No-Fuss Fruit Tart
- 27 sheets graham crackers (3I cups crumbs)
- 6 tablespoons soft unsalted butter
- 2 (8-ounce) bars cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 cup lemon curd, at room temperature
- 4 ounces blueberries (1 cup)
- 4 ounces blackberries (1 cup)
- 4 ounces raspberries (1 cup)
- 4 ounces red currants or pomegranate seeds (2/3 cup)
- 4 ounces small strawberries (1 to 1 1/2 cups)
- 1 loose-bottomed 10-inch fluted tart pan, 2 inches deep
- This is perhaps one of the most useful desserts you can have in your repertoire.
- Not that it is the job of a dessert to be useful: a dessert exists merely to delight.
- Still, dinner does need to be made, even when there's precious little time for it, and that should be a delight, too.
- So here's the deal: there is pitifully little work to be done to make this berry-dazzler of a tart, and enormous pleasure to be derived from its consumption.
- All you do is bash a few graham crackers a day or so in advance and make the base - getting one course out of the way early is my way of managing - then stir lemon curd and cream cheese together, and use this cream to line the crumb-covered tart pan.
- I use store-bought lemon curd here, but even if it comes out of the jar, it must be of good quality.
- And when it is whipped into the cream cheese, that cream cheese must be at room temperature, as should the lemon curd in its jar.
- The combination produces a layer of what tastes like cheesecake cream: light, lemony, luscious.
- I used to put the berries on top of the cream pretty much last-minute, but then I found that a leftover wedge, after the party, looked inviting after being in the refrigerator overnight, and so I now finish assembling the tart ahead of time.
- But if you prefer to add the fruit nearer to serving, I completely understand.
- Don't feel you must obey the fruit orders too literally: any mixture of berries (or indeed other fruit) would do, and you could well use a smaller amount and top the tart less extravagantly.
- Process the crackers and the butter to a sandy rubble in a food processor and press into the sides and the bottom of a deep-sided fluted tart pan.
- Put it in the freezer or refrigerator for about 10 to 15 minutes.
- In a clean processor bowl, process the cream cheese and lemon curd (or just mix by hand) and spread it into the bottom of the chilled tart pan, covering the base evenly.
- Arrange the fruit gently (so it doesn't sink in too much) on top of the lemony cream cheese in a decorative manner, leaving some of the strawberries unhulled, with their picturesque stalks attached.
- Refrigerator the tart, preferably overnight, or for at least 4 hours.
- It does need to get properly cold in order to set enough for the tart to be unmolded and sliced easily.
- Make Ahead Note:
- The tart can be made 1 day ahead.
- Cover loosely with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, being careful not to press on the filling, and refrigerate.
- Will keep for around 4 days.
- Freeze Note:
- The tart, without fruit topping, can be frozen for up to 3 months if made with regular cream cheese, but be warned it may "weep" on thawing, so is not ideal for freezing.
- Open-freeze tart until firm, then wrap (still in its pan) in a double layer of plastic wrap and layer of aluminum foil.
- To thaw, unwrap and cover loosely with plastic wrap then thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- Decorate and serve as directed in the recipe.
crackers, butter, cream cheese, lemon curd, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, red currants, strawberries, tart pan
Taken from www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/nigella-lawson/no-fuss-fruit-tart-recipe.html (may not work)