Fruit Tart
Fruit tarts are a dangerous dessert. They're simultaneously rich from the pastry / pastry cream, and light from the fruit. I feel that I could consume an endless amount of fruit tart. They're just that satisfying. They're also very visually impressive, and a great all-purpose dessert (also nice that they can be made in advance, and keep in the fridge fairly well)
Active Time: 1 hr 30 min
Total Time: 4 hr
Ingredients
pastry cream
> whole milk (2 cups)
> sugar (1 cup)
> egg yolks (6)
> corn starch (1/4 cup)
> salt (1/4 tsp)
> vanilla extract (1 tsp)
pastry:
> butter (1 stick, softened)
> powdered sugar (1/2 cup)
> egg (1)
> vanilla extract (1/2 tsp)
> salt (1/4 tsp)
> flour (1 1/4 cup)
> baking powder (1/4 tsp)
putting it all together:
> miscellaneous fruit
> (optional) a light colored jam, melted
Instructions
making the pastry cream:
1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat milk until tiny bubbles start to appear on the surface (180 F, about 6-8 min). Stir frequently to prevent scalding.
2. In a large bowl, mix together egg yolks and sugar. Whisk in corn starch and salt. While whisking constantly, gradually pour in the hot milk and mix until fully combined.
3. Return to saucepan, and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens to a firm consistency, about 5-8 min. Whisk in vanilla, pour into a bowl, and set aside.
4. Let cool complete, and refrigerate until chilled, about 2-3h.
making the tart pastry:
1. Cream together butter and powdered sugar using a hand mixer until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
2. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the egg, vanilla, and salt. Mix until fully combined.
3. Sift in flour + baking powder, and mix until the dough comes together (do not over-mix!). Scrape dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, flatten, wrap tightly, and chill for >1h.
4. Roll out dough to a thickness of 1/8-inch to 1/4-inch. Place it into a 9-inch tart pan, and press the dough against the sides, trimming away any excess dough.
5. In a 350 F oven, par-bake the tart. Cover the dough with a sheet of parchment paper and fill with pie weights. Bake for 12 minutes.
6. Remove the pie weights and continue to bake until golden brown and fully cooked, about 10-15 minutes longer.
7. Cool completely.
putting it all together:
1. Fill cooled tart crust with chilled pastry cream
2. Cut fruits as desired, and arrange fruit in a decorative pattern (let your imagination take over)
3. Using a pastry cream, brush fruit with melted jam if desired.
Notes/Tips:
> I have not quite figured out what "cook the mixture until it thickens to a firm consistency" means. I hand-waved it; it's very possible that I got it wrong and either over or under cooked it (probably over) because the consistency of the pastry cream felt a little wrong compared to other fruit tarts I've had in the past.
> MAKE SURE your butter is very soft, otherwise it'll be impossible to cream. Also, consider hand-whisking the powdered sugar and butter in the beginning for a bit; if you use the hand mixer it'll splatter powdered sugar everywhere.
> General tips for rolling out tart dough -- make sure to lightly flour the surface, the dough, as well as the rolling pin. If the dough crumbles or breaks apart, press it back together. To put the dough into the tart pan, loosely roll it around the rolling pin, and gently unroll it over the tart pan.
> The light colored jam is optional but I think it adds a nice touch. Apricot jam is a good choice, this time I used orange jam because it's what I had. Melt it in the microwave for a bit, then using a pastry brush, brush the fruit with the glaze.