Elderberry Tart with Cassis
Elderberry Tart makes the most of this delicious foraged fruit. Elderberries & a cassis flavoured custard fill this butter pastry shell – Yum!
There’s an abundance of elderberries out there ready to be picked and preserved, the beauty of elderberries is that you don’t need to live in the countryside, you’ll find them in parks, gardens and alongside footpaths in the city too.
Elderberries are best not eaten raw, they can give some people a bad tum but if you’ve ever eaten one straight from the bush you’ll know they are rather tart. Tasting a bit like a blackberry but more sour and they have a slightly earthy taste. See my Harvesting Elderberries post for more details on what to look for when picking and more recipes with elderberries to make the most of your foraged fruit.
Tart aux Myrtilles is the inspiration for my Elderberry Tart. I’ve used a rich butter pastry and used a small amount of custard flavoured with Creme de Cassis as a base for the elderberries for my version of this much loved tart. It truly is delicious, the elderberries adding just the right amount of tartness and fruitiness and if you’re like us you won’t be able to stop at just one slice. Serve cold ( if you can wait that long) with a dollop of creme fraiche or Homemade Clotted Cream.
If you like elderberries, why not try my Elderberry Jelly with Port? – this fruity seedless jam is delicious on toast or a scone and is equally good with cooked or cold meats as it pairs perfectly with beef, pork, lamb and poultry. Simply add the jelly to your gravy or jus as you would when using redcurrant jelly.
Elderberry Tart
Equipment
- 1 x 23 cm (9 inch) flan/tart tin
Ingredients
Pastry:
- 200 g plain flour
- A pinch of salt
- 100 g chilled butter, cut into small cubes 3½ oz
- 4 tablespoons icing sugar
- 1 egg yolk freeze the white for later
- Approximately 2 tablespoons water
Filling:
- 2 eggs
- 115 g caster sugar plus 2 tablespoons for sprinkling
- 175 ml double cream
- 50 g plain flour
- 2 tablespoons creme de cassis
- 500 g cleaned ripe elderberries with stalks removed 1 lb
Instructions
Make the pastry
- Sieve the flour and salt into the mixing bowl of the stand mixer. Add cubes of butter and mix on slow with a paddle attachment until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the icing sugar and briefly mix.
- Briefly whisk egg yolk and water in a small bowl before adding to the pastry mix. Mix on slow until the pastry forms. This shouldn’t take long at all, less than a minute – you don’t want to overwork the pastry.
- Wrap the pastry in cling film and leave in the fridge for 30 minutes until firm but not hard.
- Grease 1 x 23 cm ( 9 inch ) loose bottomed flan tin.
- Roll out your pastry to about the thickness of a £1 coin ( ⅛ inch ) making sure the pastry circle is large enough for the diameter of your flan tin plus twice its depth.
- Carefully line your tin with your pastry before popping in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 200℃ / 180℃ Fan / 400℉ / Gas Mark 6.
Prepare the filling:
- Whisk together the eggs, sugar, cream, plain flour and creme de cassis until smooth.
- Place the elderberries in the pastry case and pour over the creamy filling.
- Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of caster sugar before placing in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes until baked.
Notes
Pin Elderberry Tart for later:
I’m linking my Elderberry Tart to a few food challenges this month:
- Credit Crunch Munch co hosted by Helen at Fuss Free Flavours and Michelle over at Utterly Scrummy, hosted this month by Michelle.
- Simple And In Season hosted by Katie over at Feeding Boys.
- Cook Once, Eat Twice over at Searching For Spice and hosted by Corina.
And linking to:
Fiesta Friday hosted this week by Antonia at Zoale and Sandhya at Indfused.
Is the custard filling poured over the berries, or do the berries go on top of the filling, with the extra sugar on the berries? Your photos look as if the berries are on top. Thanks for your response, as I want to make this soon–we’ve just picked & cleaned 30 cups of elderberries.
Hi Debra, sorry for the late reply. I found your comment in my spam box, I hope I’m not too late. The custard filling is poured over the berries in the pastry case and then sprinkled with caster sugar. My custard didn’t quite cover the elderberries and then I sprinkled icing sugar over the top for decoration to serve. Hope this helps, Sarah.
@Sarah James,
Thanks, Sarah. No, not late at all–haven’t made it yet. A couple of pies so far, but we will be using your recipe very soon.
Wow wow wow. Didn’t know what to expect with this recipe as so little sugar in the filling. But it’s a-maze-ing! It’s a massive thumbs up from the family.
We had it warm with cream and had seconds! Definitely one to keep. I love how the little berries burst in your mouth. Feels so wholesome and delicious. Thank you.
Thanks Nicky, I’m so pleased your family gave my elderberry tart the thumbs up. It’s always a pleasure to share my recipes, Sarah.
Do you bake the crust before filling?
Hello Mo, your question has prompted me to check the recipe card and I can see why you’ve asked about baking the pastry before filling. I updated the card last year and I see I’ve included ceramic beans and baking parchment in the equipment list. An error on my part and I’ve just amended it, so thank you. There is no need to blind bake the pastry case as the filled tart is baked for 35 to 40 mins, Sarah.
Fan oven or gas oven?
Hello Helen, you can bake the tart in a fan oven or gas oven. I used an electric fan oven, oven temperatures are for both gas and electric.
Hi Sarah, it doesn’t mention when to add the 115g caster sugar for the filling, we assumed to just put it in the mix, but thought I would let you know!
Thanks for letting me know Helen, I’ve amended the recipe to include the sugar addition. I hope you enjoy Elderberry tart as much as we do.
Any idea how far is advance this could be made?
Hello Zinnia, thanks for getting in touch. The tart will keep for up to three days, best stored in the fridge because of the custard. Do let me know how you get on.
I’ve only worked with elderberries dried, this dish with fresh berries is absolutely amazing!
Thanks Alexis, it’s well worth foraging for some fresh berries to make the tart. We look forward to elderberry season every year.
I have never tried elderberries except for the cordial. This tart looks and sounds super inviting. Will
Definitely make it the next time elderberries are in season.
Thanks Sapna, look forward to hearing how you get on.
This tart is so beautiful that I have researched growing elderberries. It turns out there is a nursery not far from me in Colorado that offers good varieties for us, and I have a spot in mind for it. First the shrub, then the tart!
Thanks Beth, it’s so much easier if you have elderberries growing in the garden. You can pick them at just the right time. Happy shrub hunting 🙂