Are you in need of a fresh spring time dessert? One that is light, flavorful, delicious and EASY to make? Well luckily for you, you’ve stumbled across one of my favorite ‘throw-together’ tarts. It has a very simplistic shortbread like crust that is delicately filled with an every-so-slightly mascarpone cream filling that can be topped with any of your favorite seasonal fruits! Not to mention it is absolutely, beautifully presented! It will surely impress

I’ve made this tart for many family gatherings. The great thing about this is that it can easily be made into a sugar-free variety, which I have done with ease to  tailor to family dietary needs. At first I made it with a cream cheese filling, while delicious it didn’t compliment the crust and fruit as much as I wanted. It was actually after I made my Cannoli Cake that I had the idea to use mascarpone as opposed to the cream cheese. Everyone in my family agreed that the ingredient change was most definitely for the better! Hope you try it out and love it as much as my family did!

Fruit Tart

Yields: 8 servings

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
• 1+1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1+1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened and sliced
  

Filling:

• 1 carton (8 oz) mascarpone cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze:

• 1 (6-ounce) can frozen limeade concentrate, thawed
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  

Topping:

• Fresh fruit such as strawberries, kiwi slices, blue berries, raspberries [for my fruit tart I used about 1 carton of strawberries, 3 kiwis, and 1 small carton each of blue berries and raspberries].

Special Supplies Needed:

• 11-inch tart pan with removable bottom

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F
2. 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 tart pan, taking care to push the crust into the indentations in the sides. Pat until the crust is even. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until very lightly browned. Set aside to cool (be sure that when putting in and removing from the oven to hold from the sides of the pan NOT the bottom)!
3. For the glaze, combine the limeade, cornstarch, lime juice, and sugar in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until thick, about 5 minutes. Let cool (note: you will not use entire glaze).
4. While the crust is cooling, beat the mascarpone cheese, sugar, and vanilla together until smooth. Spread even over the cooled crust. Cut the fruit and arrange around the tart.
   
5. With a pastry brush, glaze the entire tart.

Keep the tart in the refrigerator. Remove about 15 minutes before serving.