Amaretto Fruit Tart

Our summer dinner theaters were sold out every weekend this year. We now have a fine reputation for our food as well as our productions, so people come for both. The many sincere compliments and genuine thanks we receive for these events makes the extra effort put into them worthwhile and very rewarding.

This week’s dinner menu featured skewers of beef tenderloin and of shrimp grilled with mushrooms, mini onions and potatoes and plated alongside a mélange of colorful vegetables. This was accompanied by a crisp pungent salad of mixed greens and fragrant herbs straight from our gardens. All combined to form a lovely summer nights’ dinner eaten in a tranquil setting out on the patio overlooking a view of Cape Cod Bay.

One more detail to savor was the magnificent dessert which one elderly gentleman referred to as “a most splendid creation.” This marvelous fruit tart is formed on a rich shortbread crust spread with an amaretto cream, topped with beautiful fruit and sealed with an apricot glaze. Tonight the chef has chosen sliced nectarines and blueberries. Other evenings it has been strawberries, kiwis, peaches,
raspberries. If you want a dessert that is both impressive and delectable this is it!

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Amaretto Fruit Tart
SERVINGS
8
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Ingredients

Instructions

Crust
  1. In food processor, combine almonds, butter, sugar and flour. Add yolks and extracts. Blend until dough forms.
  2. Line 11- inch tart pan with removable side with a circle of baking paper in the bottom and press crust into pan.
  3. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes. Cool. Set aside.
Filling
  1. Mix all filling ingredients until smooth and spread evenly on the cooled tart.
  2. Chill until firm (about 30 minutes).
Glaze
  1. In a small pan, mix all glaze ingredients over low heat until hot. Strain. Cool. Set aside. Orange marmalade can be substituted.
  2. Arrange fruits in a circular pattern on filling.
  3. One to two hours before serving, brush fruit with glaze, (sprinkle sliced almonds on top, optional). Serve slightly chilled.

Peach Crostata

There is nothing like a hot fresh baked pie to warm the heart on a cold snowy winter night. So let’s have one for tonight’s dinner dessert and let’s make it simple and easy as possible. I can remember my mother often quickly and effortlessly mixing up a fruit pie just before dinner and serving it straight out of the oven as soon as we finished the main course. I seldom remember her making double crust pies with care crimped edges. More often than not, her pies were “open faced.” I always assumed she did them this way to save time, and perhaps that was her reason.  However, years later I realized she was making a crostata even though she never called it that. I loved seeing the beautiful syrupy fruit bubbling up in the center of the perfectly golden crust.  Now a days crostatas are popular.  So tonight, let’s make the family happy with an easy to make old-world Peach Crostata.

Peach Crostata

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Peach Crostata
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52 - 63mins.
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Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. On a lightly floured surface, place one pie crust on top of the other and roll the stack into one 16 inch circle.
  3. Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet.
  4. Spread 1/4 cup of the preserves on the crust, leaving a 2 inch border.
  5. In a large bowl, toss the peaches, flour, lemon juice and 3 Tablespoons of the sugar.
  6. Transfer to the crust, leaving the border clear.
  7. Fold the edges of the crust over the fruit mixture.
  8. Brush the egg on the crust and sprinkle with the remaining teaspoon of sugar.
  9. Bake until the crust is golden brown and the fruit is tender, 50 to 60 minutes.
  10. In a small saucepan, heat the remaining 2 Tablespoons of preserves and 1 Tablespoon of water over medium heat until liquid, 2 to 3 minutes.
  11. Brush on the fruit.
  12. Serve warm.