Fruit Tart Season Is Here

I'm not a huge fan of summer, but one of the things that warmer weather brings are tarts with all sorts of fruit toppings. 

It's been more than a week since I made one that had fresh apricots and cherries on top, but the memory of how delicious it was lingers. The crust uses olive oil and it was nicely crisp and flavorful. The fruit was wonderful and both had softened to tenderness. The topping was too sweet, so next time I"ll reduce the sugar quite a bit. I may lose a bit of the sugary crust that makes a nice textural contrast to the soft fruit, but the fruit flavors will shine more without the extra sugar making them taste more like candy than fruit.

We are just starting to get ripe ollaliberries  down by the road, so I think the next time will be apricots and ollaliberries, with maybe some strawberries thrown in. It won't be too long before we have plums and other stone fruit that would be wonderful with this tart. The recipe was one I found online at Food52 via Facebook. The recipe is by Amanda Hesser and I think the topping (as a concept) is brilliant.

Peach (or Apricot-Cherry) Tart

from Food52 blog, Amanda Hesser

Makes one 11-inch tart; serves 8

·         1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

·         3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

·         3/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar (or less)

·         1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil (I used Meyer lemon olive oil instead)

·         1/4 cup mild olive oil

·         2 tablespoons whole milk

·         1/2 teaspoon almond extract

·         2 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter

·         3 to 5 small ripe peaches, pitted and thickly sliced (about 1/2-inch wide) (I used apricots and cherries)

1.      Heat the oven to 425 degrees. In a mixing bowl, stir together 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon sugar. Stirring enables the salt and sugar to sift the flour, so you don’t need to sift it in advance. In a small bowl, whisk together the oils, milk and almond extract. Pour this mixture into the flour mixture and mix gently with a fork, just enough to dampen; do not over work it. Then, transfer the dough to an 11-inch tart pan (you can use a smaller one if needed), and use your hands to pat out the dough so it covers the bottom of the pan, pushing it up the sides to meet the edge. This will work if you pat firmly and confidently, but not if you curl your fingertips into the dough. It should be about 1/ 8-inch thick all around; trim and discard excess dough.

2.      In a bowl, combine 3/4 cup sugar (I would only use 1/2 cup and if the fruit is very sweet, 1/3 cup), 2 tablespoons flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt and the butter. (If your peaches are especially juicy, add 1 tablespoon additional flour.) Using your fingers, pinch the butter into the dry ingredients until crumbly, with a mixture of fine granules and tiny pebbles.

3.      Starting on the outside, arrange the peaches overlapping in a concentric circle over the pastry; fill in the center in whatever pattern makes sense. The peaches should fit snugly. Sprinkle the pebbly butter mixture over top (it will seem like a lot). Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until shiny, thick bubbles begin enveloping the fruit and the crust is slightly brown. Cool on a rack. Serve warm or room temperature, preferably with generous dollops of whipped cream.