Fruit Mascarpone Tart

Kitty FloridoMay 19, 2014

This post is also available in / Esta entrada también está disponible en ESPAÑOL (SPANISH)

Let’s say this has been a tough week to tackle. Not bad, just tough. I was planning to post this recipe on Wednesday. And it will go live today (Monday). Turns out on Wednesday, shortly after coming back from a photo shoot I started feeling short of breath but without asthma. Slept most of the afternoon, when if I nap it’s on holidays, so definitely it was not normal for me. On Thursday I kind of worked, for a few hours but again, took another nap just before lunch. That’s when we went to the doctor, and after a series of tests… turned out I had the beginnings of pneumonia. I was admitted to the hospital, moving out of the ER. The hospital staff was amazing, from the doctors, nurses, breathing therapy and all… they took care of me and got me back on my feet. On Friday I already had my laptop but the wireless connection was not that good, so I made the executive decision that I was going to catch up on my season finales (Grey’s Anatomy… OMG!) and avoid avoid the frustrations I was having when trying to work on anything. Fast forward to Monday, labs came back 90% awesome, so I am back home, drinking plenty of fluids and following all the doc’s orders to get back to my regular self. See? Tough, not bad. Just tough.

Now, back to the tart. I didn’t cook as I usually do this past Mother’s Day, but I did bake. The past weeks I’ve been talking to grandma Flory about what was she looking forward dessert-wise for the family lunch, and she said that she would rather have a tart than a cake. Her wishes were my command, so I went looking online for a recipe, and bumped into this Fruit Mascarpone Tart recipe on Food52.com.

Have you visited their site? We absolutely love it. Lately I’ve been browsing their site for recipes. And what I love the most, is that almost every recipe has many comments, tweaks, suggestions and different variations of each recipe that we go crazy. The original recipe calls for strawberries on top (with added sugar to make them juicier), but I skipped that additional sugar and combined it with kiwis, a fruit that both my mom and grandma love.

Our family gathering was on the smaller side this year, but I still doubled the recipe. I doubled everything and followed the recipe exactly as it is here. I baked the crusts the day before and on Mother’s Day morning, I assembled both tarts and covered them with plastic wrap so the fruit wouldn’t dry up too much in the fridge. Next time I am adding vanilla beans rather than vanilla extract… And the best thing is that we can play with different fruits – depending on what’s in season in your lil’ corner of the world.

Kitty

Fruit Mascarpone Tart

Adapted from a recipe by Food52.com
Makes 1 pie, serves 6

Ingredients, for crust:
2 tablespoons cream
1 egg yolk
1 stick of butter
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cups sugar
1 pinch salt

Ingredients, for filling:
1 quart strawberries
2 kiwis
4 ounces chilled mascarpone
4 ounces cream cheese
1 tablespoon rum
¼ cup vanilla sugar (can substitute plain sugar)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

For the crust, combine the egg yolk and cream. In a food processor, pulse together the butter, sugar, salt, and flour until you have something that resembles coarse meal. With the motor running, pour in the egg yolk and cream. Process until the dough comes together in a ball around the blade.
Remove dough from the processor bowl. Press into an 8-inch removable-bottom fluted tart pan, first with your fingers, then with the back of a measuring cup. Pierce lightly with fork all over the crust. Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminium foil and cover the tart pan tightly. Let it sit in the refrigerator for at least two hours.
Preheat the oven to 375 F. Place some pie weights or baking beans on the pan and bake (on a baking sheet) for 15 minutes. Remove the foil with pie weights/beans and continue baking another 10 minutes. Allow the crust to cool completely.
Wash and pat dry fruit, then slice or chop (depending on what fruit you’re using). I used strawberries and kiwis. Set them aside.
Combine the mascarpone and cream cheese, rum, sugar, and vanilla extract and whisk until glossy. Taste and adjust sugar if necessary. Cover with plastic wrap and chill the filling while the crust cools.
When the crust has cooled completely, spread the filling over it using a rubber spatula.
Next, arrange the sliced fruit over the filling. Return assembled tart to fridge if not serving immediately, but cover with plastic wrap. Tart is best eaten the day it is made.

Have you made this recipe?

Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and share a picture with the hashtag #thefoodieskitchen!

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