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The stores are bursting with blueberries, so grab an abundance and make this gorgeous tart. The pastry is speckled with fresh vanilla seeds and lined with dark chocolate for a sneaky surprise and the filling is a luxurious mascarpone spiked with lemon zest. Perfect as an alfresco dessert after a barbecue.
Ingredients
Sweet Pastry
250 grams plain flour
50 grams icing sugar
125 grams cold unsalted butter, cubed
seeds scraped from one vanilla pod
1 medium free-range egg, beaten with a tablespoon of chilled milk
Filling
100 grams dark chocolate, melted
400 grams mascarpone
1/3 cup cream
1 tablespoon caster sugar
zest of 1 lemon
400 grams fresh blueberries
icing sugar for dusting
1 x 23cm loose-bottom tart tin
Recipe
Pastry: Put the flour, icing sugar, butter and vanilla seeds in a food processor and process briefly until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Pour in the egg and milk mixture and pulse until the dough just starts to come together. Tip onto a lightly floured bench and gently bring together with your hands. Form into a flat disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill in the fridge until firm, about 30 minutes.
Roll out on a lightly floured bench. Line the tart tin with the pastry and prick the base with a fork then freeze for 30 minutes until firm. (If using store-bought pastry, follow the preparation instructions on the packet before rolling out to line the tart tin.)
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan bake.
To bake the tart blind, line the pastry with kitchen foil and place some baking beans or rice in the base and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the beans and foil and return the pastry to the oven for a further 5 minutes until it is a pale biscuit colour. Remove and set aside to cool completely.
Filling: Once the tart shell has cooled, brush the bottom and sides of the pastry shell with the melted chocolate, then place in the fridge to set for 30 minutes.
Whisk the mascarpone, cream, caster sugar and lemon zest together until combined. Do not over whip it, or it will become too thick.
To finish: Pour the filling into the pastry shell and smooth over. Top with the blueberries and dust with icing sugar.
