Italian Fruit Tart with Mascarpone in the Cream Patisserie and Pistachios on Top
We have been making a few fruit tarts instead of the more usual galettes of late. This time to get farther from the French and more toward the Italians we put a small tub of mascarpone in the French Cream Patisserie and we added some lemon zest and vanilla to it too.
We kept the half and half almond and AP crust but upped the butter to 4/5th of a stick, cut the egg out completely and added some vanilla to it too. We like the no egg version much better. it isn’t as sturdy but it is much lighter. With half ground almonds you don’t need any extra almond extract either.
We didn’t cook the Cream Patisserie as long this time to thicken it up as much because we knew the cold mascarpone would be whisked in later to thicken it up and we wanted it to spread easy plus we know this was going to bake at 350 F for 45 minutes to set it really firm eventually. It came out like a light Italian cheesecake filling so it wasn’t as eggy or sweet either.
Don't make fun of my basil flour decorations.
The fruits were one each: black plums, Bartlett pears, Fuji apple, a stone free yellow peach and half of a nectarine all sliced thin. We marinated the sliced fruit with some sugar and some warm spices including ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and mace.
Unglazed and no pistachios so you can see the cream. cheese filling.
We par baked the shell for 20 minutes to get it golden and let it cool before the cream/ cheese filling went in. The fruits were arranged on top and the blue berries added at the last minute. I would have rather used strawberries for some color but we were out – no worries.
Shrimp and grilled veg taco with cabbage on top - no sauces yet:-)
We reserved the marinating liquid that came out of the fruits to glaze the tart after baking and stick the pistachios to the top of it. An un-glazed tart looks unfinished and naked. Once it cools we will put it in the fridge to get cold. You can also not bake this tart if you prefer it that way and your fruits are ripe. I prefer a baked one for extra flavor.
Chicken stir fry
Grilled salmon dinner
Green Chili Pork Enchilada
Will have to let you know what it tastes like after dinner tonight but it sure smelled nice near the end of baking. This is one fine tasting tart. It is actually better the next day with a basil sprig;-) The fruits a great but the mascarpone filling is to die for. A bit of pistachio crunch, with the basil flower savory mixed with the sweet is a typical Italian paring. Everyone seems to want seconds for some reason!
Lucy reminds us to eat a peach and blueberry loaded salad before the dessert if we want to be around long enough to have more dessert? Plus a Monsoon Arizona Sunset.
Comments
So the only thing holding that tart shell together is 4/5 stick of butter? No egg, no cream (milk). Good alchemy dab! Yes, it’s gotta be molto tender that way.
We usually put almond meal in the cream, and only Abate pears on top for that matter. I like your dab-signature “too much of everything is just enough” variant.
Happy monsoon from a Lombardian borgo that needs a pasticceria that makes tarts as nice as that!
Ciao,
Tom
“too much of everything is never enough” Like Frank Lloyd Wright said. Some think less is more but less is just less .....and nothing more:-) I'm beginning to think that less on pizza might be better though:-) Oddly, there is no cream in the patisserie. Just 2 eggs and 1 C of non fat milk re-hydrated from powder and a bit of sugar and tsp of corn starch with some vanilla extract. If we put some ground almonds in there like you do we wouldn't need the corn starch - nice tip from the Toady Tom! So it is really nearly a diet dessert with only a half a cup of sugar total....... and the butter of course:-) Glad you like it Toad and
Happy baking
Now I want to make one and eat it all myself! My waistline is not thanking you!
Seriously, that is an amazing tart with a lot of work going into it! I know that it would be scrumptious!
The remainder of your pictures make me wish I could crash your house for dinner on a daily basis. I am sure your missus would not be impressed if some random Canadian woman showed up for dinner. ?
part of it shows up:-) Tonight is Baja grilled, chicken, bean, cheese and grilled veggie chimichungas, invented at the El Charro Cafe in Tuscon, with this tart as as a kicker dessert. The Chimis at El Charro are killer by the way but not as good as Lucy's:-) We have lots of Canadian Snowbird friends who drop in for dinner in the winter so my wife would just think it ,and you were normal around here:-) Don't forget Cinco De Mayo in 2019 where all of the Fresh Loafian Universe is invited to celebrate it with us lakeside and the Islands in Gilbert
Glad you like the tat Danni and happy baking
I never understand why both almond and cherry taste so nice on their own and yet artificial almond and cherry flavours are so horrible... Cherry flavoured candies are my worst nightmare, probably because they flavour children's medicine that way. Adding almond extract to anything means ruining it for me...
Love the idea of Italian cheesecake though I don't actually know how it tastes like. However, Italian food and cheesecake are my favourite cuisine and dessert respectively so I figure I'd like it.
