Fruit tart (torta alla frutta)
Posted on Jun 2, 2009 06:27:00 AM
Fruit tart
I made this fruit tart for a cake competition at The Company last week. The cakes were on display, anybody could come around and eat as much as they liked and give a vote. About 15 cakes, tarts and muffins and took part, almost all of them very good looking and good tasting. In spite of what one would think, people cook even if they don’t have a foodblog, and can be quite competitive.
I admit I had fantasies of calling this post “My award winning fruit tart”, but I didn’t win, a black forest tart did, and a chocolate and strawberry cake came second. However, an insider told me my tart and a bunch of others received many votes. If only it had been bigger (sigh): bigger tart = more tart slices = more potential tart voters. The thing is, shortcrust pastry needs a specific tin, and the one I have is small. So, if you ever take part to a cake contest, remember: make it big. Oh, and fill it with chocolate and cream…
Fruit tart is very common in cake shops in Italy, less common in homebaking, maybe because it takes a long time to make. It’s composed of four layers: shortcrust pastry + pastry cream + fruit + a glaze of apricot jam (or jelly).
For the shortcrust pastry, I used Jamie Oliver’s pastry recipe for the fig tart in Jamie’s Italy (click here if you’re reading from Europe):
- 125g (4½ oz) butter
- 100g (3½ oz) icing sugar
- a small pinch of salt
- 255g (9 0z) plain flour
- zest of 1/2 lemon
- 2 egg yolks
- 1-2 tablespoons of cold milk or water
For the pastry cream:
- 25gr (1 oz) flour
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 stick of vanilla (or zest of 1/2 lemon)
- 50g (2 oz) caster sugar
- 250ml (1/2 pint) milk
For the fruit tart topping, any combination of fresh fruit you like, for example: bananas, strawberries, raspberries, apples, kiwis, grapes, plums, pears…
For the glaze (optional), 1 tablespoon apricot jam.
To make the shortcrust pastry.
Sift the flour and the icing sugar in a bowl and add the salt and the lemon zest.
Dice the butter when it’s still cold and, one piece at the time, rub it
with your thumbs against your fingers and the flour, until you end up with
a crumbly mixture.
Add the egg yolks, then work the ingredients just enough to put them together, don’t knead the dough or the pastry will become elastic and chewy. Add a tablespoon or two of cold milk if it’s too dry.
Form a ball with the dough, dust it with flour, cover it with cling film
and put it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
To make the pastry cream.
Heat the milk in a small saucepan with the vanilla stick without boiling
it. Take it off the stove.
In a bowl, whisk the sugar and the yolks until you get a soft and smooth
cream. Add the sifted flour a little at the time, keep on stirring to avoid
flour lumps. Add the mix to the milk and put it back on the stove. Very carefully, and with a very low heat, bring the cream to the boil, don’t stop stirring. Let it boil for 2-5 minutes then take off the stove.
Grease a circular 28 cm loose bottomed tart tin and dust it with flour. Preheat the oven at 180° C (356° F).
Take the dough out of the fridge and dust the work surface with a lot of flour.
Flatten the dough with your hands and roll it out with a rolling pin until
it’s about 1/2 cm thick. Place it on the tin and gently press it against
the sides. Using a knife or your hands, get rid of the pastry in excess.
Cut a piece of parchment paper or aluminum foil to fit the bottom of the
tin. Place it on the dough and fill the tin with pie weights, rice or
beans, making sure the weights are over the entire surface.
Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the crust is dry and lightly
golden brown then take off the oven and remove the weights.
Let baked pastry shell cool, then spread an even layer of pastry
cream.
Slice the fruit of your choice and put it on top. Arrange it as you like in one layer.
To make the glaze.
This is to prevent the fruit from drying and to give the tart a more shiny
look. Heat the apricot jam in a small saucepan with a tablespoon of water, over medium heat until melted. Remove from the heat and strain the jam through a fine colander. Let it cool and gently brush a thin even layer on the fruit topping.
This is it, leave it in the fridge a couple of hours before serving.
A few necessary notes:
- some shortcrust recipes use whole eggs instead of just the yolk, but this makes the pastry more crumbly, which is more suitable for biscuits
- be light with your fingers when working the butter: the less it melts the better
- by its nature, shortcrust pastry breaks very easily, and placing the rolled out dough on the tin can be tricky. If you are familiar using the rolling pin, lay a piece of parchment paper on the dough, roll it around the rolling pin, and unroll it on the tart tin
- alternatively, roll the pastry directly on parchment paper, then place it on the tin and let it slide
- if you have time, after placing the pastry on the tin, put it back in the fridge for 30 minutes more
More cakes, and more Jamie Oliver’s recipes.
