Best Fresh Fruit Tart With Plum Jam Recipes

FRESH FRUIT TARTS

Steps:

• Make the crust: In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and heavy cream. In the bowl of a food processor with a blade attachment, pulse the flour, butter, sugar and salt until no big chunks of butter remain. Slowly add the yolk mixture to the flour mixture. Blend to combine but don't overwork the dough.
• Remove the dough and, turning it out onto a lightly floured surface, knead it 4 or 5 times to incorporate.
• Divide the dough in half if making one large tart. Divide the dough into four pieces if making mini tarts. Flatten the dough pieces into discs with your hands, wrap them in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 20 minutes and up to overnight. (Freeze any remaining pieces for another project for up to 3 months.)
• Make the pastry cream: Put a damp kitchen towel under a medium bowl and whisk together the egg yolks and 1/4 cup of the sugar until the yolks are lighter in color, about 2 minutes. (The towel will ensure the bowl doesn't slide around.) Add the cornstarch and salt, whisk again, and set the bowl aside.
• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk and the remaining sugar 1/4 cup sugar and cook until the mixture almost boils, 4 to 5 minutes. With one hand, start whisking the egg yolk mixture; with the other hand, slowly drizzle the hot milk into the bowl, whisking until all the milk is incorporated.
• Pour the custard back into the saucepan and continue cooking, stirring constantly, on medium-high heat, until the mixture is thick and one bubble plops up on top, about 2 minutes.
• Remove the custard from the heat and pour into a clean medium bowl. Don't scrape the pot if the bottom looks burned or like scrambled eggs. Now, stir in the butter and vanilla. Keep stirring until the butter melts. Place a piece of plastic wrap over the bowl so it is touching the pastry cream, then refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Bake the tart shell or shells: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough on a floured surface until it is a circle (about 9 inches across and 1/2 inch thick for one large tart and about 6 inches across and 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick for four mini tarts.
• Lay the dough onto the tart pan, and then using your fingers, gently press it down. Try not to tear the dough or make it too thin. Ideally, it should be an even thickness all the way across.
• Using a sharp knife, carefully trim the edges so the dough is perfectly even with the top of the tart shell (see Cook's Note). Place the tart shell on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Using a fork, poke a bunch of holes in the bottom of the tart shell to keep bubbles from forming during baking. Refrigerate the tart shell for 20 minutes. Repeat with the remaining tart shells if using.
• Remove the pan or pans from the fridge and lay a piece of parchment over the chilled dough. Fill the uncooked tart shell with pie weights or dried beans or uncooked rice.
• Bake for 10 minutes, then, using oven mitts, remove the baking sheet from the oven. Remove the pie weights and parchment. Return the baking sheet to the oven, continuing to bake until the crust is golden brown, 5 to 8 more minutes. Let the pan or pans cool on a wire rack.
• Make the glaze and finish the tart: In a medium pot over medium heat, cook the apricot jam and water. Stir with a fork as it cooks until the mixture is a thin, shiny liquid, about 3 minutes.
• Take the pastry cream from the fridge and, in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed, beat the pastry cream to loosen it up. Spread the pastry cream in a thin 1/4- to 1/2-inch layer on the bottom of the tart shell.
• Carefully cut the strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, kiwi, mangos and figs. Arrange the fruit so there is no visible pastry cream. (You can make the tart look awesome by laying the fruit in cool patterns.)
• Once the fruit is arranged, use a soft pastry brush to paint it with the warm apricot glaze. Don't leave any bare spots. Make sure to glaze all the fruit. Take your time.
• Cut and serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 12 hours.

PLUM COBBLER BARS

Steps:

• In a large pot, combine plums and 1 1/2 cups/300 grams granulated sugar. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until fruit releases juices and becomes very tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Meanwhile, place a small plate in the refrigerator to chill. You'll use this later to check the doneness of the jam.
• Purée plum mixture in pot using an immersion blender (be careful of splashing), or remove from pot and purée in a blender or food processor until relatively smooth. Return purée to pot if you removed it, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens and reduces by about half, about 10 minutes. You should end up with about 3 1/2 cups/840 milliliters plum jam. (You can test the doneness by spooning a small amount of the jam onto the chilled plate, returning it to the refrigerator and letting it sit for 2 minutes. It should keep a clean line when you run your finger through it.)
• In a small bowl, whisk remaining 1/3 cup/65 grams granulated sugar with cornstarch to combine. Whisk sugar-cornstarch mixture into jam and cook, stirring occasionally, until it simmers. Simmer for 1 minute, stirring well to prevent scorching. Stir in vanilla extract, and cool plum mixture to room temperature.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees, and line a 9-by-13-inch pan with parchment paper with overhang on all sides. In a large bowl, combine oats, flour, whole wheat flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add melted butter and stir until the mixture forms streusel-like crumbs.
• Press 2/3 of crumb mixture into an even layer at bottom of prepared pan. Spread cooled plum jam in an even layer over crust, then sprinkle remaining crumb mixture evenly over top of jam.
• Bake until jam bubbles at edges and streusel is lightly browned, 45 to 55 minutes. Cool completely before slicing into 12 pieces.

