Fresh Peach Tart

By Christy



One of my favorite fruit seasons is peach season. There is nothing better than a large, juicy, freshly picked peach. For me, it is actually hard to believe that the peaches you get from a can are actually the same fruit. The last three weeks I have been in heaven and have kept fresh peaches stocked in my kitchen. Such a tasty treat to just pick up and eat just they way they are, BUT.... they are also quite amazing all dazzled up in a recipe too. Last year BCB's also featured peach recipes and we gave you all 3 stellar recipes: Fresh Peaches & Cream Dessert, Peach Cobbler, and Fuzzy Navel Cupcakes with Sweet Cream Icing. This year we have a few more to pass along that pass the BCB's approval of greatness.

My recipe post this week is definitely a keeper. It is about as easy as a recipe can get, requires very few tools, and not only looks beautiful but taste amazing! I was inspired by a peach contest winner and modified the recipe to fit the ingredients I have in my kitchen.

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling:

3 - 5 fresh peaches

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons butter, cold

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. You will start by making the crust. In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, salt and sugar. In a separate bowl whisk together the oil, milk and vanilla extract. Pour the liquid mixture into the flour mixture and combine until mixed (just until dampened, not over worked). Transfer the dough to an 11 inch tart pan and use your fingers to pat out the dough until it is about 1/8 an inch thick all around and on the sides (I used a deep dish tart pan so I only put my crust half way up the sides).

Slice and peel your peaches (some people prefer to keep the peeling on, but I prefer without). Arrange your peaches on top of the crust. Starting with the outside, arrange the peaches overlapping in a concentric circle over the pastry. Fill the center in whatever pattern makes sense. Make sure the peaches fit snugly.

To make the filling, mix together the sugar, flour, salt and cold butter. (If your peaches are especially juicy, add 1 tablespoon of additional flour). Using your fingers, pinch the butter into the dry ingredients until it makes a crumbly mixtures of fine granules. Sprinkle this mixture on top of the peaches.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until shiny and thick bubbles are enveloping the fruit and the crust is slightly brown. Cool before serving. I actually had a bit of trouble getting the dessert out of my tart pan because the glaze end up hitting the pan above the crust when it cooked So just be careful not to stack you peaches too high up against the crust to prevent this because the filling spreads out and boils when it melts in the oven.

This dessert is best when served ala mode or with whipped cream (but what dessert isn't lol). Happy Baking!