tart time. [fresh fruit tart]

October 10th, 2010 by | comments

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Last night, I hosted a dinner party at my house with some close friends. Like my parents’ party last weekend, I had a tapas style dinner accompanied by a plethora of white and red wine. We had a fabulous variety of foods—baked brie with jam, maple syrup and brown sugar, stuffed jalepeños, cheese crostinis, caesar salad with homemade dressing and pesto sandwiches.

I made mini pesto sandwiches, sausage and cheese stuffed jalepeños, a fruit tart and a peanut butter pie.

My neighbor often makes this fruit tart when my parents have dinner parties. She always expresses how simple it is to make the tart and doesn’t understand my family’s obsession with the dessert. However, my guests last night seemed to understand the tart addiction and cleared the platter in no time. This dessert might actually be my favorite Paula Deen recipe—her knack of creating dessert recipes never ceases to amaze me.

Crust recipe:

1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened and sliced

Filling recipe:

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Glaze recipe:

1 (6 oz.) can frozen limeade concentrate, thawed

1 tbsp. cornstarch

1 tbsp. fresh lime juice

1/4 cup sugar

Homemade whipped cream, for garnish

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

For the crust: In a food processor, combine confectioner’s sugar, flour and butter, and process until mixture forms into a ball. With your fingers, press dough into a tart pan, taking care to push the crust into the indentations in the sides. Pat until crust is evenly distributed. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until very lightly browned. Set aside to cool.

For the filling and topping: Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla together until smooth. Spread over the cooled crust. Cut strawberries and kiwis, then place both fruits, as well as raspberries and blueberries, on the tart.

For the glaze: Combine limeade, cornstarch, lime juice and sugar in small saucepan and cook over medium heat until clear and thick, about 2 minutes. Let cool. With a pastry brush, glaze entire tart. You will not use all of the glaze.

Keep tart in refrigerator. Remove about 15 minutes before serving. Serve with dollop of whipped cream, if desired.

Recipe from Food Network.

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