Fruit Tart with Rosemary Syrup

Yesterday my friends and I were craving something with berries, something sweet, something that would remind us of sitting outside on a warm, August night. Actually, we were desperate for anything to take our minds off this dreary weather, even for just a second. The strawberries might have been expensive and a little under ripe and the blueberries were probably grown in some enormous temperature-controlled warehouse, but this tart was just what we needed.
And if it was August and my lavender plant was visible - it had been sitting under mounds of snow and now inches of rain - I would have substituted that in the syrup. But Rosemary is the heartiest herb of them all. Refusing to die. Refusing to wilt. Refusing to even be bothered that it's January and all its surrounding buddy herbs are long gone. So go ahead! Slather on as much Rosemary Syrup as possible (trust me, you'll be tempted to drink it from the pan!) and let it shine, shine, shine.

Tart Dough

• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Rosemary Syrup

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup loosely packed fresh rosemary leaves
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
  

One recipe of pastry cream

1. Whisk the yolk, cream and vanilla in a small bowl; set aside. Place the flour, sugar, and salt in the food processor and process to combine. Scatter the butter over the flour mixture; process to cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles course meal, about fifteen 1-second pulses. With the machine running, add the egg mixture and process until the dough just comes together, about 12 seconds. Turn the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and press into a 6-inch disk. Refrigerate at least 1 hr or up to 2 days.
2. Roll out dough out, about 1/4 inch thick; fit dough into 14x4-inch rectangle tart pan with removable bottom, pressing into corners. Using a rolling pin, trim dough flush with top edge of pan. Prick bottom of dough all over with a fork to prevent tart from puffing up. Chill tart shell until firm, about 30 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake tart shell until edges are golden brown, about 25-30 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.
4. In a small saucepan, combine sugar with 1/4 cup water, rosemary and lemon juice. Bring mixure to a boil, then turn off heat. Set aside to steep, covered, for 20 minutes. Strain syrup into a bowl and set aside.
5. When ready to serve, fill cooled tart shell with pastry cream, arrange fruit on top and brush with rosemary syrup.