Fruit Tart with Vanilla Pastry Cream

Birthday season has officially begun! From now until the end of the summer I have various friends and family members who will be celebrating their birthdays and I will be baking many a cake for the occasion. This year birthday season kicked off with the request of one of my closest friends for a cream filled tart topped with an array of fruit. I was lucky enough to have made this once before in one of the pastry classes that I attended last year. However this time I made the entire thing on my own with no guidance from an experienced pastry chef.

Based on my previous experience, I approached this tart with a little bit of caution because I remembered the cream being difficult to make. Luckily, I have much more experience in the kitchen now than I did a year ago and the cream came together exactly as I had imagined it. Putting together the finished product was definetly time consuming, what with the pre-baking of the tart shell, creating and refrigerating the cream, and finally slicing all the fruit and arranging them. I managed to split my task over two days, baking the tart shell and making the cream on day one, and then filling the shell and arranging the fruit on day two.

Everyone who saw the tart commented on how gorgeous it looked and claimed it was restaurant/cafe worthy. I thanked them all, of course, but insisted that the only thing that mattered to me was that my friend love it...and she did. I think it's safe to say that the birthday season has started off successfully and hopefully all of the future cakes will be met with just as much enthusiasm.

Fruit Tart with Vanilla Pastry Cream

For the tart shell:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold
• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 3-4 tbsp water

1. In a food processor, pulse the flour, sugar, and salt together a couple of times.
2. Add the butter chunks and pulse about 10 times, or until the butter is cut into walnut size pieces.
3. Gradually pour the water into the spout of the food processor and continue to pulse until the dough starts to come together.
4. Transfer the mixture to a separate bowl or the counter and work it into a uniform dough, adding more water if necessary. Try to handle the dough as little as possible so as not to melt the butter.
5. Chill for 30 minutes before proceeding to roll out the dough.

To bake:

1. Roll out the dough to about 1/8" thickness, making sure it is large enough to place over the tart pan without stretching it.
2. Press the dough into the pan and up along the sides. Remove any excess dough from the sides and prick the bottom of the tart with a fork all over.
   
3. Cover the surface of the tart with plastic wrap and fill with rice or beans. Make sure the level of the rice/beans is even or slightly higher than the sides of the pan so that the dough does not shrink during baking.
4. Place the tart pan on a baking tray and into the oven at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes. Remove the plastic wrapped weights and continue to bake for another 10-15 minutes, or until the shell is lightly golden. Cool completely before assembling.

For the pastry cream:

• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 5 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp corn starch
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 tbsp butter

1. In a medium saucepan, heat the milk over medium heat until just under boiling and a thin film forms on top.
2. Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks and sugar together on medium speed for about 4 minutes, or until the mixture becomes very thick.
3. Switch to low speed and add the cornstarch and flour. Then slowly add the hot milk to the mixture.
4. Once the mixture is combined return it to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for about 5-7 minutes. As the mixture starts to thicken stir it constantly for another minute or two until it is completely thick.
5. Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the vanilla and butter.
6. Pour the mixture into a small bowl through a fine mesh sieve and cover with plastic wrap so that the plastic is directly touching the surface of the cream. Refrigerate until completely chilled.

To assemble and glaze:

• Fresh fruit, peeled and sliced
• 2-3 spoonfuls apricot jam
• 1-2 tbsp water

1. Fill the tart shell with the pastry cream and arrange the sliced fruit on top.
2. In a small saucepan, combine the apricot jam with a little water and heat to thin it out.
3. Brush the apricot glaze over the fruit and serve.