Saskatoon Berry Tart

For the berries:

Mix water and sugar together in a saucepan then add the rest of the berries ingredients. Bring mixture to a boil then lower heat and continue until it’s reduced to a thickened syrup. Once they are done, remove them from the heat and set aside to cool.

For the custard:

Put the sugar and egg yolks in a medium-sized bowl and beat them together with a whisk for 2-3 minutes or until the mixture is pale yellow. Beat in the flour. Continue beating and slowly add the boiling milk. Start with just a dribble at a time in the beginning and make sure you continue beating. Starting slowly and beating constantly will temper the eggs. Finish beating in all of the milk then pour the mixture back into the saucepan and over medium heat stir with a whisk. Bring sauce to a boil. If it gets lumpy just continue to whisk and it will smooth out.

Once it boils, lower the heat to medium low and cook whisking constantly for 2-3 minutes. Make sure you reach all the sides of the pan and don’t let the custard scorch.

Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter and almond extract. If the custard is not used immediately dot the top with the butter. This will prevent it from forming a skin.

Fill the tart shells with a dollop of the custard and top with the berries just before serving. If you aren’t going to serve them immediately, refrigerate the custard tarts and berry topping separately.

Custard recipe adapted from Mastering The Art of French Cooking by Julia Child.