My 29th birthday was memorably depressing. I was soothing a boyfriend break-up, and my office “forgot” me. All day I waited for a cake that never came. Living in California with no family around left me at home by myself on a rainy night eating a Lean Cuisine. There was so much wrong with this picture. Although I had much to celebrate and was really doing quite well in life (as life goes), I still fell into the birthday pit.
But Spinach Tiger is called “Tiger” for a reason and I vowed to never let this happen again. When I turned 30, I threw my own party, made my own food, ordered my own cake, and never again returned to the birthday pit.
But, it didn’t end there. I have taken stock in all birthdays. If you are my friend, I will bake you a birthday cake, throw you a party, and cook you a dinner. It’s what I do because I believe a life is worth celebrating and everyone has value.
And, it’s fun. It involves favorite foods and favorite cocktails. And, it’s good medicine. All your troubles go away on your birthday.
Last night we celebrated our friend, Scott’s birthday. Today he turns 40. He could easily have fallen into the birthday pit, because 40 starts a new chapter and 39 has been a bit rough around the edges, and the center. His very favorite meal in the world is spaghetti and meatballs and his favorite dessert is anything with berries.
Retro Rose covered the spaghetti and meatballs. Meatballs are her “chocolate.” I covered the berry tart, because it happens to be my favorite dessert. And, it’s not over with the berry tart. Tonight, we are re-celebrating Scott’s 40th, which is officially today, with some neighbors. Find out what cake I chose to make later this week. I’m still deciding.
The Berry Tart Process
I used Dorie Greenspan’s recipe and my hand-picked blueberries (along with a few strawberries) The pastry cream was made in an unusual way, and it got thick really fast. But, it was delicious and it holds all this fruit without the crust ever getting soggy. The pastry crust is like a shortbread, perfectly sweet and sandy. There is a temptation to bake it past 25 minutes. Don’t.
Ingredients matter. This tart is all about the fruit. Only use the best pick of the season. I used blueberries that were picked on Wednesday and they were super sweet on their own. The finishing touch comes from a Bonne Maman four-fruit preserve, but you could use any high quality jelly or jam to brush the fruit.
So tell me, how do you like to celebrate YOUR birthday?
Recipe (adapted from Baking from My Home to Your Home by Dorie Greenspan)
Make Pastry Crust:
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1/3 cup confectioner’s sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 9 tablespoons unsalted cold butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 large egg yolk
Instructions
- Butter a tart pan that has a removable bottom.
- Pulse flour, sugar, salt in food processor for a few seconds. Add butter. Mix for about 30 seconds to one minute (it will look like coarse oatmeal). Add egg yolk. Pulse for 20 seconds. Dump onto counter.
- Bring together, making sure all ingredients are incorporated.
- Press into tart pan. Freeze uncovered. Once frozen, wrap in foil.
- To Bake: Bake at 375. Butter shiny side of foil. Place that side onto pastry. Bake frozen for 25 minutes. No need for pie weights. Cook completely before assembling.
Make Pastry Cream:
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 7 egg yolks
- 1/3 cup corn starch
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- 3 1/2 tablespoons butter
Instructions
- Get out a small and a medium sized sauce pan.
- In small sauce pan, boil milk. Remove from heat.
- In large sauce pan, mix egg yolks, sugar and corn starch. Incorporate on low heat, adding in 1/4 cup of hot milk. Continue whisking (an electric beater with a whisk wand works like a charm), and gradually add in remaining milk, boiling mixture for one minute. Immediately remove from heat.. Add in vanilla. Allow to sit for five minutes.
- Add butter. Cool completely, before assembling.
Fruit
Ingredients
- 2 pints of mixed berries
- 1/4 cup jam or preserves (I used four fruit berry preserve; you can use berry or apricot)
- Wash and rinse fruit well, removing all stems. Dry fruit.
Assembly Instructions
- Spread pastry cream onto tart crust. Top with berries of your choice.
- Heat preserves or jam with 1 tablespoon of water. Brush fruit with pastry brush. Refrigerate. You can make this one day ahead. I like to make the cream and the tart crust the day before and assemble a few hours before serving.
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