I’ve tried out quite a few recipes for rustic fruit tarts in the past, largely because I like the sound of anything with “rustic” or “fruit” in it.
Rustic.
Fruit.
I digress…
But I have a bit of the Goldilocks syndrome when it comes to rustic fruit tarts. The frangipane is never substantial enough to hold up to the fruit in the tarts, both in flavor and texture. The glaze is too saccharine. The crust is never flaky enough. The fruity notes are muddled.
I would much rather enjoy the fresh fruit, add a couple years to my life, and fewer inches to the waist, thank you very much. But every time I would chance upon a rustic fruit tart recipe, I would be bewitched again.
Rustic.
Fruit.
And then I’d be back at it with the flour, the butter, the almond flour, egg, sugar, salt, and water … determined and absolutely certain that this time would be different. I would take that tart out of the oven, so full of promise with its heady wafts of buttery and fruity goodness, cut into it, take a bite, and … plop down on the counter, wracking my brain, trying to figure out how to get rid of yet another 9-inch fruit tart that I didn’t want to finish and wouldn’t dare subject my friends and family to eating.
The Goldilocks Syndrome …
… was becoming a serious problem.
After one too many afternoons spent in this fashion, I finally decided to pull out my best techniques, ingredients, and know-hows and put together a recipe for a rustic fruit tart that was …
… just right.
This frangipane is rich and substantial enough to withhold nearly any kind of fruit you throw over it. The crust … the crust is buttery. It is flaky. It is just strong enough to hold together until it reaches your mouth, right before it crumbles and melts all over your tongue. It is a dream. And forget the glaze. Just give the entire tart a lazy drizzle of honey once it’s out of the oven. That’s all it needs. After all, it’s …
Rustic.
Fruit.
And it’s
Perfect.
The Best: Rustic Fruit Tart
I served mine with a spoonful of homemade ginger ricotta ice cream … keep an eye out for the recipe in the next post!
Makes 8-10 servings
For the tart
Fruit of your choice. Stone fruit works really well here. I used 2 large yellow peaches, which worked wonderfully.
For the crust
2 cups all-purpose flour
12 tbspn salted butter (1 1/2 sticks, cut into small cubes)
1 tspn sugar
6 tbspn chilled water
For the egg wash
2 egg yolks
2 tbspn milk
a pinch of salt
4 tbspn turbinado sugar for finishing the crust
For the frangipane
1/4 c + 1 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1/8 c granulated sugar
1/2 c almond flour
1 egg white
1/8 c flour
Prepare the tart dough
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F
1. In a large bowl, combine the flour and the sugar
2. Plop the butter into the flour and give a couple turns with your hand to coat the cubes of butter with flour
3. Using your fingers, combine the butter into the flour until the butter turns into pebbles. Continue until the flour resembles coarse meal.
4. Dribble in the chilled water and toss the dough through your fingers. The dough will get stringy. Just when the dough starts to come together into a ball, transfer onto plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to use. It’s okay if the dough doesn’t look smooth and perfect. It’s supposed to look like that.
Prepare the frangipane
1. Cream the butter, sugar, and almond flour together until light and fluffy (~5 min)
2. Beat in the egg and beat for 3 min
3. Beat in the flour just until combined
4. Cover with wrap and refrigerate until ready to use
Prepare the egg wash
1. In a small, clean bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, milk, and salt
2. Set aside until ready to use
Assemble the tart
1. Roll the tart dough into a circle about 12″ in diameter
2. Smear the almond cream onto the surface of the tart, leaving an inch border along the edges
3. Slice the peaches thinly and fan onto the surface of the tart, beginning from the outside, working your way around the perimeter.
4. Fold the edges of the crust over the slices of peach
5. Brush the egg wash over the edges of the tart and sprinkle the turbinado sugar over it
6. Place in the oven and bake until the crust is golden brown (~40 min)