Fresh Fruit Torte Recipes

FRESH FRUIT TART

Steps:

• In a small bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the flour, cornmeal and lemon juice to form a dough. Press onto bottom and up the sides of a greased 9-in. tart pan with removable bottom. Bake at 425° for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely on wire rack., For filling, beat the cream cheese, sugar and milk until smooth. Spread over cooled crust. Arrange berries or fruit over filling. Refrigerate while preparing glaze., For fruit glaze, in a small saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch, apricot nectar and lemon juice until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Cool; brush over fruit. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Refrigerate leftovers.

GERMAN FRESH FRUIT TORTE

Steps:

• Sprinkle or brush cake base lightly with fruit schnapps , liqueur, or sugar syrup to moisten but not douse.
• Prepare pudding according to directions for pie filling. Look at the following recipes if you would like to make vanilla pudding from scratch or if you would like to make pastry cream . If it is cooked, then cool until thickened. If it is instant, let it set a few minutes. Spoon into purchased sponge cake base and chill (Note: the German sponge cakes have a lip to hold in the pudding and fruit. They are baked in a special mold).
• Wash and prepare fresh fruit. Cut strawberries in half, peel and slice kiwi, etc. Arrange fruit decoratively on top of the pudding. You can also overlap sliced fruit if you wish. Place cake back in the refrigerator while you make the glaze.
• In Germany, you can buy tortenguss or cake glaze, which you simply mix with water. You can also order it online. If you don't have access to this product, it is easy to make a glaze which helps hold the fruit on the cake and seals in the fruit, so that it stays fresher, longer. It can be made with agar ​or gelatin, and sometimes cornstarch.
• To make the glaze shown here, sprinkle the package of gelatin over cold apple juice and let it swell for five minutes. Add 3/4 cup hot apple juice (plus one or two tablespoons sugar, as desired), stirring constantly until gelatin is dissolved. You may need to heat this mixture slightly but do not bring it to a boil or the gelatin loses the ability to gel. Place this mixture in the refrigerator until it starts to thicken.
• Pour, spoon, or brush the glaze over the cake. Refrigerate the cake for at least one hour and make sure the glaze has set before serving.

FRESH FRUIT TORTE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• For the crust: In a food processor, combine the confectioners' sugar, flour, and butter, and process until the mixture forms a ball. With your fingers, press the dough into a 12-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, taking care to push the crust into the indentations in the sides. Pat until the crust is even. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until very lightly browned. Set aside to cool.( you may do this as individuals as well).
• For the filling and topping: Beat the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla together until smooth. Spread over the cooled crust. Cut the strawberries into 1/4-inch slices and arrange around the edge of the crust. For the next circle, use kiwi slices. Add another circle of strawberries, filling in any spaces with blueberries. Cluster the raspberries in the center of the tart.
• For the glaze: Combine the limeade, cornstarch, lime juice, and sugar in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until clear and thick, about 2 minutes. Let cool. With a pastry brush, glaze the entire tart. You will not use all of the glaze.
• Keep the tart in the refrigerator. Remove about 15 minutes before serving. Slice into 8 wedges and serve with a dollop of whipped cream if desired.

FRESH FRUIT TARTS

Steps:

