With slightly sharp & juicy bilberries, creamy custard, and crumbly crumble all housed in a sweet pastry case, this fabulously delicious bake not only combines two popular desserts but also contains all of the seasonal flavours and textures you might want in one bite!
Pie or crumble? It can be a quite a decision wondering what to make with fruits which have been lovingly foraged. Clearly, it's not an earth shaking predicament, but none the less a relatively important one when you want to do justice to a beautiful fruit which is difficult to harvest.
The 'eureka' moment hit when I was on the cusp of falling asleep that evening. Why not make both. In one bake. A crumble tart. Or if you prefer, a crumble pie. With a sweet pastry base, delicious slightly tart bilberries and crumble topping the dessert sounded like the perfect combination.
But deciding to make the tart a 'complete' dessert I included a layer of creamy custard, to make a Bilberry & Custard Crumble Tart, which sat snugly between the bilberries and the crumble topping. It's perfect for packaging up for a day out and about, a picnic or for when sat at home with a pot of tea.
Now I have to admit that having just made half a pint (284ml) of custard to distribute amongst five Bilberry & Custard Crumble Tarts, that wonderful colour of yellow custard is barely noticeable to the naked eye. But those creamy notes were certainly detected during the eat. They worked beautifully, as you might expect, with the slightly sharp bilberries.
Now bilberries produce a wonderful purple juice which not only colours the fingers when they're being picked, but also gives rise to the name 'Mucky Mouth Pie' -seriously you will look as though you've eaten a bag full of blackjacks (those small chewy sweets)if you're able to source bilberries for this tart.
Bilberries do give off a lot of juice and can soon result in a tart with a soggy bottom. To counter that I not only blind baked the pastry tart but also
distributed a little cornflour through the cleaned bilberries in the hope it would thicken the purple juice a little.
It worked a treat, and although the juice seeped out once the Bilberry & Custard Crumble Tart had been opened the pastry base certainly wasn't spoilt or soggy in the slightest.
Karen, from Lavender and Lovage, recommended using a metal pie plate, which conducts the heat effectively, when she, or rather her mum, made a bilberry pie with clotted cream .
If you do not have a source of billberries to forage from A little search on the internet has shown that even if you don't live in areas where the bilberry grows they can be purchased in shops and on line. Many Polish shops stock jarred Krakus bilberries.
Alternatively you could try growing your own I sources a plant on the internet although to be honest I could not get it to thrive. Blueberries can be used as s substitute but they won't punch such a burst of flavour!
So, let's get to it and bake!
📖 Recipe
Bilberry & Custard Crumble Tart
Ingredients
for the sweet pastry (Pate Sucree)
- 275 g plain flour
- 100 g unsalted butter chilled & diced
- 100 g icing sugar
- 2 medium egg lightly beaten
OR
- 500 g ready made sweet pastry
for the crumble topping
- 120 g self-raising flour
- 60 g butter chilled
- 20 g golden caster sugar
- 35 g caster sugar
- 30 g porridge oats
for the bilberry filling
- 350 g bilberries or any other small berries if you prefer
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoon heaped cornflour
- for the custard
- 1 tablespoon custard powder we used Birds Traditional Custard Powder, or use your preferred custard ½ tablespoon sugar (or to taste)
- 284 ml milk
Instructions
- Make the pastry. Place the flour, icing sugar and cubed chilled butter into a good sized bowl. Rub the butter into the flour between your thumb and finger tips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Make a well in the centre of the breadcrumbs and add the beaten eggs. Using a rounded pallet knife, or the back of a table knife, cut through the mixture to make a dough. You may need to add a little cold water (perhaps 1 or 2 teaspoons) to fully bring the mixture together. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and lightly knead the dough for 10 seconds. Shape the pastry into a ball and flatten into a disc. Wrap in cling film and place into the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes, (see note b).
- Make the crumble. Place the flour and chilled butter into a good sized bowl. Use a knife to cube the butter. Rub the butter into the flour between your thumb and finger tips, until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and porridge to the crumble mixture and stir together until well incorporated. Set aside.
- Make the custard. (Follow the packet instructions if using your preferred brand). Place the custard powder and sugar into a bowl. Add 3 tablespoon of the cold milk and stir to make a smooth paste. Pour the remaining milk into a pan and set on the hob over a medium flame. Once the milk is just about to come to the boil pour it over the custard paste mixture. Stir thoroughly to make a smooth custard. You're aiming for the custard to be moderately thick. If the custard is a little runny, pour it back into the pan and set over a low heat. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until it starts to thicken. Once ready pour it back into the bowl. Cover the custard with clingfilm, ensuring that the film is in direct contact with the custard to prevent it from forming a skin as it cools. Set the bowl aside. (See note c below)
- Remove the pastry from the fridge and divide into 5 pieces of roughly equal size. Place one portion onto a lightly floured work work surface. Lightly cover the remaining 4 which have been set aside with the cling film. Roll the pastry out until it is about 2-3mm thick. Wrap the pastry around the rolling pin, lift it up (using the pin) and place into the flan tin. Gently tease the pastry into the case so that it sits into the edges well and picks up the shape of the fluted sides. If the pastry tears, patch it with surplus pastry. Avoid stretching the pastry. Line the remaining tart cases in the same way.
- Trim away the excess pastry. Use a pair of clean scissors to trim away the bulk of the excess pastry which over hangs the sides of the tart cases. Don't worry about making it neat as the pastry will be trimmed neatly after it has been blind baked. Use a fork to gently prick the pastry base. Place into the fridge to chill for at least 10 - 15 minutes.
- Pre-heat the oven to 190c / 170 fan / Gas 5. Place a baking tray onto the middle shelf which is large enough to house the tart cases.
