Mixed fruit tartlet

pâte sablée tart base
1 vanilla pod
200g plain flour
125g sugar
125 unsalted butter, room temperature
1 egg

• Preheat the oven to 160°C. Split the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds with the back of a small knife.
• Mix the seeds into the plain flour. Add sugar, butter and egg, mixing gently with an electric mixer to form a dough. Knead the dough by hand until it comes together, then wrap tightly with cling film. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Remove the cling wrap and roll the dough out with a rolling pin. Line the base of a 9-inch round tart tin and bake till golden brown, about 7 minutes.

crème pâtissière 
1 litre whole milk
1 vanilla pod, split
80g cornstarch
16 egg yolks
350g sugar
150g unsalted butter, cubed

• In a saucepan, bring the milk to a gentle simmer over low heat. Add the split vanilla pod to infuse for 3-5 minutes. Discard the vanilla pod and remove the saucepan from heat. Add in cornstarch and mix well.
• Combine the egg yolks and sugar, whisking well until light and fluffy. Add the milk into the egg and sugar mix, stir well and return to low heat. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring continuously until the mixture is smooth and thick.
• Remove from heat and add in the butter, little by little, until completely blended. Pour into a heat-proof container and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours.

fruit topping
1 punnet raspberries
1 punnet blueberries
1 punnet blackberries

• Fill the cooled tart base with crème pâtissière and top with assorted berries.

Excerpt from the February 2014 issue of epicure.

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