Summer is finally here and time for all the sweet, juicy stone fruits that we long for all year. Not to mention the berries! I can never get enough of apricots, peaches, nectarines, plums, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries and often find it hard to decide which one to eat or bake with next (too much choice can be a dilemma ; ). Years ago I decided to forgo the quandary and gathered all the vibrant flavors and colors of sun-kissed fruits together in my Summer Fruit and Berry Tart. My recipe is a love letter to the season, mixing stone fruits and berries in a filling that captures the collective sweetness of summertime in a single dessert.
The mixed fruit filling is heaped in the center of a buttery pastry dough round with edges pleated over it in a loving embrace to create a free-form tart also known as a galette. The pasty border, brushed with cream and sprinkled with sugar before popping in the oven, has extra crunch while dots of butter on the filling add a silky richness. Baked until golden, crisp, and jammy, my summer fruit and berry tart celebrates all the goodness of this sun-soaked season in every luscious bite. Have a sweet summer!
SUMMER FRUIT AND BERRY TART
Crostata di Frutta Estiva
{Recipe}
Copyright, 2007, Deborah Dal Fovo, All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited
My signature tart is a client favorite and one I make all summer long, adding or subtracting different fruits as they’re at their peak ripeness and availability. Make the pastry dough 1 to 24 hours in advance and refrigerate it twice: once after making for at least an hour, and once after rolling out until cold yet pliable. Choose ripe yet firm fruit for the filling and adjust the amount of added sugar depending on the fruit’s sweetness and your individual taste.
Makes one 9-inch tart
For the pastry dough:
1¼ cups/170g ‘00’ or unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of salt
6 tablespoons/85g cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch dice
2 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening (or cold unsalted butter, diced)
1/3 cup/80g ice water
For the fruit filling:
2¼ pounds/1 kilo mixed ripe summer fruit, (peaches, plums, apricots, figs, mixed berries)
¼ cup/50g sugar (add more if fruit is tart), plus more to sprinkle on surface
Juice of ½ small lemon
Pinch of cinnamon (optional)
3 tablespoons/24g cornstarch
3 tablespoons heavy cream to brush on pastry border
1 tablespoon/15g unsalted butter
Powdered sugar to garnish
Thickened cream or vanilla gelato to serve (optional)
To make the pastry dough by hand: place the flour, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Add the cold butter pieces and chilled shortening and toss to coat with flour using your hands. Use a pastry cutter or fingers to crumble the butter and shortening in the flour to the size of peas. Add just enough ice water a little at a time, stirring, until dough comes together in a crumbly mass and holds together when pressed between pinched between two fingers.
To make the pastry dough in a food processor: place the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of the food processor and pulse to combine. Add the cold butter and shortening and pulse until crumbly and the butter pieces are the size of small peas. Add the ice water slowly while pulsing just until dough comes together in a crumbly mass and holds together when pressed between pinched between two fingers.
Turn crumbly dough onto clean work surface or press together into a flat, round disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour before using. Can be refrigerated overnight or frozen for up to 1 month.
Preheat oven to 375°F/190°C.
On a lightly floured board, use a rolling pin to roll the pastry dough into a 15-inch circle. It can be free form with raggedy edges or neatly cut with a scalloped pastry wheel. Place the pastry round on a baking sheet and refrigerate until well chilled yet pliable.
In the meantime, wash and pit the stone fruit then cut into slices and place in a mixing bowl. Add the berries and sprinkle with sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch then toss gently to coat.
Mound the fruit in the center of the pastry round leaving a 3-inch border around edges. Lift one edge of pastry and fold it over the fruit by an inch or two. Continue lifting each adjacent edge of pastry and pleating it to form an enclosed border of pastry around the fruit filling. Press lightly with hands to seal pleats. Brush the pastry border with cream using a pastry brush or your finger and sprinkle with sugar. Sprinkle more sugar over the fruit filling then dot evenly with bits of the butter.
Place in lower half hot oven and bake for about 30 minutes until pastry is golden and crisp and filling is bubbly and jammy. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Serve tart warm or at room temperature cut into wedges and dusted with powdered sugar. Drizzle with thickened cream or top with a scoop of vanilla gelato for extra lusciousness.
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