For one agonizing week of my early childhood, I wanted to know what tarts were. It drove me mad I tell you, mad!
1) Nobody knew what the heck I was talking about
2) Getting ahold of one to sample was way out of the question, even if they were readily available, because of the house rule involving no sweets allowed.
I owe the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland for starting this mystery. The only part I was interested in during the entire cartoon movie was the magnificent table of English tea desserts and the Queen’s tarts. Growing up in rural Pennsylvania, deprived of the desserts of the world, I could not find a real life representation of a tart. My grandmother, being well traveled and well cultured, was the only person who knew what they were. She told me they were little cakes and would hold her thumb and forefinger in a circle to illustrate her point. She still couldn’t find any pictures other than the Alice in Wonderland illustrations and an old poem about the Queen of Hearts. I forgot about it and went about my way. Happily I finally saw real tarts 14 years later. They did not disappoint.
The tarts made here are an adaption of Ina Garten’s strawberry tarts. Blackberries are my favorite berries so I improvised.
The recipe is long when it’s written out but think of it in 4 stages: the pastry crust, custard filling, berry topping, and the final assembly. Little 4 inch tart pans with removable bottoms are ideal. That way you can pick them up and eat them without having to bother with a knife or fork. If you have a springform pan, that’ll work too. Last but not least, a regular pie pan works just as nice.
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