Fresh Fruit Tart With Lemon-almond Pastry Cream Recipe

-LEMON-ALMOND PASTRY CREAM-
3 c Half-and-half
1 ts Almond extract
1 Lemon; Zest of
3/4 c Granulated sugar
8 Egg yolks
3 tb Cornstarch
1 Lemon; Juice of
4 c Fresh raspberries; rinsed
-and dried (4
To 6)

To prepare the crust, preheat the oven to 375?. Butter a 12-inch tart pan
with a removable bottom. Put the flour, sugar, almond extract, and salt in
the bowl of a food processor or heavy-duty mixer. With the machine running,
slowly add 1 cup of the butter and process or mix until a dough forms.
Press the dough into the prepared pan. Bake in the oven until the crust is
golden brown,
20 to 25 minutes. Let cool completely, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt the chocolate and remaining tablespoon of butter in the top
of a double boiler over gently simmering water. Brush the cooled crust with
melted chocolate and place in the refrigerator to set.

To prepare the pastry cream, put the half-and-half, almond extract, lemon
zest, and half of the sugar in a medium saucepan and bring just to a boil.
Meanwhile, put the eggs, the remaining sugar, and the cornstarch in a
medium bowl and mix well. When the half-and-half is hot, whisk some of it
into the eggs, and then add the eggs to the saucepan. Stirring continuously
with a wooden spoon, cook over low heat until very thick, about 5 minutes,
never letting it come to a boil. Remove from the heat. Stir the lemon juice
into the pastry cream and pour the mixture into the crust. Set aside to
cool completely.

Starting at the perimeter of the tart, arrange the berries in concentric
circles (rounded side facing up). Slice and serve, or refrigerate until
ready to serve.