White Chocolate Fruit Tart

August has become one of my craziest, busiest months – EVER! Between work and play, I have just been moving non-stop. I just returned from 10 days in Minnesota and am only home for 6 days before my sister and I leave to move her to Florida. All this means that you will be hearing from me but not as regularly. I am trying to enjoy this time with family and friends and squeeze a little work in when I can.

Before I left for Minnesota though, I had a lot of extra fruit left over and didn’t think my husband would make himself a fruit salad every day I was gone. I ended up trying my hand at an easy White Chocolate Fruit Tart for the first time, using my favorite Puff Pastry! I will just never get over how fabulous Puff Pastry is for easy treats and appetizers.

This White Chocolate Fruit Tart is definitely a sweet treat! It was fabulous with a cup of coffee in the morning but I would also make this as a cool dessert for a warm summer event. After eating and saving a couple pieces for myself, I sent this along with Cap to take to work. None came home!

INGREDIENTS

Puff Pastry Sheet
Egg
10-12 oz white chocolate morsels
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
8 oz cream cheese
4 kiwis
8-12 strawberries

PASTRY DIRECTIONS

1. First you will need to make the puff pastry tart crust. Preheat the oven to 375 and prepare a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Lightly dust your counter or working surface with flour. Then, roll our your slightly defrosted puff pastry to about 1/8″ even thickness. I used a ruler and a knife to cut the puff pastry down to a 10″ square. You want to use the ruler for nice even lines.
3. Now, take the ruler and knife to cute a 1-inch border around the edge of the puff pastry. Save these strips as you will use them to create a risen crust for the pastry tart.
4. Whisk an egg and a little bit of water together to make an egg wash. Use a pastry brush to lightly brush the egg wash onto a 1-inch edge of your remaining square. You want to try to avoid brushing the cut edges of the puff pastry as it might prevent it from rising properly.
5. Take the 1-inch strips you cut and place it over the egg wash onto the outside of the square. Lightly press down to stick them together. Brush egg wash on top of the strips, again avoiding the cut edges.
6. Gently prick the inside base of the tart with a fork.
7. Bake 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Baking time will vary on your oven so make sure to keep an eye on the process.
8. When done, use a spatula or an oven mitt to carefully press down on the middle section of the pastry to flatten. You want the outside edges to be higher than the inside middle.
9. Cool at room temperate for at least 20 minutes on a wire rack.

FILLING DIRECTIONS

1. In the microwave or double boiler, slowly melt the white chocolate morsels. Put a little white chocolate aside in a separate dish for the topping. Then, let the chocolate cool slightly.
2. Place room temperate cream cheese, the cream, and the melted white chocolate in a large bowl and beat together with a hand mixer. You want the mixture to get soft peaks.
3. Spread the mixture into the center of the pastry tart.
4. Clean and cut your fruit, then and add to the pastry in your desired pattern.
5. Slightly reheat the extra chocolate you set aside for the topping so it is more manageable to use. Then, sprinkle it on top.
6. Refrigerate the tart until you are ready to serve.

I prepared the tart at about 6 o’clock at night, including the fruit, and it was still perfect in the morning. You should have no problem preparing this tart in advance for any celebration, though you could always wait to add the fruit if you are worried about them being too juicy.

I hope you enjoy!