Saskatoon Berry Tart – Huh? Saskatoon berries??? Never heard of them. Well unless you are from this neck of the woods you are probably right but here they are everywhere. The berries are usually made into pies or jams.
They have a “wild” berry flavor with a hint of tobacco or nutty taste. They are a bit smaller than a blueberry but are the same color. We have some growing wild in our back yard and we aren’t the only ones that love them.
Black bears love them too and we used to have some visitors when we first moved in. Amber and her friends have been out picking them mainly at our neighbors patch, thank you Kari and Greg. Sorry that you were away for these delicious tarts!!!
So I came up with an idea for these tarts. I wanted a rich and creamy custard to fill the tarts so off I went exploring recipes and found exactly what I wanted in Julia Child’s Mastering The Art of French Cooking.
I have had her channeled through me for the last 15 weeks anyway with JC100. I adapted it to what my vision was. Adding in a little almond extract to the custard I thought went nicely with the flavor of the berry. You can sub in some vanilla extract and if you can’t get Saskatoon berries you can use blueberries. Enjoy!!
Saskatoon Berry Tart Recipe
Saskatoon Berry Tart
Ingredients
- Berries
- 1 1/2 cups Saskatoon berries
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 tsp. lemon zest
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- Custard
- 3 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 cup boiling milk
- 1 Tbsp. butter
- 2 tsp. almond extract
- 18 mini frozen tart shells baked
Instructions
- For the berries, mix water and sugar together and add the rest of the ingredients. Bring mixture to a boil and reduce to a thickened syrup.
- For the custard, beat the sugar and egg yolks together with a whisk for 2-3 min. until the mixture is pale yellow. Beat in the flour. Continue beating and slowly add the boiling milk a dribble at a time in the beginning. Pour into a saucepan and over medium heat stir with a whisk. Bring sauce to a boil, if it gets lumpy just continue to whisk and it will smooth out. Bring the heat down now to medium low and cook whisking for 2-3 min. Make sure you reach all the sides of the pan and don’t let the custard scorch.
- Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter and almond extract. If the custard is not used immediately dot the top with butter. This will prevent it from forming a skin.
- Fill the tart shells with a dollop of the custard and top with the berries just before serving. Refrigerate the custard tarts and berry topping separately.
Nutrition
Custard recipe adapted from Mastering The Art of French Cooking by Julia Child
Comments & Reviews
Myra Robinson says
I made a mistake and filled the frozen tart shells before baking them. Can I still bake them and at what temperature?
Tara Noland says
I would try at 350F and for 10-15 min. watching closely.
Myra Robinson says
Tara, I, too, live in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. I have made a number of desserts containing Saskatoon berries and all have turned out excellent and loved by all who ate them. I am going to try this delicious looking recipe but was wondering if they could be frozen.
Tara Noland says
I think the custard would have a tendency to separate and become watery. Don’t think I would try that. I hope you like them otherwise.
Paula says
I made this recipe and it was delicious.
Tara Noland says
I am so glad you liked them!!
Laura Sommervill says
I live in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada where our namesake Saskatoon berries are both a summer staple and a treat. They grow wild in rural areas, along roadways and brush, ready for picking in mid-July. Favorite uses are fresh with cream/ice cream. Also pies which freeze well for treats during our long winters, jams, jelly. Frozen berries make fabulous pancake topping, and in tarts. While they are often compared to blueberries, Saskatoons have a unique, wild flavour and texture. As a lifelong prairie resident, Saskatoon season is always a well-anticpated event.
Tara Noland says
I really love a saskatoon berry in anything. Homemade is best and I look forward to finding some more again. Thank you for commenting Laura!!
Terri @ that's some good cookin' says
Tara, these look so delicious. I am a huge berry fan, so I look forward to someday being able to taste Saskatoon berries. I was wondering, are they sweet, tart, somewhere in between?
Noshing with the Nolands says
Hi Terri, they are not tart but not overly sweet. Somewhere in between I would say. Very much like a blueberry but with a wild taste to them. They are very good!!
Donna says
We had a family reunion in Winnipeg in July and made saskatoon pies for our Saturday night dinner. You can see our version on my blogsite. Your wee tarts look very good indeed; a variation I may have to try 🙂
Noshing with the Nolands says
Thanks Donna, I am going to pop over right now to see!!
Julia {The Roasted Root} says
This is the first I have heard of Saskatoon berries! I’m a big fan of fruit, particularly berries so I’ll definitely track some saskatoons down and give your tart a try!
Noshing with the Nolands says
I hope you can find some Julia. They are a north west berry. Cheers, Tara
Michelle says
Tara,
These look delicious! But I’ve never heard of Saskatoon berries. I would have to use blueberries but they would be just as delicious I’m sure. Thanks so much for sharing at Creative Thursday this week. Have a wonderful weekend.
Michelle
Noshing with the Nolands says
They are a cool little berry. You may start to see them more and more. You never know!
Michelle says
Tara,
These look delicious! But I’ve never heard of Saskatoon berries. I would have to use blueberries but they would be just as delicious I’m sure. Thanks so much for sharing at Creative Thursday this week. Have a wonderful weekend.
Michelle