CLASSIC FRUIT TART

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A light, fruity dessert seems rather enticing, when temperatures reach almost 90 degrees.

The blueberries, raspberries and blackberries in our garden are still green - (and the poor little strawberries get "slugged" before they are ripe), but the supermarket has now berries in good quality - not that watery stuff from California.

Therefore, Hanaâ's Avid Bakers' Challenge for July couldn't have come at a better time - the Classic Fruit Tart from "The Weekend Baker".

Not ripe yet - blueberries in our garden

Abigail Dodge wrote this book for people who don't like spending hours in the kitchen, when smart do-ahead steps are possible, and the refrigerator is your friend.

Usually I follow Abby's make-ahead suggestions, but my oven was still hot from my Saturday bread baking, and I had invited a neighbor for tea.

And, really, what could be nicer than a toasty kitchen, heated from baking pitas at 550º F - when outside temperatures almost reach the 90 degree mark? (My husband only rolled his eyes...)

I made the dough, substituting a quarter of the all-purpose flour with spelt. Being a bit in a hurry, I chilled my finished dough disk only for 30 minutes, the minimum given time.

After preparing the pastry cream I rolled out the dough on a silicone mat. Soon I realized the impossibility of achieving the desired 14"-round, the dough started tearing, and there was no way to roll it around the pin without total disintegration.

Cooling the dough was not an option - my nice, practical King Arthur silicone mat was too large for the fridge. Its size made it also too difficult to flip it over the tart pan. Sweating and desperate, I searched my kitchen for anything that could help me get the dough in the right place.

Fortunately I found a metal cake platter that I could press on the dough, then flipping it over the tart pan. But not without mishap, the sharp fluted edge of the pan cut right through the dough, and the whole pain of rolling out the round to that size had been in vain - "for the cat", as the Germans say.

Skippy couldn't care less!

 Using the cut off dough pieces I pinched together a half-ways even rim, and put the tart in the oven. When I took it out, I saw with great displeasure that, in spite of all my gentle handling, the dough had opened up some ugly cracks in the bottom.

But pastry cream covers all baking sins with a layer of pure innocence, and fresh blackberries and raspberries gave the tart a pretty, cheerful look.

And the reward for all that effort? The tart was absolutely delicious, and everybody had a second helping!

Afterwards I looked through basic tart recipes (from William-Sonoma, "Fine Cooking" and "Cook's Illustrated") to see whether there were some helpful hints. Obviously a cooling time of just 30 minutes for the dough was not enough, it should have been 1 hour instead.

Rolling out the dough to a 14"-round for a 9"-inch pan seems rather unnecessary, 2 inches larger than the pan should have done it.

And in William-Sonoma's "Pie & Tart" I even found my own scribbled note: "Roll out the dough on a thin plastic cutting board, and flip it over the pan".  That's exactly what I will do the next time. Or just press into the pan with my fingers!

RED BERRY DESSERT - ROTE GRÜTZE

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Hot summer days and ripening berries are a sure sign of "Rote Grütze" coming up on my culinary horizon. Rote Grütze (literally translated "red gruel"- sounds awful, I know!) is a fruity, refreshingly tangy dessert, made of at least two (but better more) kinds of red berries. One should be tart, like raspberries, sour cherries, or red or black currants. The others can be strawberries, sweet cherries, blueberries, blackberries - the last two I consider honorary red berries.

Rote Grütze is a traditional dessert of Northern Germany and Denmark (where it's called Røde Grøde). In summer you'll find it on the menu of many restaurants, and every housewife in Hamburg or Esbjerg will serve it to her family, surrounded by whipped or liquid cream, vanilla sauce or vanilla ice cream.

Originally a Northern specialty, Rote Grütze became so popular that it slowly made its way further down to the South. Even conservative Bavarians - who usually poo-poo everything beyond the "weisswurst equator" - don't seem to shun this "Prussian" intruder.

Unfortunately I can't get red or black currants here in Maine - they might harbor a bug that is harmful to white firs. And fresh sour cherries are hard to find, too, only at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods, in Portland.

Therefore I like using a frozen berry mixture, adding fresh berries from the supermarket or street vendors. The use of vanilla pudding powder instead of starch is, also, very convenient. Your thickener comes prepackaged and pre-flavored.

My version is as easy to make as it tastes good. When we have a summer party, it's always a great hit with our guests, we have never any leftovers!

Ingredients:
1 package vanilla pudding powder*)
3 tbsp. cold water
500 g mixed berries, fresh or frozen (reserve 1/4 cup to add later)
3-4 tbsp. sugar, depending on tartness of berries
2-3 tbsp. Creme de Cassis (black currant liqueur), or other fruity liqueur (optional)

*) Some pudding powders are not sweetened, and some have to be dissolved in hot liquid. In those cases, add more sugar to taste, and mix with hot water. But don't add the milk as per package instructions - you are making Rote Grütze, not regular vanilla pudding!

How to make:
In a small bowl, stir together pudding powder with water, until dissolved and smooth.

In a saucepan, stir together frozen berries with sugar and thaw on low heat. Add fresh berries (except for the 1/4 cup to add later,) and stir until combined.

Add dissolved vanilla pudding powder in a steady stream, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to low, and let simmer, stirring frequently until berry mixture thickens (that doesn't take very long.)

Remove from heat, and stir in remaining fresh berries and Creme de Cassis (if using). Pour into glass bowl. Let cool down to room temperature, then refrigerate until chilled.

Serve with cream, vanilla ice cream or vanilla sauce.

Tip:
If you don't like seeds in the dessert - and don't mind the extra work - puree and strain berries before adding the pudding powder.