Blackberry & Vanilla Ricotta Tart

Can we talk about things that are totally impractical?

Cinderella's glass slippers. No wonder she lost one of them at midnight. They would have killed her feet.

Serving sizes on packets of junk food. You're right. I'm only going to eat 30gr of M&Ms and then I'll put the bag down. Behave.

Red lipstick. It only has one goal. That is to get everywhere else, except for your lips. That's mainly your teeth.

Handbags so small that you can't actually fit anything into.  I fell in love with a bag that was shaped like an owl, shame it couldn't contain more than a bank card and a lip balm...

Serving dishes that you can't get a whole bag of Kettle Chips in. No one ever sets out to serve just 94% of a sharing bag of crisps. 

Freezer bags when you are collecting blackberries. First, your berries get squished. Second, you know that bag is going to split open and spill your carefully plucked wares all over the floor or down your jeans...

This tart is a sweet reward for all your stained and bramble scratched fingers. 

Ingredients

Pastry

200gr plain flour

Pinch of salt

45gr caster sugar

110 gr cold butter

1 egg

Ice cold water

Ricotta Filling

500gr ricotta

1 egg

1/2 vanilla pod (seeds only) 

50gr caster sugar (plus 2tbsp for the topping)

300gr blackberries

 Method

1, Make the pastry first by sifting the flour with the salt and sugar. Rub in the butter until you have a coarse breadcrumb texture. Using two knives, mix in the egg and bring it into ball. If its a bit dry and not coming together, use a tiny splash of ice cold water.

2, Shape the dough into a fat disc, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

3, Preheat your oven to 180o/c and roll out your dough to a thickness of around just under half a centimetre. Line a 9inch tart tin with your pastry and trim off any excess. Add a scrunched layer of greaseproof paper and fill with baking beans. 

4, Chill the tart crust for another 10mins before baking for 15-20 minutes or until the edges of the pastry are just starting to golden. Remove the baking beans and greaseproof paper and bake for another five minutes to crisp up the base. Leave this to cool completely before filling. 

5, Beat the ricotta filling with the egg, sugar and vanilla until completely smooth.  

6, Fill the tart with the ricotta filling and scatter the blackberries over the top. Gently press them into the filling but don’t submerge them completely. Scatter the remaining 2tbsp of caster sugar over the top and bake for 20 minutes or until the ricotta filling is set and slightly springy to the touch. 

7, If you don’t feel like making one big tart, try making mini tarts.  I made these with a Wilton mini muffin pan using the same method.