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Follow the Ruels

Beautiful Fruit Tart with Almond Crust

April 11, 2018

I have now made this tart three times, and in my opinion, it keeps getting better. After each fruit tart, I learn something new to make it a little better. For instance, for the first fruit tart, I made a shortbread crust. Something super simple and super delicious. 

For the second version of this tart, I decided to make a Thomas Keller tart crust recipe. My neighbors, who have had this tart each time it was made, told me they liked the first crust better! So for the third (and final) tart, I made the original shortbread-like crust but kept the delicious mascarpone filling that everyone loved in the second. 

However, we all know what makes this beautiful fruit tart so eye-catching! The fruit! I really stepped up my game when I made this for Easter and decided to make some pretty fruit flowers instead of just piling on the fruit. It was a hit! Adding the extra details to this tart makes it look very professional and sophisticated when (just between you and me), it’s SUPER easy to make!

I will even allow shortcuts to the recipe. For instance, don’t want to make your own tart shell? Buy one premade, use a frozen pie crust, use store bought cookie dough, or make a quick graham cracker crust! Sure, it won’t taste quite the same as the one I made, but I guarantee it will still be delicious. 

There aren’t really any shortcuts for the filling since it’s just mascarpone and sugar mixed together. But, if you wanted to make it a tad healthier, you could use vanilla Greek yogurt instead.

All I am saying is that this post is more about how to assemble a beautiful fruit tart than it is about making one from scratch. However, if you are interested in the later, I’ve got you covered with the recipe down below!

How to Make It

For those who are interested in how to make the tart shell and the filling, read on. If you just want to see how I created the flowers, skip to the next section!

The tart shell is a cross between a shortbread cookie, pie dough, and the super fancy tart shell that Thomas Keller makes. 

Combine almond flour, all-purpose flour, sugar, butter, salt, and a teeny bit of water in a food processor and pulse until the dough forms a loose ball.

Like this!

Roll out the dough between two sheets of parchment until it’s big enough to cover the bottom and sides of your tart pan.

Press the dough into the bottom and along the sides of the pan, then cut off any excess.

Add a sheet of parchment and then pour on pie weights, dry beans, or rice. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, then remove the pie weights and bake for an additional 10.


While the tart shell bakes, make the filling. 

Mix together mascarpone, sugar, and vanilla until it’s light and fluffy.


Once the tart shell has baked and cooled, spread the filling into the bottom of the tart shell. 

Now it’s time to assemble!

How to Assemble a Beautiful Fruit Tart

The hard part is creating the fruit flowers. It did take me a few tries to get the strawberries down, but they are pretty easy once you get the hang of it. 

The mango flowers are even easier, provided the mangos aren’t too slippery. My mango was very juicy which made the slices a bit harder to roll. But they still aren’t very hard to make. 

Like with any flower arrangement, whether on a cookie or on a wreath, I recommend using an odd number of the same type of anything. So I have 5 strawberry flowers and 5 mango flowers. I also have 5 clusters of kiwi. That wasn’t an accident. That was very much on purpose. Odd numbers are more pleasing to the eye so they make this fruit tart look very organic and natural, rather than staged.

However, the best thing about this fruit tart is EATING IT!

It is so delicious! It’s simple, not overpowering, but still incredibly flavorful because of all of the fruit flavors on the top of the tart. I absolutely love this combination of fruit because you have a mix of tart fruits, like kiwi and raspberry, with sweeter fruits like the blueberry, strawberry, and mango. There are also so many different textures, it all comes together to create the perfect dessert!

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised when my neighbors keep requesting this tart for any of our get-togethers!

Tools and Recipe

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/ Filed In: Desserts, Eat, Other Sweets New, Pies and Tarts
Tagged: almond meal, baking, dessert, fruit, fruit flowers, fruit tart, kiwi, mango, strawberry

Sesame Crusted Tuna Bowl

May 31, 2017

After returning home from Hawaii last week, I have a new found appreciation for tuna. We ate tuna (ahi) at least once a day in the form of poke at least once a day. It was fantastic. I wanted to come home and make my very own version of poke, but oddly I can’t find super fresh ahi tuna anywhere around Charlotte. North Carolina (not a hint of sarcasm). So the next best thing was some fresh yellowfin tuna I found at my local Whole Foods. 

Since I couldn’t confirm that it was “sushi grade”, and thus acceptable for eating raw, I decided to do something a little different with my tuna. I crusted it in some sesame seeds and then seared it very quickly to just barely cook the outside, leaving the inside completely rare. Trust me, it’s delicious!


First find yourself a good tuna steak! I recommend talking to the fish monger and asking how fresh the tuna is. You don’t want something that is anything over a couple days. Then you won’t be able to cook it and keep it rare. 

Then marinate the tuna in a mixture of soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, and ginger. Not long. Just long enough to get a little sticky so that the sesame seeds can adhere to it. 


Speaking of which, pour out a bunch of sesame seeds onto a plate then press your lightly marinated tuna into the seeds so that you have a nice even layer on both sides. 

Now it’s time to sear this bad boy. I didn’t take any pictures of this process because it happened so quickly! Literally, we popped it into a searing hot pan for about 30 seconds on each side. It was just long enough for the outside to cook, the sesame seeds to char a bit, but the inside stays nice and pink.

For the rest of this bowl, I kept it simple. I served the gorgeous tuna over a bowl of sushi rice, with a bit of avocado, and some mango-pineapple salsa. It definitely took me back to being in Hawaii!

Man it was good. 

If you want to feel like you are eating lunch in a tropical paradise, make yourself this tuna bowl, turn on a sound machine (crashing waves), and close your eyes. You will basically be there with your toes in the sand. 

Now I know fresh tuna isn’t always easy to come by, and it’s not all that cheap, but I promise it’s a lot cheaper than a trip to Hawaii!

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/ Filed In: Eat, Healthy Dishes, Other Savories New, Seafood
Tagged: avocado, fish, mango, pineapple, rice, rice bowl, salsa, tuna

Mango Margarita

May 4, 2014

BBC Mango Margarita3

 

This recipe was inspired by a picture on Instagram. I really wish I could give credit to the person, but I didn’t “like” the picture so I have no idea who posted it. Who ever it was, thank you for the inspiration!

I love a good margarita (clearly, since I am willing to make it into a tart). But some times its fun to mix things up. So when I saw that mango margarita posted to Instagram, I knew I had to try to make my own. 

BBC Mango Margarita2

 

What makes this a bit unusual, is the chili-salt rim. Growing up in Southern California, the chili-mango flavor combination was very popular. It may seem a bit unusual but they actually go really well together! It is not at all spicy, and the smokiness of the chili and the salt really bring out the sweetness of the mango. However, the margarita is just as good without the chili if that is your thing. 

Happy Cinco de Mayo!! Salud!

 

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/ Filed In: Eat
Tagged: drink, lime, mango, margarita, tequila

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Hey There!

Hey there, I'm Lindsey. I'm a number cruncher by day and a home cook and baker by night. While I love to eat healthy and find fresh and healthy alternatives for my favorite foods, I will never turn down dessert! Life is all about moderation, right?

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