Mascarpone Fresh Mixed Berry Tart

The perfect summer dessert, this mixed berry tart is so easy to put together it will blow your mind. This fresh berry tart is elegant yet simple, and your friends and family will love you (even more) for it! It has a layer of raspberry jam; a rich vanilla mascarpone cream and it’s topped with all the fresh berries you can find! I hope you love it as much as I do!

Ingredient notes

• Fresh mixed berries: I use strawberries, raspberries, blueberries. You can use the ones you like best.
• A shortbread crust/pate sable: I recommend you make your own crust. For a full step by step, with video included guide on how to make almond shortbread crust you can click here Shortbread Crust. But if you don't feel like it, you can always use a store-bought crust.
• Raspberry jam: super easy to make it yourself. Find a full recipe with all the tips and tricks here Raspberry Jam-Filled Brioche Donuts.
• Vanilla bean: you can replace with vanilla paste.
• Whipping cream: full fat content cream is necessary to be able to whip the cream to soft peaks, as required in the recipe.
• Mascarpone cheese: try to use a good quality one.

Materials you will need to make this recipe

• Rolling pin
• A 20 cm / 8 inch tart tin.
• Whisk or electrical mixer.

How to make vanilla mascarpone cream?

Making vanilla mascarpone cream is rather easy. We are mixing 2 different elements that should have the same texture or be close:

• Using a whisk, smooth out the mascarpone cheese making sure there are no lumps in it.
• In a separate bowl whisk the whipping cream, the vanilla bean seeds, and the powdered sugar until it has formed soft peaks.
• Add 1/3 of the whipped cream into the mascarpone and mix until smooth. Fold in the rest of the cream.

You are now ready to assemble the berry tart!

How to make this recipe: step by step instructions

• Spread a thin layer of the raspberry jam using a small off-set spatula or the back of a spoon over the baked crust. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
• Fill the tart with the vanilla mascarpone cream and evenly spread it out all the way up the border of the tart. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
• Top with the fresh berries! Refrigerate for a couple of hours before serving.

Recipe Notes

• The shortbread crust needs to be prebaked. To do so, roll out your dough to 3 mm approximately and line a 20 cm tart mould. Line your crust with parchment paper and fill it with baking pie weight (rice or beans can also do the trick, but they are smellier!). Blind bake: 10 minutes with the weights. Remove the pie weights and parchment paper and continue to bake until the crust is cooked and slightly coloured. Transfer onto a cooling rack.
• Once you cover the base with the raspberry jam, refrigerate. And use those 15 minutes to prepare the vanilla mascarpone cream.
• After you fill the tart with the mascarpone cream, you can keep in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours before you top with the fresh mixed berries.
• If you want to make your berries shine a little, toss with a dash of powdered sugar before adding them onto the tart.

Serving tips

This French dessert is best served cold.

Storage tips

This tart keeps for up to 24 hours in the refrigerator without the fresh berries.

Once it has been topped with the berries, you can keep for an extra day.

Freezer instructions

This tart cannot be frozen once it has been assembled.

How to prep ahead

• You can pre-bake the shortbread crust 1 day ahead and keep it safely stored.
• After you fill the tart with the mascarpone cream, you can keep in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours before you top with the fresh mixed berries.
• Then proceed to assembly the berry tart a couple of hours before you are ready to serve.

Variations to this recipe

• You can choose the berries you like the most and make for example just a strawberry tart or just a blueberry tart. They both pair divinely the mascarpone cream.
• You can also make this recipe into individual various tartlets. It makes approximately 6 small tarts.
• You can replace the raspberry jam by dulce de leche and the vanilla mascarpone cream by a simple Chantilly. Then top with the berries.
• You can use a shortcrust pastry instead of the shortbread crust if that is your preference. You can find a step-by-step recipe with all the tricks here Quiche Crust.
• You can also swap the shortcrust pastry with puff pastry. It is a little more delicate to prebake, as it shrinks for easily. The alternative is to bake a puff pastry disc on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (pinch with a fork all over to prevent it from puffing up). Then let it cool down, top with the mascarpone cream, and cover with the fresh berries. More of a rustic, free form, berry tart.