The shrimp tacos are so mouth-watering! Time to stock my fridge with shrimps :)
I enjoy seeing all the delicious food you had as always!
Wow that is beautiful! Your a true artist! I try but fall short. My fruit tart (Crostata di frutta con crema e gelatina) is interesting, The pasta frolla was placed on the back of a 10" pie plate then par-
baked.
is interesting
Very rustic and pretty too. Very fresh and tasty! NIce one from the Pie Man
and no extracts! The sell the smell of a baking bread in can on Amazon. I bet it isn't as nice as real baking bread though.
The girls prefer several different kinds of fish tacos over shrimp ones but i prefer the shrimp ones so, as a result, the only time I can have a shrimp taco is if they aren't around:-) At least my daughter likes ceviche and I can make that now and again if you wife isn't around:-) Your food is also very photogenic! We both eat better than anyone else I'm guessing:-)
Glad you like the tart and post/! Happy baking Elsie
I was just at the beach with Max and Lexi and ordered them to scour the shoreline until they found a bottle with a Genie inside. I told them that was the only way we would get to drop in at the Brownman's house uninvited and sample all these ridiculous dishes!
That Tart should be on the cover of a magazine and I can only imagine how good it tastes. The rest of the food porn is amazing as well.
Max and Lexi say Happy National Doggie Day to Lucy.
We will celebrate with food, drinks and maybe some bread:-) Drop in anytime Ian. We always have something decent to eat around here. Lucy says to get those black furry boys sniffing around for that genie in a bottle. She say's they smell like green cheese mixed with old gym socks. Glad you like the post Ian. Its's tart time!
Happy baking
your fruit tart is beautiful. If I eat one salad for every piece of tart, does it zero out the calories? marybeth
than what is in it so you actually lose weight by eating it or even just looking at it! Now Lucy has been known to tell a tall tale now and again so you can't believe everything she says at face value .....but that tart doesn't really want to float away because it is so light :-).Glad you like the post and
Happy baking Marybeth
You've done it now. That is a feast to the eyes and taste buds.
Man, I am hungry!
3 growing boys. Money was tight at times and when we would complain to her that we were hungry she would say better to be hungry than to be starving:-) Margret Cho's, the ethnic Korean Comedian, had a great lime. She said that she would refuse to eat her rice and her mom would say to her. You better finish that rice, children in America are starving:-) My Mom never ever had any left overs of anything she ever made:-) We would beat her home from school by a couple of hours before she got home from work and we would clean out the fridge and cupboards of anything edible. She never knew what she would be making for dinner because it depended on what was left in the house:-)
So have a go the fridge pul! Glad the post made you hungry and happy baking
I never can resist one of those especially considering my childhood in Germany!!!!!! It is funny how food is so much related to memories...
Are 'black plums' Damsons? When I was in Germany this month to visit my mum and family I had to bake a yeasted plum tart tray just with Damsons, sugar on top and cinnamon.
Sadly, in UK you get mainly Victoria plums which are too juicy for baking like that and don't have the sweet flavour of Damsons...and Damsons are incredibly expensive.here in UK.....
I will have to plant a tree....do you have them in US and are they popular? Happy Baking...Kat
in the North East where they grow the best. They aren't very popular though since they are small, tart, not very juicy and not freestone. The best sellers in the US are ones that came from Japan and China and planted in the south and western part of the USA. They are freestone, large, sweet, can have red to deep red flesh, sweet and are very juicy. Right now they are 99 cents a pound but I got some from the Hispanic market, from Mexico, last Wednesday for 33 cents a pound on a one day sale.
The Romans brought Damsons to the UK and then the Brits brought them to the USA. Small world. I have no idea why they are expensive in the UK. They are hard to sell here.
and I am not sure that the German Zwetschge or Pflaume is actually really a Damson but seemed to be the best translation....
Interesting from this page which was another person intrigued by this...
http://transblawg.eu/2013/09/29/plums-damsons-zwetschgen-and-peaches/
As you may see from the photo the Zwetschgen and Pflaumen are quite big and juicy and sweet...not at juicy as the Victoria plums but this is why they are to much better for baking as they don't 'flood' the tart with the juices and make it soggy...
I've heard from a number of friends and they said that family appear to have trees but that they seem to have got out of fashion apart from many people who like to make jam with them....
They are probably now expensive as there appears to be no market for them anymore.... Kat
the Damsons ended up! Seems the Brits and Yankees are only separated by a common language since the eat the same jam!
Wow!! I'm a big fan of creme patisserie so this is a win in my books. Personally, I think you made a good call leaving out the almond extract from the crust, I think its usually too strong.
I'm sure the tart went down really well!
Great post Dab :)
Happy baking
Ru