My Summer Jam: An Update of the French Fruit Tart

Jul 10, 2019 · 24 comments
John Golden (Portland ME)
This is a great strawberry pie recipe, especially if the berries you have are perfect specimens. Where I live in Maine (originally from NY and many years in the Hamptons where the strawberry season is great but too short) the farmers produce great berries, with some varieties lasting well into the fall. Lucky us. But this recipe shows off great berries in utter simplicity. It takes a while to get a hang of making the pastry dough, but after two years of making this I understand the method: you have to pulse the dough recipe longer than usual for it to take hold; at first it seems that it doesn't have enough liquid, but it does. Follow the method to the letter.
Sage55 (North west OH)
Bob Doherty, On second look, those could be Ammi Majus flowers. But I have never tasted those.
Sage55 (North west OH)
Bob Doherty- Great strawberry photograph. But if this were tastovision , you just paired a fresh strawberry with garlic chive flowers. Bleck! The only time those flavors would be together, is in the compost bucket. Keep hunting for chamomile or queen anne's lace flowers.
Patti Travaglio (Southampton NJ)
Made today with apricot jam instead of strawberry But bitter orange marmalade sounds even better
arjay (Wisconsin)
It IS strawberry season where I live. They're real and they're FABULOUS. Got up from reading this yesterday (after posting my little cavil about a particular sentence), went to the kitchen and made this. Delicious! Easy! Comes together just as she says - and a word of gratitude about the careful instructions as the butter is incorporated. It was helpful to be warned: enough pulses and a bit of patience and it does indeed 'form curds.' This will be a keeper - and how great that it can sit in the freezer, awaiting guests. I cobbled my own 'jam' - a mixture of apricot jam, fresh strawberries and blueberries, cooked with a bit of cornstarch. Yum! And raves.
Meta1 (Michiana, US)
"With no pastry cream to tether them, the berries tumbled off the edges of the pastry and arranged themselves by whatever geometry berries choose when they’re not constrained. This glorious jumble was outside the realm of the usual, and elegantly plain, totally without pretense and conceived in such a way that each of the flavors and textures counted and inclined toward pleasure." Quel horreur! "This glorious jumble"? "Elegantly plain"? Just easier and cheaper to make and sell. Since when is pastry cream a "pretense"?
Rebecca B (Tacoma, WA)
Lovely, but this would have been much better-timed had it appeared a month ago. You know, during strawberry season.
Ryan (Midwest)
Lovely piece yet I find myself dissatisfied that you couldn't find a way to frame Trump in a negative way somehow.
Diane (Arlington Heights)
Looks like a variation on strawberry shortcake, which I adore.
Barbara (Stl)
Glad to see this. I’ve been searching for a great tart crust recipe!
Passion for Peaches (Left Coast)
The reason I read food writers, encapsulated in one passage: “With no pastry cream to tether them, the berries tumbled off the edges of the pastry and arranged themselves by whatever geometry berries choose when they’re not constrained. This glorious jumble was outside the realm of the usual, and elegantly plain, totally without pretense and conceived in such a way that each of the flavors and textures counted and inclined toward pleasure.” Delicious. I am now thinking of “I, Robot” and the “ghosts in the machine” thing, but with robot strawberries rolling around and wiggling in to find the perfect intermingle. Now I need some pie.
arjay (Wisconsin)
@Passion for Peaches To each their own. I found that sentence quite overwrought/overwritten.
Tristan (Seattle)
The tart looks fabulous and I'm look forward to making it. My favorite desserts are fruit pies and tarts, however, cooked strawberries never seem appealing except as jam. Dorie's recipe is a perfect combination with the intensity of jam and the fresh lightness of sweet ripe strawberries. I recently saw a great tip by Mary Berry of the GBBS. After rolling out the crust she slips the removable tart bottom under the crust then folds the dough back over the tin bottom. She lifts and and sets it into the tart pan and the crust is ready to press into the sides. It seems a much easier way to transfer the crust. I think all my excuses are gone and a delicious tart is on the menu for this weekend.
Nancy (Australia)
@Tristan Thanks for this Mary Berry idea Tristan. I'm going to give it a go....seems very logical.....which is what MB always is. Love the woman!
Tuvw Xyz (Evanston, Illinois)
To each one one's tastes. I do not like strawberry jam because the berries are usually too soft. Raspberries and blackberries are better. But the best of all is bitter orange coarse-cut marmalade.
Phyliss Dalmatian (Wichita, Kansas)
Absolutely agree. Cheers.
Passion for Peaches (Left Coast)
@Tuvw Xyz, I bet this tart would be great with another choice of jam. Seedless black raspberry, for instance. For that I would add some blueberries to the strawberries, though, to blend in the darker color of the jam. As someone posted on the recipe page, this is just shortcake in another form. A good template for experimenting. Other pairings: sliced peaches with apricot jam, mixed berries with current jam, strawberries with ginger jam. I’m thinking of experimenting with adding ginger to the crust.
db2 (Phila)
@Phyliss Nice to see you! Where ya been? One of my tarts w candied ginger should do it. You pick the fruit. Please, no raspberries.
soozzie (Paris)
This is why I'm standing by the fridge with a jam jar and a spoon.
Jbugko (Pittsburgh, pa)
As a subsriber to PBS, I have enjoyed access to some of the old black and white footage of Julia Childs. In one show, she gives a demonstration of how to make strawberry tarts. Look it up. Her techniques are timeless.
david terry (hillsborough, north carolina)
@Jbugko You do know that Dorie's first (If i'm correct) book was co-authored with Julia Child?....."Baking With Julia", as i recall, sitting here many miles and at least a couple of years away from all of my old cookbooks. in any case, I wouldn't be at all the first person to have noticed that both women were/are not only extraordinarily accomplished at their work, but also uncannily capable of transmitting a sense of FUN and trying something new.....as Dorie's just done, once again, with this article. Obviously, I'm a Dorie devotee.....and have been since I first discovered her marvelous, informative, and encouraging "Around My French Table". One of the most popular things I serve at my own buffets is her recipe (from the aforementioned book) for the a tomato/leek/mustard tart....(made with carrots and leeks in the winter) sincerely, david terry quail roost farm rougemont, nc
Passion for Peaches (Left Coast)
@david terry, I agree on the sense of fun! Thanks for mentioning that tomato tart. I’ve been making the David Lebovitz tomato-mustard tart for years, but the Greenspan version looks wonderful (especially interesting with the carrots and leeks).
david terry (hillsborough, north carolina)
@Passion for Peaches Dorie's version is called "Gerard's Tomatoe/Mustard Tart". I happen to love nothing more than leeks and carrots in the colder months, and Dorie's Winter substitution of leeks/carrots is marvelous (and can be made at least a day ahead of time, which is great when you're expecting a lot of folks. I always/simply cover them (I bake four at a time), cover them with plastic film, and leave them out on the back porch until the morning of the party..... I once made the mistake of leaving them on a bench as I ran back inside to answer the telephone. I forgot about them until a few hours later, when I found that my three terriers (a cairn, and two west highlands) had quite happily polished off two of them...... Good Stuff..... ----david terry.
Phyliss Dalmatian (Wichita, Kansas)
I'm forcing myself to NOT lick my screen. Magnificent.