Thursday, June 21, 2012

Almond Fruit Tart


I love the fresh fruits of summer, and on a recent trip to a popular warehouse store, I bought a large container of apricots and a couple of large containers of blueberries.  Combined with a bumper crop of tiny new strawberries that I picked from my backyard bushes I decided that it would be nice to use them in a fruit tart.


My New York City backyard is minuscule and composed of a wooden deck and cement, so the frustrated farmer in me has to be content to grow things in portable flower pots.  I grow peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, herbs, and even raspberries and a fig tree in flower pots! My strawberry plants grow in rectangular flower boxes so they can spread out their runners as they like to do. The strawberries I harvest are small. but very tasty!




Ingredients:

For the crust:

  • 1 heaping cup almonds
  • 2 Tbs. sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 12 Tbs. (1 1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
  • 2 to 3 Tbs. almond liqueur or corn syrup
  • 1/4 lb. almond paste
  • 2 Tbs. unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 egg white
  • 1-pint blueberries, or 4 or 5 small peaches, pitted and sliced -- I also used apricots, pitted and sliced, and strawberries
  • 1 Tbs. water
  • 1 Tbs. (1 envelope) unflavored gelatin
  • 3/4 cup red currant or apple jelly -- I used red seedless raspberry jam and orange marmalade

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 350°F.

To make the crust, in a food processor, combine the almonds and sugar and process until fairly finely ground. Add the flour and pulse to mix. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 2 Tbs. of the almond liqueur and pulse to bring the dough together in a rough mass, adding the remaining 1 Tbs. liqueur if the mixture is too dry.

Transfer the mixture to a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Using your fingers, pat it evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Bake until light brown and set, about 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the almond paste and butter and beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in the egg white.

When the crust is ready, remove from the oven and let cool for about 5 minutes. Spread the almond paste mixture evenly over the bottom of the warm crust. Let cool completely, then arrange the berries or peaches decoratively over the top.

Place the water in a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the top, stir and let stand for several minutes to soften. In a small saucepan over low heat, warm the jelly until it melts, about 5 minutes. Stir in the dissolved gelatin until melted, about 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Brush the jelly glaze evenly over the fruit. Let cool completely and serve at room temperature.
Makes one 9-inch tart; serves 6 to 8

This recipe was adapted from the William Sonoma Lifestyle Series --Time Life Book 1998



The almond crust was very light and had soft cookie consistency, and held its shape very well when cut. The almond paste filling held the fruit in place well and gave the tart a hint of almond flavor. The gelatin jam topping gave the fruit an extra sweetness and pretty glaze. All in all, it was a delicious tart, and one I'll be making often this summer with a variety of fresh fruits and berries.


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45 comments:

Kris said...

Oh Pat, that just looks fantastic! I too am a big fan of summer fruits, and they are so readily available right now. Yesterday I purchased the best tasting grapes I have had in my life, and cannot keep my hand out of the bowl!!!
Do you live smack dab in the city? I would love to see and hear more about your home in the city!!!
XO Kris

Old Kitty said...

Pat!! This looks a gazillion times better than shop bought ones!! Oh wow!! It's a work of art! It's so beautiful!! I don't dare attempt to make this, so I am in super AWE at your gorgeous tart!! I also totally love how you used the produce from your gorgeous potted farm!! Yay! Take care
x

Lynn said...

Your tart is absolutely gorgeous Pat-Have a big ole slice for me! Love your potted garden, after I scaled back this year you have more plants than I do:@) Curious about the fig tree, do you bring it inside during winter?

Barbara F. said...

Looks pretty as a picture, I think your strawberries look great. I already had caterpillars chomp their way through my dill and parsley. xo

Happy@Home said...

What a pretty dessert. Fresh fruit and almond flavoring sounds like a match made in heaven.
I am very impressed with your garden. That's a lot to fit into a small space.

Kathy Walker said...

Timing is everything!! I just picked a large bucket of apricots...I know what I am going to do with some of them. Thanks!

Snap said...

Yum Yum Yum! You KNOW I LOVE fruit tart! :D :D

Anonymous said...

Oh, MY! Millie this looks delish! Far too ambitious a baking project for me, though - I'll pass it off to my daughter - she's the cook in the family! And, fearless!

Thanks for cluing me in about your animal portraits. Quality, they are!
Joy!
Kathy

Chatty Crone said...

Millie that was beautiful! sandie

Vee said...

That is one beautiful fruit tart. Glad that it was as delicious as it looks. I purchased grocery store strawberries...big mistake as the strawberries are being harvested. I should have picked some, but it was too hot. Too, too. So we've got cardboard strawberries. Your strawberries must be wonderfully flavorful being small and ripe as they are.

Pondside said...

I recently bought just such a flan form with removable bottom in hopes of finding a great recipe. This looks like the one! A dessert like this just says 'summer'.

ellen b. said...

Hi Pat! That tart looks real good!

Michelle said...

A perfect recipe for the summer bounty!

Nellie said...

How scrumptious that looks and sounds! I'd love to come and join you in a taste.:)

Ginny Hartzler said...

This is beautiful, it's like a sunburst!

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Hi Pat, The fresh fruits and veggies in summer are probably the only things I love about summer. I'm not a summer person ---and don't like the HEAT and HUMIDITY...OH Well--Fall will be here soon I hope.

