Jacqueline Maxwell

Fruit Tart

Fruit tarts remind me of summertime with their bright fruity colors.  I whipped up this beauty in honor of the beginning of summer!  They might look like a lot of work but are actually pretty simple.  

The greatest part about making this tart is obviously decorating it with the fruit of your liking in a pretty fashion.  I chose to use blackberries, strawberries, and kiwis.  Love these colors together, so pretty! 

Ingredients

Crust:  

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 1/2 tablespoons sugar

1 cup cold unsalted butter

2 egg yolks

3 tablespoons ice water

Vanilla Cream Filling:

2 cups whole milk

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

4 egg yolks

1/4 cup cornstarch

Apricot Glaze:

3 tablespoons apricot jam

2 tablespoons water

Crust:

Combine flour and sugar in electric mixer. Cut butter into small chunks and mix into flour until mixture resembles a coarse meal.  In another bowl, beat together egg yolks and ice water.  Combine egg and flour mixture in electric mixer.  Mix until the dough holds together, it should not be too sticky.  Pat into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Put in refrigerator.  

On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough until it is about 12 inches around and 1/4 inch thick.  Transfer rolled dough to your tart pan with removable bottom.  Press the dough into the edges and trim edges to be even with the rim of the pan.  Chill in refrigerator for about 25 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prick the dough bottom all over with a toothpick then place in oven for about 25-30 minutes, until edges are golden brown.  Take out of oven and let it cool completely.

Vanilla Cream: 

Bring milk and vanilla extract to a simmer over medium heat.  Remove from heat and let it sit covered for about 20 minutes.  Whisk egg yolks and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add corn starch and mix until completely combined.  With mixer on low add the milk mixture to your egg yolk mixture.  Put back on the stove and mix constantly over medium heat until it starts to thicken.  As soon as it starts to thicken into a custard like consistency remove from heat and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until cold. 

Spoon vanilla cream into crust and smooth out evenly.  Arrange whatever kind of fruit you like on top. Make it pretty!  The apricot glaze is optional...

Glaze:

Heat jam and water over low heat until thin.  Pass through a seive then brush glaze over fruit with brush. 

All done, enjoy!