Red White and Blue Tart

Red White and Blue Tart

I feel like July 4th is one of those holidays where you can't help but be a little gimmicky. Everyone puts on their red, white and blue outfits and busts out those American flag napkins that have been sitting in the cabinet since last year, and eats some red, white and blue desserts of course. At first I wanted to be creative and make a red, white and blue savory dish, but I simply couldn't resist the beautifully ripe berries at the store today. I've done red, white and blue ice cream cake, I've done red, white and blueberry buckle, I've done red, white and blue fruit skewers. It was time for something new. 

Instead of making a traditional pastry cream as the base for this tart, I strained some vanilla yogurt and flavored it with juice and powdered sugar to make for a lighter base. The fruit could easily be swapped out for any other fruit, but being that Independence Day is tomorrow, I obviously had to go with red and blue berries.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

2 egg whites

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1 1/2 cups vanilla yogurt

1 tablespoon orange pineapple juice

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Sliced strawberries, raspberries and blueberries for topping

3 tablespoons honey

Place the yogurt in a fine mesh sieve over a bowl in the refrigerator to drain for one hour. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 300 degrees fahrenheit. Combine the first four ingredients in a bowl and mix with a fork until all of the graham cracker crumbs are coated. Press the mixture into a ten inch pie plate or tart dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for twelve minutes and then leave out to cool on a wire rack.

Prep all of your berries while the yogurt is straining. Slice strawberries, and wash the raspberries and blueberries. In a medium bowl, put the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar and juice. Beat together until soft peaks form and then place back in the refrigerator until the yogurt has finished straining.  Once the yogurt is finished, gently fold the whipped cream into the yogurt with a spatula. At this point the tart shell should be at room temperature and ready for filling. Pour the yogurt mixture into the shell and spread evenly with the spatula, place back in the refrigerator for thirty minutes to set. After the base has set, top with berries in whatever pattern is most appealing to you. Place the three tablespoons of honey in a microwave safe bowl and heat for twenty seconds until the honey has thinned out substantially. Using a syringe or pastry brush, squeeze or brush the melted honey over the fruit. Place the tart back in the refrigerator to cool and for the honey to set again. Remove after an hour or so and serve immediately. Enjoy!