Blueberry Tart

I have this lovely friend. Her name is Emily, and we've known each other since we were six. Now, Em has many, many talents - so many I surely couldn't name them all - but cooking is really not one of them. To her immense credit, though, she's been working on it. She even made muffins from scratch all by herself the other day. I was so proud! :)

Anyway, she was hanging out with me the other day, and so I decided we'd kill two birds with one stone: she could learn how to make a tart, and I would get an assistant. Sounds perfect!

What's really perfect, though, is this tart. It's like a blueberry pie, with all of the goodness of a pie but the elegance of a tart. And it has a secret, too - a few pieces of sweet peach hiding in all those gorgeous blueberries. Along with some ice cream, it makes the perfect cozy summer dessert.



I know I have quite a few posts about tarts, and you might be thinking, "Bird Girl, tarts are way too hard for me!" But now you have no excuse, because if Emily, who finds French Toast a bit on the difficult side, can whip up one with no problems, then you can too!

Blog friends, this is Emily. I told you she was lovely! Say hi. "Hi Emily!"

Emily, these are my faithful readers. They're lovely, too :) "Hi faithful readers!"

Introductions over? Good. Let's bake a tart!

First, we make a tart shell. We've made them before, so I won't post all the steps again. You can use whichever recipe you like, but my personal favorite is my Whole Wheat Tart Shell, which you can find here.

Prebake the tart shell at 350 degrees for about 8-10 minutes or until it just starts to firm up, then set aside while you make the filling and crumble topping.

Ah, now is the season for fresh, plump, sweet-tart blueberries. But perhaps you're making this in the winter? In that case, frozen blueberries work just as well. You'll need three heaping cups.

Now for the peaches. Peel and slice up two medium to large, ripe peaches into half-inch cubes. Gently toss them with the blueberries.

Now for something unexpected: a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. The more aged it is, the better. Sounds weird, right? Just trust me. Balsamic has an earthy sweetness that, while too harsh uncooked, makes a perfect pairing to the fruit when heat has rendered it down.

Next add a tablespoon of sugar...

...a teaspoon of vanilla extract...

...and a tablespoon of flour, to help it thicken properly.

Put the fruit aside to let it steep and meld together, while you make the crumble topping. Here Emily is demonstrating the first step: a quarter cup of flour. We used whole-wheat pastry flour, to good effect, but white flour will also work just as well.

To the flour, add a quarter cup of rolled oats (not the instant variety)...

...and a quarter cup of brown sugar.

Just a bit of spice makes it perfect - a quarter teaspoon of cinnamon and an eighth teaspoon of nutmeg. Freshly grated nutmeg really is best, but in a pinch you can use the pre-ground stuff.

Add two tablespoons of melted butter, and mix it all up. It should be, well, crumbly! It is called crumble topping, after all.

Now, all that's left to do is assemble your tart! See, I told you it was easy.

Pour the fruit mixture into your tart crust, making sure it's evenly distributed.

Now, spread the crumble topping as evenly as you can over the fruit, covering all the surfaces.

Pop it in the oven, which should still be at 350 from prebaking your crust, for 30-40 minutes or until the crumble topping is brown and crisped up. Let it cool a little before serving, with ice cream, of course!

Special thanks to Emily for helping me make this delicious tart!

Blueberry Tart
Adapted from Food 52

For the Tart
1 tart crust, unbaked. (Find a recipe here)
3 heaping cups blueberries
2 peaches, peeled and cut into cubes
1 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon flour (2 if blueberries are frozen)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Crumble Topping
1/4 cup flour (white or whole-wheat)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup rolled oats
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare the tart crust and prebake it for 8-10 minutes or until firmed.


Mix together the rest of the ingredients for the tart. Pour into the shell. Mix together the crumble topping and sprinkle it evenly on top of the fruit. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the crumble topping is browned and crispy. 


Cool before serving.

Did you like this post? You'll also like Almond Peach Tart.