Between the two of us, Eve has always been the baker. Ivy would always help Eve bake cupcakes and tarts but would never try to make something entirely on her own. However, once Eve was away at college Ivy had no one to bake sweets for her, so she had to take matters into her own hands. Ivy saw a recipe in Martha Stewart Living for mini blueberry-lavender cornmeal tarts. Not only did the photos look delicious, but it combined basically everything she loves...blueberries, lavender, and cream! Ivy decided to try and make the tart in a big tart pan instead of little mini pans to limit her chances of burning them (remember Ivy was not a skilled baker compared to Eve). The tart was pretty simple and it turned out perfect the first time! We recently tried it with gluten free crust to accommodate some of our friends diet restrictions and it tasted great! We have listed both the cornmeal and gluten free crust recipes below. Ever since, this recipe has been one of our go-to tarts to make for summer parties because it is light but still hits the sweet spot.
xxx Ivy & Eve
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart Living
Ingredients
Cream:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoon culinary lavender (depends on how strong you want the flavor)
1-2 tablespoons of sugar (optional)
Cornmeal Crust:
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/4 cup finely ground cornmeal
1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 stick plus 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk
2 tablespoons ice water
Gluten Free Crust:
1 1/2 cups gluten free flour (we suggest Trader Joe's or Bob's Red Mill)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 pinch salt
7 tablespoons cold butter (sliced into pieces)
1-3 tablespoons cold water to bind
Filling:
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
1 to 2 cups fresh wild or regular blueberries or huckleberries
Directions
Cream: Place the cream and lavender in a sauce pan on the stove. Bring just to a boil (as if you were making tea) and remove from heat and cover. Let the cream and lavender "steep" till cool. Once cooled refrigerate.
Two options Cornmeal or Gluten Free Crust
Cornmeal: Combine sugar, cornmeal, flour, and salt in a food processor. Once mixed evenly add butter and pulse till the texture looks like coarse crumbs. Then add the yolk and ice water, pulse again till mixture is dough like. Knead dough until it is smooth. Then shape into a disk and wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes. After 30 minutes or more take dough out and let it warm to room temperature. Roll it out with a little flour to around 1/8 inch thick. Then transfer to tart pan. Pressing dough to the sides and stab the dough with a fork along the bottom. Put back in the refrigerator for another 30 minutes.
Gluten Free: Combine the flour, sugar, salt, and butter in a food processor. Pulse till the texture looks like coarse crumbs. Add a little bit of water while pulsing until the dough combines and looks like pebbles. Then shape into a disk and wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Roll it out with a little flour to around 1/8 inch thick. Then transfer to tart pan. Pressing dough to the sides and stab the dough with a fork along the bottom. Put back in the refrigerator for another 30 minutes.
Two options Cornmeal or Gluten Free Crust
Cornmeal: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Once you have waited 30 minutes, take the tart pan out of the fridge and place tart pan on baking sheet. Bake till golden brown, make sure to watch the bottom of the tart, sometimes it puffs up (press it down if it puffs up). It should bake around 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.
Gluten Free: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Once you have waited 30 minutes, take the tart pan out of the fridge and place tart pan on baking sheet. Bake for 20-30 minutes until the edges are starting to golden. Remove from oven and let cool.
Filling: Wait to do this until right before serving. Remove the cream/lavender from the fridge and use a mesh strainer to separate the lavender from the cream into a mixing bowl. Once sifted you should have lavender infused cream. Add sugar, and vanilla bean seeds to cream. Mix on medium till peaks start to appear. Pour onto cool tart crust, spread evenly. Top with berries and sprinkle a pinch or two dried lavender on top and serve.
Variations: If you choose to use small tart tins, decrease the time for baking the tart shells significantly! They should only take about 10-15 minutes max to bake. Keep an eye on them and never leave the kitchen while baking tart shells.