• Make the crust: In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and heavy cream. In the bowl of a food processor with a blade attachment, pulse the flour, butter, sugar and salt until no big chunks of butter remain. Slowly add the yolk mixture to the flour mixture. Blend to combine but don't overwork the dough.
• Remove the dough and, turning it out onto a lightly floured surface, knead it 4 or 5 times to incorporate.
• Divide the dough in half if making one large tart. Divide the dough into four pieces if making mini tarts. Flatten the dough pieces into discs with your hands, wrap them in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 20 minutes and up to overnight. (Freeze any remaining pieces for another project for up to 3 months.)
• Make the pastry cream: Put a damp kitchen towel under a medium bowl and whisk together the egg yolks and 1/4 cup of the sugar until the yolks are lighter in color, about 2 minutes. (The towel will ensure the bowl doesn't slide around.) Add the cornstarch and salt, whisk again, and set the bowl aside.
• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk and the remaining sugar 1/4 cup sugar and cook until the mixture almost boils, 4 to 5 minutes. With one hand, start whisking the egg yolk mixture; with the other hand, slowly drizzle the hot milk into the bowl, whisking until all the milk is incorporated.
• Pour the custard back into the saucepan and continue cooking, stirring constantly, on medium-high heat, until the mixture is thick and one bubble plops up on top, about 2 minutes.
• Remove the custard from the heat and pour into a clean medium bowl. Don't scrape the pot if the bottom looks burned or like scrambled eggs. Now, stir in the butter and vanilla. Keep stirring until the butter melts. Place a piece of plastic wrap over the bowl so it is touching the pastry cream, then refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Bake the tart shell or shells: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough on a floured surface until it is a circle (about 9 inches across and 1/2 inch thick for one large tart and about 6 inches across and 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick for four mini tarts.
• Lay the dough onto the tart pan, and then using your fingers, gently press it down. Try not to tear the dough or make it too thin. Ideally, it should be an even thickness all the way across.
• Using a sharp knife, carefully trim the edges so the dough is perfectly even with the top of the tart shell (see Cook's Note). Place the tart shell on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Using a fork, poke a bunch of holes in the bottom of the tart shell to keep bubbles from forming during baking. Refrigerate the tart shell for 20 minutes. Repeat with the remaining tart shells if using.
• Remove the pan or pans from the fridge and lay a piece of parchment over the chilled dough. Fill the uncooked tart shell with pie weights or dried beans or uncooked rice.
• Bake for 10 minutes, then, using oven mitts, remove the baking sheet from the oven. Remove the pie weights and parchment. Return the baking sheet to the oven, continuing to bake until the crust is golden brown, 5 to 8 more minutes. Let the pan or pans cool on a wire rack.
• Make the glaze and finish the tart: In a medium pot over medium heat, cook the apricot jam and water. Stir with a fork as it cooks until the mixture is a thin, shiny liquid, about 3 minutes.
• Take the pastry cream from the fridge and, in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed, beat the pastry cream to loosen it up. Spread the pastry cream in a thin 1/4- to 1/2-inch layer on the bottom of the tart shell.
• Carefully cut the strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, kiwi, mangos and figs. Arrange the fruit so there is no visible pastry cream. (You can make the tart look awesome by laying the fruit in cool patterns.)
• Once the fruit is arranged, use a soft pastry brush to paint it with the warm apricot glaze. Don't leave any bare spots. Make sure to glaze all the fruit. Take your time.
• Cut and serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 12 hours.

FRESH FRUIT TART

Steps:

