Fruit Tarts

!!!!!

I was so excited to have a free day to devote to this recipe and the fact that my boyfriend’s mom was coming for a visit gave me the perfect excuse to finally make these.

These have been one of my favorite desserts for a very long time. Not only are they delicious, but they’re beautiful. They almost make you think twice about eating them. Almost.

I found this recipe online at http://gracessweetlife.com . There are some amazing recipes and beautiful pictures there. I can’t wait to try more of them,

Ingredients:

• Pâte Sucrée
• All-purpose flour, for work surface
• Pastry Cream
• 1 large egg, for egg wash
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 cup cherry jelly, seedless raspberry jam, apricot jam or red current jelly (i used apricot)
• Mixed berries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries (I used kiwi for a different flavor and color)

1 - Prepare Pâte Sucrée (see recipe below).

2 - Roll out the Pâte Sucrée on a lightly floured work surface to .1/4-inch thick. Cut the pastry into eight 6-inch rounds. Fit the pastry rounds into the tart tins; trim off excess pastry with a sharp paring knife. Prick the bottoms of the pastry shells with a fork. Transfer pastry lined tins to a baking sheet; freeze pastry shells until firm, about 30 minutes.

3 - Prepare pastry cream (see recipe below).

4 - Preheat oven to 375° F.

5 - Remove pastry shells from freezer. Line individual pastry shells with non-stick baking paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang; fill with ceramic pie weights, dried beans or rice. Return tins to the baking sheet and bake pastry shells until edges are just beginning to turn golden, about 30 minutes.

6 - Transfer baking sheet to a wire rack. Remove non-stick baking paper and pie weights. Let cool for 1 minute. Prepare an egg wash; brush bottoms of pastry shells with egg wash. Return to oven and continue to bake until golden all over, about 5 minutes.

7 - Transfer tins to a wire rack and allow to cool for 2 or 3 minutes. Remove pastry shells from tins and return to wire rack to cool completely.

8 - Meanwhile, in a medium-sized bowl, with a hand-held electric mixer, beat heavy cream and sugar until soft peaks form.

9 - Gently fold one-third of the whipped cream into the pastry cream (this will help loosen the pastry cream). Fold in one-half of the remaining whipped cream and then fold in the remaining whipped cream, set aside.

10 - Prepare glaze; place the jam or jelly into a small-sized saucepan and set over medium-low heat, stir until melted and smooth, set aside to cool slightly.

11 - Divide pastry cream mixture evenly between pastry shells and spread evenly with a small offset spatula.

12 - Arrange berries on top and brush berries with glaze.

13 - Enjoy! Tarts are at their best on the day they are assembled.

Pâte Sucrée

• 2½ cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 cup or 2 sticks unsalted butter, cold, cut into ¼-inch cubes
• 2 large egg yolks, cold
• 5¼ cup ice water

1 -Place the flour and sugar in the bowl of a food processor; pulse a couple of times to combine.

2 - Add the cold butter; process until mixture resembles a coarse crumb, 10 to 20 seconds.

3 - In a small-sized bowl, lightly beat egg yolks; add the ice water and mix to combine.

4 - With the processor running, add the egg mixture in a slow steady stream through the feed tube. Process until the dough comes together (do not process more than 30 seconds). Test by squeezing a small amount of dough together with your fingers. If you find the dough to be crumbly, add ice water, 1-tablespoon at-a-time.

5 - Divide the dough into two equal balls; flatten each ball into a disc and wrap in plastic. Transfer discs to the refrigerator and chill for at least 1 hour. If not using immediately Pâte Sucrée may be stored in the freezer for up to one month.

Pastry Cream

• 1 cup whole milk
• ½ vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped ( I did not have time to buy a vanilla bean so I substitute 2 tablespoons of pure vanilla extract, If you use the extract, you can skip step number 1)
• 5 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 3 large egg yolks, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon flour

1 - In a medium-sized saucepan, over medium heat, bring the milk, vanilla bean and seeds, and 4 tablespoons of the sugar just to the boil.

2 - Meanwhile, in a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar until well combined and thickened.

3 - Using a fine mesh sieve, sift the cornstarch and flour into the egg mixture; whisk until smooth and well combined.

4 - Remove vanilla bean from milk mixture. Pour the milk mixture into the egg mixture, whisking constantly until well combined.

5 - Pour the mixture through a fine mesh sieve back into the saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring continuously with a whisk. Let bubble for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

6 - Remove from heat and transfer mixture to a small bowl. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming as it cools.

This one is my favorite: