—it's that simple. 

Ingredients

Pastry Dough:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

• 1 cup powdered sugar

• 2 tablespoons water, cold

Filling:

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 1/4 cups mascarpone cheese

• 1/2 cup heavy cream

• 1/2 lemon, juiced and zested

• 1 pound summer berries, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries

Steps to Make It

Make the Dough

1. Gather the ingredients.

2. Place the flour, salt, butter, and 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar into the bowl of a food processor. Process until all the ingredients are mixed and resemble coarse sand.

3. Add 2 tablespoons of cold water and process again, adding a little more water as needed for the pastry dough to clump together.

4. Tip the contents of the food processor onto the countertop and lightly knead the pastry dough together and leave to rest for 10 minutes.

5. Roll dough between two sheets of parchment paper into a circle large enough to line an 8-inch loose-bottom tart tin.

6. Place the paper-wrapped pastry dough into the refrigerator for 20 minutes to chill.

7. Heat the oven to 400 F.

8. Lightly grease the tart tin. Carefully remove the top layer of parchment paper from the pastry and flip over to cover the tart tin, then remove the second sheet of parchment. The pastry will be quite fragile, but working quickly, gently press into tin covering the bottom and the sides. If the pastry cracks, just gently push it back together. Trim the edges and crimp using your thumbs and forefingers.

9. Place one piece of the parchment paper into the tart and cover with either baking beans or uncooked rice grains to weigh the paper down — this is called blind baking.

10. Bake in the center of the hot oven for 15 minutes. If the top edges of the tart brown too quickly, cover with aluminum foil. Remove the parchment and beans or rice and cook for 5 more minutes. 

11. Once the pastry is a deep golden brown, remove from the oven and leave to cool completely.

Make the Filling

1. Gather the ingredients.

2. Using an electric hand mixer, beat together the vanilla extract, mascarpone cheese, heavy cream, remaining 1/2 cup of powdered sugar, lemon juice, and zest until the mixture thickens and creates soft peaks.

3. Fill the cooled pastry crust with the thick cream and smooth with the back of a spoon or a small spatula.

4. Decorate with the summer berries. Keep chilled in the refrigerator until needed. You can make the tart the morning of the day you need it, but do not decorate until ready to serve. 

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories	784
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 61g	79%
Saturated Fat 37g	185%
Cholesterol 173mg	58%
Sodium 381mg	17%
Total Carbohydrate 56g	20%
Dietary Fiber 6g	20%
Total Sugars 22g
Protein 9g
Vitamin C 66mg	329%
Calcium 111mg	9%
Iron 2mg	14%
Potassium 347mg	7%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.