Blackcurrant Tart

Anyone who has a blackcurrant bush knows you will always end up with more berries than you know what to do with. Which means people are always searching for new blackcurrant recipes to use up this tasty fruit. This easy and delicious blackcurrant tart is a great way to use up a whole lot of berries, and impress your friends and family.

blackcurrant curd tart with powdered sugar and blackcurrant berries with flowers

One of the great things about tarts is how many different ways you can fill and decorate them. Of course, you can also make them sweet or savory. I have plenty of tart recipes on this blog, but thanks to my new perforated tart mold, I’ve been getting into fancier French patisserie styles.

This blackcurrant tart recipe uses my easy pate sucree shell as a base. This is the shell for all my sweet tarts like custard berry or tarte au citron. The filling is super easy to make as it is essentially a riff of a creme patisserie.

What Are Blackcurrants?

A blackcurrant is a type of shrub that grows small edible berries, also called blackcurrants. They are sweet and tart, and used in a huge variety of dishes. Blackcurrants are less tart than redcurrants, which make them optimal for desserts as you don’t need to add as much sugar. They have a similar flavor profile to chokeberry (aka aronia) which I also use in tarts!

Blackcurrants are slowly regaining popularity in America after being banned for decades. This was due to the fact some strains of the shrub brought disease to the the ubiquitous North American white pine.

How To Make A Delicious Blackcurrant Tart Dessert

This blackcurrant tart recipe is comprised of two parts; The pate sucree pastry shell and the filling. As you can make the pastry shell a day or two in advance, I suggest making it first so you can use it when needed.

How To Make A Sweet Tart Crust

Just like with pate brisee, this sweet version of a tart crust uses fairly simple ingredients. However as with most baking recipes I do recommend you follow the weights without deviation as baking is more a science than an art.

Ingredients

  • 150 grams Flour – All Purpose flour works well here. If you use cake or bread flour the crust may have unfavorable results.
  • 50 grams Sugar – white granulated sugar is best in this recipe.
  • 110 grams Butter – Use a quality butter with a higher fat percentage than standard American butter if you can find it. I recommend something above 82% fat (I use 82.5% fat butter for both my sweet and savory tarts).
  • 1 large Egg Yolk
  • 1 tbsp Milk
  • 5 grams Vanilla Powder – if you want to use vanilla extract instead then measure out just a teaspoon.
  • 1/4 tsp Salt

How To Make Pate Sucree Dough

Add all your dry ingredients (flour, sugar, vanilla powder, salt) to the bowl of a stand mixer and let combine. You can also do this with a whisk as it all combines pretty easily.

mixing in the butter to form a loose sandy dough

Next add in the butter and let run until you have a crumbly, sandy mixture. If you squeeze the mix together with your fingers it will press together, but will fall apart quickly. You want your butter to be colder than room temperature, but it does not need to be super chilled like many American pie crust recipes.

Finally add in the egg yolk and milk. Run the machine until you have a clumpy, almost cookie-dough consistency mix. In fact, pate sucree does make pretty decent sugar cookies if you wanted to do cut-out shape cookies to decorate with kids.

Pate Sucree dough on the paddle of a stand mixer

Remove the pate sucree dough from the mixer and form into a ball. Place in a bowl and cover with a lid or plastic wrap. Then place the bowl in the fridge to chill for a couple hours.

Baking Tart or Tartelette Shells

When your dough is sufficiently chilled (cold but not rock hard) remove it from the bowl and place it on a floured surface. Use a rolling pin to flatten it out to about a third of a centimeter (about 3-4mm).

If you are making a large single tart you will want to make the entire sheet quite uniform with no cracks or lumps. However if you are making personal tartelettes for a cocktail party for example then you can divide the dough into smaller pieces which are easier to roll out.

Press the dough into your tart mold so it is firmly compacted into shape. Then run a thin knife all along the edge to remove excess dough. I like to do this step already on my silicone baking mat so there is little movement.

Dock (poke holes) into the bottom of the tart and place the tray in the freezer for 15 minutes. Preheat your oven to 180C.

freshly baked pate sucree tart crust on a silicone baking mat

Place the tray in the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Because we froze the dough a bit before baking, you do not need to blind bake or use pie weights. Your crust should remain flat and even, and just barely pull away from the mold when it is done. Set aside and let come completely to room temperature before adding the filling.

How To Make A Quick Blackcurrant Tart Filling

blackcurrant tart curd filling ingredients on a table

You only need a few ingredients for this easy blackcurrant curd recipe. Disregard the number of eggs in the photo above, I made far too much curd – just use the weights and measurements down below.

Blackcurrant Curd Ingredients

  • 285 grams Blackcurrants – you can use fresh or frozen berries. I actually think frozen might be easier as they break down faster.
  • 50 ml Lemon Juice – you can use freshly squeezed or bottled. This just adds a bit of brightness to the curd and balances the sweet with a bit of tart.
  • 140 grams Sugar – white, granulated
  • 2 Eggs
  • 2 Egg Yolks
  • 100 grams Butter – cubed
cooking blackcurrants and lemon juice in a pan

Add the blackcurrants and lemon juice to a pan on medium heat. Cook until the blackcurrants begin to pop and release all their juice. You want the berries to break down quite a bit because even though we will blend later, you don’t want any skin fragments in your final curd.

melting butter into the blackcurrant tart curd

Add the butter and stir until the butter is all melted and mixed in. Then take the pan off the heat. In another large bowl whisk together the eggs and egg yolks. Continue whisking as you trickle the hot blackcurrant/butter mix in, gently cooking the eggs into a creamy curd consistency. You do not want to scramble the eggs so add the hot liquid slowly while whisking constantly.

