Now, a couple things you should know before I expand on the glories of this recipe. This is not a fancy-schmancy dessert. So, if you are entertaining the queen, your boss, or Helen Mirren, choose something else to serve. But if you are feeding your family and/or friends, this is a simple dessert that looks beautiful and tastes really, really good.

The second thing I should reveal, is that making the raspberry preserve for this tart is a real pain in the patootie. (And yes, patootie is a real word.) But the good news is – you can replace the raspberry preserve with any kind of jam, jelly, preserve, compote, fruit butter, or curd that suits your fancy. Cool, huh?!

So, now that I have been perfectly frank with you about this dessert’s limitations, let’s get on to why you should make one of these tarts at your earliest convenience.

As I stated above, this tart is mighty tasty. And if you use an already prepared filling, like most rational and intelligent people would choose to do, this dessert comes together with very little effort.

But if you are as passionate as I am about preparing most of the food you eat, and truly believe that everything homemade is intrinsically of higher quality, then I hope you will make the raspberry preserve too. Because with the tartness and intense flavor the preserve brings to the mix, it provides a perfect counterbalance to the sweetness of the crust and crumble. But regardless of my pleading and high handed rhetoric regarding preparing the raspberry preserve filling from scratch, just make the damn tart. And make it any old way you want.

So, as always, have a blast in your kitchen. Keep trying new dishes. Keep striving for excellence. And above all, keep enjoying your life.

I know we all get hung up on the bad that is happening around the world. But please don’t forget to embrace the good that is happening too. Look around you. Most people are decent human beings. They care and they make sacrifices, just like you do. So, do what’s right. Lift them up in any way you can. Even if its’ just by offering up one of your beautiful smiles. You never know how much just that simple gesture can mean to someone in need.

Peace and love to all.  

Raspberry Preserve Filling:

4 c. fresh or frozen raspberries  

¾ c. granulated sugar  

2 tsp. lemon zest  

1 T. fresh lemon juice  

½ c. water, divided    

¼ c. cornstarch  

Place the raspberries, granulated sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and ¼ cup of the water in a heavy saucepan. Heat over medium high heat. Stir the mixture until it begins to boil. Lower the heat to medium-low and allow the filling to simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Remove from heat and pour the filling into a metal strainer suspended over a medium sized bowl. Using a spatula and a decent amount of pressure, push the liquid through the sieve. You should be left with a little over ½ cup of seedy pulp. Discard the pulp. Pour the strained liquid back into the pan.

In a separate small bowl, whisk the remaining ¼ cup of water with the cornstarch together until the cornstarch has fully dissolved in the water. Add to the strained raspberry filling; stir until well combined. 

Over medium heat, stir the filling constantly to prevent burning. Cook until the mixture begins to boil, then reduce the heat to low. Continue cooking for about 1 minute. Remove from heat and set aside while you prepare the other parts of this recipe.

Please Note: If you want to make the preserve ahead of time, remove from heat and pour into a bowl to cool. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge.   

Oatmeal Crust (and ingredients for crumble) 

1 c. rolled oats, divided

1¾ c. unbleached all-purpose flour, divided

1/8 tsp. kosher salt

½ c. brown sugar, packed, divided

¾ c. (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, divided

1 T. water

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix ¾ cup of the oats, 1¼ cups of the flour, salt, and ¼ cup of the brown sugar together. Melt ½ cup (1 stick) of the unsalted butter, then stir in the water and vanilla. Add to the oat mixture until well combined.

Press the mixture into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Make sure there is about a ¼-inch rim around the edge.   

Bake in a pre-heated 375-degree oven for 12 minutes or until a light golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 15 minutes.

Spread the raspberry preserve over the bottom crust making sure there’s complete coverage. The filling should be about ¼-inch thick. Bake at 375-degrees for about 30-35 minutes. The outside crust should be a nice golden brown when the tart is ready to come out of the oven.

Remove from oven and sprinkle with the baked oatmeal crumble. (See recipe below.) Press the baked crumble gently into the hot filling so it will have a better chance of actually sticking to the surface of the tart.

Allow tart to cool before serving with Chambord Whipped Cream (see recipe below) or vanilla ice cream and fresh raspberries for decoration.   

Oatmeal Crumble

While the tart is baking, mix the remaining ¼ cup rolled oats, remaining ½ cup flour, remaining ¼ cup brown sugar together. Using your fingers, cut the remaining ¼ cup (½ stick) butter into the oat mixture until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Squeeze the crumbs together to form larger clumps before placing on a small, ungreased baking sheet.

Bake at 375-degrees for 12 minutes. Then using a spatula, beak up the crumble and allow to bake for 3 more minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Use as directed above.  

Chambord Whipped Cream

1 c. heavy whipping cream

2 T. powdered sugar

2 tsp. Chambord (black raspberry liqueur), opt.

Whip the cream to stiff peaks. Add the powdered sugar and Chambord and whip until well combined. Refrigerate until ready to serve the tart.

Additional Note: If you should choose to use a different filling (jam, jelly, curd, etc.), you will need between 1½ and 2 cups.