Fresh Raspberry Cream Tart

From the garden

• 3 cups fresh raspberries, picked over, not washed unless dusty · about 1 pound; firm, dead-ripe, dry berries

From the pantry

• 1¼ cups all-purpose flour · plus more for rolling
• 8 tbsp cold butter, cut into small cubes
• ¾ cup sugar · 1/4 cup for the pastry, 1/2 cup for the cream
• 4 eggs · 1 whole egg for the pastry, 3 yolks for the cream
• 2 cups whole milk
• 3 tbsp cornstarch
• 1½ tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 tbsp honey (optional) · warmed with a spoonful of water, for glazing the berries

1. Make the pastry: rub the flour, 1/4 cup of the sugar, and the salt together with the cold butter until it looks like coarse crumbs with a few pea-sized bits. Beat the whole egg and stir it in with a fork until the dough just clumps; add a teaspoon of cold water only if it stays dry. Press into a disk, wrap, and chill 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile make the pastry cream: warm the milk in a saucepan until steaming. In a bowl whisk the 3 egg yolks, the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, and the cornstarch until pale and smooth. Whisk half the hot milk into the yolks, pour everything back into the pan, and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it thickens and bubbles thickly for a full minute, 3–4 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the vanilla. Scrape into a bowl, press plastic wrap directly onto the surface, and chill until cold, at least 2 hours.
3. Heat the oven to 375°F. Roll the dough on a floured counter to an 11-inch round and fit it into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, pressing it into the corners and trimming flush with the rim. Prick the base all over with a fork and freeze 10 minutes.
4. Line the shell with parchment, fill with dried beans or pie weights, and bake 15 minutes. Lift out the parchment and weights and bake 10–12 minutes more, until the base is dry and the edges are golden brown. Cool completely in the pan.
5. Whisk the cold pastry cream until smooth and spread it evenly in the cooled shell. Set the raspberries on top, hollow side down, in tight concentric rings, working from the outside in, until the cream is completely covered.
6. If glazing, brush the berries very lightly with the warm honey so they shine. Chill 30 minutes to set, then unmold, slice with a sharp knife, and serve within a few hours of assembling.