Strawberry Mascarpone Tart

I have always wanted to make one of those fancy fruit tarts that you see in French bakeries with the perfect crust and the glossy fruit. After picking two flats of berries, I had more than enough to try different recipes, so I picked out the prettiest ones to put on display on my tart.


We went to our favorite local fruit farm to pick some fresh berries, which is a very comforting and nostalgic activity for me as this was my first job growing up. I would pick strawberries straddled over the rows of berries for hours. So, leisurely picking two flats is a cinch.

We had a school picnic to attend, so I thought this would be a good seasonal dessert to bring along. I had saved aside this recipe from Food 52 for the perfect occasion and this was it.

I tried my best to arrange my strawberries nicely to match their pristine arrangement. Below is the Food 52 tart image followed by mine.  Not bad, right? The recipe is below and updated to include all the ingredients along with a few notes so go ahead and try your own strawberry t(art).

Recipe for Strawberry Mascarpone Tart

Adapted from Food 52

Ingredients:

Crust

2 tablespoons cream

1 egg yolk

1 stick of butter

1/4 cup granulated sugar 

1 1/2 cups flour

1 pinch salt

Filling

1 quart strawberries (washed, hulled and sliced)

8 ounces chilled mascarpone

1 tablespoon rum (I would suggest leaving this out)

1/4 cup sugar 

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

 Directons:

For the crust: Combine the egg yolk and cream. In a food processor, pulse together the butter, sugar, salt, and flour until you have something that resembles coarse meal. With the motor running, pour in the egg yolk and cream. Process until the dough comes together in a ball around the blade. Remove dough from the processor bowl. Bring together into a ball quickly. Press into an 8-inch removable-bottom fluted tart pan. Pierce lightly with fork all over the crust. Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil and cover the tart pan tightly. Freeze for at least two hours. 

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Bake the tart pan (on a baking sheet) for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking another 10 minutes. Allow the crust to cool completely. 

Combine the sliced strawberries with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Allow them to rest for 15 minutes. While the crust is in the oven, start on the filling. Combine the mascarpone,  2 tablespoons of sugar, and vanilla extract and whisk until glossy. (NOTE: the filling may separate if the mascarpone is not chilled so work quickly.) If you like the taste of rum, go ahead and include it, but I felt that even the small amount overtook the creamy mascarpone flavor too much. Taste and adjust sugar if necessary. Chill the filling while the crust cools. When the crust has cooled completely, spread the filling over it using a rubber spatula. Next, arrange the sliced strawberries over the the filling. Return assembled tart to fridge if not serving immediately, but it's best served the day it is made.

Lime Mascarpone Panna Cotta with Raspberry Sauce

This is my kind of jello. I have never much cared for actual Jell-O growing up and have always preferred more creamy gelatin desserts like this panna cotta. I was locked up inside one weekend this past summer when we had a hurricane rolling through, so I decided to make an amazing dinner for Miss A and I along with this yummy dessert. 

The recipe called for pouring it into small champagne glasses. But, I much prefer the look of the panna cotta displayed on its own outside of the confines of a glass. I've had all kinds of little stainless steel molds, so I tried a few different ones.  The one that worked the best is the small brioche mold.

I love mascarpone cheese. It just looks so velvety.

This was the mascarpone-gelatin mixture with some grated lime peel.

I filled up the molds and ended up having to use one glass. Then, they chilled for the afternoon while we watched the storm brew outside.

My final product all speckled with grated lime peel.

I made the warm raspberry sauce to pour over the panna cotta and it was a perfect combination of cold and warm on a stormy day.

Recipe for Lime Mascarpone Panna Cotta with Raspberry Sauce

From Bon Appétit

Ingredients:

6 T. fresh lime juice, divided

1 1/2 t. grated lime peel

1 t. unflavored gelatin

1 1/4 cups whipping cream, divided

1/2 cup mascarpone cheese or cream cheese

3/4 cup sugar, divided

1 T. butter

1 1/2 6-ounce containers raspberries (about 2 cups)

1 lime

Directions:

Combine 1/4 cup juice and peel in small saucepan; sprinkle gelatin over. Let stand 5 minutes. Add 1/4 cup cream to gelatin mixture; stir over low heat just until gelatin dissolves. Remove from heat.

Whisk mascarpone and 1/2 cup sugar in medium bowl; gradually whisk in remaining 1 cup cream until smooth. Whisk gelatin mixture into cream mixture. Pour into 6 widemouthed Champagne glasses, small wineglasses or small molds. Chill until set, at least 4 hours or overnight. If you used tin molds, run the outside under warm water (but not hot) and turn them out on the plate.

Sauce:

Stir remaining 2 tablespoons lime juice, 1/4 cup sugar, and butter in large skillet over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes. Cool 2 minutes. Fold in berries; spoon over desserts. Grate peel from 1 lime directly over desserts.

Peach Tart with Mascarpone Cream

I was meeting some friends for an outdoor concert and wanted to take a fresh summery dessert for us to share for our picnic.  With peaches in season in Michigan, this was probably the perfect recipe that I could have found and we all enjoyed it immensely.  I found the recipe using my Epicurious app on my iPad, but you can access it online also. How can you go wrong with fresh peaches tossed in sugar and lemon zest, raw sliced almonds for a little crunch and a honey glaze. It was still warm when we ate it at the picnic and was topped with the rich, sweet mascarpone cream. 

 The peaches were so pretty. I just love the orangey/red fuzzy peaches and they smell so fresh even before they're cut open. But when you pit them, the flesh of the fruit is just as pretty as the outside.

The tart pastry was a perfectly pliable and smooth pastry with the addition of a little powdered sugar for sweetness. The edges were folded over to smooth it out and it made the side of the tart nice and thick.

I grabbed a few photos at home before I went to the concert for our picnic.  I don't have any photos of the tart cut and topped with  mascarpone cream. But trust me, it was decadent. And, we all had smiles on our faces....from the tart, the good music and great friends.