Gooseberry Tart
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a good oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the fruit
Using scissors, cut off the tops and tails of the gooseberries.
Place the gooseberries in a deep pie dish, piling them high in the center.
Sprinkle the sugar over the gooseberries.
Assemble and bake
Line the edge of the dish with short crust pastry, cover with another layer, and decorate the edges.
Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven for about 30 minutes.
Serve
Before serving, dust with fine‑sifted sugar.
Serve with a jug of cream or a dish of boiled or baked custard.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Gooseberries
- Provide the tart filling, with their acidity balancing the sweet sugar.
- Moist sugar
- Sweetens the fruit and draws out juice as it sits, forming a syrup.
- Short crust pastry
- Forms the crisp, buttery case and top crust that hold the filling.
The step that matters
Piling the gooseberries high in the center. Fruit heaped in the middle gives a filling that holds its shape and cooks through, while a flat layer can release juice and turn soggy under the crust.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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