• Make the Pate Sucree. Make the Pastry Cream and set it aside.
• Remove the pate sucree from the refrigerator, unwrap it, and knead it slightly to make it malleable if it feels stiff. Using a rolling pin, press the dough to flatten it into a disk about 1/2 inch thick. Generously flick flour over the work surface and the dough. Make sure the surface you are rolling on is well floured so that the dough does not stick to it; likewise, make sure the disk itself is floured well enough to keep the rolling pin from sticking to it. Carefully roll out the disk into a circle about 10 inches in diameter. Roll from the center of the disk outward and gently rotate the disk 90 degrees (a quarter-turn) after each roll to ensure that the disk gets stretched out evenly into a nice circle. Use a bench scraper to help move the dough by scraping underneath the dough and moving it around. Don't worry if the dough breaks a bit, especially toward the edges. You can easily patch these tears up once you've lined the tart pan.
• Once the dough circle is about 10 inches in diameter, dock it by poking it all over with a fork or a pastry docker (see Cook's Note). Roll it gently around the rolling pin, then unfurl it over an 8-inch tart pan. Press the dough into the tart pan, taking care to press into the corners. Trim the edge of the shell even with the top of the tart pan. Use any scraps or odd pieces to patch up any tears or missing bits. Make sure the entire tart pan is completely covered with dough, and press one last time all the way around to ensure that any holes have been patched up.
• Refrigerate the tart shell for at least 30 minutes to let the dough rest; the gluten needs a little time to relax so it doesn't shrink in the oven. (At this point you can wrap the tart shell well in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze it for up to 2 weeks.)
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and place a rack in the center of the oven. Place the tart shell on a baking sheet and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the baking sheet midway through the baking time, until it is golden brown all around. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack. (At this point the tart shell can be stored, well wrapped, at room temperature for up to 1 week.)
• In a medium bowl, whip the heavy cream until it holds a peak and is thick and soft. Fold the pastry cream into the whipped cream until thoroughly combined.
• Gently pop the tart shell out of the pan. Place the tart shell on a serving plate. (Hint: The tart shell has a tendency to slide around a bit, so anchor it to the plate by putting a small spoonful of the pastry cream mixture directly on the plate before placing the tart shell on it.) Fill the tart shell with the pastry cream mixture and spread it evenly with a spatula.
• Stem and quarter the strawberries and place them on top of the cream with one cut side down, spaced randomly but evenly. Peel the kiwi and slice it in half lengthwise. Slice each half into 1/2 -inch-thick half-moons. (If using green grapes instead of kiwis, slice the grapes in half.) Place the kiwi slices in the cream against the cut side of the strawberries. Peel the mango and cut it into thin slices about 1 x 1 inch. Place the mango in the cream next to the kiwi. Slice the blackberries in half if they are large and place them in the cream in random places. Fill the empty spots on the tart with raspberries, blueberries, and any extra mango. The goal is to cover the whole tart with fruit and not have any cream visible. The tart must be eaten the same day it is assembled or it will get soggy. If not serving the tart immediately, store it in the refrigerator; serve within 6 hours.
• 1 large egg yolk (about 20 grams), at room temperature
• In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar, and salt together for 2 to 3 minutes, until pale and light. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and the paddle with a rubber spatula. Add the flour and paddle on low speed for about 30 seconds, until the flour is entirely incorporated. The mixture will look like wet sand. Add the egg yolk and mix until the dough comes together, about 30 seconds. Remove the dough from the bowl, press it into a disk, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and let it rest in the refrigerator for about 1 hour before using. The dough can be tightly wrapped in plastic and stored in the freezer for up to 2 weeks, or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. If frozen, thaw it in the refrigerator overnight before using.
• In a medium saucepan, heat the milk on medium-high heat until just before it comes to a boil, when bubbles start to form around the edge of the pan. In a small bowl, thoroughly mix together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. (Mixing the cornstarch into the sugar will prevent it from clumping when you add it to the egg yolks.) Whisk the egg yolks in a medium heatproof bowl until blended. Slowly whisk in the sugar-cornstarch mixture until completely incorporated. Remove the milk from the heat and slowly add it to the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly, to temper the eggs.
• When the milk is all whisked into the egg yolk mixture, return everything to the saucepan and heat it over medium heat. Whisk continuously and vigorously for about 1 minute. At first the mixture will be very frothy and liquid; as it cooks more, it will slowly start to thicken until the frothy bubbles disappear, the mixture starts to steam, and the whole thing become more viscous. After 1 minute, stop whisking every few seconds to see if the mixture has come to a boil. If not, keep whisking vigorously. As soon as you do see it boiling, whisk vigorously for about 10 seconds, then immediately pour the pastry cream through a sieve into an airtight container. Stir in the vanilla. Cover with plastic wrap pressed directly against the surface of the pastry cream (to prevent a skin from forming) and let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, until cold, before using. The pastry cream can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

