Wednesday, June 7, 2017

"French" Fruit Tart

The Frenchiness here is of the 1980s variety, that was meant to make something sound fancy.  The original recipe was on the back of the Bisquick box, so we can all predict the results, right? But no.  This is a perfect trifecta of flavors and textures: salty/buttery crust, luscious middle with the best of cream cheese and heavy cream, and whatever wonderful perfect fresh fruit is in season on top.


And look, the ingredients are simple, practically pantry staples, and the method is also very simple.  I mean really.  This is me raving.  I highly recommend that you make this tart!


The only downside is that it is best eaten several hours after it is made, or possibly the day after for particularly smitten eaters.




"French" Fruit Tart - adapted from a recipe I found on The Kitchn

Make the tart crust.
Cut together:
1 cup all-purpose flour (I use up to 2/3 WW pastry flour)
1/3 cup butter
2 Tbsp. powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
Press mixture into 9 or 10" tart pan or pie pan.  Prick bottom with fork.  Bake at 425F for 10ish minutes.  Set aside to cool.

When the crust is cool, whip in a mixing bowl:
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Add and beat to soft peaks.  Do not overbeat:
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Dollop and spread filling in crust.  Top gently with fresh sliced berries or other seasonal fruit, arranged in a pattern or sprinkled over in a single layer.  Brush with some melted apple jelly or simple syrup (I use simple syrup - heat together 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water until dissolved, then cool and keep in fridge).  Sometimes I don't bother brushing anything on the fruit.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before slicing and serving.


This tart really needs a better name.  Suggestions?

7 comments:

Becky said...

This sounds fantastic. I suspect I'll be making this quite a bit this summer. Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

I would call it "Long Live Summer" or "Strawberries and Cream Shortcake" this post made me hungry.
-Julie

Katie said...

Berries and cream tart, and I just may make this one tonight! Wow!

jenny_o said...

Do you add the whipping cream to the cream cheese mixture? Or layer it on top?

I'd say it sounds like "Perfect Fruit Tart" or maybe "Creamy Dreamy Fruit Tart" or maybe even "Dreaming of Clouds Fruit Tart" ... It sure looks good.

Margo said...

jenny_o, you add the heavy cream directly to the beaten cream cheese mixture and then continue beating until it's all fluffy and airy like. . . .clouds :)

Jenny said...

I made it just today, and we all loved it. It was so simple, and my son thought the crust tasted like cookies. Thank you so much for sharing! This is probably going to be on the table many, many times this summer.

jenny_o said...

Thanks, Margo. It's a really beautiful dessert and sounds so good for a hot day like we've having today :)