In the Kitchen: 4th of July Fruit Tart

Last 4th of July, like all of the other 4th of July's I can remember, we spent it up in Tahoe with my grandparents. My grandma is an avid cook, baker, and Food Network-watcher, so we tried out a fruit tart for the festive holiday. It was DELICIOUS! I thought today was the perfect day to share the recipe with you. We used this recipe here.

  

Prep: 35 minutes, Inactive: 1 hour, Baking: 25 minutes

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced
2 tablespoons cold shortening (recommended: Crisco)
1/4 cup ice water
2 cups Pastry Cream, recipe follows
Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries

DIRECTIONS:
Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a small bowl and place in the freezer for 30 minutes. Put the flour mixture in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the butter and shortening and pulse about 10 times, or until the butter is in the size of peas. Add the ice water and process until the dough comes together. Dump on a well-floured board and form into a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Roll out the dough and fit into 4 (4 1/2-inch) tart pans with removable sides. (We actually did it all in one big pan instead of 4 small ones.) Don't stretch the dough when placing it in the pans or it will shrink during baking. Cut off the excess by rolling the pin across the top of each pan. Line the tart shells with a piece of buttered aluminum foil, butter side down. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the foil, prick the bottom of the shells all over with a fork, and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes until lightly browned. Set aside to cool.

Before serving, fill the tart shells with the pastry cream. Arrange the berries decoratively on top of the cream. We did a ring of blackberries, strawberries and blueberries to stick with the patriotic theme.

Pastry Cream:
5 extra-large egg yolks, room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1 1/2 cups scalded milk

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon Cognac

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 tablespoon heavy cream

DIRECTIONS:
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the egg yolks and sugar on medium-high speed for 4 minutes, or until very thick. Reduce to low speed, and add the cornstarch.

With the mixer still on low, slowly pour the hot milk into the egg mixture. Pour the mixture into a medium saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture thickens, 5 to 7 minutes. Don't be alarmed when the custard comes to a boil and appears to curdle; switch to a whisk and beat vigorously. Cook, whisking constantly, for another 2 minutes; the custard will come together and become very thick, like pudding. Stir in the vanilla, Cognac, butter, and heavy cream. Pour the custard through a sieve into a bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on the custard and refrigerate until cold.

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Let me know if you give this recipe a whirl! I may or may not be salivating just from glancing at the pictures. YUM!

Have a wonderful Thursday,
xoxo

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