FRESH FRUIT TART

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F (350°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease or spray 12-inch pizza pan or bottom only of 13x9-inch pan.
• In large bowl, mix cake mix, butter and egg with spoon until crumbly. Press in bottom of pan.
• Bake 12 to 18 minutes or until set. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• In medium bowl, beat yogurt and dry pudding mix with electric mixer on medium speed until blended. Spoon over baked layer. Smooth surface with rubber spatula. Arrange fruit on yogurt mixture.
• Heat preserves over medium heat until melted; brush over fruit. Mound raspberries in center. Serve immediately, or refrigerate up to 24 hours. Store covered in refrigerator.

FRESH FRUIT-CUSTARD TART

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450°F. In medium bowl, stir crust ingredients until soft dough forms. Using lightly floured fingers, press dough firmly and evenly against bottom and sides of ungreased 9-inch square tart pan. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Cool crust 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.
• In medium bowl, mix granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and the salt. Stir in whipping cream, liqueur and 3 eggs with whisk until blended. Pour filling into partially baked crust.
• Bake 30 minutes or until custard is set. (Filling will puff when baked but then fall when cooled.) Cool completely in pan on cooling rack, about 3 hours.
• Arrange fruit over custard. In small microwavable bowl, microwave jelly uncovered on High 30 seconds or until melted. Brush over fruit. Store in refrigerator.

FRESH FRUIT FRANGIPANE TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Place 1 piece of puff pastry on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Lightly moisten one of the short edges with water. Connect the end of the other puff pastry to the moistened edge. Press pieces together to form a long rectangle, trimming off loose ends with a dough scraper as needed.
• Cut the third puff pastry piece lengthwise into 1-inch strips. Moisten the outer edges of the long rectangle with your finger; stick the pastry strips on top. Poke shallow holes all over the bottom of the dough using a fork. Do not prick the raised border.
• Bake pastry shell in the preheated oven until it starts to turn golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Readjust the borders and push the bottom down with the flat side of a fork. Let cool completely while preparing the filling.
• Place butter and 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar in a bowl; smear together using a spatula until combined. Whisk in egg until mixture is creamy. Add almond flour, salt, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Mix thoroughly. Cut each pluot into 6 wedges. Fill pastry shell with the almond paste. Stick the pluots snugly, but not too deeply, into the filling.
• Bake in the preheated oven until browned and almond filling is set, 30 to 40 minutes. Transfer tart onto a wire rack and let cool completely, at least 40 minutes.
• Combine apricot jam and water in a microwave-safe bowl. Bring to a boil in the microwave. Let cool until warm. Brush glaze over the cooled tart.

FRESH FRUIT TART

Steps:

• To make pastry: Using fingertips, rub butter into flour until mixture resembles coarse meal; stir in sugar and egg yolks; press mixture together to form a ball and refrigerate in plastic wrap for 30 minutes; preheat oven to 375°F.
• Roll pastry between two sheets of wax paper, making the pastry large enough to cover base and sides of a buttered 9-inch fluted tart pan; trim edges; place sheet of foil into pastry and fill with pie weights or dried beans; bake 20-25 minutes; remove foil and beans and bake a further 5 minutes; allow to cool.
• To make custard: In medium bowl, whisk egg yolks, sugar and flour until thick and pale; heat milk in saucepan until almost boiling; remove from heat. Slowly dribble in hot milk into egg mixture, whisking continuously, until all of milk has been added. Return custard to pot and cook, over medium-low heat, until custard has thickened and coats the back of a spoon (5-7 minutes). Place piece of plastic wrap directly onto surface of custard (this prevents a 'skin' from forming) and allow to cool completely.
• To assemble: Spoon custard into baked pie shell and smooth. Place pieces of fruit attractively over tart. Heat apicot jam until it is quite liquid and brush this generously over the fresh fruit to set and seal the tart. Allow to cool completely.
• Serve the same day of making. Refrigerate any leftovers.