Mulberry Lime Tart

It's mulberry season! Just for the next few weeks... so if you've never tasted a mulberry, now's the time to take a walk around your neighborhood and see if you can find some. Yes, that mulberry, the one whose pollen you're probably allergic to. The male trees produce tons of pollen, but the female trees produce tasty berries! Look for purple spots on the sidewalk, then look up. They are seriously delicious – kind of like blackberries but with a nice chewy texture. 

This tart is very tart! Mulberries are not very acidic, so the tartness of the lime really compliments their flavor. The recipe is adapted from a lemon and fresh raspberry tart in the San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market Cookbook, so keep it in mind when raspberry season comes around later in the summer. The crust is so easy, even I was willing to make it.

Crust:

1 cup butter, at room temperature

1 cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup powdered sugar

Filling:

2 large eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

2 T. all-purpose flour

½ t. baking powder

¼ C. lime juice

Zest of 1 lime

2 C. fresh mulberries, thoroughly washed

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix butter, flour and sugar until the dough starts to come together. It should be somewhat crumbly. Press evenly into a pie plate or 9-inch square pan. Bake until very lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely.

Combine eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, lime juice and zest in a bowl, and beat until the mixture is frothy. Pour into crust and bake about 20 minutes, until the filling is set but not browned on top. Cool to room temperature.

If your mulberries are very juicy, just press them gently into the top, covering the entire surface. If they are not particularly juicy, sprinkle them with a little sugar and mash them with a fork, then spread over the top. If you like your berries cooked, I think it would probably work fine to put them on top before you bake the filling, but I didn't try it. Serves 8.