CLASSIC FRENCH FRUIT TART

Steps:

• Make the Crust: Complete the pâte sucrée through baking and cooling.
• Make the Pastry Cream: In a medium pot, heat the milk until just boiling. Remove the pot from heat. While the milk is warming, in a heat-proof mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, egg, egg yolks, and cornstarch. Whisk until the mixture is very smooth and has lightened in color, about 2 minutes. Whisking constantly, add about a quarter of the hot milk into the egg mixture. (This is called tempering. Tempering the eggs helps raise their temperature without cooking them, and helps emulsify them into the milk.) Pour the milk-tempered egg mixture into the pot of the remaining milk. Whisk to combine. Return the pot to the heat and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly to prevent "scrambled eggs," especially on the sides and bottom, until the magic happens and the pastry cream thickens, about 2 minutes. Stir in the butter and vanilla and cook one minute more, whisking constantly. The pastry cream should make thick, lazy bubbles. (See note below if you see any coagulated bits of egg in your custard.) Pour the thickened pastry cream into a clean, shallow bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap and push it down in the bowl so it sits directly on the surface of the pastry cream. This prevents a skin from forming on top. Chill until cold, a few hours (or up to 2 days before serving).
• Assemble the Tart: Remove the tart ring and transfer the tart shell to a serving platter. Whisk the chilled pastry cream until smooth, then spread it evenly into the tart shell using an offset spatula. Arrange a generous amount of fruit over the pastry cream in your desired design. In a small saucepan, heat the apricot jam with 1 tablespoon of water over medium heat, whisking, until thin. (Alternatively, heat it in a heat-proof bowl in the microwave for about 30 seconds.) If the jam is especially chunky, strain it through a sieve. Use a pastry brush to gently dab the fruit with a thin layer of apricot glaze. Chill until ready to serve.
• Note: Avoid melon and other fruit with high moisture content, like sliced citrus. These will wilt quickly and seep moisture into the pastry cream. Also avoid oxidizing fruit like apples and bananas; these fruits will turn brown. Berries should be fully dried after rinsing (raspberries should not be washed) and strawberries should be sliced.
• Note: If you see any coagulated egg bits in your finished custard, strain the hot pastry cream through a fine mesh strainer.
• Make-Ahead Instructions: The pastry cream can be made up to 2 days before serving. The tart can be assembled and refrigerated up to one day before serving.

PLUM TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Combine the flour, walnuts, and sugar in a large bowl. Add the butter and the egg yolk. Mix, either by hand or with an electric mixer, until crumbly.
• Press 1 1/2 cups of the crumb mixture in an even layer into the bottom of a 9 1/2-inch springform or tart pan. Arrange the plums in the pan, skin side down, to form a flower pattern; begin at the outside and work your way in.
• Sprinkle the rest of the crumb mixture evenly over the plums. Bake the tart for 40 to 50 minutes, or until it's lightly browned and the plum juices are bubbling. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and transfer the tart to a flat plate. Serve warm or at room temperature.

PLUM TART

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees. If using smaller, halved plums, use a paring knife to cut a 3/4-inch slit through the top of each half, from the tip of the plum to just above where the pit should be. (This will allow the liquid from the plums to evaporate during baking instead of settling into the pit cavity.)
• Place pastry shell on a sheet pan or baking sheet. Spread crumbs or crumble topping over bottom of pastry shell in an even layer. Arrange plums in tight concentric circles in pastry shell, skin-side down, beginning with rim of the pan and standing plums up slightly.
• Mix together sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle 2 tablespoons over plums. Place in oven and bake 45 minutes, or until tips of plums have colored; plums should retain their shape. Remove from heat, on baking sheet, and allow to cool on a rack.
• Once plums have cooled, sprinkle remaining cinnamon-sugar mixture over the fruit. Alternatively, heat jam in a small saucepan until runny and, instead of sprinkling fruit with sugar, gently brush cooled plums with jam to glaze.

FRESH FRUIT TART WITH PLUM JAM

Steps:

• For jam:
• Stir sugar and water in heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into sugar water; add bean. Bring to boil. Place candy thermometer into mixture so that bulb is submerged. Boil until thermometer registers 260°F, occasionally swirling pan and brushing down sides with wet pastry brush, about 8 minutes (time will vary due to size of pan). Remove pan from heat and add plums to pan; let stand 1 minute. Stir mixture constantly over high heat until plums are broken up, spoon leaves path when drawn across bottom of pan, and mixture is reduced to 1 1/3 cups, about 9 minutes. Transfer to metal or glass container. Press plastic wrap directly on surface of jam and refrigerate until cool.
• DO AHEAD Can be made 4 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.
• For crust:
• Finely grind hazelnuts with 1/2 cup flour in processor. Transfer to medium bowl. Whisk in remaining 1 cup flour, sugar, and salt. Make well in center and pour in melted butter. Mix with fingers until moist crumbs form. Transfer mixture to 10-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Press mixture firmly onto bottom and up sides of pan. Freeze crust 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake crust until golden brown, about 35 minutes. Cool crust 15 minutes. Maintain oven temperature.
• Brush bottom and sides of tart with 1/2 cup plum jam. Return to oven and bake until jam bubbles all over, about 14 minutes. Cool completely.
• DO AHEAD Can be made 8 hours ahead; cover and let stand at room temperature.
• For filling:
• Place all fruit in large bowl. Stir remaining plum jam to loosen and add to fruit in bowl; toss gently to coat. Transfer fruit to crust, mounding in center. Serve with whipped cream.