A weekend spin in the countryside had me struck by the vibrant mulberry trees bloated with ripe fruit. The trees, we were told by a farmer, were “leftovers” from one of the most important industries of the Middle Ages – silk weaving, of which Italian silk was legendary (of course!).
Apparently, the old Romans were particularly fond of their silk, sourcing the lush, natural fabric from China. However, they were in the dark when it came to its production, and it was not until two monks, who had been missionaries in Asia, revealed to the Emperor Justinian in 551 BC, that the precious yarn, was produced by silkworms, a type of caterpillar that fed on mulberry leaves. In addition, to this big reveal, the 2 monks are also credited, with secretly bringing in the first breeding caterpillars together, with a stash of mulberry seeds. The farming of mulberry trees and silk production, kicked off in Southern Italy, which at that time, was under Byzantine rule. From there, production spread like wildfire. Fast-forward to the 12th century, and Italy had become the largest producer of (the most highly prized) silk in Europe. It also produced a lot of ripe fruit.
This recipe is for a tasty, burnt butter, almond and mulberry tart. It’s an adaption of Italian-Australian cook Karen Martini’s Cherry Tart* recipe, swapping among other things, mulberries as the star player. It is dead easy to make (no finicky pastry!), even easier, to scoff into. It’s on the sweet side, but the sugar is tempered by the almonds and the tart berries. In addition to injecting some lightness into the tart, the recipe also makes use of a bunch of egg whites, – handy, should you find yourself with a stash after a Carbonara (or other yolk-centric) feast.
- 180g butter, plus extra for greasing
- 1 tablespoon (20ml) vanilla extract
- 5 egg whites, at room temp
- pinch of salt
- 340g icing sugar
- 110g plain flour
- 100g ground almonds
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 3 tablespoons flaked almonds
- 250g mulberries
Preheat the oven to 180 C (or 160 fan forced). Line a 24cm loosed-based tart tin, with baking paper and grease the sides with a little butter.
In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Add the vanilla extract and cook over med-low heat for 3-4 minutes, or until the mixture takes on a brownish tinge, and develops a kinda nutty aroma. Pour the butter into a bowl to stop it cooking any further with the residual heat. Cool to room temperature.
Place the egg whites and a pinch of salt in a large, clean bowl and whisk until soft peaks form. Sift in half the icing sugar, and fold to combine. Sift in the remaining icing sugar, together with the flour, and the ground almonds. Stir in the burnt-butter and vanilla mixture as well as the almond extract. Fold gently to combine.
Pour the mixture into the prepared tart tin and scatter over the mulberries, followed by the almonds. Bake for 50mins or until the tart is puffed, golden and just set. If during cooking time, the surface is becoming too brown – loosely cover the tart with tin foil. Remove from the oven, cool to room temp before eating.
* adapted from Karen Martini (2012) “Burnt Butter, Almond and Cherry Tart”, Feasting, p.70
this sounds absolutely delicious. I can’t wait to try it. I adore mulberries.
I love ’em too – mulberries are so punchy! And, so often they’re overlooked by the other berries. Hope you try the tart Rosie, you will love it !!! Happy baking, Kate.