Fresh Fruit Tart with Gingersnap Crust

As the world (finally!) sheds the cool of winter and starts to warm up, I start looking forward to the fresh produce that comes along with that. I especially look forward to being able to find better fruit. We go through A LOT of fruit in our household! Maddy can seriously do some damage on a container of blueberries… She’ll in the entire thing in a day with no problem at all. Then she moves right onto making a dent in the strawberries, grapes, apples and whatever other fruit she can get her little lips on.

While at the store the other day I noticed some gorgeous red strawberries and plump green grapes that just beckoned to come home with us. So home they came soon to find themselves part of a magnificent creation! After making the ever so richly delicious malted chocolate tart recently, I decided it was time to make a tart that is fresh and lighter.

I found this recipe many moons ago in a magazine that I now certainly cannot remember the name of but through the power of Google I was able to find that very recipe on the vastness that is the internet. However, after reviewing the recipe I almost immediately recognized a need to tweak it. This recipe called for 1/3 of a cup butter-flavored Crisco!! Now, I just could not bring myself to use that much of it to hold the delightful gingersnap crust together… The thought honestly really grossed me out (sorry Crisco!) I’m used to using Crisco to grease a pan or dish perhaps, but realistically that’s about as much Crisco as I would like to use in my cooking. If you would like, you feel free to use it but I decided to use good ol’ fashion butter. I don’t think the recipe suffered at all.

Back to the task at hand, once I made a gingersnap crust it was topped with a simple, bright filling with the ever so slight hint of citrus then finished off with fresh fruit of your choosing. I topped mine with strawberries, raspberries, grapes and blueberries. The fresh fruit mixed with the creamy filling finished off with the crunch of the gingersnap crush is simply delightful! This tart will be sure to impress while not keeping you in the kitchen slaving over it.

Enjoy!

~K

 

Fresh Fruit Tart with Gingersnap Crust Adapted from Crisco.com

 

Crust:

2 c. finely ground gingersnap cookies

2 Tbsp sugar

1/3 c. butter, softened

Filling:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/4 c. sugar

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1/2 c. whipping cream

Assorted fresh fruit: strawberries, blueberries, grapes, ect…

1/4 c. apricot preserves

1 Tbsp water

 

– Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

– In a medium bowl, combine the cookies with the sugar.

– Add the butter and mix until moist crumbs form.

– Press the cookie mixture into the bottom and sides of 10″ removable bottom tart pan.

– Bake the crust for 8 minutes or until lightly brown.

– Let the crust cool completely.

– Combine cream cheese, sugar and lemon juice with an electric mixer. Add the whipping cream and beat at high-speed until light and fluffy.

– Spread the filling into the cooled tart shell and chill 4 hours.

– Arrange fruit on top.

– Combine apricot preserves with water and brush over top. Chill until ready to serve.

– Enjoy!