Barefoot Contessa: Fruit Tarts

I catered a party! Not for my son's B-Day, not for Grandma teachers club! The real party for my friend and her house-warming party. I was excited about it and took serious preparations. I checked 5 cook-books from the library and discussed the menu with my friend. The choice was "Barefoot Contessa Parties!" by Ina Garten.

I have to admit I really liked her recipes, her approach and her attitude to cooking and parties. She said, It should be fun! That's what we tried to do - have a good food and have fun!
I think my favorite recipe was Fruit Tarts and I will share it with you. I cooked them with some little adjustments and innovations, but all credits for its easiness and great taste definitely go to the author!

After living in the US for seven years and trying many different foods now I understand why Americans are all about home-made and fresh-cooked. Processed food and "dinner out of box" really took over not only in almost each household, but also in many restaurants and fast food places. But nothing tastes better then real food or as it is called here in the US - prepared from scratch. Yes, it takes longer. It is more costly. And definitely time-consuming. But it is worth it a thousand times.

This recipe makes 16 tarts of 3" diameter. For crust: you will need 2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour, 6 tablespoons of sugar, 1 tablespoon of salt., 1/2 of pound of very cold unsalted butter and 6-8 tablespoons of ice water. Combine flour, sugar and salt in medium bowl and freeze them for 30 minutes before starting.

Take cold butter and shred it into flour.

Place the mixture into mixer and set on slow speed. Mix in enough water by tablespoonfuls to form dough that just comes together. Do not overdo it. Just enough time for dough to come together.

Gather dough into ball. Flatten into 2 disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate 30 minutes. Prepare your aluminum foil forms. No greasing needed.


Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Roll dough out on lightly floured surface to 1/8 inch thick round.

Cut circles large enough to fit the tart pans.


It is important not to stretch the dough when placing it in the pans; be sure the circles are larger that the pans. Cut off the excess dough with sharp knife. Repeat the remaining dough.

Line each tart with a piece of aluminum foil. Fill crust with dried beans or rice.

Bake 10 minutes. Remove foil and beans(rice) and prick the bottom of each shell with a fork in order to allow the steam to escape.

Bake for another 10 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer to rack and cool completely.

For filling: place 1 tablespoon raspberry jelly in each tart shell and arrange the fruit on top. Use small soft fruits such as grapes, berries, sliced kiwis, etc. Combine the apricot preserves with a few tablespoons of water in a small saucepan and heat until smooth and runny. Brush the top of the fruit with the glaze.

Serve as soon as possible after filling so the pastry doesn't get soggy. I also made one big pie crust from the remaining dough and decorated it for our Sunday dinner.

It was very sweet dessert. So, my advice - go easy on jam and glazing! :)