The 76th recipe I made from The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri, was the one for Parisian Fruit Tarts, on page 166. (We are not publishing recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, buy the book and bake along with or without us).
The ingredient list for the little tart crusts: butter, sugar, vanilla, egg yolk, and all-purpose flour. The ingredient list for the pastry cream filling: milk, cream, sugar, flour, egg yolk, and vanilla. The ingredient list for the fruit topping: various fruits, apricot preserves, and water.
Say what you want about chocolate desserts, and believe me, they are very popular with the guys here, but when I make something like these fruit tarts, interest runs high and anticipation for the time to eat them always makes me smile because everyone here agrees that fruit desserts are loved best of all. These little tarts were especially welcome on a cold snowy day when thoughts of summer were far away...and I was able to find at the market fruit that actually tasted like the fruits they are, not quite like summer's bounty, but definitely welcoming and delicious.
The tart crust is easy to make, form into the little tart pans, bake, and cool. The pastry cream is made all in one pan, transferred to a glass bowl to cool in the frig, and the fruit is a one-bowl deal as well. All in all, very easy and fun to put together. Definitely a repeat.
Here are posts from others who made them: Phyl, Margaret, Renee, and Andrea. If you would like to bake along or be a part of the Modern Baker group, you will find all that, plus a tab to link to the blogs posting, with the blogroll here.
