Tarts are for Tomorrow

All of this alliteration must be annoying but I must say that the words fell into place on their own as I walked home one late night.

From my last post, you surmised I was being a bit sentimental and reminescing but this post will be a bit of a 180, the complete opposite. I decided that tarts stand for tomorrow given that they are generally made with fresh fruit, which changes every season so every tart is always different.

Pears, apples, plums and peaches. Raspberries and blueberries. The list just doesn't end. And when paired with the perfect pastry crust made of pure butter and flour, it's like heaven. Sprinkled with dark brown sugar and dotted with butter, the fruit melts in the oven, releasing sweet juice which mingles with the sugar to create a delicious sauce that glazes the crust.

Ever since I have been introduced to the shortcrust pastry made by Jus-Rol like I mentioned in a previous post, it's what I've been using for quick desserts. Slicing all of the fruit takes more time than the baking. >.>

Apple and Pears from Normandy; dark brown sugar

Fruit Tarts
(I've made apple and pear; apple and plum so far but feel free to use any fruit you like. I think peaches and blueberries will be an amazing combo when I have the chance.)

1 shortcrust pastry - rolled out to about 15x20 inches and 1/2 cm thick
3-4 medium sized apples
3-4 medium sized pears
1/4 cup butter, diced
1/2 cup brown sugar

Take your shortcrust pastry out of the freezer to defrost while you prep the fruit. If you're using a home recipe then ignore this part.

I kept the skins on the fruit for a contrasting texture but feel free to peel them if you like. Just make sure you have enough fruit to cover the base of the tart. Both apples and pears were sliced into 1/4 inch slices. Don't worry about them being perfect; this is meant to be a bit rustic and easy. 

For the pastry, roll out into a 15x20 inch rectangle about 1/2 cm thick. You don't want it too thick because it'll be a lot of dough for once piece but don't roll it too thin because otherwise it may get soggy from the fruit juice. I trust in your discretion to roll out your pastry to the right dimensions for your baking sheet. 

If you want to make individual tarts, which I've also done, cut the pastry into 6 equal pieces before assembling.

Slide the pastry onto your baking sheet. Allowing for some pastry to be folded over the edges of the tart, begin to arrange the fruit. I usually do one row of apples, a row of pears etc etc with a little overlap within the row and also between the rows. If using berries, I suggest tossing them haphazardly among the sliced fruit. Once your fruit is arranged, sprinkle brown sugar and butter evenly over the top. Fold the sides of the pastry over to form a rustic edge and crimp slightly with your fingers. After all, you don't want to lose any of those wonderful fruit juices.

Apple and Plum prebaking; brown demerara sugar

Turn the oven on to 200 C (400 F) and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the fruit is soft, the sugar and butter have melted and bubbled into a glaze and the pastry crust is slightly browned around the edges. Remove and let cool. The fruit/sugar mixture is very hot, trust me.

Look at that sugery sweet soft goodness...