Raspberry Tart With Cream (1856)

Like raspberry cheesecake tucked inside a crust, this delightful little tart is such a seasonal treat!

Dear friends ~

I hope your summer has been going well. We’ve had such a nice one here in Maine, with some cool and breezy weather this week offering a welcome reprieve from the usual summer heat. 

The raspberry patch is in full swing, and we’ve been eating our fill of berries every day, along with having plenty to use for our favorite recipes. An abundant berry patch is such a joy!

Currently on my counter, are vats of raspberry cordial and raspberry vinegar that are still in progress, as well as finished bottles of raspberry shrub that I made up yesterday. 

The recipe I want to share with you today though, is this lovely little “Raspberry Tart With Cream” from Elizabeth Hall’s Practical Cookery and Domestic Economy. My copy was printed in 1856, and while it may never have become one of the most popular recipe books of the era, it’s one of my favorites.

This tart is like a soft and swirly raspberry cheesecake, tucked into a pie crust. It’s just delicious, and worth the “fuss” of taking off that crust lid, so you can add the cream mixture for a little more baking time. I’d love to know what you think, if you give it a try!

~ Anna

RASPBERRY TART WITH CREAM

Put some raspberries in a patty pan lined with thin puff paste; strew in some finely sifted sugar; cover with puff-paste and bake it; when done, take off the top and pour in half a pint of cream, previously mixed with the yolks of two or three eggs, and sweetened with a little sugar; then return the tart to the oven for five or six minutes.

Practical Cookery and Domestic Economy, 1856

Here’s a photo of the recipe as it appears in the cookbook:

A FEW COOKING NOTES: 

Here are a few of my observations from making this.

What size pan to use? 

The term “patty pan” could mean pans of various size, but definitely smaller than a usual pudding dish or pie plate. 

I tried to use a dish that would appropriately accommodate both berries and that half pint of cream with sugar and egg yolks, so erred on the large size, going with a 9″ tart pan that was honestly too big.

Smaller would have been a better choice. I need to keep my eyes open on eBay for a 7″ antique tin patty pan, because I think that would be perfect. Much smaller, like a 4 or 5″ patty pan, and you wouldn’t have room for that volume of cream listed in the recipe.

The raspberries and sugar

Whatever size dish you opt for, you don’t want to heap up your berries too high. There needs to be room after the berries cook, to still add the cream mixture. Just shy of level with the pan edge worked well, giving room for the berries to cook down, while still being full enough to give support to the upper crust. 

To three heaping cups of berries, I put ½ cup of sugar, and I feel that was a good proportion. It definitely wasn’t too sweet.

The crust

Puff paste is not my specialty, you can probably tell, from the finished photos! Once the weather turns cool, I’m really going to need to spend some time perfecting my puff pastry game. Regular “family pie paste” is what I usually make, but for this recipe, you do want the lighter, flakier texture of a puff paste. Practice makes perfect, right?

Here’s the recipe for puff paste from this same cook book:

Temperature and bake time

I went with 350° F for this, and felt that worked well. The tart was baked, and the berries juicy and bubbly, after about 40 minutes. 

I do suggest placing a baking sheet under the tart as it bakes, to catch any drips. Berry pies are so bubbly!

The cream mixture

I used heavy cream for this because I had it on hand, but I do feel light cream would work just fine. I went with two egg yolks, and 3 tablespoons of sugar, and really loved how the cream swirls in this tart turned out. I think it was perfect. 

Lifting the lid off the tart can be a bit challenging. I found that lifting it with a flat spatula, then slipping a thin cutting board under the crust worked well for removing it in one piece. (This part would be much easier with a 7″ tart, than a 9″ one!)

Do leave the oven on while you do this, so it’s ready to go back in and finish baking.

I poured in the mixture slowly, then used a spoon to give it a bit of a swirl before putting the tart back in the oven. The directions here don’t specify, but I left the crust off for that final portion of bake time. Mine took a good 15 minutes for the center to fully set, but I do think if it were in a smaller pan, this would have cooked more quickly, even being the same volume of cream mixture. 

As an aside, I usually make recipes like this multiple times to be sure I’m getting it just right before sharing them with you. In this case I won’t have time before the current raspberry season passes, and really wanted to get this recipe over to you, so you can try it yourself! You can tell I haven’t nailed every variable down as much as usual.

Serving this tart

Tarts and pies that were made of fruit, berries, or custard, were almost universally served cold during this era. Some cook books make a point about specifying that, and though this one doesn’t, I feel very confident in saying this tart is meant to be served fully cool. 

Putting the lid back on while the tart is still a bit warm, helps the tart stay nicely together once it’s cooled, and when it’s being sliced. 

It was very common to serve fruit tarts and pies with sugar or powdered sugar strewn over the top, but since this recipe didn’t specify that, I didn’t do that this time. It was delicious as it was, but would be wonderful with a sugar sprinkle as well. A little dusting of sugar is also a great way to dress up a crust, if you’re less than pleased with how it came out.

I love the swirly raspberry cheesecake taste and texture of the filling for this tart, and absolutely would make this one for company. I hope you enjoy it if you try it, and would love to hear about it if you do!

---

Next week, we’ll be diving into that raspberry cordial. It’s going to be good, y’all. Gosh, I love berry season! 

Until next time, ~ Anna

📖 Recipe

If you liked this recipe, here are some others you may enjoy: