Believe it or not, but this dish is quite easy to make! I even suggest making it with mascarpone filling, which requires no cooking and tastes absolutely delicious. I will, however, provide an optional recipe for the custard filling, which is more traditional for fruit tarts.
The tart recipe I used here is really foolproof. I found that by taking out the wet ingredients such as eggs, and increasing the butter, you allow so much more room for error and create the tart dough that’s so much easier to work with!
Lastly, a few final touches, such as brushing your fruit of choice with the apricot glaze will help achieve a professional-looking result. What an accomplishment it will be to make this tart for your next dinner event!
For the tart shell:
Beat butter and sugar, add salt. Sift in flour and stir with a wooden spoon. Knead gently by hand and shape into a disk. Store in the fridge for half an hour but not more. Roll between two gently floured parchment paper sheets. Roll out to as best of a circle (or rectangle depending on your tart pan) as you can which is slightly longer than diameter plus double the height of the tart shell. My tart pan was 10” in diameter and 1” in height; be sure to use a tart pan with a removable bottom. Therefore, I rolled my dough into a circle of just over 12” in diameter. Transfer this to the shell the best you can without breaking it. If it breaks, gently fix the dough by evenly pinching it with your finger. Take care to press it into all the crevasses of the tart shell. Make sure it’s all the same thickness. If you need to repair the top of the shell, add a piece of extra dough to the bottom of the shell and push it upwards. Roll clean rolling pin over the tart shell to cut off the excess dough. Put the tart pan on a baking sheet to avoid accidentally breaking it, dock with a fork and chill for at least 45 minutes. Bake @ 325° for 20-25 minutes (23 for me) until it just begins to brown like a sugar cookie but is still very pale all around. It will shrink slightly, but don’t worry, the recipe accounts for that. Cool completely before filling. Take care not to break it.
For the Mascarpone filling:
Beat whipping cream with a pinch of salt to stiff peaks. Remove to a container. To the same bowl, add mascarpone, sugar, vanilla and beat until well blended. Fold whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture.
For the glaze:
Heat the apricot jam until melted. If your apricot jam is chunky, process it in a blender or a food processor until smooth.
To assemble the tart:
Wash and dry your fruit. Fill the tart shell with the Mascarpone filling. Arrange the fruit on top. Brush with apricot glaze. Serve right away.
Ingredients
Directions
For the tart shell:
Beat butter and sugar, add salt. Sift in flour and stir with a wooden spoon. Knead gently by hand and shape into a disk. Store in the fridge for half an hour but not more. Roll between two gently floured parchment paper sheets. Roll out to as best of a circle (or rectangle depending on your tart pan) as you can which is slightly longer than diameter plus double the height of the tart shell. My tart pan was 10” in diameter and 1” in height; be sure to use a tart pan with a removable bottom. Therefore, I rolled my dough into a circle of just over 12” in diameter. Transfer this to the shell the best you can without breaking it. If it breaks, gently fix the dough by evenly pinching it with your finger. Take care to press it into all the crevasses of the tart shell. Make sure it’s all the same thickness. If you need to repair the top of the shell, add a piece of extra dough to the bottom of the shell and push it upwards. Roll clean rolling pin over the tart shell to cut off the excess dough. Put the tart pan on a baking sheet to avoid accidentally breaking it, dock with a fork and chill for at least 45 minutes. Bake @ 325° for 20-25 minutes (23 for me) until it just begins to brown like a sugar cookie but is still very pale all around. It will shrink slightly, but don’t worry, the recipe accounts for that. Cool completely before filling. Take care not to break it.
For the Mascarpone filling:
Beat whipping cream with a pinch of salt to stiff peaks. Remove to a container. To the same bowl, add mascarpone, sugar, vanilla and beat until well blended. Fold whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture.
For the glaze:
Heat the apricot jam until melted. If your apricot jam is chunky, process it in a blender or a food processor until smooth.
To assemble the tart:
Wash and dry your fruit. Fill the tart shell with the Mascarpone filling. Arrange the fruit on top. Brush with apricot glaze. Serve right away.
