Sixty-six days on a bike, 1,300 miles pedaled, more miles walked, hiked, climbed, and canoed. Before we knew it, we were back home with thousands of photos and a lifetime of stories to prepare for publication. What better way to transition back from the world of bicycle trekking to our home in Chignik Lake than baking? I can’t think of one.

I arrived back home to my patiently waiting, full, lovely pantry. Translucent jars of raspberry jam caught my eye on from the shelf where they’d been stored. With this year’s fruit quickly ripening, it’s time to use up last year’s stores. What a great excuse to bake with one of my favorite flavors – raspberry. Jack “I-don’t-have-a-sweet-tooth” Donachy’s secret weakness is custard desserts. For no better reason than pure love (of custard and raspberry), this little baby was created. Wait… I’m not saying that little baby Jack was created just to eat custard. I’m saying that this dessert… never mind.

A crust infused with almonds. Then a creamy vanilla custard topped with a smooth, delicious layer of homemade jam – I prefer raspberry. I set it out to photograph, and it was gone in a flash.

For those of you following along, we will have plenty of photos and stories coming from our bicycle trek around Hokkaido. Jack is up to is elbows in the sorting and editing process as well as catching the last of Chignik Lake’s migratory birds before they head south. Stay tuned. For now, sit back and enjoy a slice, or two, of this delicious tart.

Raspberry Vanilla Custard Tart

Crust

Ingredients

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup finely chopped almonds
• 3 tbsp granulated sugar
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 tbsp cold water
• generous pinch salt
• 1/4 cup cold unsalted butter

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, almonds, and sugar.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks and water.
3. Grate butter into flour mixture. Toss butter so that it is fully coated. Use two sharp knives (I used steak knives) to chop the butter into smaller pea-sized pieces.
4. Pour egg mixture into flour mixture. Stir with fork until dough comes together. It should be shaggy looking. If it’s too dry add tiny amounts of cold water until it comes together.
5. Turn dough out into a 9-inch springform pan or tart pan with removable bottom.
6. Press dough into bottom of pan and up the sides of pan (about 1 inch) with fingertips.
7. Prick dough with fork. Freeze for 20 – 30 minutes.
8. Preheat oven to 350°F.
9. Bake crust for 35 minutes. It will be golden brown when finished.
10. Let cool completely. You can store the crust at room temperature if it’s tightly wrapped in plastic.

Vanilla Custard Filling and Raspberry Topping

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 4 tbsp cornstarch
• pinch salt
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup homemade raspberry jam (here’s a good recipe for quick jam)

Directions

1. Bring milk and vanilla to a simmer in a medium pot. Remove from heat.
2. While heating milk mixture, thoroughly whisk together egg, sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium bowl.
3. Slowly, while whisking, pour milk mixture into egg mixture.
4. Pour custard back into the medium pot.
5. Continue whisking mixture over medium heat. Mixture should begin to bubble and become thick. Remove from heat.
6. Whisk in butter, one tablespoon at a time.
7. Transfer back to medium bowl. Cover with plastic wrap so that wrap is against surface of custard.
8. Cool completely in refrigerator.
9. To assemble, whisk cooled custard until smooth.
10. Pour custard into cooled crust.
11. Spread jam evenly on top of custard.
12. Serve immediately.

Recipe adapted from Bon Appétit  Magazine.