Fruit Tart (Easy and Eggless)

This is such an easy dessert to make and looks so elegant and makes you seem like such an accomplished baker, when in fact this is something that can be put together with just a little effort.  This dessert has been made several times in the past few months and has always been well received... and my kids have declared this to be their favorite. This is also a very versatile recipe and you can change it around to use different fruits that you prefer or are available at any point in time.

Onto the recipe now... this is based on Paula Deen's recipe which I have modified a bit...

FRUIT TART
 


Ingredients:

For the Crust:
All Purpose Flour - 1 cup
Butter, unsalted - 6 tbsp (softened and cut into pieces)
Confectioner's (Powdered) Sugar - 1/3 cup

1) Preheat oven to 350F
2)  In a food processor, or using your hand, combine butter, sugar and flour together until it comes together like a ball.
3) Press this evenly into a 12 inch tart pan... I used 11 inch spring form pan and use a fork to form ridges along the edges and also used the tines of the fork to press holes on the base so it doesn't puff up too much. 
4) Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until light golden and set aside to cool.Remove from pan.

For the Glaze:
Lemon/ Orange Juice - quarter cup (I used storebought)
Lemon Juice (fresh) - 1 tbsp
Cornflour - half tbsp
Sugar - 1 tbsp

1) While the crust is baking, in a small pan, heat together the juice, lemon juice, cornflour and sugar on medium heat and cook with frequent stirring until slightly thick and clear.  Allow this to cool down a bit.

For the Filling:
Cream cheese / Mascarpone cheese - 1/2 pack (4 oz), softened, if using cream cheese, which is what I used.
Sugar - half cup
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp

(You could also replace a part of the cream cheese with whipping cream, if you wish to give it a lighter texture and taste, but the slight tartness of the cream cheese helps strikes a good balance with the fruits and helps it keep the tart not too sweet).

1) Beat together cream cheese, sugar and vanilla till smooth.
2) Spread  this on the cooled crust.

For the Fruit Topping:
Anything that suits you... I once used strawberries, pineapples, kiwi slices and blueberries and another time used cherries, blueberries, strawberries and pineapple.
Arrange the fruit slices on the cream cheese filling in a patter or even just randomly.

Thanks to Amar anna for his shot of the tart (or pie as he remembered it)

Brush the glaze on the fruits and refrigerate for at least 2- 3 hours before serving.