Spring has sprung. The weather has been lovely; it’s the start of holidays and weddings and birthdays; and so far, I’ve been feeling zero percent creative.

A lot of this lack of creativity stems from a deeper thing I encounter on a daily basis: lots of anxiety. I don’t think I’ve talked about it here, but for pretty much forever, I deal with high emotional anxiety. It comes in different forms depending on the situation. With relation to cooking and feeling creative, it’s something like this:

Ideal: I come home after work, read through cookbooks, brainstorm a recipe/new blogpost, free write, recipe write, make something amazing by the end of the week.

Reality: I come home after work. I’m tired. I said yes to a friend who’s been asking to hang out. My room is messy. I read a cookbook but feel like I’m not good enough to make anything in it. I watch Netflix. I feel bad for watching Netflix. I lie in bed scrolling Instagram for beautifully made desserts, and then I stress out over the next day/week/weekend.

This cycle repeats itself week after week and it’s been driving me nuts. It makes me feel like I learned nothing in Paris last year. Or that my years of working in pastry have been forgotten. Or that I can’t write like I used to. Or that I’ll never fulfill my long-term vision of what I want to do and be in the food world. Or I’ll never get better at anything I love doing.

So with all that, I’ve felt stagnant. I made this caramel whipped cream berry tart a couple times last week in an attempt to circumvent this feeling and get something, anything, created. It’s not a perfect tart. The caramel oozes if not reduced enough; the berries aren’t always sweet enough (the season just started), and the crust shrunk a bit. But it’s something. And I WILL say, it’s delicious, especially with a hint of orange blossom in the whipped cream to give it an unexpected boost of spring. I hope that I’ll find a similar boost for myself, and in the meanwhile, I’ll be working (hopefully) on some new recipes and writing to bring here soon. In the meantime, enjoy this caramel whipped cream berry tart.

Caramel Cream Tart with Berries

Created by Shikha on April 18, 2018

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Prep Time: 10h
Cook Time: 20m

Serves: 12
Yield: 1 9" or 10" tart

Ingredients

For the tart crust

490 grams all-purpose flour
60 grams almond flour
240 grams powdered sugar
250 grams butter, cut into pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt
75 grams eggs, whole
85 grams yolks
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
6 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon orange blossom extract
1 cup whipped cream
1 gelatin sheet
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 pint blackberries and raspberries

For the caramel

For the topping

Instructions

For the tart crust

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine all dry ingredients and mix. Add in butter and mix until butter is just incorporated. Add eggs and yolks and mix slowly til dough comes together. Divide into two balls, shape into discs, and cover with plastic wrap.
Refrigerate at least 24 hours before use.
When ready to use, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Take one of the discs and roll out to fit it into your 9\" or 10\" tart pan, making sure sides are all even.
Fill the crust with pie weights or dried beans and bake for 15-18 minutes until it becomes a light golden color and is dry. Cool completely before filling.

For the caramel

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, make a dry caramel with the sugar. Once it turns a deep amber color, remove from heat and add the butter and cream. Add everything slowly, as the mixture will sputter a lot.
Stir in salt, and let cool to warm before pouring over pre-baked tart shell crust. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

For the topping

Place cream in the bowl of a clean stand mixer and begin whipping.
While cream is going, bloom gelatin sheet in ice cold water. Wring out all the water from the sheet and add in a small amount of cream from the bowl. Heat in the microwave briefly until gelatin is melted.
As cream reaches stiff peaks, pour in gelatin and continue mixing until combined. Don\'t overwhip or else you\'ll get butter and you\'ll have to start over.
Using a piping bag with a star tip, pipe whipped cream over chilled tart, and top with berries. Keep chilled until ready to serve.