Fresh Fruit Tart

This fool-proof recipe celebrates summer berries! The crust is like a shortbread cookie, and the creamy curd sets up perfectly using mascarpone, heavy cream and white baking chips. Have fun arranging the fruit! The fanned out peaches mark where to cut so everyone has lots of fruit. Serves 8.

Recipe

Crust:
1-1/3 c. all-purpose flour (I used King Arthur gluten free measure for measure flour)
1/4 c. sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
10 T. unsalted butter
2 T. water

Tart:
1/2 c. (2 oz.) white baking chips (not white chocolate chips!)
1/4 c. heavy cream
1 tsp. grated lime zest + 7 tsp. juice, divided (2 limes)
pinch salt
6 oz. (3/4 c.) mascarpone cheese, room temperature
2 ripe peaches, peeled (use a serrated peeler)
20 oz. (4 c.) raspberries, blackberries and blueberries
1/3 c. apricot preserves

For the crust: Preheat oven to 350-degrees.

Whisk flour, sugar and salt together in a bowl. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, swirling saucepan occasionally, until foaming subsides. Cook, stirring and scraping bottom of saucepan with a heat proof spatula, until milk solids are dark golden brown and butter has a nutty aroma, 2-5 minutes. Remove from heat and add the water. When bubbling subsides, transfer butter to bowl with the flour mixture and stir until well combined (it will be very thick). Transfer dough to a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom and let dough rest until just warm, about 10 minutes.

Use your hands to evenly press and smooth dough over bottom and up side of pan. This is a labor of love, take your time. Place pan on a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet (this ensures the crust bakes evenly on the top and bottom) and bake until the crust is golden brown, 25-30 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Let crust cool completely, about 1 hour.

For the tart:
Put the baking chips, cream, lime zest and salt in a medium bowl. You can either microwave this for 30-60 seconds, stirring every 10 seconds until baking chips are melted, or as I did, placing the heat-proof bowl over simmering water in a saucepan, whisking until melted.

Take off the heat and whisk in 1/3 of the mascarpone, then whisk in 6 tsp. of the lime juice and remaining mascarpone until smooth. Transfer filling to the tart shell and spread into an even layer. Set aside.

Place the peeled peach stem side down on a cutting board. Placing knife just to side of pit, cut down to remove 1 side of peach. Turn peach 180-degrees and cut off opposite side. Cut off remaining 2 sides. Place pieces cut side down and slice 1/4-inch thick. Repeat with second peach. Select the best 24 slices.

Evenly place 8 berries around the outer edge of the tart. Using berries as a guide, arrange 8 sets of 3 peach slices in filling, slightly overlapping slices with rounded sides up, starting at center of tart and ending on right side of each berry. Arrange remaining berries in an attractive pattern between the peach slices, covering as much of the filling as possible and keeping the fruit in an even layer.

Heat the apricot preserves and remaining 1 tsp. lime juice in a small bowl until fluid, using either a microwave for 20-30 seconds, or placing the heat-proof bowl over simmering water in a saucepan. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer. Using a pastry brush, gently dab the mixture over the fruit, avoiding the crust. Refrigerate tart for at least 30 minutes, or overnight.

Remove the outer metal ring of tart pan. Let tart sit at room temperature for 15 minutes, or if refrigerated overnight, let the tart sit at room temperature for 1 hour before serving. Using the peaches as a guide, cut tart into wedges and serve.

*The recipe says to slide a thin metal spatula between the tart and pan bottom to loosen tart, then carefully slide onto a serving platter. I chickened out and kept the bottom on as I was worried I’d crack the tart!