Ingredient: cardamom (or cinnamon)

Saskatoon berries are very high on my list of nostalgic memories from my childhood. How these little berries can evoke such a flood of treasured thoughts is amazing. Our family farm was located in Southern Alberta, (Canada). If you were to stand on our farmhouse, west veranda, the sight of the ‘foothills’ came into view (foothills are an upland area that flank the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains).

How wonderful it was to be able to pack a picnic lunch on a Sunday afternoon and be able to drive there. It was like a whole different world. A landscape of long ridges and rolling hills covered in native lodgepole pine, aspens and spruce trees. The small streams wound their way through meadows of dwarf birch, willow and prairie grasses. You could easily come across some of the beautiful wildlife such as elk, moose or deer that lived there.

This is where our family would go to pick saskatoon berries. Very often we were accompanied by family friends or relatives. It was such a great time, everyone picking berries together, eating Mom’s fabulous fried chicken and potato salad (etc. etc.) for our picnic lunch. I was looking at some pictures from those times. We must have had some hot dogs on one occasion and I burnt my mouth it seems. What priceless memories!

With ‘saskatoon season’ in full swing, Brion and I thought it would be great to pick our own this year. It certainly can’t get any fresher than that. We chose the U-Pick farm called GROVE BERRY PATCH. This is a family owned and operated farm with 20 acres of saskatoon berries and 1 acre of raspberries, black currants, highbush cranberries and vegetables. They are located 1.5 km south off Highway 16A on Spruce Valley Road, Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada.

It was such a nice little adventure. The morning was beautiful and the atmosphere of the berry farm and its family owners was very enjoyable. We picked a pail full of gorgeous saskatoons in a short space of time. I had originally started out with thinking I would post one recipe but of course, its turns out to be three. They consist of some Saskatoon Rhubarb Tarts, Saskatoon Butter Tarts and some Saskatoon Cream Cheese Tarts. Yum!

We are adding a few pics, not only of the tarts but some from the berry farm as well as a couple from my childhood days. Hope you enjoy the blog.

Print Recipe

Saskatoon Berry Tarts

Votes: 2
Rating: 5
You:

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Course

dessert

Cuisine

American, European, German

Servings

MetricUS Imperial

Ingredients

Pastry

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup butter, cold
• 4 tsp white vinegar
• 1/2 cup (minus 4 tsp) ice cold water

Filling for SASKATOON RHUBARB TARTS

• 1 1/2 cups saskatoon berries
• 1/2 cup fresh rhubarb, diced small
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp cardamom (or cinnamon)
• 2 Tbsp water
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Streusal 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup sugar & 3 Tbsp butter

Filling for SASKATOON BUTTER TARTS

• 2 cups saskatoon berries
• 2 Tbsp water
• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 6 Tbsp cornstarch
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup butter,
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 Tbsp cream
• 140 gm OR 1 cup raisins, seedless

Filling for CREAM CHEESE SASKATOON TARTS

• 3 cups saskatoon berries
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch
• 115 gm light cream cheese
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 2 Tbsp heavy cream

Course dessert Cuisine American, European, German Servings MetricUS Imperial Ingredients Pastry 2 cups flour 1/2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt 2/3 cup butter, cold 4 tsp white vinegar 1/2 cup (minus 4 tsp) ice cold water Filling for SASKATOON RHUBARB TARTS 1 1/2 cups saskatoon berries 1/2 cup fresh rhubarb, diced small 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 tsp cardamom (or cinnamon) 2 Tbsp water 1 Tbsp lemon juice 2 Tbsp cornstarch 1 tsp vanilla Streusal 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup sugar & 3 Tbsp butter Filling for SASKATOON BUTTER TARTS 2 cups saskatoon berries 2 Tbsp water 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice 6 Tbsp cornstarch 2 eggs 1/3 cup butter, 1 cup sugar 1 tsp vanilla 1/4 Tbsp cream 140 gm OR 1 cup raisins, seedless Filling for CREAM CHEESE SASKATOON TARTS 3 cups saskatoon berries 1 cup water 1/2 cup sugar 2 Tbsp cornstarch 115 gm light cream cheese 1 tsp lemon zest 2 Tbsp sugar 2 Tbsp heavy cream

Votes: 2 Rating: 5 You: Rate this recipe!

Instructions

Pastry

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder & salt until completely combined. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter or fork.

   
2. Measure the vinegar into a liquid measuring cup, then add enough ice cold water to make 1/2 cup. Pour over flour mixture, gently stir with a fork ONLY until combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap & place in refrigerator for a minimum of an hour so it can chill well. When ready to use, Roll out dough on a lightly floured work surface. Using a 3 1/2" cookie cutter, cut out tart shells & place them in tart pans.

Saskatoon Rhubarb Filling & Streusel

1. In a small saucepan, combine saskatoons, diced rhubarb, sugar & cardamom. Set aside. In a small bowl, combine water, lemon juice & cornstarch. Whisk together to make a slurry. Add to to saucepan & cook on medium heat, stirring until mixture becomes thickened. Remove from heat; add vanilla & allow to cool before using.
2. FOR STREUSAL: Place all streusal ingredients in a small dish & combine with finger tips until crumbly. Spoon berry filling into tart shells & top with streusal. Bake at 375 F. until pastry is golden.

Saskatoon Butter Tart Filling

1. FOR BERRY TOPPING: In a small saucepan, mix together berries & water; simmer for 10 minutes over low-medium heat. In a separate bowl, mix together sugar & cornstarch then add to the berries & combine. Stir in lemon juice; simmer until mixture slightly thickens. Set aside to cool.
2. FOR BUTTER TART LAYER: First beat together eggs. In a saucepan, melt the butter then add sugar, vanilla, cream, raisins & beaten eggs. Bring to a boil over medium heat & boil for 3 minutes. Set aside to cool. TO ASSEMBLE: Place a heaping Tbsp of butter tart mixture into each shell, then fill remainder of the tart shell with the berry topping mixture. DO NOT MIX. Bake at 375 F. for 15-18 minutes or until pastry is golden. Cool before removing from tart pans.

Cream Cheese Saskatoon Tart Filling

1. FOR BERRY TOPPING: Crush 1 cup of saskatoon berries & place in a small saucepan with 1 cup of water. Simmer about 2 minutes. Strain & return berry juice only to saucepan. Combine sugar & cornstarch; add to sauce. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until mixture is thick & clear. Remove from heat & stir in remaining 2 cups of saskatoons to glaze & stir gently. Pre-bake tart shells.
2. FOR CREAM CHEESE LAYER: In a small bowl, blend together cream cheese, lemon zest, sugar & heavy cream. Divide cream cheese mixture between baked tart shells. Top with generous portions of berry topping & serve.

   
3. 

Recipe Notes

• The pastry recipe will yield about 48 mini tarts. I had doubled the pastry recipe because I wanted to make all 3 kinds. It's so nice to have some in the freezer for future use.
• If you make the pastry in 2 separate batches it seems to be nicer for some reason.
• If you happen to have any filling left over, it freezes well for another time.