Barberry Tart is a traditional British recipe, based on Robert Kemp Philp's recipe of 1859, for a classic tart of barberries and sugar cooked in a sweet shortcrust pastry crust. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Barberry Tart.
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This is a classic recipe for a Victorian version of Barberry Tart that's derived from Robert Kemp Philp's 1859 volume, The Dictionary of Daily Wants. Below you will find both the recipe in its original form and a modern redaction.
The barberry (Berberis spp is a genus of about 450–500 species of deciduous and evergreen shrubs from 1-5 m tall with thorny shoots, native to the temperate and subtropical regions of Europe, Asia, Africa, North America and South America. Typically they bear bunches of pale yellow drooping flowers in May, which are succeeded by oblong scarlet berries, ripening in September. Several are popular garden shrubs, grown for their ornamental leaves, yellow flowers, and red or blue-black berries. They are also valued for crime prevention; being very dense, viciously spiny shrubs, they make very effective barriers impenetrable to burglars. For this reason they are often planted below potentially vulnerable windows, and used as hedges and other barriers. The berries are edible, and rich in vitamin C, though with a very sharp flavour; the thorny shrubs make harvesting them difficult, so in most places they are not widely consumed. Berberis thunbergii is one of the best for culinary use. They were frequently used in the Victorian era, as this recipe demonstrates They are still made into a candy in Estonia, Lithuania and the Ukraine (known as (Barberis). Berberis microphylla or Berberis heterophylla (Calafate) and Berberis darwinii (Michay) are two species found in Patagonia in Argentina and Chile and their edible purple fruit are used for jams and infusions. Zereshk (زرشک) is the Persian name for the dried fruit of Berberis vulgaris, which are widely cultivated in Iran. Zereshk is widely used in cooking, imparting a tart flavour to chicken dishes. It is usually cooked with rice, called zereshk polo, and provides a nice meal with chicken. Zereshk jam, zereshk juice, and zereshk fruit rolls are also produced in Iran.
Original Recipe
BARBERRY TART.—Put into a moderately-sized dish three quarters of a pound of barberries, and half a pound of sugar, in alternate layers; pour in a teacupful of water, cover with a lithy paste, and bake for half an hour.
Arrange the barberries and sugar in layers in a deep pie dish. Pour in the water then roll out the pastry on a lightly-floured work surface and use to cover the pie.
Prick the pastry with a fork to make steam holes then transfer to an oven pre-heated to 180°C and bake for 30 minutes, or until the fruit is cooked and the pastry is golden.
Barberries, 3/4lb.; sugar, 1/2lb.; water, 1 teacupful.