Fruit Tart

It’s tough to believe that September is already here! While I will be sad to see summer go, I am excited for fall to begin. Fall happens to be my favorite season. Cool weather (goodbye humidity). The vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows of the changing leaves, the perfect weather for warm hearty dishes and lots more baking.

As the summer winds down, I decided to take advantage of the remaining warm summer days and prepare a fresh fruit tart with plump berries and a rich vanilla bean pastry cream all nestled inside a sweet, crisp crust.

I saved the used vanilla bean as well. I rinsed it and let it dry and then placed it into one of my sugar containers to scent the sugar. Saving a little sweet memory of summer for later… can’t wait 🙂

For the pastry cream and crust I followed the recipes found on joyofbaking.com.

Pastry Crust Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 cup of unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

Pastry Cream Ingredients: (yields 1 cup)

• 1 1/4 cup of whole milk
• 1/2 of a vanilla bean
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup of castor sugar 
• 2 tablespoons of all purpose flour, sifted
• 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, sifted

Apricot Glaze:

• 1/4 cup of apricot jam, warmed

Garnish:

• fresh blueberries and raspberries

In a large bowl I mixed together 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour and 1/8 of a teaspoon of salt. I set this aside for later.

In the mixer using the paddle attachment I mixed 1/2 of a cup of unsalted butter until smooth.

Then I added in 1/4 of a cup of sugar and beat it until nice and fluffy. That took about 2 minutes.

In a small bowl I lightly whisked together 1 egg and added it to the butter and sugar. I mixed that until incorporated.

Then I added the flour and mixed it until it came together. The dough should be a bit crumbly at this point.

I turned the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap and shaped it into a ball. I then lightly flattened the dough and covered it in the plastic wrap.

I refrigerated the dough for 30 minutes.

While the crust was chilling in the fridge I started the pastry cream. Prepare to work out your arms by doing a bunch of whisking.

In a sauce pan I added 1 1/4 cups of whole milk and 1/2 of a split vanilla bean on medium low heat. I brought the milk just to boiling. It is important to keep a close eye on the milk to avoid burning it.

In a large heat proof glass bowl I mixed together 3 egg yolks and 1/4 of a cup of sugar.

To the egg and sugar mixture I sifted in 2 tablespoons of flour and 2 tablespoons of corn starch. I mixed until smooth.

Then whisking constantly, I slowly and gradually added the warm milk in a steady stream to the egg mixture. I reserved the vanilla bean.

I split the vanilla bean open and scraped out the seeds. I then whisked the seeds into the milk mixture.

Then I poured the milk mixture back into the sauce pan on medium heat, until boiling. I made sure to stir constantly.

Once the milk mixture was boiling I continued stirring until it was thickened.

I transferred the thickened pastry cream to a clean glass bowl and placed a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the cream. This prevents a skin from forming.

Then I placed the pastry cream in the refrigerator to cool.

While the pastry creams cools it was time for the next step of the dough.

Using a greased quiche pan I placed the dough inside, pressed, and shaped it to fit the pan.

Once the dough was shaped to the pan, I covered it with plastic wrap and placed it back into the refrigerator for another 30 minutes.

While the dough was chilling for a second time I preheated the oven to 400 degrees.

Once the 30 minutes was up I then placed a circular cut piece of parchment on the dough and weighted it down with a single layer of dry beans.

I placed the pan on a cookie sheet and baked the crust for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes I reduced the oven temperature to 350 and baked the crust for 10 minutes. Then after 10 minutes I carefully and with caution removed the parchment with the beans.

I placed the crust back into the oven for a final 10 minutes, cooking until golden brown and no longer “wet” looking.

I heated 1/4 of a cup of apricot jam and strained it to remove any chunks. Then using a pastry brush I bushed the crust with a thin layer of jam and allowed the crust to fully cool.

To assemble I stirred the pastry cream until smooth and placed it evenly in the crust. Then I made a design with fresh blueberries and raspberries.

Lastly I coated the berries with the leftover apricot jam. If the jam is too thick you can thin it out with  a few drops of water until thin.

This is such an impressive dessert that is sure to please. Fresh berries, sweet and rich vanilla pastry cream and a deliciously crisp sweet crust.