Tuesday, July 2, 2013

TwD: Baked Yogurt Tart with Red Currants and Wild Blueberries


Today we are making a Baked Yogurt Tart for the Tuesdays with Dorie group. The contributing baker for this recipe is Leslie Mackie.




The recipe for this wonderful simple tart is a two step process. You begin with preparing a Flaky Pie Dough, using all purpose flour (I used spelt flour), salt, cold unsalted butter, vegetable shortening  and ice water. After you prepare the pie dough, it needs a two hour rest in the fridge. Then you roll it out, fit it into your springfrom pan (I used a French tart pan with high sides and a removable bottom), chill the dough some more, and blind bake for a good 25 minutes or until the crust is lightly golden and set.




While the pre-baked pie shell cools on a rack, you can prepare the lovely filling using three eggs (I used organic), sugar, yogurt, flour, and vanilla extract (I used homemade vanilla sugar instead) and, of course, lovely berries or fruit – depending on the season.




Yogurt is packed with calcium, protein and B vitamins. It is made by adding a number of types of harmless bacteria to milk, causing it to ferment. This thickens it and gives it its characteristically tangy flavor. Cow's milk is the most common type used, but goat's, ewe's, sheep or buffalo's milk are also suitable. Most yogurt sold around here are “live”, which means that the yogurt still contains live bacteria. There are a number of different types to choose from. I chose whole milk organic yogurt, it is made from whole organic milk, it is a live yogurt that has been fermented with live culture bacteria and it has a smooth, creamy texture and a fresh, slightly tangy flavor. And organic yogurt has had additional “friendly” bacteria added to it and it has the mildest flavor and a particularly creamy texture, therefore making it the perfect choice for this Baked Yogurt Tart.




For the fruits I chose my favorite berries, red currants and wild blueberries. Red currants add a lovely splash of color to this tart. They are pretty, bright red, juicy berries with a tart, sparkling flavor. Fresh red currants are essential in summer pudding, but also marry beautifully with wild blueberries for this simply elegant tart.

In German-speaking areas, red currants are called “Johannisbeeren” because the red currants ("John's berry" in German) are said to ripen first on St. John's Day, also known as Midsummer Day, June 24. So we are just at the start of the red currant season right now and I had a bit of a hard time finding some because the weather has been rather cool around here.




Once the baked tart shell had cooled sufficiently, I mixed up the ingredients for the yogurt filling, added the
fruit and baked the tart for about 50 minutes. Instead of chopped almonds, I used chopped bright green pistachios to sprinkle around the edge of the tart.

We liked this tart quite a bit, it tasted a bit like a vanilla custard/cheesecake tart – what a nice and pretty dessert and quite different from the yogurt cakes that I usually bake, yogurt for the filling itself was "a first" for me and we liked it in this tart.

To see what the other members of the Tuesdays with Dorie group thought of this Baked Yogurt Tart, please click here.



41 comments:

  1. Andrea, Your tart and your presentation are gorgeous! I love red currents…I have wanted to grow them in my yard however, you are not allowed to grow them in NJ because of some disease they brought to the state when they were first introduced. It’s also very hard to find them in the market here.
    Love your choices for this tart. Pistachios, red currents and wild blueberries…they all sound so wonderful! Have a great day!

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    1. Kathy, red curranzs are just wonderful, I used to pick them in my grand-mother´s garden and have always appreciated their distinct tartness which makes them ideal for baking.

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  2. Beautiful tart!! Love the bright red color of the currants!!!!

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    1. Thank you very much, glad that you enjoyed the bright color of the red currants!

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  3. Perfect, Andrea!!! You had the perfect pan...and the berries and pistachios make it so elegant. Brava, my friend!

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    1. Liz, thanks so much - the baking pan with the removable bottom hails from France - I have used more times than I can remember and I love it!

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  4. Wow!!! Your tart looks fantastic! Great job! I love the colours of the tart with the blueberries, currants and pistachios.

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    1. Sandra, at first I could not settle on the fruits to use but in the end I was quite happy that I did find some red currants and the wild blueberries - the pistachios added a nice, colorful and tasty touch!

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  5. Beautiful and elegant! I like the idea of using vanilla sugar instead of vanilla.

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    1. Karen, I liked the simplicity of this tart - just my kind of tart - and I tried to keep the presentation simple. Although iz is somewhat elegant, it is, after all, an everyday kind of tart.

