Fruit Tart

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fruit tarts are refreshing desserts which can be enjoyed at any time of the year. They are very easy to make and are subject to a wide range of interpretations. You have the liberty of filling your fruit tart with any fruits of your choice. You can thus choose to make a berry fruit tart or a tropical fruit tart, among other varieties. This fruit tart recipe has 3 components: the pastry shell, cream cheese filling and fruit topping. This is an adaptation of a recipe by Stephanie Jaworski. As a bonus, I will show you how to carve a kiwi fruit center piece at the end of this post.

 

 

 

 

 

 

INGREDIENTS:

Shortbread Crust:

(1) Find recipe for how to make a shortbread crust here.

(2) Apricot Jam for Glaze (Optional) (See Note 1)

Filling:

(1) 1/2 Cup Cream Cheese (120 ml)

(2) 1/2 Cup Whipping Cream (120 ml) (See Note 2)

(3) 2 Tablespoons Granulated White Sugar

(4) 1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

Topping

(1) Your choice of fresh fruits.

NOTES:

(1) Apricot jam can be used to seal the crust after it has been baked. This however is not mandatory. If using apricot jam, heat it until it has melted, strain through a sieve and brush the pastry crust with it. You can also seal the pastry crust with egg white.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(2) Ensure that your whipping cream is cold so it can beat fast and to its full potential. It is good practice to place your cream, mixing bowl and whisk attachment in the fridge about an hour before you intend to beat your cream.

 

 

 

 

 

 

PROCEDURE:

This can in a bowl with a whisk and spatula or with a stand mixer.

(1) Bake the shortbread crust and allow it to cool down before using. Recipe can be found here. Brush it with apricot jam as described in Note 1 above (optional).

 

 

 

 

 

 

(2) If using a stand mixer, whip your whipping cream until it becomes whipped cream. Be careful not to over whip it so it does not separate into butter. Alternatively, you can whip the whipping cream in a copper or aluminium bowl.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TIP: Do you know that you can make butter at home using whipping cream? See how to do so here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(3) In a separate bowl, beat the cream cheese until creamy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(4) Add the whipped cream to the cream cheese along with the sugar and vanilla extract and fold to combine all the ingredients together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(5) Pour the cream filling into the cooled pie crust, spread it and level the top with a spatula or palette knife.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(6) Arrange the fruits on top of the cream filling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chill the tart in the fridge until you are ready to serve it. If you are not serving it within a couple of hours, you might want to make all the components, store them separately and bring them together when you are ready to serve it. This will keep the crust crunchy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

For other Fruit-based tart ideas, check out my Apple-Tamarind Tart

 

 

 

 

 

 

BONUS: How to Carve a Kiwi Fruit.

(1) Using a paring knife, make diagonal cuts around the middle of the kiwi fruit. The cuts should be deep enough to get to the middle of the fruit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(2) After going round the fruit, make diagonal cuts which form a “W” with the previous cuts. All the cuts must be connected.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(3) Twist the fruit to separate it into 2 halves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(4) Peel the skin off the fruit and use it to decorate your tart.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(5) This technique can also work on other fruits like tomato and vegetables like onions.