Raspberry Chocolate Vanilla Custard Tart

Instructions

To Prepare the pastry

1. Sift together flour, sugar, cocoa and salt.

2. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two knives, leaving small peas sized pieces of butter throughout the mixture.

3. Add egg and vanilla and mix together only enough to make a dough form. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for a half hour before rolling out.

4. You can make your dough the previous day but make sure you take it out of the fridge for 10 minutes to warm slightly before rolling out.

5. Roll the dough into a 12 inch round and place in the bottom of a 9 inch tart pan or pie plate. You will need to blind bake this crust for 15 minutes at 375 degrees F before removing the baking weights and baking for an additional 5 minutes. Cool the crust completely. Blind baking is essential so that the bottom crust will not get soggy. Let the dough hang a half inch past the rim of the pan to allow for shrinkage as the pastry shell bakes. Any excess can be trimmed off when the shell is still hot out of the oven.

6. To blind bake a crust, simply place a piece of parchment paper or aluminum foil over the dough and cover the bottom of the pie plate with baking weights. (Marbles, dry beans, peas, rice or barley work just as well as anything else.)

To prepare the raspberry topping

1. Slowly simmer raspberries, sugar and water for about 5 minutes.

2. Stir in the corn starch mixture stirring constantly and cook for an additional minute. Cool completely.

To prepare the vanilla custard

1. In a microwave safe bowl combine the milk and whipping cream and scald almost to boiling.

2. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan combine the flour, sugar and salt.

3. Over medium flame slowly add the scalded milk whisking constantly.Continue to cook over medium heat until mixture begins to slightly thicken. At this point remove from heat and pour about a half cup of this mixture onto the slightly beaten egg yolks while whisking constantly.

4. Pour the egg mixture immediately back into the pot, continuing to constantly stir. Cook for an additional minute or two until pudding consistency and remove from the flame.

5. Stir in the butter and vanilla extract.

6. Pour the custard into the cooled pastry shell and cool completely before adding the raspberry topping. Garnish with raspberries, and shaved or melted chocolate when serving.