Fresh Fruit Party Tarts Recipes

FRESH FRUIT TART

Steps:

• In a small bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the flour, cornmeal and lemon juice to form a dough. Press onto bottom and up the sides of a greased 9-in. tart pan with removable bottom. Bake at 425° for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely on wire rack., For filling, beat the cream cheese, sugar and milk until smooth. Spread over cooled crust. Arrange berries or fruit over filling. Refrigerate while preparing glaze., For fruit glaze, in a small saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch, apricot nectar and lemon juice until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Cool; brush over fruit. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Refrigerate leftovers.

FRESH FRUIT TARTS

Steps:

• Make the crust: In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and heavy cream. In the bowl of a food processor with a blade attachment, pulse the flour, butter, sugar and salt until no big chunks of butter remain. Slowly add the yolk mixture to the flour mixture. Blend to combine but don't overwork the dough.
• Remove the dough and, turning it out onto a lightly floured surface, knead it 4 or 5 times to incorporate.
• Divide the dough in half if making one large tart. Divide the dough into four pieces if making mini tarts. Flatten the dough pieces into discs with your hands, wrap them in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 20 minutes and up to overnight. (Freeze any remaining pieces for another project for up to 3 months.)
• Make the pastry cream: Put a damp kitchen towel under a medium bowl and whisk together the egg yolks and 1/4 cup of the sugar until the yolks are lighter in color, about 2 minutes. (The towel will ensure the bowl doesn't slide around.) Add the cornstarch and salt, whisk again, and set the bowl aside.
• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk and the remaining sugar 1/4 cup sugar and cook until the mixture almost boils, 4 to 5 minutes. With one hand, start whisking the egg yolk mixture; with the other hand, slowly drizzle the hot milk into the bowl, whisking until all the milk is incorporated.
• Pour the custard back into the saucepan and continue cooking, stirring constantly, on medium-high heat, until the mixture is thick and one bubble plops up on top, about 2 minutes.
• Remove the custard from the heat and pour into a clean medium bowl. Don't scrape the pot if the bottom looks burned or like scrambled eggs. Now, stir in the butter and vanilla. Keep stirring until the butter melts. Place a piece of plastic wrap over the bowl so it is touching the pastry cream, then refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Bake the tart shell or shells: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough on a floured surface until it is a circle (about 9 inches across and 1/2 inch thick for one large tart and about 6 inches across and 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick for four mini tarts.
• Lay the dough onto the tart pan, and then using your fingers, gently press it down. Try not to tear the dough or make it too thin. Ideally, it should be an even thickness all the way across.
• Using a sharp knife, carefully trim the edges so the dough is perfectly even with the top of the tart shell (see Cook's Note). Place the tart shell on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Using a fork, poke a bunch of holes in the bottom of the tart shell to keep bubbles from forming during baking. Refrigerate the tart shell for 20 minutes. Repeat with the remaining tart shells if using.
• Remove the pan or pans from the fridge and lay a piece of parchment over the chilled dough. Fill the uncooked tart shell with pie weights or dried beans or uncooked rice.
• Bake for 10 minutes, then, using oven mitts, remove the baking sheet from the oven. Remove the pie weights and parchment. Return the baking sheet to the oven, continuing to bake until the crust is golden brown, 5 to 8 more minutes. Let the pan or pans cool on a wire rack.
• Make the glaze and finish the tart: In a medium pot over medium heat, cook the apricot jam and water. Stir with a fork as it cooks until the mixture is a thin, shiny liquid, about 3 minutes.
• Take the pastry cream from the fridge and, in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed, beat the pastry cream to loosen it up. Spread the pastry cream in a thin 1/4- to 1/2-inch layer on the bottom of the tart shell.
• Carefully cut the strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, kiwi, mangos and figs. Arrange the fruit so there is no visible pastry cream. (You can make the tart look awesome by laying the fruit in cool patterns.)
• Once the fruit is arranged, use a soft pastry brush to paint it with the warm apricot glaze. Don't leave any bare spots. Make sure to glaze all the fruit. Take your time.
• Cut and serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 12 hours.

