My tart recipe is only worthy of the best of cinema, so I spent a while thinking about what movie I could pair with it, narrowing in on a French movie or a movie set in France.

I found my winner in the latter category: “An American in Paris,” one of the best musicals of all time.

But back to the tart for now: this vegan, gluten-free recipe makes 8 “servings.”

Crust Ingredients
1.33 cups 1-to-1 gluten-free flour
0.25 cups sugar
0.5 teaspoons salt
10 tablespoons butter, melted
0.5 teaspoons vanilla extract

Filling Ingredients
0.5 cups plant cream
12 ounces vegan cream cheese, softened
0.5 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
0.5 teaspoons vanilla extract

Topping Ingredients
3 cups berries
0.25 cups jam
2 teaspoons water

Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350°F.

Whisk the flour, sugar and salt needed for the crust together, then pour in the melted butter and vanilla extract. I used a pastry cutter to mix the dry and wet ingredients together.

Once the dough is formed, press it into a 9-10″ pan with a removable bottom. Prick the crust with a fork all over then bake it for 20-25 minutes. Let it cool completely.

While the crust is cooling, I recommend slicing any berries that need slicing. You can honestly use whatever berries you want for this dessert, but we chose strawberries and blueberries.

You should also make the filling while the crust is cooling. Start by beating the cream until peaks form.

In a different bowl, beat the cream cheese until it’s smooth, then stir in the powdered sugar, lemon juice and vanilla until no lumps remain.

Fold in the beaten cream and mix thoroughly.

Spread the filling over the top of the crust.

Place your berries on top of the filling in whatever design or shape you would like.

Feel free get creative here: If you’re making this for the Fourth of July, you can make it look like the American flag. If you’re more of a Francophile, you could make it look like the French flag. I wasn’t compelled by either of those design ideas, so I just did alternating circles from the middle to the end with strawberries and blueberries.

Many recipes say the jam glaze is best if you use something with a lighter color like apricot, but we used some raspberry jam and it turned out just fine.

Microwave the jam/preserves and water for 30 seconds, then brush the glaze over the top of the tart.

Refrigerate the tart for 2 hours, then slice and serve with “An American in Paris!”

The Easy Route
You could try to find a premade cream filling or get sliced fruit.

Or, if you have a vegan/gluten-free bakery nearby, you may be lucky enough to find a whole tart to enjoy.

The Pairing
A lot of folks cite Gene Kelly’s musical masterpiece as “Singin’ in the Rain,” but I personally think “An American in Paris” is the best display of his talents.

The movie isn’t just a musical full of vivacious and bold song and dance spectacles, it’s also a romance and has some downright hilarious moments. Kelly really shows off all of his talents in this genre-crossing film.

He stars as the titular character, Jerry, an artist who builds a life for himself in Paris after World War II.

He literally runs into Lise (Leslie Caron) at a bar one night and makes it his mission to be with her.

Yes, the film’s story is intriguing, but really, I keep watching this movie over and over from the musical numbers. There’s everything from a casual rendition of “I Got Rhythm” with kids on the street to a lavish, multi-song, multi-set, multi-costume sequence that is one of the best things to ever be filmed.

Kelly and Caron are just magnificent in that sequence especially, but really throughout the movie.

If you decide to make a tart and/or watch “An American in Paris,” let us know! Tag us in your Instagram posts & stories, tweets or TikTok videos: @veg_out_recipes