- Prepare to blind bake the pastry. Remove the lined tart tins from the fridge. Cut 5 squares of grease proof paper large enough to cover the base and sides tart cases. Scrunch up a piece and open it out. Gently lay it on top of the pastry, easing it into the edges. Weigh the paper down with baking beans or uncooked rice or pasta. Repeat with the remaining 4 cases.
- Blind bake the pastry. Place the cases into the oven on the heated baking tray(s) and cook for 14 minutes. After 10 minutes, you may need to rotate the cases. Remove from the oven and lift out the greaseproof paper which holds the baking beans / rice. Allow the pastry cases to cool. Return the baking tray to the oven.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 180c / 160 fan / Gas 4.
- 10. Prepare the bilberries. Gently wash the bilberries, removing any leaves, stems or spoilt fruit. If using jarred bilberries drain & rinse the berries. Dry them gently with kitchen roll. Sprinkle the sugar and cornflour over the berries. Gently stir with a spoon to combine. Aim to evenly distribute the cornflour as best you can.
- 11. Trim the cooked pastry cases. Use a small sharp knife to trim the excess cooked pastry from the pastry cases. Hold the knife horizontally. Slowly and carefully trim away the excess so that the top of the pastry case is flush with the metal housing. If the pastry cracks a little patch it with a little of the raw pastry trimmings.
- 12. Stir the custard. Remove the clingfilm from the now cool custard. Use a spoon to mix the custard thoroughly.
- 13. Assemble the Bilberry & Custard Crumble Tarts. Divide the prepared bilberries between the five tart cases, ensuring that the berries make an even layer in the pastry case. Place a tablespoon of custard onto the berries. Use the back of the spoon to gently spread it out. Avoid having the custard touch the metal tart case as this will make removing the baked tart from the case more difficult. Top the tarts with the crumble mixture, teasing it to the edge of the tart case to ensure that the contents are completely covered.
- 14. Bake. Place the tart cases into the oven (on the preheated baking tray) and bake for 30 - 35 minutes. Check the tarts after 25 minutes of baking, you may need to rotate the tarts at this point. The tarts are ready when the crumble topping is a pale golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside on a cooling rack to cool.
- 15. Remove from the tart cases. After 4 or 5 minutes of cooling remove the tarts from their cases. Gently return them to the cooling rack to finish cooling.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Equipment
- 5 x 12cm Flan Tins, with a loose bottom (see note a below)
- Greaseproof Paper
- Baking Beans (or uncooked rice or pasta)
Stuart Vettese says
You know, I've never had a bilberry before? But I think I would love them - especially in these crumble tarts. Thanks for taking part in Treat Petite!
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain says
I seems that you're not alone in having never come across them Stuart, in the handful of bilberry bakes I've made this summer there have been several people making a similar sort of comment. They're absolutely gorgeous and certainly something to lookout for.
Thanks for popping by, and of course for hosting,
Angela x
Kat BakingExplorer says
This looks so yummy, I have now tried bilberries so I know how good they taste with custard! Thanks for linking up with #TreatPetite
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain says
Thank you Kat, I'm glad you enjoyed them.
Thanks for hosting a lovely linky,
Angela x
Janet Rrw says
Wow! This sounds amazing! It's going to sound strange but I'd never actually heard of bilberries before until today and I had to Google them to see what they were lol. Obviously I knew they were a berry fruit but I was interested to find out more about them. Your bilberry and custard tart sounds amazing - thanks for sharing! Janet #AnythingGoes
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain says
Thank you Janet. It really doesn't sound strange at all, you're certainly not on your own with not being familiar with bilberries, though now you know what they are you'll have to hunt some out and give them a try - they really are delicious :-).
Thanks for popping by and commenting Janet,
Angela x
Kirsty Hijacked By Twins says
Happy Yorkshire day! Wow these look so good, just look at the delicious juice from the bilberries! Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare x
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain says
Thank you Kirsty 🙂 That bilberry juice is just amazing, though it does have the tendancy to stain whatever it touches! Happy Yorkshire Day 🙂
Angela x
Hayley @ Snap Happy Bakes says
Bilberries are a new one to me. So definitely one to try! YUM! Thanks for linking to #CookBlogShare
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain says
Ooh you definitely should Hayley, they really are fabulous 🙂
Angela x
Eb Gargano says
I LOVE the idea of crumble pie! Why choose between two wonderful desserts when you can have both...and custard? Still not noticed any bilberries on any of my rural runs...though that may be because I am concentrating so carefully on putting one foot in front of the other!! I'm sure they must grow in Sussex too...! Eb x
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain says
Hahaha, it ceratinly does help to place one foot in front of the other Eb - after all, you don't want grazed knees 😉 I guess it depends on what type of soil you're running on - if it's acidic soil you may have chance of finding some bilberries, otherwise I'd suggest checking Polish shops (or even your local village store - it sounds amazing with the huge range that it stocks). It's certainly the best of both worlds, and the pastry case makes it portable too which is no bad thing.
Thanks for popping by Eb,
Angela x
Coriander Queen says
I adore a good crumble, this looks absolutely delicious! I need to try bilberries - they look yummy!
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain says
You and me both, it's definately one of my favourite desserts 🙂 I'd definitely recomend trying bilberries - they're absolutely delicious.
Thanks for popping by,
Angela x
Mandy says
I love the sound of a crumble pie - I bet this is absolutely delicious! I am still to try bilberries - not so many foraging opportunities in south London. #CookBlogShare
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain says
Ooh it certainly was Mandy, best of both worlds 🙂 I think you're probably right that you're unlikely to find any bilberries growing wild in South London, but I would think a local Polish shop would stock them.
Thanks for popping by Mandy,
Angela x