Hugs,
Betsy

Betsy Brock said...

oooh...my mouth is watering! I haven't made a fruit tart in ages! Yours looks perfect!

GailO said...

Wow! That looks delicious! How wonderful that you can grow your own strawberries there!

Carol said...

Looks fantastic, Pat! I'm impressed with your garden. I didn't know you could do eggplant in the containers. I do all containers because of my dogs, but not this year.

Tracy said...

Oh, that is one GORGEOUS dessert, Pat! Glistening, like jewels, those fruits! What a tasty recipe too--thank you for sharing. We've been eating a lot of strawberries lately. Can't wait until our raspberries are ready for picking! LOVE seeing your gardening. Your fig tress is wonderful. Oh, love figs...mmm... This makes me wish I'd been doing more with our patch this year, but we decided not to, that past 2-3 summer being either wash-out or chilly and not enough warm, sunny days to keep things growing. We'll see next year! ;o) Happy Summer, my friend ((LOVE & HUGS))

Tanna said...

This looks soooo good!! We have been enjoying the apricots very much this year!! So tasty! blessings ~ tanna

Sheila said...

This looks so delicious Pat! It certainly looks like you accomplish much by planting in your pots. Have you heard about the vertical living walls some people are creating these days? Maybe one day you might try something like that. Happy gardening! That tart looks amazing I have never seen as professional looking home made dessert but I do think I'd like to try to make one some day.

Judy said...

That looks fabulous...especially to someone who is a sucker for anything fruity! Good for you...to garden in your teeny New York back yard. It looks like you know exactly how to make the best of it!

Donna said...

Oh I love fruit tarts and this one looks delicious!!
I love how you get the most out of your small deck garden.

Hugs,
Donna

Beverly said...

Pat, your fruit tart looks delicious and beautiful. I've been thinking about fruit tarts. I'll be right over. You did save some for me, didn't you?♥

Ciao Chow Linda said...

Pat - I'm so impressed by your container gardens. There's nothing like freshly picked strawberries. And figs - oh yes figs. I never seem to be able to get mine to ripen - and the tree is in the ground!! I need to get a little seedling and get started with a potted fig. That fruit tart is so beautiful to look at Pat - not to mention delicious.

Thoughts on Life and Millinery. said...

I have a feeling that tart is hard to leave alone...one slice, then just a tiny bit more, a sliver to even it up and so it would go.

Container gardens rock!

Sandy aka Doris the Great said...

So gorgeous! I'm drooling.

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

I eat a lot of fresh fruit...I would love this! Happy weekend my friend!

Mary Lee said...

Oh my! I knew you had cooking expertise, but didn't realize you were such an accomplished food artist. I can make something tasty, but the chances that I will make it pretty, too, are "pretty slim."

Susie said...

Pat, Your fruit tart looks so yummy. I liked hope you discribed your little gardens. Smiles, Susie

Sue/the view from great island said...

Wonderful Tart, Pat, I especially love the sound of that soft cookie crust.
And you won my kitchen gadgets giveaway today! Congratulations!

Anonymous said...

gorgeously yummy!

steviewren said...

Pat, I'm amazed that you can grow so many things in pots. I don't have the sun needed to successfully grow fruits or vegetables. Your tart looks yum!

Vagabonde said...

The tart looks so temptingly delicious. I enjoyed all your photos about your daughter’s wedding. The reception and dancing looked so enjoyable. I posted last Sunday about our 45th year wedding anniversary by scanning old black and white photos of our wedding. It was not an elaborate wedding but it still was much fun. Our honeymoon also was pretty simple but it did start with the famous Monterey Pop Festival so that was the highlight – but going to Mexico would have been nice.

Loretta a/k/a Mrs. Pom said...

That tart is more beautiful than anything you could buy in a bakery and I bet it tastes a lot better! Wow!

Cindy Adkins said...

That looks soooo yummy and it's beautiful to look at, too! I hope you'll visit my blog - I'm having a giveaway for my one year anniversary!
Cindy

Jojo said...

Pat, that is an impressive potted garden and one amazing looking dessert! Sounds like summer is off to a fruitful beginning....happy summer!

A Bit of the Blarney said...

What a beautiful work of art...I'll bet tasty too!!! Thank you! Cathy

eileeninmd said...

Hi Pat, I love all the fresh fruit in the summertime. Your tart looks so yummy. Thanks for sharing the recipe. I wish you a happy week ahead.

Lorrie said...

What a delectable looking tart. YUM! There's nothing like summer's fresh fruit. I'm off to the market!

Lorrie said...

What a delectable looking tart. YUM! There's nothing like summer's fresh fruit. I'm off to the market!

Roz | La Bella Vita Cucina said...

It doesn't matter at all how large or small our gardens are, they bring utter delight with every little blossom, sprout, fruit or veggie that appears! This tart is absolutely gorgeous. With the almond, I can just taste the extraordinary within! Beautiful to boot!

SavoringTime in the Kitchen said...

What a gorgeous tart, Pat! I have a similar but not exactly the same recipe. The fruit and almonds are so perfect together!

Mary Howell Cromer said...

Oh YUM, says it all!