Summertime Fruit Mascarpone Tart

Disclosure: I was provided free product from Vermont Creamery to try and was not compensated for this post. All thoughts are my own.

A few weeks ago I made this delicious summery tart. It was similar in taste and texture to a light and airy cheesecake with fresh fruit topping, but without the heavy cream cheese texture. In other words it was delicious!

Do you remember a while back I shared with you the delicious goodies I received from Vermont Creamery? There were so many amazing items in that package that I've been creating with, but one item in particular was intriguing to me. It was the Mascarpone, which is an italian style cream cheese. It sounded decadent and delicious so I just had to create a dessert with it. I used items I had one hand and created this tart using a variety of summer fruits. I remember seeing a beautiful tart somewhere made of green kiwi and ripe blueberries. I thought the contrasting colors were just beautiful, and I decided to add in some strawberries as well. As rich as this recipe sounds, it was surprisingly light and subtle. It's a perfect treat to enjoy as summer comes to a close, and the Mascarpone adds just the right touch of light creaminess. Perfection.

Vermont Creamery Mascarpone
and Lightly Salted European Cultured Butter

Tart Crust Ingredients:

• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 2/3 cup powdered sugar
• 8 tablespoons cold European Cultured Butter - lightly salted 

Filling Ingredients:

• 8 ounces Mascarpone
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 tablespoons apricot preserves
• 2 tablespoons hot water
• 1 kiwi, sliced
• 4 large strawberries, sliced
• 1/2 cup blueberries

Directions:

First whisk the egg yolks, cream and vanilla together. Set aside.

Using a food processor, briefly process the flour, sugar and salt.

Scatter the butter and process until it's well mixed, it should look like a coarse meal.

Now add the egg mixture slowly while processing, just until the mixture all comes together in a ball.

Turn onto a plastic wrap and press into a six inch disk. Wrap and refrigerate at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

Remove dough and roll out between two lightly floured pieces of parchment paper. 

Once rolled smoothly, it should be large enough to fit into tart pan, removing excess pieces for the ends.

Be sure to press into the ridges of the tart pan, adding extra pieces to fill in ridges if necessary. 

Prick bottom and sides with a fork.

Add pie weights or dried beans to uncooked crust, on top of parchment paper, and bake 30 minutes.

Remove weights, bake additional 8 minutes or until crust is golden.

Once crust is done and cooling, combine mascarpone, whipping cream, sugar and vanilla in a bowl. 

Mix on medium speed until mixture begins to thicken just a bit. Add filling to tart crust and spread to edges.

Mix preserves and water to create a thin gel, and brush onto top of filling.

Top with fruit, you can do an elaborate design or scatter randomly.

Brush the top of the fruit with it with the preserves gel mixture.

Refrigerate about an hour to set before serving.

Enjoy!