Blushing Fruit Tarts With Amaretto Truffle Sauce Recipes

PAVLOVA FRUIT TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees F. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a sheet pan. Draw a 9-inch circle on the paper, using a 9-inch plate as a guide, then turn the paper over so the circle is on the reverse side. (This way you won't get a pencil mark on the meringue.)
• Place the egg whites and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat the egg whites on high speed until firm, about 1 minute. With the mixer still on high, slowly add the sugar and beat until it makes firm, shiny peaks, about 2 minutes.
• Remove the bowl from the mixer, sift the cornstarch onto the beaten egg whites, add the vinegar and vanilla, and fold in lightly with a rubber spatula. Place about half of the meringue into the circle on the parchment paper and smooth it within the circle, making a disk. Place the remaining meringue in a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe the edge with kisses. If you have any meringue left over, pipe it into the middle of the disk and smooth it with a rubber spatula. Bake for 1 1/2 hours. Turn off the oven, keep the door closed, and allow the meringue to cool completely in the oven, about 1 hour. It will be crisp on the outside and soft inside.
• Using a large metal spatula, carefully transfer the shell to a flat serving plate or cake stand. Fill the center of the shell with the whipped cream. Combine the strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and grapes in a bowl and toss with about 1/2 cup of raspberry sauce, or enough to coat the fruit lightly. Spoon the fruit carefully into the middle of the Pavlova and garnish with mint leaves. Serve immediately in large scoops with extra raspberry sauce.
• Whip the cream in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (you can also use a hand mixer). When it starts to thicken, add the sugar and vanilla and continue to beat until firm. Don't overbeat!
• "Barefoot Contessa at Home" by Ina Garten © Clarkson Potter 2006. Provided courtesy of Ina Garten. All rights reserved.
• Place the raspberries, sugar and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 4 minutes. Pour the cooked raspberries, the jam, and framboise into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and process until smooth. Chill.
• "Barefoot Contessa at Home" by Ina Garten © Clarkson Potter 2006. Provided courtesy of Ina Garten. All rights reserved.

RUSTIC AUTUMN FRUIT TART

Steps:

• Cut the cold butter and cream cheese into the flour with a knife or pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (This can also be done in a food processor: pulse the cold butter into the flour until the mixture resembles cornmeal; add the cream cheese and pulse until it's the size of small peas.) When you squeeze a handful of the mixture, it should form a ball. Shape the dough into a round disk, wrap it in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
• Toss the sliced apples and pear with the orange juice. Whisk together the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and cornstarch. Toss the fruit with the sugar-spice mixture and set aside.
• Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Set out an 8-inch tart pan, or, if you'll be making a free-form tart (galette), lightly grease a baking sheet.
• Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured work surface to form a 10-inch circle. Transfer the dough to the tart pan or baking sheet. Arrange the fruit decoratively in the tart pastry. If you're baking the tart on a baking sheet, leave a 2-inch rim of dough and fold it up over the edge of the fruit (the pastry folds will overlap).
• Bake the tart in the preheated oven until the crust is browned and the filling is bubbly, about 30 minutes. Remove the tart from the oven and brush it with the apricot jam.

NO-FUSS FRUIT TART

Steps:

• This is perhaps one of the most useful desserts you can have in your repertoire. Not that it is the job of a dessert to be useful: a dessert exists merely to delight. Still, dinner does need to be made, even when there's precious little time for it, and that should be a delight, too. So here's the deal: there is pitifully little work to be done to make this berry-dazzler of a tart, and enormous pleasure to be derived from its consumption.
• All you do is bash a few graham crackers a day or so in advance and make the base - getting one course out of the way early is my way of managing - then stir lemon curd and cream cheese together, and use this cream to line the crumb-covered tart pan. I use store-bought lemon curd here, but even if it comes out of the jar, it must be of good quality. And when it is whipped into the cream cheese, that cream cheese must be at room temperature, as should the lemon curd in its jar. The combination produces a layer of what tastes like cheesecake cream: light, lemony, luscious.
• I used to put the berries on top of the cream pretty much last-minute, but then I found that a leftover wedge, after the party, looked inviting after being in the refrigerator overnight, and so I now finish assembling the tart ahead of time. But if you prefer to add the fruit nearer to serving, I completely understand.
• Don't feel you must obey the fruit orders too literally: any mixture of berries (or indeed other fruit) would do, and you could well use a smaller amount and top the tart less extravagantly.
• Process the crackers and the butter to a sandy rubble in a food processor and press into the sides and the bottom of a deep-sided fluted tart pan. Put it in the freezer or refrigerator for about 10 to 15 minutes.
• In a clean processor bowl, process the cream cheese and lemon curd (or just mix by hand) and spread it into the bottom of the chilled tart pan, covering the base evenly.
• Arrange the fruit gently (so it doesn't sink in too much) on top of the lemony cream cheese in a decorative manner, leaving some of the strawberries unhulled, with their picturesque stalks attached.
• Refrigerator the tart, preferably overnight, or for at least 4 hours. It does need to get properly cold in order to set enough for the tart to be unmolded and sliced easily.
• Make Ahead Note:
• The tart can be made 1 day ahead. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, being careful not to press on the filling, and refrigerate. Will keep for around 4 days.
• Freeze Note:
• The tart, without fruit topping, can be frozen for up to 3 months if made with regular cream cheese, but be warned it may "weep" on thawing, so is not ideal for freezing. Open-freeze tart until firm, then wrap (still in its pan) in a double layer of plastic wrap and layer of aluminum foil. To thaw, unwrap and cover loosely with plastic wrap then thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Decorate and serve as directed in the recipe.

