August 1 is a special day – my Mom’s Birthday! Happy Birthday Mom!
In honor of her, and to kick off this month (or more) of daily cooking, I present to you a birthday fruit tart:
OK, so sure, I didn’t actually get to see my mom on her birthday… This tart was actually because my boss has a birthday the same day. But – shhhhhhhh! – don’t tell him! It was really for my mom. What? Why? How? It was a practice tart, you see, so that when I see her in two weeks I’ll have it perfect (because my mom deserves nothing less)
So how did I make this Birthday Tart? First, I used some google. Then I found Cooks.com … And then I started to bake.
Crust
1 cup unbleached flour
1 tbsp sugar
1/8 tsp salt (a good hearty pinch)
5 tbsp vegetable shortening (supposed to be chilled, but I forgot… and it worked just fine!)
3 tbsp chilled unsalted butter (this one I did chill, and wished I hadn’t…)
3 tbsp water (also supposed to be cold, but again – nope)
Combine flour, sugar, and salt in medium bowl. Add shortening and butter and cut in until mixture resembles coarse meal (which took me all of, oh, 30 seconds). Mix in enough water by tablespoons to form dough that just comes together (for me, this was 2 – not the 3 they recommended). Gather dough into a ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees before taking dough out.
After chilling, roll out dough on lightly floured surface (they say to 1/8 inch thick round, I just did it til it was enough to cover my pan plus some extra) – transfer to 9 inch diameter tart pan with removable bottom (and if you can do this without breaking it, you’re better than me! Luckily, though, dough is really easy to squish back together!) Trim edges to pan, squish dough to sides (in case you couldn’t tell, I added that last bit).
Line top of tart with foil and fill the crust with dried beans or pie weights; bake 15 minutes. Remove foil and weights, then bake another 10-12 minutes (until golden brown). Transfer to rack and cool.
Filling
1 package cream cheese, room temperature (and this really is critical!)
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice (I used the bottled kind, it was fine…)
1/2 cup chilled whipping cream (I used heavy cream, since I was in a rush and grabbed the wrong carton at the store. Same difference…)
Beat cream cheese, sugar, and lemon juice together in a bowl until well blended (if you have a electric mixer like they ask for, YAY for you! I did it by hand. It was fine. I called it my workout for the day) Add cream and beat until light and fluffy. Spread filling into (cooled) tart shell. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Fruit
Grab your favorite fresh fruit and line the top in concentric circles – as easy as that! I used blueberries and raspberries because that’s what the fruit cart guy had for me, but I believe this is an endeavor for which creativity would be rewarded. So have fun!
Now, you can glaze the top with an apricot glaze – if you have the time. Which I didn’t. And you know what? It was yummy anyways…
So, once again, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!
