Fruit Tart

It's time for Vegas baby....I'm feeling lucky!!!  I am forever entering contests, buying raffle tickets, throwing my business card into the basket to win a free lunch.  Never, and I do mean NEVER do I ever win.  But this month is MY month!  I entered to win a Moleskin Travel Journal on Christine's blog "Esskunst-Love who you are".  I was actually travelling when I got the news from her that I had won....such a coincidence!!!  You should really head on over and check her out....so many great recipes!

Then, this morning I wake up to an email from Lauren at "Part Time House Wife" telling me that I won her contest and a weeks supply of Brown Cow Cream Top Greek Yogurt!!!  I LOVE greek yogurt, especially with fresh berries and honey drizzled over the top!  Super excited!!!  You have got to check out Lauren's recipe for BLT Pizza.....it is to die for!!!

So now you see it...I'm on a roll, it's my lucky streak....I need to start buying lotto cards or playing the slots! I might actually win!!!  Well, since we all know I'm not about to waste my money on lotto tickets and with school starting I have NO time for Vegas, I will have to stick with my lucky recipes!  I totally lucked out this week with my newest....A fresh fruit tart!

The recipe comes from Baking Illustrated, which I don't own and had to borrow, and is one of the BEST baking bibles out there.  I'm serious, if you are reading this and want to do a giveaway on your blog, this book would make a great giveaway and I would be the first person in line to enter the contest!  I know, I know...I could just buy the cookbook but I'm super cheap frugal like that!

The recipe is FABULOUS!!  Honestly.... I made the pastry cream, tasted it and spent the next 20 minutes with my face in the pan, making sure I licked the entire thing clean!  I was starting to eat it with a large serving spoon before I came out of my food trance and remembered that I was making this for a client and should probably make sure I have enough pastry cream left to fill the pastry! Ummm....that was embarrassing, I probably shouldn't have told you that.  Please don't judge me!

The pastry was EASY!  If you don't have a food processor you can still make it, but the food processor makes it so quick and that gives you more time to go back to tasting your pastry cream.  I mean really, I'm sure the client would be ok having a fruit tart with just fruit.  Do they really NEED the pastry cream?  Na, I should just take it off their hands!  ;)

Use any fruit you like!  Berries are beautiful right now, so that is what I chose with the addition of kiwi for it's beautiful color.  You could use stone fruit, tropical fruit, etc.

Now, here is the important part....IF you have any pastry cream left after tasting it to make sure it tastes ok and won't poison your family, then you should spread the cream into the bottom of your tart shell.  If you don't have any left, then make another batch, you really need it for the tart!

Pile all of that gorgeous fruit on top of the pastry cream and VOILA!!!!  Perfection!  You could melt some beautiful jam to brush on top of your tart to make it glossy and gorgeous but I think mine is gorgeous without that extra step.  And seriously, it won't last long enough for anyone to notice that it is glossy!  

The crust is perfection, reminding me of a shortbread cookie.  We already know how I feel about the pastry cream, and the berries, which really are the star of the dish, are sweet and juicy and beautiful!  Really, this is my idea of the perfect dessert.  The only thing that would make it better would be a bottle of red and friends to share it all with!  

Did I tell you that I liked the pastry cream?  ;)

This recipe is featured on:

 "Spatulas On Parade" and  http://www.foodiefriendsfriday.com  Linky Party

Chocolate, Chocolate, and more - Thursday's Treasures

Fruit Tart

For the Crust:

1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon heavy cream

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1¼ cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup powdered sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes

Whisk together the yolk, cream and vanilla in a small bow; set aside. Place the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor and process briefly to combine. Scatter the butter pieces over the flour mixture; process to cut the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal, about fifteen 1-second pulses. With the machine running, add the egg mixture and process until the dough just comes together, about 12 seconds. Turn the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and press into a 6-inch disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 48 hours.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator (if refrigerated longer than 1 hour, let stand at room temperature until workable). Unwrap and roll on a lightly floured surface to a 13-inch round. Transfer the dough to a 9- to 9½-inch tart pan. Ease the dough into the pan corners and press the dough against the fluted sides of the pan. If some sections of the edge are too thin, reinforce them by folding the excess dough back on itself. Run the rolling pin over the top of the tart pan to remove the excess dough. Prick the bottom and sides of the dough all over with a fork. Set the dough-lined tart pan on a large plate and freeze for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Set the dough-lined tart pan on a baking sheet, press a square of foil into the frozen tart shell and over the edge, and fill with metal or ceramic pie weights. Bake for 30 minutes, rotating halfway through the baking time. Remove from the oven and carefully remove the foil and weights. Continue to bake until deep golden brown, 5 to 8 minutes longer. Set the baking sheet with the tart shell on a wire rack and cool to room temperature.

For the pastry cream:

2 cups half-and-half

½ cup granulated sugar, divided

Pinch of salt

5 egg yolks

3 tablespoons cornstarch

4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Heat the half-and-half, 6 tablespoons of the sugar, and the salt in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat until simmering, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar.

Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks in a medium bowl until thoroughly combined. Whisk in the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and whisk until the sugar has begun to dissolve and the mixture is creamy, about 15 seconds. Whisk in the cornstarch until combined and the mixture is pale yellow and thick, about 30 seconds.

When the half-and-half mixture reaches a full simmer, gradually whisk the simmering half-and-half into the yolk mixture to temper. Return the mixture to the saucepan, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula; return to a simmer over medium heat, whisking constantly, until a few bubbles burst on the surface and the mixture is thickened and glossy, about 30 seconds. Off the heat, whisk in the butter and vanilla. Strain the pastry cream through a fine-mesh sieve set over a medium bowl. Press plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming and refrigerate until cold and set, at least 3 hours or up to 2 days.

Assemble the tart:

3 cups assorted berries, kiwi or stonefruit

Remove the outer ring of the tart pan and place tart shell on serving plate.  Spread the pastry cream evenly inside of the tart shell and arrange the assorted fruit over the top of the pastry cream.  

Refrigerate tart until time to serve.

Recipe adapted from Baking Illustrated