Recipe: Fresh Fruit Tart
PS Yes, I swapped in a newer fruit tart photo!
A couple days ago, I received a request for a good fruit tart recipe. Here’s a little secret: I’m not really a fan of fruit tarts. Many times the crust is soggy, the filling is all weird, and the fruit is sickly sweet. Because of that, I created a slightly tweaked fruit tart recipe, using a more shortbread-like crust, slightly sweeter filling, and a tangy glaze for the fruit. The result, if I do say so myself, is pretty yummy.
You will need:
- Flour – 1.5 cups
- Confectioners sugar – 1/2 cup
- Unsalted Butter – 1.5 sticks, softened
- Cream cheese – One 8oz package, softened
- Sugar – 1/2 cup
- Vanilla – 3/4 tsp
- Fresh fruit – strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, kiwis, etc.
- Sugar – 1/4 cup
- Corn starch – 1 tbsp
- Juice of 1/2 a Lime (Buy 1 lime and squeeze it fresh, use the remainder for limeade!)
- Water – 1/4 cup
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 11” tart pan with removable bottom.
2. Combine the flour, 1/2 cup confectioners sugar, and butter to make the bottom crust.
Yes, these are the same pictures as the lemon bar crust, because to make any shortbread-style crust, you use three primary ingredients – butter, confectioners sugar, and flour. The proportions may vary, but the building blocks are the same.
3. Pat dough into prepared pan, making sure to get into those nooks and crannies.
4. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the crust is light gold.
Meanwhile:
5. Combine the cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar and vanilla until smooth.
Then taste it. You know you want to.
6. Spread cream cheese mixture over cooled crust.
Crust *must* be cooled, otherwise the cream cheese will be a hot runny mess!
7. Slice all those strawberries and kiwis, and whatever other fruit needs slicing.
Wishing you had a slap-chop right about now, don’t you? Yeah, me too.
8. Layer it all pretty-like on the cream cheese filling.
9. In a small saucepan, combine 1/4 cup sugar, corn starch, lime juice and water. Stir over low heat until thickened (approx 3 min). Let cool; then brush lime glaze over fruit tart.
It will be thin and murky for a long time. Then all-of-a-sudden it’s gloopy as all getout. That means it’s done.
10. Refrigerate for about an hour.
This is the toughest part, isn’t it?
Dunzo! Fresh fruit tart! Give it a try, and let me know how it goes!
What’s your favorite fruit dessert?
Gasp! Lime glaze! Lime is my favorite.
Your blog is serious food porn.
1Umm, yum! It's gorgeous!! I've always wanted to make a tart like this but never have…love it. I will have to flag this to try later
2omg looks absolutely divine! I am going to have to try this recipe out. I love fruit tarts and i have to agree with Layla your blog is major food porn.
3Yum!!! Those bowls are adorbs, btw. Where did you get them?
4oh wow that is some serious food art!
5NOM~ that looks so pretty!! & yummy~~
6@Layla, Nani
Yay! My aim is to produce high-quality food porn. Seriously.
@barbride
7I bought them from anthro a while ago. They are these bowls:
http://www.zak.com/4pc-Rose-Bowl-Set–Red_p_1034.html
I am a fan of the fruit tart, but I'm picky about them. This one looks delicious!
8Yum.
9Yummers, that looks delicious! I'm excited to try your changes b/c your peeves with normal fruit tarts are also mine.
10My favorite fruity dessert is cobbler, Om nom nom!
wow that looks incredible!
also hi hamster (its margarita) – i just found your blog
11@Ali Oooh cobbler, I love the crumbly topping! I'll have to add that to my list of recipe posts
@charms Yay, hi margarita!!
12Ooh, gorgeous. This looks like one of those fruit tarts you get from the Chinese bakery. Delish.
13Crap.
I just found your blog via OMGmom, and I can already tell this is going to be a problem. The Hubs and I are also NYC-dwellers, and we like food – probably more than we should.
Speaking of, dinner's ready.
14Wow!!! Seriously, that is a beautiful piece of food art/eye candy!! WOW!!!
15Beautiful! I've been feasting with my eyes
16You're right – fruit tarts are hit or miss..and are usually misses! Thanks for an alternative recipe!
17THIS WAS A FANTASTIC TASTING, 'ON-KEY' RECIPE FOR FRUIT TART! HOWEVER, THERE WERE A FEW TIPS THAT I WANTED TO ADD TO THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR THIS RECIPE…
181) APPROX. START TO FINISH TIME: 3 HRS
2) PAN SIZE I USED: 14" (THIS REQ'D SOME OF THE RECIPE INGREDIENTS TO BE DOUBLED AND/OR INCREASED TO ACCOMODATE FOR YOUR PAN SIZE)
3) WHEN FORMING YOUR DOUGH/CRUST MIXTURE TO THE TART PAN, INITIALLY COVER YOUR PAN WITH CRISCO GREASE (be sure to not goop it in the grooves of the sides of your tart pan), THEN SPRINKLE FLOUR ONTO YOUR GREASED PAN, COMPLETELY COVERING THE GREASED AREAS.