HOMEMADE FRESH FRUIT TARTS

Steps:

• PASTRY:.
• Combine flour, sugar and salt and place in freezer for 30 minutes.
• Cut butter into 1/4" pieces.
• Put flour mxiture in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade.
• Add butter and pulse about 10 times until butter forms small bits. Add ice water and process until dough comes together. Place on a well-floured board and form into a disc.
• Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 to 45 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375ºF.
• Remove dough from refrigerator and let sit 5 minutes.
• Roll dough into 1/16" thick circle, large enough to hang slightly over the sides of a 10" tart pan with removable bottom.
• Place dough in pan and cut off excess dough with a sharp knife or your thumb.
• Line tart shell with aluminum foil, then fill with dried beans or rice.
• Bake 10 minutes. Remove beans and foil; prick bottom of a shell with tines of fork to allow steam to eascape.
• Bake another 20 minutes until browned. Cool to room temperature.
• PASTRY CREAM:.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment(or using a hand held mixer), beat egg yolks and sugar on medium-speed about 3 minutes, until mixture is light yellow and falls back into bowl in a ribbon. On low speed, beat in cornstarch.
• In a large saucepan, bring milk to a simmer. Slowly pour milk into egg mxiture, whisking steadily, then pour back into saucepan.
• Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a whisk or a wooden spoon until mixture is thick, about 4 minutes.
• Bring to a boil and cook then on low heat 2-3 more minutes. (Taste to be sure cornstach is cooked.).
• Remove from heat; mix in butter, vanilla, cream and cognac. Pour through a strainer into a bowl.
• Place plastic wrap directly onto custard(so it won't form a skin) and refrigerate until cold.
• ASSEMBLY & GARNISHES:.
• Place baked tart shell on serving plate and spread with pastry cream over bottom of shell.
• Slice and group fruit to make casual arrangement. Place larger fruit first, then fill spaces with berries &/or grapes. Use colorful fruit, such as halved strawberries or a grouping of raspberries, near the center for focus and height.
• (other fruit garnishes besides the ones listed above -- fresh orange, sliced or fresh lime, sliced or fresh apricot, sliced or fresh peach, sliced).
• Place sprinkling of almonds over tart, and use oranges &/or limes to garnish.
• GLAZE:.
• In small saucepan(or microwave-safe bowl), melt jelly with 1 tablespoon water.
• Brush glaze over fruit and serve as soon as possible to avoid soggy pastry.
• *TIP: Don't be afraid to be creative, this is the perfect palette!

FRESH FRUIT PARTY TARTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• For the crust: In a food processor, combine the confectioners' sugar, flour, and butter, and process until the mixture forms a ball.
• With your fingers, press the dough into a 12-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, taking care to push the crust into the indentations in the sides.
• Pat until the crust is even.
• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until very lightly browned. Set aside to cool.
• For the filling and topping:.
• Beat the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla together until smooth.
• Spread over the cooled crust.
• Cut the strawberries into 1/4-inch slices and arrange around the edge of the crust.
• For the next circle, use kiwi slices.
• Add another circle of strawberries, filling in any spaces with blueberries.
• Cluster the raspberries in the center of the tart.
• For the glaze:.
• Combine the limeade, cornstarch, lime juice, and sugar in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until clear and thick, about 2 minutes. Let cool.
• With a pastry brush, glaze the entire tart. You will not use all of the glaze.
• Keep the tart in the refrigerator.
• Remove about 15 minutes before serving.
• Slice into 8 wedges and serve with a dollop of whipped cream.

FRESH FRUIT TARTS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add egg; mix with a fork until blended. Shape dough into a ball. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle., Divide dough into six portions. Press each portion into a greased 4-1/2-in. tart pan. bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely., In a small bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in sweetened condensed milk and lemon juice. Spoon 2 rounded tablespoonfuls into each cooled tart shell. Arrange berries over filling., In a small saucepan, melt preserves over medium heat; stir until smooth. Brush over berries.

FRESH FRUIT TART WITH MASCARPONE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease 2 tart pans.
• Blend flour, butter, and sugar together in a bowl using an electric mixer until combined. Divide mixture evenly and press into the bottoms of the prepared tart pans.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool completely.
• While crusts are cooling, beat cream cheese, mascarpone cheese, sugar, vanilla extract, nutmeg, and cinnamon together in a bowl using an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Spread mixture over cooled crusts. Arrange strawberries, blackberries, and kiwis on tart in desired design.
• Mix sugar and cornstarch together in a small saucepan. Pour in water and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat until clear and thick, about 2 minutes. Let glaze cool completely.
• Glaze the entire top of each tart gently using a pastry brush.