Geometric Fruit Tart Recipes

GEOMETRIC RHUBARB TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• For the butter crust: Place the flour, sugar and salt into the well of a food processor and pulse a few times. Add the cold butter cubes and pulse until the mixture is fine and mealy. Add the egg and pulse, then run the food processor until the dough comes together.
• Turn the dough out onto an 8-inch square tart pan and evenly press into the bottom and sides of the pan. Using a fork, prick the bottom of the crust all over to prevent bubbling. Par-bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until the crust has barely cooked through and is still pale. Remove from the oven and cool completely.
• For the rhubarb: Trim both ends of each rhubarb stalk so it is 8 inches long. Slice each stalk in half lengthwise, keeping the sliced halves together. Slice each halved stalk into eight 1-inch squares. Slice each square in half to create triangles (128 pieces total).
• For the almond filling: Place the butter and sugar into a mixing bowl and beat together using an electric hand mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and continue to mix together. Beat the almond meal, flour and vanilla into the butter mixture until fully incorporated. Pour the filling into the cooled crust and spread evenly using a spatula.
• To assemble: Starting from the top left corner, take 4 triangles (top pieces) and arrange the pieces together to create a "frame" with a diamond pattern in the center. Repeat until all top triangle pieces have been used, forming 16 "frames." Take the bottom triangle pieces and arrange them inside each "frame" cut-side up, creating a diamond shape. Repeat until all of the rhubarb pieces have been used and the tart is filled.
• Brush the top of the tart with a little bit of water and sprinkle with the sugar. Bake the tart for 25 to 30 minutes, until the filling has just cooked through, the top is bubbling and the crust is browned. Allow the tart to cool, about 1 hour. Remove the tart from the pan, slice and serve.

GEOMETRIC FRUIT TART

Steps:

• Whisk the pudding mix, milk and mango puree together in a large bowl for 2 minutes to fully blend and thicken. Pour the mixture into the graham-cracker crust, filling the crust just shy of the top. Spread evenly with an offset spatula, then refrigerate until chilled and set, about 2 hours.
• Meanwhile, prepare the fruit: Cut off the ends of the kiwis, and then peel off the skin by slipping a spoon under the skin and turning the fruit so the spoon separates the skin from the flesh. Slice the kiwis into 1/8-inch to 1/4-inch thick rounds. Peel the mango, then trim the bottom end to flatten slightly. On the wider side of the mango, work inwards cutting thin slices about 1/8-inch to 1/4-inch thick until you reach the pit; repeat on the other side. Next, peel and cut the pitaya into 1/8-inch-thick to 1/4-inch-thick slices. Using a 1 1/2-inch diamond-shaped cutter and a paring knife, cut out about 20 kiwi diamonds, 20 mango diamonds and about 10 pitaya diamonds (this will give you a few pieces more than you'll need). If you don't have a diamond-shaped cutter, use a paring knife to cut out diamonds that are each about 1 1/2 inches long.
• Once all of your fruit is cut, remove the tart from fridge and begin decorating: Using a small offset spatula to help place the fruit, start in the center of the tart and make a large diamond shape with 9 of the pitaya diamonds. Then make a border around the pitaya with 16 mango diamonds. Then place the kiwi diamonds around the mango, covering the tart all the way to the edges; you will need to trim off parts of the remaining kiwi diamonds to fit along the crust.