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  6. What a beautiful tart Andrea! I never thought that baking yoghurt would work but why not?? It looks fantastic moist and I'm sure the berries added a nice sweetness with a hint of freshness! :) Yum!! Homemade pastry dough is so much better than store bought, your wonderful tart just inspired me to make a pie as soon as possible :) Thank you and have wonderfuld day dear!
    xox Amy

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    1. Amy, thanks so much for the kind words - I had never baked with yogurt as a filling before either - but I have baked a lot of yogurt cakes (there are a ton of French recipes for yogurt cakes). It was a nice and different tart that was made even more delicious with some wonderful seasonal berries in the yogurt filling itself.
      Noch einen schönen Mittwoch!

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  7. Your tart is just gorgeous! And perfect for the 4th of July if you were in the US with its red white and blue colour scheme.

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    1. Thank you - no red, white and blue theme intended, it just happened that way - this tart was easy and delicious and certainly a nice way to showcase those lovely seasonal berries.

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  8. This tart is so beautiful - perhaps your little tag should have said, "Home is where there TART is!" Everything about this post makes me want be there with you having a piece - your photos are ausgezeichnet, and I love your props - from the tag, to the plates, to the wonderful chair from St. Tropez. Ich wünsche für Sie ein wunderbarer Tag und ein schönes Wochenende! ~ David

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    1. David, you made me smile there, "Home is where TART is!" will be my future motto! For sure! Love it! And thank you so much for your very thoughtful and kind comment - you always leave such wonderful comments and I always appreciate them so much!

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  9. Oh, Andrea - the currants and pistachios add such a lovely finish.

    This almost cheesecake like dessert was a treat, wasn't it?

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    1. Cher, thanks so much, I use so many almonds in my baking, that I wanted to use different nuts this time - besides I love those buttery pistachios and those tart red currants are my very favorite berries and they add a nice splash of color to the tart.

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  10. What a beautiful tart. Funny, but I always bake low tarts, but your high one looks so sumptuous. I just might have to invest in a new tart oan. I am intrigued by the yogurt filling. It sounds wonderful, and your berry and pistachio combination is just gorgeous. This is one tempting tart, most certainly!

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    1. Adri, I could not agree with you more, just like you, I always adore those very large low tarts, the ones that can feed a whole clan, not simply a family but when I read through the recipe, I realized that my tart pans with the low sides would not hold the filling plus the berries, so I pulled out this pan and it turned out to be just right for this Yogurt Tart.

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  11. Gorgeous tart! It's Independence day over here, so it fits with the red white and blue too!

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    1. Ashley, thank you - the red, white and blue theme is not intentional, it just happens to be the color of the berries for this tart - but Happy Independance Day to you and your family, Ashley, enjoy the festivities!

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  12. What a pretty tart Andrea, I love the greenness of the chopped pistachios on top again the creaminess of the tart.

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    1. Laura, thank you for your nice comment! Pistachios always add such a lovely color to any baked goods and they taste wonderful too.

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  13. Love the colors in here Andrea! It sounds so yummy too! Almost a bit patriotic!

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    1. Chris, thanks, but only almost - red, white and blue kind are kind of French colors as well.

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  14. What a beauty, Andrea!
    The berries, in the center, pistachio border, simply beautiful.

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    1. Thanks so much, Colette - another dessert that you would probably also liek with that yogurt and all!

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  15. It looks lovely! I like your combination of fruit and nuts.

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    1. Thank you, fresh berries are abundant these day and they pair so well with the lovely pistachios.

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  16. What a lovely tart, Andrea. The sweetness of the blueberries and the tartness of the red currents is a wonderful combination. I'm going to have to look for a deeper tart pan that has a removable bottom...all mine are shallow.

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    1. Karen, these deeper tart pans with removable bottoms are wonderful - if you can find one, get one, it always makes for a very elegant tart with the higher sides and it holds a lot of delicious filling too.

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  17. Simply stunning Andrea! The cluster of cassis? on top is the perfect touch for this wonderful custard tart! I love how tall it turned out.

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    1. Paula, thanks for the nice comment - red currants are my favorite berries, I really appreciate their tartness in my baked goods.

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  18. I only had current in scones (turned dark color) and never seen it in cake with the bright red color! So pretty! If you live in my neighborhood, I'll be over to have a cup of tea with you everyday. :D

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    1. Nami, red currants are tart and bright red and in summertime I often use them for my baking - fortunately, they never turned dark. Would love to have you over for a piece of cake or pie or cookie and a delicious cup of tea every single afternoon.

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  19. Your tart is just gorgeous! I've never had red currants or wild blueberries. Both are beautiful.

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    1. Jora, I am sure that you would love these teeny tiny wild blueberries, they are sweet and have a wonderful taste - the first time I ate them was in Norway whe we collected them in the forrest near our vacation home.

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  20. I haven't baked with the group for a few months--I miss Dorie/Julia's delicious desserts. They are always beautiful, unique and delicious. Love your photos--as usual!

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