Pour the curd into the tart shell. You can use an offset pastry spatula to smooth the top flat, or you can just leave it as is. Pre-heat your oven to 180C and when it comes to temperature pop the tart in and immediately turn off the heat. Let sit in the now-off oven for 10 minutes, then remove.

Allow blackcurrant tart to come to room temperature and then place in the fridge to chill before decorating and serving.

How To Decorate A Fancy Blackcurrant Tart

blackcurrant curd tart with powdered sugar and blackcurrant berries with flowers

You don’t need a lot to spruce up your homemade blackcurrant tart. In fact, I keep it quite simple. I just add a handful of berries on one side of the tart, then dust half the tart with some confectioner’s sugar. I did add some flowers for the photograph, but you don’t need to go that far.

You can also go even more fancy and pipe some homemade meringue on top, then run over it with a blowtorch for a few seconds for a brulee appearance. That actually would be more similar to a blackcurrant meringue pie (a variation of the popular lemon version).

More Dessert Tart Recipes You Might Like

blackcurrant curd tart with powdered sugar and blackcurrant berries with flowers

Blackcurrant Tart

Anyone who has a blackcurrant bush knows you will always end up with more berries than you know what to do with. Which means people are always searching for new blackcurrant recipes to use up this tasty fruit. This easy and delicious blackcurrant tart is a great way to use up a whole lot of berries, and impress your friends and family.
5 from 2 votes
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Chilling Time 6 hours
Total Time 7 hours 15 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine English, European, French
Servings 8 people
Calories 320 kcal

Equipment

  • 1 Tart Ring | or small tartelette molds if you are doing individual tarts
  • 1 Baking Tray
  • 1 Oven
  • 1 (Immersion) Blender | or a regular blender
  • 1 Mesh Strainer | optional

Ingredients
  

Blackcurrant Curd

  • 285 grams Blackcurrants you can use fresh or frozen berries. I actually think frozen might be easier as they break down faster.
  • 50 ml Lemon Juice you can use freshly squeezed or bottled. This just adds a bit of brightness to the curd and balances the sweet with a bit of tart.
  • 140 grams Sugar white, granulated
  • 2 Eggs
  • 2 Egg Yolks
  • 100 grams Butter cubed

Pate Sucree Tart Shell

  • 150 grams Flour All Purpose flour works well here. If you use cake or bread flour the crust may have unfavorable results.
  • 50 grams Sugar white granulated sugar is best in this recipe.
  • 110 grams Butter Use a quality butter with a higher fat percentage than standard American butter if you can find it. I recommend something above 82% fat I use 82.5% fat butter for both my sweet and savory tarts.
  • 1 large Egg Yolk
  • 1 tbsp Milk
  • 5 grams Vanilla Powder if you want to use vanilla extract instead then measure out just a teaspoon.
  • 1/4 tsp Salt

Instructions
 

Tart Shell

  • Add the flour, salt, sugar, and vanilla powder to the bowl of a stand mixer. Quickly whisk together.
  • Add the butter and beat until you have a crumbly, sandy mixture.
  • Add the eggs and milk and mix until you have a grainy, sugar cookie style dough. Remove from the mixer and place into the fridge to chill. Note: if your kitchen is very cold you might not need to chill the dough and you can go right on to the next step.
  • Roll out your dough to about 1/3cm thickness. Drape it into your tart mold on a baking tray and press the dough into the sides so it is evenly shaped. Poke holes on the bottom with a fork. Place tray in the freezer for 15 minutes. Preheat your oven to 175C or 350F
  • Place tray in the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Remove and let cool completely (1-2 hours at room temperature) before adding any filling.

Blackcurrant Curd

  • In a pan on medium heat add the blackcurrants and lemon juice. Cook until the blackcurrant berries pop and release their juice.
  • Add the sugar and mix it in until dissolved, then blend with a stick blender (or move to a stand blender and then move back) until smooth. You can strain it through a sieve but it's entirely optional.
  • Add the butter and stir while it melts in.
  • In a large bowl whisk together the eggs and egg yolks. Then trickle the hot blackcurrant/butter mix into the eggs while whisking constantly. Do not scramble the eggs; trickle slowly and do not stop whisking.
  • Pour the mix into the tart shell. You can smooth out with an offset spatula but that is also optional.
  • Place in the oven and close the door. Immediately turn the oven off. Wait 10 minutes, remove the tart, and allow to come to room temperature before placing in the fridge to chill. Then you can decorate and serve it.
Keyword Blackcurrant, Blackcurrant Tart, Fruit Tart, Sweet Dough, Tartelette
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2 thoughts on “Blackcurrant Tart”

  1. 5 stars
    Not gonna lie I used premade shells, but this blackcurrant tart curd filling is soooooooo good. I added a bit more sugar since I know I don’t do tart well at all, but it was so delicious.

  2. 5 stars
    Came out divine. I’m soooo happy it’s blackcurrant season still and I had a bunch to make stuff with

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