FAST FRUIT TARTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• Melt the 2/3 cup butter in a saucepan over low heat. Set it aside.
• Grease a baking sheet with the remaining 1 teaspoon butter.
• On a floured surface, unroll the dough, cut it into six equal squares, and transfer the squares to the baking sheet.
• Cover each square with 1/2 cup of the berries or with enough pear or apple slices, attractively overlapping, to blanket all but the pastry edges.
• Using a basting brush or a spoon, paint the fruit with melted butter, and then sprinkle each square with 2 tablespoons of the sugar.
• Pop them into the oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and the fruit is tender.
• Serve with ice cream and a decorative drizzle of caramel sauce, and your guests will think you graduated from the Culinary Academy.

AMARETTO FRUIT

Steps:

• For syrup: In a small saucepan, stir together the sugar, water and honey. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Set the mixture aside to cool.
• Stir in the amaretto and lemon juice. Place fruit in a large mixing bowl. Pour syrup over fruit. Cover and chill for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Serve over ice cream or top with whipped cream and toasted almonds or pecans.

CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE PIE WITH AMARETTO CREAM RECIPE - (4.4/5)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Fit pie crust into a 9-inch pie pan; fold edges under, and crimp. Line piecrust with aluminum foil or parchment paper, and fill to rim with pie weights or dried beans. Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven 10 minutes. Remove weights and foil, and bake until bottom is lightly browned, 10 to 12 more minutes. Cool on baking sheet on a wire rack while preparing filling. Microwave semisweet and bittersweet chocolate chips in a small microwave-safe bowl at MEDIUM (50% power) until melted and smooth, 3 to 4 minutes, stirring at 30-second intervals. Cool 15 minutes. Beat butter and brown sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition. Stir in melted chocolate, vanilla extract, and almond extract; stir in flour and toasted almonds. Spread mixture evenly in pastry shell. Bake in preheated oven until set, 30 to 35 minutes, covering edges last 10 minutes to prevent over browning, if needed. Cool completely on a wire rack, about 1 hour. Chill 1 hour. Serve with Amaretto Cream. Store leftover pie, covered, in refrigerator. Preheat oven to 350°F. Fit piecrust into a 9-inch pie pan; fold edges under, and crimp. Line piecrust with aluminum foil or parchment paper, and fill to rim with pie weights or dried beans. Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven 10 minutes. Remove weights and foil, and bake until bottom is lightly browned, 10 to 12 more minutes. Cool on baking sheet on a wire rack while preparing filling. Microwave semisweet and bittersweet chocolate chips in a small microwave-safe bowl at MEDIUM (50% power) until melted and smooth, 3 to 4 minutes, stirring at 30-second intervals. Cool 15 minutes. Beat butter and brown sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition. Stir in melted chocolate, vanilla extract, and almond extract; stir in flour and toasted almonds. Spread mixture evenly in pastry shell. Bake in preheated oven until set, 30 to 35 minutes, covering edges last 10 minutes to prevent over browning, if needed. Cool completely on a wire rack, about 1 hour. Chill 1 hour. Serve with Amaretto Cream. Store leftover pie, covered, in refrigerator. AMARETTO CREAM: Beat cream and liqueur at medium-high speed with an electric mixer until foamy. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating until soft peaks form. Chill until ready to serve. Note: 1/4 teaspoon almond extract may be substituted for liqueur.