Fresh Fruit Tart

It’s summer people! I have already had a very exciting summer. Over the past two weeks I have ridden a segway, seen the play Wicked, visited a butterfly house, watched a glass blowing demonstration, hiked through a place that looked like it could be home to fairies with waterfalls and streams, visited lots of little book stores, saw horse races at the Church Hill downs, seen historical sites from my church’s history in Kirtland, Ohio, explored the zoo, wandered through the exhibits at a science museum, completed a puzzle of Time Square, read Ender’s Game to my husband, eaten about 10 honeydew melon creamsicles (Melona) from the Asian market across the street, pigged out on cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory, eaten food from all over the world, taken pictures with my whole family in a rose garden, beat a whole Nancy Drew mystery computer game in two days, laid on the grass and watched fireflies, got the most amazing dessert waffles at a fun indoor market, and so much more!  My little girl is a tripper! She was a little angel as we hauled her all over and kept her up way passed her bedtime.

Do you know what else summer means? Fruit! This might be kind of weird, but I kind of had a small epiphany just barely. Fruit is just cool. Isn’t it amazing that plants make these colorful, unique, exotic, and delicious pods of tastiness? I’m just so glad to live in a world full of fruit! I can’t wait to see my little girl’s expression when she tries all the different kinds of fruit for the first time. This tart really is a tribute to the colorful, beautiful food that adds such variety to our lives.
PRINTABLE RECIPE
Ingredients:
Tart Crust:

• 1/2 C. powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 C. flour
• 1 1/2 sticks of butter (3/4 C.)

Filling

• 1 (8 oz.) package of cream cheese
• 1/4 C. brown sugar
• 1 C. whipping cream
• 1/2 C. powdered sugar
• zest of about half and orange (add more if you want it to be more citrusy)

Topping:

• strawberries
• raspberries
• black berries
• fresh pineapple
• kiwi
• any other kind of fruit you would like (blueberries, peaches, oranges, pears, apples, mango, plums, apricots, etc).

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine the crust ingredients in a food processor until it starts to ball up. Now, just use your fingers to press into a 12 inch tart pan with a removable bottom. If the crust seems a little thick, feel free to use a little bit less of the dough. I have actually halved the recipe before and made a thinner crust. Both ways are good! This crust is sweet and flaky and tasty, so thick or thin is delicious.
2. Bake for about 12 minutes or until the crust is ever so lightly browned. It may take just a little longer, so just watch it. Let it cool completely before removing it from the pan.
3. Beat together the cream cheese and brown sugar. Separately beat the whipping cream and powdered sugar together until medium peaks form and you have a nice whipped cream. Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture until combined. Fold in the orange zest.
4. Once the crust is cool, top it with the cream topping. Slice up all the fruit and throw it on top. Just throw it on or make a pretty design with it. You will want to eat this fairly soon after you top it.

By Edible Experiments