Rustic summer fruit tart, so easy !!

Recently my brother was here for a quick visit, he loves desserts. I had some very ripe Santa Rosa plums and lots of puff pastry in my freezer. Time for this very simple fresh fruit tart.

The hardest part of this recipe is finding frozen puff pastry in the summer. For some reason Trader Joe's thinks that puff pastry is a seasonal item. Well, I fooled them and stocked up in December. I am guessing that other stores may have different ideas about seasonality. Plus my brother claims puff pastry is not that hard to make, but for now find the frozen stuff.

I prefer to defrost puff pastry in the fridge overnight. You can also do it straight from the freezer to your kitchen counter. The box should give you tell you how long it will take.
You will want to have everything ready to work with before you unwrap the puff pastry. If it gets too warm it is hard to work with. Just chill it for a few minutes in the fridge.

Rustic Fruit Tart

Ingredients

1 sheet defrosted puff pastry
12-14 plums ( peaches, nectarines and other stone fruit work well too)
2-4 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg (for the egg wash)

1) Preheat oven to 400 F. Get a large baking sheet and a piece of parchment to fit it.
2) Prepare the plums, cutting slices on either side of the pit. (I describe this technique in my post about yellow plums.)
3) Make the egg wash by beating one whole egg.
4) Remove the puff pastry from the package and place it on the parchment.
5) Roll out the pastry, fold the edges.

 6)  Brush with the egg wash.

7) Sprinkle with 1-2 tablespoons sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.

8) Place the plums on the pastry, cut side up. Use a fork to press the edges down.

9) Sprinkle on the remaining sugar.

10) Bake at 400 F for 25 to 30 minutes.

This is best served warm and fresh from the oven. The pastry will get soft if you save it and reheat it.

This make a great breakfast served with yogurt or a not too sweet dessert served with whipped cream or  ice cream.

This year in review: part one.

Hoping you all are having a great holiday season.
Less than a week ago I made my last batch of almond toffee.
Christmas Eve and Christmas day saw us dining in and out with various family members.
Today we bid our daughter farewell as she drove back to her current place of employment.
Soon we will be spending New Years Eve with family on the central California coast.
Busy, busy, busy, which is why I have not posted much lately.

This is a good time to look back over the past year of foodiness and post my favorite recipes from each month. So it it not too overwhelming for me or you, I am doing it in two parts.

Here are my favorites from last January through June.

1) Laurie's Chili: such a great winter/ ski season dish. So easy to make and easy to make meaty or vegan depending on your proclivities. Serve it with my cornbread or millet muffins and a green salad !!

2) Green Soup: I make this more than any other recipe from 2012. Green soup has become a weekly part of our food intake. I do love it with parsnips for that creamy texture.

3) Brussel Sprouts, my way: I made these tiny cabbages as a side dish this Christmas Eve.  My 9 year old great-niece adored them, asked for seconds and thirds !! Just goes to show you, anything if prepared well can be a hit !!

4) Sundried Tomato Pate in Collard Leaves: These little bundles sound so strange but are so amazingly tasty !!

5) Zucchini Bites: what a great way to use summer squash and what a delicious appetizer !! You could make these same bites with grated carrots for a winter treat.

6) Summer Fruit Tart: This dessert got such rave reviews wherever it went. To winterize it use kiwis, Fuyu persimmons, oranges and pomegranate seeds, yum.

Summer Fruit Tart

Last Sunday some friends came over for dinner and I wanted a dessert that would highlight my fresh raspberries and blueberries.

The very first post in this blog was for a winter fruit tart, it has a wonderful shortbread cookie crust and a light, versatile cream cheese filling. 

It was the perfect match for all that fresh fruit. It's simple and a great way to impress your dinner guests !!

Strawberry Tart, another way to go...

As a challenge, I decided to make a fresh strawberry tart for a gathering that needed to be vegan and gluten free.
It was actually very easy. I found a simple crust by googling "vegan gluten free tart crust", then, of course, made my own changes. And I did have to chuckle when the food blogger whose recipe I was using said it was "almost vegan" since she used butter ;-)

Tart crust

Ingredients

11/2 cup almond meal
1/2 cup oat  flour or any other gluten free flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
4 tablespoons melted earth balance

1) Preheat the oven to 350 F. Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

2) Add melted Earth Balance.
3) Mix together to moisten all the ingredients.

4) Dump the crumbly mixture into a tart pan with a removable bottom.
    Gently spread the mixture evenly in the pan.

5) Pat into tart pan with the bottom of a measuring cup, starting at the center and working toward the edges.

6) Cover with the crust with foil  and set on a baking sheet.
     Bake for 20 minutes, uncover and bake 10 more minutes.
7) Allow to cool before filling.

Strawberry Filling ( you can also just use 1 cup of strawberry jam)
Ingredients

1 cup chopped strawberries
1/3 cup sugar
1 juice of lemon
 2 cups of strawberries for the top

1) Remove the stems and cut up strawberries to measure 1 cup.
2) Place in small saucepan with the sugar and lemon juice.

3) Cook over medium low until soft. Set aside to chill.

To assemble the tart
1) The crust and the filling must be cool.
2) Spread the filling over the bottom of the tart.

3) I like to cut the strawberries as I place them on the tart, use any pattern or design that suits you and your berries.

 4) Chill for a couple of hours. Serve with something dairy free for your vegans or creme fraiche, sour cream or whipped cream.

This dessert will make your friends very happy !!