4) DON'T ROLL OUT YOUR DOUGH/CRUST MIXTURE WITH A ROLLING PIN.
5) TRY TO SPREAD OUT THE DOUGH/CRUST SLIGHTLY BY PRESSING IT DOWN WITH THE PALM OF YOUR HANDS AND FINGERS TO GIVE IT SOME EVEN-NESS TO MAKE IT EASIER TO SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE TART PAN.
6) WHEN REMOVING THE DOUGH/CRUST FROM THE OVEN, YOU WILL SEE THAT THE DOUGH/CRUST RISES SLIGHTLY… IN ORDER TO GET A NICE DISH-LIKE AREA TO PLACE YOUR CREAM CHEESE MIXTURE, YOU CAN USE A ROUNDED EGDED CUP OR HAND-HELD MEASURING CUP TO PRESS DOWN THE INNER EDGES OF THE DOUGH/CRUST TO CREATE THAT DISH-LIKE AREA. BE SURE NOT TO PRESS DOWN TOO HARD, BECAUSE THIS CAN FIRM UP THE DOUGH AND MAKE IT TOO HARD WHEN IT'S TIME TO EAT YOUR FRUIT TART.
***IF YOU'RE USING A 14" PAN SIZE (which was measured diagnally, from one end to the opposite end) THEN YOU MAY WANT TO FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS TO ADJUST THE QUANTITY OF INGREDIENTS USED…
-INCREASE DOUGH/PAN CRUST BY 1/3 EXTRA
-INCREASE THE CREAM CHEESE INTERIOR INGREDIENTS BY DOUBLE
-INCREASE THE LIME GLAZE BY DOUBLE… (YOU WONT USE IT ALL, BUT BETTER TO HAVE A LITTLE OVER, THAN NOT ENOUGH!)
***IF YOUR IN A HURRY, YOU CAN ALWAYS SPEED THINGS ALONG BY FOLLOWING THESE EASY STEPS…
- AFTER FINISHING THE STEP FOR MAKING YOUR DOUGH/CRUST, YOU CAN PLACE THE DOUGH/CRUST DIRECTLY INTO THE FREEZER FOR APPROX. 10 MIN. TO COMPLETELY COOL IT DOWN… THIS IS THE APPROX. TIME IT WOULD TAKE TO GATHER, COMBINE AND MIX TOGETHER THE CREAM CHEESE INGREDIENTS. SO BY THE TIME YOUR DONE MIXING YOUR CREAM CHEESE MIXTURE, THE DOUGH/CRUST WILL BE COOLED SO YOU CAN PLACE YOUR MIXTURE INTO YOUR DOUGH/CRUST.
- WHEN STARTING THE STEP FOR COOKING UP THE LIME GLAZE, YOU CAN PLACE THE UNCOMPLETED, DECORATED FRUIT TART IN THE REFRIGERATOR TO GET A HEAD-START… THE AMOUNT OF TIME IT TAKES TO COMPLETE THE LIME GLAZE IS JUST LONG ENOUGH TO TAKE IT OUT AND COVER THE DECORATED FRUIT TART WITH YOUR GLAZE, THEN PLACE IT IN THE FREEZER FOR APPROX. 20 MIN (no this doesn't change anything about how the completed fruit tart tastes or looks).
***I HOPE YOURS TURNS OUT AS NICE AS MINE DID!!! I USED 3 FRUITS FOR MY TOPPING DECORATION. BLUEBERRIES, KIWI & STRAWBERRIES. ON THE OUTER ROW I USED STRAWBERRIES (pointed ends facing outwards); LAYERING THEM LIKE DOMINO'S… PLACING ONE END ON TOP THE OTHER END AS I WENT ALONG. I USED BLUEBERRIES TO FILL IN THE GAPS CREATED IN BETWEEN THE DOUGH/CRUST & THE STRAWBERRIES. AFTER THE ROW OF STRAWBERRIES. I USED KIWI FOR THE NEXT ROW (layering them one ontop the other, just like the strawberries as I went along creating the row). AGAIN, I CREATED ANOTHER ROW OF STRAWBERRIES (layering just the same as before). THEN DIRECTLY IN THE CENTER, I USED 4 STRAWBERRY SLICES POINTING THEM UPRIGHT, PLACING ONE TURNED OPPOSITE OF THE OTHER FORMING SOMEWHAT OF A CIRCLE. AROUND THE CENTERPICE STRAWBERRIES AND THE LAST ROUND LAYER OF STRAWBERRIES, I USED THE BLUEBERRIES TO FILL IN THE GAP. IT LOOKED FANTASTIC!!! ONCE THE GLAZE WAS PLACED ON IT… WOW! WHAT A FRUIT TART IT WAS… AND TASTY TOO! COMMENDS TO THE PERSON WHO FORMED TOGETHER THIS RECIPE BECAUSE IT TURNED OUT GREAT!
IF I CAN FIND A WAY TO PUT A PICTURE ON THIS SITE OF MY FRUIT TART, I WILL…
THANK YOU!
***I HOPE THESE TIPS HELP THE NEXT PERSON!***