Strawberry And Peach Tartlets With Fromage Blanc Food

FRESH STRAWBERRY TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Place pastry dough on a lightly floured work surface. Roll out dough to a round disk about 1/8-inch thick and 12 inches in diameter. Transfer to prepared baking sheet.
• Brush outside 2 inches around the edges of circle lightly with water. Tightly curl up a bit of the edge of the dough to give it a rounder shape with a slightly thickened edge. If some edges are thicker than others, pinch off excess and add to thinner edges forming a circle with even edges. Roll each edge again just once to make the edges thick enough to crimp. Crimp crust with your floured fingers.
• Use a fork to "dock" the bottom surface, covering it with tiny holes to prevent the dough from bubbling up as it bakes.
• Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool about 10 minutes. Do not turn off the oven.
• Place cream cheese, creme fraiche, egg yolk, sugar, salt, vanilla, and lemon zest in mixing bowl. Mix together thoroughly. Carefully pour a thin layer of mixture evenly into pastry shell (you may not need all the cheese mixture).
• Transfer filled tart to oven. Bake until cheese layer is set and crust is browned, about 20 minutes. Let tart cool completely to room temperature before adding berries.
• Arrange berries cut side down, pointy end out starting with the larger berries around the edges. You can lean strawberries up a bit as your work your way toward the center. Cut some berry halves in half again to fit into any gaps on the cheese layer.
• Place apricot jam and 2 teaspoons water in saucepan. Heat over low heat until thin enough to brush. Let cool slightly before brushing generously over all berries and crust. Transfer tart to serving plate.

PEACH TARTLETS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add water and egg yolks; stir until dough forms a ball. , Divide into eight portions; press onto the bottom and up the sides of eight 4-in. tart pans. Bake at 400° for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks., For filling, in a large saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Stir in water until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat. Stir in peaches and lemon juice., Spoon into tart shells. Chill until serving. Garnish with whipped cream if desired.

PEACH & ALMOND TART

Steps:

• To make the pastry, rub together the flour and butter until it looks like fine breadcrumbs, then mix in the sugar. Add 1 egg yolk and 1 tsp water, followed by the next yolk and 1 tsp water until the dough just comes together. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 30 mins.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface until big enough to line a 23cm tart tin. If the dough rips, simply patch it up. Cut away the excess pastry. Line with greaseproof paper, fill with baking beans, then bake for 10 mins. Remove paper and beans. Prick quite a few holes in the base of your tart, then bake for another 10-15 mins until biscuity.
• While the pastry cooks, make the filling. Whisk the sugar and butter together until you get a pale paste. Beat in the eggs and finally add the almonds and flour. Spoon into pastry case, arrange the peach slices across the top in a pattern and bake for 30-40 mins until golden. When cool, brush your preserve or jam across the top. Serve with a little pot of crème fraîche on the side and eat it quick before anyone else gets their hands on it!

STRAWBERRY TART

Steps:

• Make the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, blend flour, butter, 1/3 cup sugar, and salt until moist crumbs form (this may take up to 1 minute). Transfer dough to a 9-inch round tart pan with a removable bottom.
• With floured fingers, press dough evenly into pan and up sides. Dip a dry-measuring cup in flour, and use it to press dough firmly into bottom and against sides of pan. Freeze crust until firm, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Using a fork, prick crust all over. Bake until golden, 25 to 30 minutes, pressing down gently once or twice with a spoon during baking if crust puffs up. Cool completely in pan.
• Make the filling: In a medium bowl, mix cream cheese and remaining 1/4 cup sugar until smooth; spread mixture evenly in bottom of baked crust (still in tart pan).
• Starting from outside edge, arrange strawberry halves, stemmed side down, in tight concentric circles on cream cheese.
• In a small saucepan, heat jelly on medium-low until liquefied. Gently brush strawberries with jelly; let set at least 20 minutes. Chill in pan at least 1 hour (and up to 6 hours); remove from pan just before serving.

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE WITH FROMAGE BLANC WHIPPED CREAM

Steps:

• For the shortcake, sift the flour, 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon of the sugar, the baking powder, and the salt into the bowl of a food processor. (Alternatively, you can make the dough using a pastry cutter.) Pulse to combine. Add the butter to the flour mixture and pulse just until the butter pieces become the size of peas. Combine 1 cup less 2 teaspoons of the cream, 1 teaspoon of the vanilla, and orange zest in a small bowl and add to the dough. Pulse until the dough is just combined, 6 to 8 pulses. Remove the dough from the food processor and knead gently once or twice to form a ball.
• On a parchment-lined baking sheet, pat the dough into a 6 × 9-inch rectangle, approximately 3/4 inch thick. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 425˚F.
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator and straighten the edges by pushing on them with the flat side of a large knife, such as a chef's knife. Cut the rectangle into 6 even squares (2 squares by 3 squares) and arrange the squares 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Using a pastry brush, brush them with 2 teaspoons cream and sprinkle the tops with 1 teaspoon sugar. Bake for 20 minutes or until the shortcakes are golden brown. Remove them from the baking sheet and let cool at least 5 minutes on a wire rack.
• While the shortcakes bake, place the strawberries in a bowl and toss them with 1 tablespoon sugar. Cover and set aside.
• For the topping, whip the remaining cup of cream in a bowl until soft peaks form. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar and 3/4 teaspoon vanilla and stir gently. In another bowl, vigorously stir the cheese to soften it. Fold the whipped cream into the cheese. Refrigerate the topping until ready to use, up to 2 hours before serving.
• When the shortcakes have cooled slightly, split them in half. Spoon about 1/2 cup strawberries over the bottom halves. Place a generous dollop of topping over the fruit and top with the other half of the shortcake. Finish with a small spoonful of topping and a couple of strawberry slices.

STRAWBERRY AND PEACH TARTLETS WITH FROMAGE BLANC RECIPE

Steps:

• To make crust: Combine flour, almonds, sugar and salt in a food processor. Pulse until nuts are finely ground. Add butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Slowly add 2 tablespoons of cold water, pulsing several times to form a moist ball. Remove dough and knead briefly. Divide into 8 equal pieces, flatten each into a disc and cover in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 2 hours, until firm. Preheat oven to 350°F. Preheat oven to 350°F. On a lightly floured surface, roll each disc into a 3 1/2-inch circle and place in 2 1/2-inch tart shells. Glide a rolling pin over shells to trim edges. Pierce holes in dough with fork tines. Freeze 15 minutes. Transfer to a baking sheet and bake 10 minutes. If dough is bubbling, re-pierce with fork. Continue baking 5 to 7 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from oven; cool completely. To make filling: Scald milk in small saucepan. In medium bowl, beat eggs lightly. Add sugar and salt and slowly stir in hot scalded milk. Mix in vanilla and coconut. Fill each shell with fromage blanc. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Increase oven temperature to 425 nd back on lower rack about 30 minutes, until custard is firm. Refrigerate until chilled, about 4 hours. Fan out 1 strawberry and a few slices of peach. Garnish, if desired.