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1
Pastry: Prepare French Tart Pastry; flour the ball of dough lightly; roll out (Maida recommends rolling out on floured pastry cloth with floured rolling pin) into a 12-inch circle.
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2
Place the flan ring on a cookie sheet; transfer pastry to flan ring, centering carefully; with your fingers, press in into place.
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3
With scissors, trim excess, allowing 1/2 to 3/4 inch overlap; fold excess inside to form a double thickness on the rim and press together firmly (the rim should be upright a scant 1/4 inch above the flan ring.
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4
Place the pastry shell on the cookie sheet in the freezer at least until it is frozen .
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5
When you are ready to bake, adjust oven rack to the center of the oven; preheat to 375; line the frozen shell with foil and fill it with dried beans or pie weights to keep the shell in place.
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6
Bake for 20 minutes; remove from oven and carefully remove foil and beans; return the shell to oven and bake 10-15 minutes until the shell is thoroughly dry and lightly browned.
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7
Remove shell form oven and let stand until completely cool; remove the flan ring by lifting it off.
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8
Place the berries in a large bowl of cold water; agitate them briefly, and then immediately remove them from the water (the sand will settle to the bottom; pick off the stems and hulls and drain on towels.
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9
In a blender or food processor, puree 1 pound of the berries to make 2 cups puree.
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10
Strain the puree through a large strainer set over a large bowl.
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11
Place the strained puree in a 2-quart saucepan and add in sugar and salt.
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12
In a small custard cup, sprinkle the gelatin over 2 tablespoons of the water; let stand.
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13
Place the remaining 1/2 cup water minus 1 tablespoon of water and the lemon juice in a small bowl with the cornstarch; stir to dissolve.
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14
Add the cornstarch mixture to the strained berries.
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15
Place over medium heat; stir constantly but gently with a rubber spatula for about 6-7 minutes until the mixture comes to a low boil, thickens, and becomes rather clear.
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16
Then decrease the heat to low; add the softened gelatin, and stir to dissolve.
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17
Continue to cook and stir gently for 3 minutes.
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18
Remove pan from heat and gently transfer to a wide bowl to cool.
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19
While the cornstarch mixture cools, place the berries in the baked shell (if berries are very large, you can cut them in half).
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20
They may stand upright, in a pattern of concentric circles.
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Or, if they are large, they may be cut in half and placed on their cut sides, overlapping one another in concentric circles; either way they should completely fill the shell.
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22
With a teaspoon, gently spoon the cooled gelatin mixture evenly all over the berries and the spaces between them.
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23
If the berries are halved and are overlapping, it may be necessary to raise some of them a bit to allow the mixture to run under and around them, and to fill up all the spaces.
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24
Refrigerate the tart for at least a few hours.
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25
Whipping Cream: in a chilled bowl with chilled beaters, whip all the ingredients until the cream holds a soft shape but not until it is stiff.
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26
Serve the cream separately, placing a spoonful alongside each portion.
