Fruit tarts are an easy and delicious way to show off fantastic summer produce. This recipe includes a classic frangipane (almond pastry cream) filling that is the perfect complement to almost any fruit.

Great served alone, or with whipped cream.

Step 1: Tools and Ingredients

Ingredients:
crust
1 1/2 cups flour
2T sugar
1/4t salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 Tablespoons vodka or amaretto (80-proof or greater)

frangipane filling
6 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
3 ounces almonds, ground
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 Tablespoon amaretto
1 Tablespoon flour
1/8 teaspoon salt

topping
1/4 cup jam or jelly
4 cups mixed fruit (I used 2 peaches, and about a pint of berries)

Tools:
Tart pan (2-piece for easy removal)
Food processor
Measuring cups & spoons
Aluminum foil
Pie weights (I used coins)

Step 2: Prep Crust

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
2T sugar
1/4t salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 Tablespoons vodka or amaretto (80-proof or greater)*

Combine flour, sugar, and salt in food processor, and pulse to combine.
Add cubes of cold butter, and pulse until you reach sandy, pea-sized lumps.
Stir booze* and egg yolk together with a fork
Add to food processor and pulse until just combined. (Don't overwork the dough!)
Form into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for at least an hour.
Roll out chilled dough, and press into tart pan.
Trim edges to fit rim of tart pan.
Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

*Note that we're replacing water in this recipe with 80-proof alcohol. It will allow the dough to be worked as normal, then evaporate upon baking to leave an exceptionally flaky crust.

Step 3: Bake Crust

Stab crust with a fork, line with foil, and fill with pie weights*.
Bake for 15 minutes at 375F.
Remove foil and weights, and bake another 5-10 minutes until golden.
Cool on a rack.

*Pie weights can be beans, rice, coins, or anything else oven-safe that's heavy enough to hold the crust in place.

Step 4: Prepare Frangipane Filling

Ingredients:
6 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
3 ounces almonds, ground
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 Tablespoon amaretto
1 Tablespoon flour
1/8 teaspoon salt

Grind nuts in food processor until you've made a coarsely-ground nut flour with no chunks. Add butter and sugar to nuts, and beat until fluffy. Add remaining ingredients and pulse until mixed.

Step 5: Bake Frangipane Filling

Scoop frangipane filling into the baked-and-cooled tart crust, and smooth it evenly with a spatula.

Bake at 375F until the top is a light golden-brown, about 20 minutes. If the crust starts looking toasty, you can shield it with a ring of aluminum foil.

Remove, and cool thoroughly (~30 minutes) before you add any fruit. (Baking your fresh fruit on a hot tart isn't the goal.)

Step 6: Arrange Fruit Topping

Thinly slice strawberries or stone fruit, and wash any berries.

Arrange slices in concentric rings, then follow up with berries. I like to start with the outer edge, as it forms a nice back-stop and avoids guessing. Then you can fill in with one or two inner rings, depending on size and shape of your fruit. Berries work well to cover any messy edges between fruit rings.

Step 7: Drizzle With Jam and Serve

Remove tart from pan.

Heat jam lightly to thin it, strain seeds if necessary, and drizzle over top of the fruit tart. Allow a few minutes for jam to cool and set, as this will hold the fruit slices and berries in place more effectively.

In this case I used a dark blackberry jam because it's what we had in the refrigerator, but I usually use a lighter-colored red or orange jam (such as apricot, raspberry, or red currant) to avoid overwhelming the natural colors of the fresh fruit. It all works - take your pick based on taste and availability.

Serve the tart by itself, or with whipped cream.

It will keep at room temperature for the better part of a day, but you should refrigerate it in the (unlikely) event that leftovers must be stored overnight.