Blueberry Coconut Cream Tart

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One last summer dessert for the road. Well, technically you can make this Blueberry Coconut Cream Tart whenever you want. Frozen blueberries are truly a gift. But there is something so wonderful about making a blueberry anything when they’re at their peak. And I’m talking about those sweet little ones, not those huge honking ones that whisper “blueberry” onto your palette. No, give me those small but mighty blubes any day of the week. But I digress. This Blueberry Coconut Cream Tart features a golden pâte sucrée crust, a bright lemon-kissed blueberry filling, a rich coconut pastry cream, and a lid of airy whipped cream dotted with fresh blueberries and mint. This beauty is the answer to my dessert daydreams and maybe, just maybe, it’s the answer to yours as well.

I’m pretty good at organizing. It’s not my favorite thing to do in the world by any stretch, but if you get me started on a spice drawer I will not stop. I like the meditative nature of it. My mind goes quiet and singularly focused. This is not my natural state. No, most of the time my brain is metaphorically bouncing off the walls. It is particularly unruly when I’m trying to figure out what to eat. The moment I settle on a dish to feed myself, another competing craving crops up, and then I find myself in a land of indecisiveness. I don’t particularly like this aspect of my personality. But now and then, this culinary ADD does lead to some particularly delicious creations. And today’s Blueberry Coconut Cream Tart is one such concoction. 

This is what happens when you simultaneously want a blueberry pie and a coconut cream tart. When you live in a two-person household, you don’t have the luxury of making both. No one wants the burden of having an entire pie waiting for them in the fridge. You might think that you want that but trust me when you hit slice number five on day three, your interest will wane. So the only logical solution was to fit both fillings into one tart. Well, no, the logical (and mature) thing to do was to make a decision and stick to it. But decisions have never been my strong suit. Please see the paragraph above.

This tart is not difficult to prepare but it does have quite a few components. So don’t be surprised if this dessert feels like a journey to you. This is no microwave mug cake. The first thing on our to-make list is the pâte sucrée. You can of course make a classic all-butter pastry if you prefer. But I love the pastry/sugar cookie hybrid that is pâte sucrée. 

I like to make this style of pastry in a food processor. You can use a stand mixer as well if you prefer. Start by placing the butter, sugar, and salt in the processor. Blitz until crumbly. You don’t need cold butter for this. It’s best if your butter is slightly softened but still cool. Next, add the flour and blitz again. Crack an egg into the processor and blitz. Stream in enough cream to bring the dough together. Form the dough into a disc and wrap it in parchment paper. Chill for at least 2 hours. And yes, I realize this is a bit of a bummer. But this dough loves to fall apart, so give it the time it needs. Your sanity will thank you for it when you do roll it out.

Now, you have two hours to kill and you have choices. You could make the blueberry pie filling and set it aside. But it will be a while until you use it. The blueberry pie filling is easier to spread in the base of the pastry when it’s hot or at least slightly warm. So what I did was I made the blueberry filling while my pastry was chilling, and then I reheated it quickly on the stove when my tart shell was ready for it. But you could also wait to make the filling when your pastry is fresh from the oven. It’s totally up to you. Regardless of what route you choose, you should be aware that this recipe has many chilling interludes you can’t avoid, so you will be stopping down at some point whether you want to or not.

Once the pastry is thoroughly chilled, take it out of the fridge and transfer it to a well-floured surface. Roll the pastry out until it’s 1/4” thick. Coil it around the rolling pin and unspool it on top of a 9” tart pan. Tuck the pastry into the pan and trim the edges. Let it chill for an hour. The second chilling interlude is important. It will help limit how much your pastry shrinks as it bakes.

Once the pastry is chilled, pierce it all over with a fork. This is called docking. It allows steam to escape as the pastry bakes, so it won’t warp or crack. Line the pastry with parchment paper and fill it with pie weights, granulated sugar, or dried lentils or beans. Pop the shell into the oven and bake until golden. Take it out of the oven and add the blueberry filling. Set it aside to cool.

While the tart is cooling, we can start to work on the coconut pastry cream. I have versions of this pastry cream all over the blog. But this one is a little different because it uses coconut milk in place of cream and it makes a small batch. We only want to fill the tart shell up the rest of the way after all. 

Start by pouring the coconut milk and sugar into a small saucepan. Place it over low heat and slowly bring it to a gentle simmer. While you’re waiting for the milk to heat up, place the egg yolks and cornstarch in a bowl and whisk to combine. Ladle some of the hot milk mixture into the yolk mixture while whisking constantly. This will temper the eggs. Add the yolk mixture to the saucepan and cook until the cream thickens. Immediately take the saucepan off of the heat and stir in a couple of tablespoons of butter. Pour the cream over the blueberry filling and cover the tart. Leave the tart to chill for 3 hours or until the cream is fully set. From there all you have to do is top it with whipped cream and dot it with fresh berries and mint leaves. 

And that’s everything you need to know about this Blueberry Coconut Cream Tart. A sweet farewell to the season that was. I’ll be back next week with the first hints of autumn. I cannot wait!

Enjoy!