In the summer of 1993, someone brought a fresh fruit tart with a cookie crust and a cream cheese filling to a party. A near riot of joy broke out. The tart came from "The Farm" bakery/cafe in Aptos, California. Still wildly popular...it kind of reminds me of a fruit pizza!
Yield: a 12" tart -- Serves 8-10
Note: If you make the crust and the filling one day and fill it with fruit the next, the crust will stay crisp, and the flavors will meld. If you make it and eat it all the same day --that works too. It's showy and as easy, as well... pie!
Ingredients:
Crust:
1/4 C sugar
1 1/3 C flour
10 T already melted butter
Note: If you make the crust and the filling one day and fill it with fruit the next, the crust will stay crisp, and the flavors will meld. If you make it and eat it all the same day --that works too. It's showy and as easy, as well... pie!
Ingredients:
Crust:
1/4 C sugar
1 1/3 C flour
10 T already melted butter
1/2 t almond extract (or vanilla)
If you don't want to make crust you can always use Pillsbury Sugar Cookie refrigerated dough-- this homemade version, however, is more like shortbread and is less sweet.
Filling:
1 (8-oz) pkg. cream cheese--softened
1/3 cup powdered sugar (if you like things super-sweet use 1/2 C)
1 t vanilla extract
Fresh Fruit Topping:
Use 3 C or more of any combination of those listed below:
Filling:
1 (8-oz) pkg. cream cheese--softened
1/3 cup powdered sugar (if you like things super-sweet use 1/2 C)
1 t vanilla extract
Fresh Fruit Topping:
Use 3 C or more of any combination of those listed below:
Strawberries (cut in half or quarters--looks pretty as a "star" in the center of the tart)
Peaches or nectarines (sliced thinly)
Blueberries
Blackberries
Olallieberries
Raspberries
Seedless grapes (slice in half and lay sliced part down for easy eating)
Red pears (sliced thinly)
Kiwi (sliced thinly--you can overlap these when you lay them on the crust--artsy)
Star Fruit (sliced thinly--best used on top of another fruit like blueberries or in the middle of the tart)
Exception to fresh: canned mandarin oranges--super easy--no slicing!
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together the dry ingredients. Add melted butter and almond extract and stir until dough forms. Press dough into a 12-inch tart pan with a removeable bottom, pressing dough up the sides and until the dough is smooth and flat in the middle. Prick the dough on the flat part of the pan with a fork 3 or 4 times. Bake until golden 20-25 minutes. Remove and cool.
Blueberries
Blackberries
Olallieberries
Raspberries
Seedless grapes (slice in half and lay sliced part down for easy eating)
Red pears (sliced thinly)
Kiwi (sliced thinly--you can overlap these when you lay them on the crust--artsy)
Star Fruit (sliced thinly--best used on top of another fruit like blueberries or in the middle of the tart)
Exception to fresh: canned mandarin oranges--super easy--no slicing!
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together the dry ingredients. Add melted butter and almond extract and stir until dough forms. Press dough into a 12-inch tart pan with a removeable bottom, pressing dough up the sides and until the dough is smooth and flat in the middle. Prick the dough on the flat part of the pan with a fork 3 or 4 times. Bake until golden 20-25 minutes. Remove and cool.
Mix filling ingredients together in a small bowl with a mixer and spread thickly on cooled crust. Place washed fruit on a paper towel and pat dry with a second towel. Next, arrange fruit on cream cheese filling in concentric circles starting with the middle and working outward. Make fruit glaze...
Fruit Glaze:
1/2 C fruit juice (apple, peach, pineapple)
1/4 C sugar
1 T cornstarch (mix with a T of water before adding)
OR or melt some apricot preserves in a small sauce pan to use for glaze
Directions:
Combine fruit glaze ingredients in a saucepan and heat to a simmer. Simmer until thick and remove from heat. Cool slightly before brushing on to fruit. You can also melt (gold-colored) apple jelly if you'd rather not go to the trouble of making your own glaze.
I'm so excited to try this recipe! My youngest daughter especially loves this tart and requests it when she comes home to visitt. We buy these for birthdays instead of cake and we plan to serve it on Christmas as well. My husband and I had our wedding reception at the Farm when it was a Farm-To-Table restaurant in the 80s. They had a huge piece of property with an old farmhouse surrounded by extensive gardens, a restaurant, antique store and a bakery. In the 70s, their veggie quiche was all the rage..We are so glad the Farm Bakery is still going .
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