Fresh Fruit Tart

Recipe Courtsey : Laura Carmen

I am dedicating this dish to all the wonderful mothers out there. My mom loves fruits and custard, so I made this for her on Mother’s Day. Light crispy crust, flavorful custard and fresh bright fruits made it a very elegant dish. She loved it and so did my husband and son. My baby had made some gifts for me and so this Mother’s Day was Extra Special for me. I hope you all had a great day and enjoyed it well.

Tart crust:

Butter, cold- 8 tablespoons
Sugar- 1/4 cup
Flour- 1 1/2 cups
Salt- 1/8 tsp
Egg yolk- 1 large
Half & Half/ Milk- 2-3 tablespoons

In a bowl add the flour, sugar, salt and combine well. Grate or cut the cold butter. Add this to the bowl and mix well. Add the yolk and cream/milk and mix well. The dough should be crumbly (not wet) but should hold together when pinched.

Transfer the dough into a 9 .5 by 1 inch tart pan or pie plate and press into the pan with your palms, working the dough up the sides with your fingers and pressing it evenly around the rim. Trim any overhanging bits of dough. Chill for 20 minutes while you preheat the oven to 325 F. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the crust is golden. (I used a pie plate and it took like 25mns for me, for tart pan may be it will take only 10-12 mns. Keep an eye on the crust while baking and wait till it becomes golden)

Custard:

Large eggs- 2
Cornstarch- 3 tablespoons
Half-and-half- 2 cups
Sugar- 1/2 cup
Pinch of salt
Vanilla extract- 1 teaspoon
Butter- 1 tablespoon

In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and cornstarch until the cornstarch is completely absorbed. Whisk in 1/2 cup of the half-and-half. In a saucepan, combine the remaining half-and-half, sugar and salt and bring to a boil. Whisk 1/2 cup of the hot half-and-half mixture into the eggs, then pour all of the egg mixture back into the boiling half-and-half, whisking constantly. The mixture will become very thick. Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla and butter.

Transfer to a bowl and immediately press a piece of greased plastic wrap over the top of the cream to prevent a “skin” from forming.

Assemble the tart:

When the custard and tart crust have cooled, spoon the cream into the crust and spread evenly with a spatula. Arrange slices of strawberries, kiwi, apricots, and whole berries on top of the cream in circles, starting along the outer edge. When assembling is complete, brush the fruit gently with melted fruit jelly. (Place 1/4 cup in the microwave in a small glass bowl, then brush on with a pastry brush. If all you’ve got is jam, melt it and strain it.)

Note:

The crust can be prepared using a food processor, put the dry ingredients and pulse it few sec. To this add the wet ingredients and pulse it for few seconds.