HAPPY AS A GRAM TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Combine the cranberries and 2 tablespoons water in a 2-quart saucepan. Stir over medium heat until the cranberries burst and start to break down, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and press the cranberries through a fine-mesh sieve with a silicone spatula, extracting as much puree as possible. Discard the remaining pulp and return the puree to the saucepan.
• Add the lemon juice, sugar, salt, eggs, and egg yolks to the cranberry puree and whisk to combine. Cook over medium heat, whisking continuously, until the mixture is warmed through. Add the butter gradually and stir until all the cubes have melted. Continue cooking until the mixture is thickened enough to coat a spatula, 5 to 8 minutes, stirring frequently and scraping the corners of the saucepan.
• Remove from the heat and strain the curd through a fine-mesh sieve.
• Keep the baked tart shell in the tart pan and place on a baking sheet. Pour the curd into the tart shell, smoothing the surface. Bake the tart for 5 minutes, just to set the filling.
• Cool completely before decorating.
• Peel and cut the fruit into ¼-inch slices. Arrange the fruit slices on a large plate organized by type.
• Cut any type of triangle-equilateral, scalene, obtuse, acute, isosceles, right-from a piece of mango, slicing as close to the edge as possible to maximize the yield of each fruit slice. Pause here if you feel the need to Google image search some triangles. Otherwise, throw math to the wind and cut any sort of shape with three sides. Place it along a tart edge.
• Cut another shape from a kiwi slice and place it next to the mango, leaving some space between the fruit, not unlike tile grout lines. Generally, polygons like triangles, parallelograms, and trapezoids work well for this design. I avoid shapes with more than four sides mainly to save time, but if manually sliced hexagons or even hendecagons (back to Google...) are your thing, by all means, go wild! This is your tart, your life.
• Cut another shape, perhaps a rhombus, from a slice of dragon fruit, and fit it next to the kiwi. Continue cutting shapes, alternating among fruits, and puzzling the pieces together on the tart. Build out from your starting point and slowly fill the whole surface, gradually working your way to the other edge.
• Keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve. This tart is best consumed within two days.

CLASSIC FRENCH FRUIT TART

Steps:

• Make the Crust: Complete the pâte sucrée through baking and cooling.
• Make the Pastry Cream: In a medium pot, heat the milk until just boiling. Remove the pot from heat. While the milk is warming, in a heat-proof mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, egg, egg yolks, and cornstarch. Whisk until the mixture is very smooth and has lightened in color, about 2 minutes. Whisking constantly, add about a quarter of the hot milk into the egg mixture. (This is called tempering. Tempering the eggs helps raise their temperature without cooking them, and helps emulsify them into the milk.) Pour the milk-tempered egg mixture into the pot of the remaining milk. Whisk to combine. Return the pot to the heat and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly to prevent "scrambled eggs," especially on the sides and bottom, until the magic happens and the pastry cream thickens, about 2 minutes. Stir in the butter and vanilla and cook one minute more, whisking constantly. The pastry cream should make thick, lazy bubbles. (See note below if you see any coagulated bits of egg in your custard.) Pour the thickened pastry cream into a clean, shallow bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap and push it down in the bowl so it sits directly on the surface of the pastry cream. This prevents a skin from forming on top. Chill until cold, a few hours (or up to 2 days before serving).
• Assemble the Tart: Remove the tart ring and transfer the tart shell to a serving platter. Whisk the chilled pastry cream until smooth, then spread it evenly into the tart shell using an offset spatula. Arrange a generous amount of fruit over the pastry cream in your desired design. In a small saucepan, heat the apricot jam with 1 tablespoon of water over medium heat, whisking, until thin. (Alternatively, heat it in a heat-proof bowl in the microwave for about 30 seconds.) If the jam is especially chunky, strain it through a sieve. Use a pastry brush to gently dab the fruit with a thin layer of apricot glaze. Chill until ready to serve.
• Note: Avoid melon and other fruit with high moisture content, like sliced citrus. These will wilt quickly and seep moisture into the pastry cream. Also avoid oxidizing fruit like apples and bananas; these fruits will turn brown. Berries should be fully dried after rinsing (raspberries should not be washed) and strawberries should be sliced.
• Note: If you see any coagulated egg bits in your finished custard, strain the hot pastry cream through a fine mesh strainer.
• Make-Ahead Instructions: The pastry cream can be made up to 2 days before serving. The tart can be assembled and refrigerated up to one day before serving.

TROPICAL TART

Steps:

• Using an electric whisk, beat the mascarpone, cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, coconut extract, if using, and a pinch of salt until smooth. Whisk in the coconut cream.
• Spoon the filling into the pastry case, smooth the top and return to the fridge for at least 2 hrs or overnight. Once set, use the tropical fruit to decorate the top of the tart in your desired geometric pattern.