Always A Tart

A fruit tart is the perfect way to take advantage of super fresh, straight from the bush, raspberries and blueberries. To me, the essential foundation is a crumbly shortbread crust. I still recall the great disappointment I felt when I once chose a flaky pie type tart shell recipe. It’s just not my preference for a fresh fruit tart where the topping flavors are simple and clean and the buttery cookie-like shell is such a huge part of the overall dessert.

Luckily, Dorie Greenspan’s recipe for a Sweet Tart Dough (pâte sablée) is that perfect shell. I used to experiment with different shell recipes but really, you shouldn’t mess with perfection when you’ve found it. Save the experimenting for the toppings… custards and cream cheese fillings, with strawberries, blueberries, raspberries or kiwi. The possibilities are endless. Keep an unbaked shell in the freezer and you can have a dessert ready to go with just a bit of fresh fruit from the market. Easy peasy.

Sweet Tart Dough
From Dorie Greenspan Baking: From My Home to Yours


1 ½ cups flour
½ cup powdered sugar
Pinch of salt
1 stick plus one tablespoon frozen butter cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk

Place flour, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse a couple of times to combine. Scatter butter over dry ingredients and pulse until butter is coarsely cut in—you should have some pieces the size of oatmeal and some the size of peas. Stir the yolk to break up and add a little at a time, pulsing after each addition. When all egg is added, pulse in long bursts of about 10 seconds each until dough comes together roughly. Dump onto board and knead lightly and sparingly to incorporate any remaining dry ingredients.

Butter a 9 inch tart pan with removable bottom. Press the dough evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Freeze for 30 minutes or longer before baking.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter the shiny side of aluminum foil and fit the foil buttered side down tightly against the crust(no weights needed). Put the tart on baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes. Carefully remove foil and press down any puffed areas with back of spoon. Bake for additional 8-10 min until golden. Cool to room temp before filling.

Greek Yogurt Filling
1 cup greek yogurt
½ a block of cream cheese softened
3-5 tbsp honey(to taste)
1 tsp vanilla

Combine filling ingredients adjusting honey to personal sweetness preference. Top tart with filling and fruit of choice. Refrigerate for two hours to allow cream cheese to set.