Cabaret Fresh Fruit Tart
Oh Divas! You’re in for a treat! One of The Shower Diva’s best friends has introduced us to Cabaret Brewed Chocolate. This incredible concoction of brewed whole cacao mixes up into a very low-fat, lightchocolate beverage you have to taste to believe. Oh sure it’s full of all those healthy antioxidants, but since when does a Diva care about antioxidants when it comes to a superior chocolate experience? It makes a great substitute for coffee and has stress relief benefits.
Know a Mommy-to-Be going through coffee withdrawals? A jittery Bride-to-Be? It might be time to send her a gift jar! In the meantime, drizzle it over a fresh fruit tart at your next shower. Our new friends at Cabaret tell us it dresses up this party favorite deliciously! Diva Tip: Another scrumptious treat is Cabaret drizzled over vanilla ice cream.
INGREDIENTS
Ingredients for Pastry Crust (If you’re pressed for time, used a pre-baked shell):
1-1/2 cups flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Ingredients for Filling
1-1/4 cups milk
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
3 large egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
1/8 cup flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 tablespoon Grand Marnier, Brandy or similar liqueur (optional)
Ingredients for Fruit Glaze
1/2 cup jam or preserves (try red current for red fruits or apricot for other fruits)
1 tablespoon liqueur or water
Ingredients for Topping
2 to 3 cups fresh mixed fruit, washed, dried and sliced if necessary. Try raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, kiwi, bananas, plums, pineapple, melon, or whatever you like best!
Cabaret Brewed Chocolate Beverage
DIRECTIONS
Pastry Crust: Sift together flour and salt, set aside. In a separate bowl, beat butter with a mixer until softened. Add sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy. Gradually add beaten egg and beat just enough to mix in egg. Don’t over mix to the point the butter separates. Add flour to the butter mixture and stir just until it forms a ball. Flatten dough into a circle, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm (about 20 minutes). On a lightly floured board, roll out pastry into a circle about 1/8” thick. When the pastry is about 1” larger than the circumference of your tart pan, it is big enough. Place the pastry into an 8” or 9” tart pan with removable bottom and lightly press pastry into bottom and up sides of pan. Roll your rolling pin across the top of the pan to remove any excess dough. Prick the bottom of the dough in several places with a fork to prevent it from bubbling up when it bakes. Cover shell and refrigerate 20 minutes. Line shell with aluminum foil and place pie weights in shell. Bake at 400ºF for 20 to 25 minutes or until crust is light golden brown and dry. Cool crust completely in the tart pan on wire rack.
Pastry Cream: Sift together flour and cornstarch and set aside. In a separate bowl, mix sugar and egg yolks together. Add flour mixture to egg mixture and mix until it forms a smooth paste. Set aside. In a saucepan, combine milk and vanilla bean and cook on medium heat until boiling. Remove to from heat and add slowly to egg mixture, whisking constantly. If the egg curdles a bit, strain the mixture. Scrape seeds out of vanilla bean and add the seeds to the egg mixture. Discard the bean. Bring egg and milk mixture to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly. Once the mixture is boiling, cook and whisk for another 30 – 60 seconds until it becomes very thick. Remove from heat immediately and whisk in liqueur. Pour mixture into a clean bowl, cover the surface with plastic wrap, and cool. At this stage the cream can be kept in the refrigerator for up to three days.
Fruit Glaze: Heat the jam or preserves and water (if you’re using water) over medium heat until melted. Remove from heat and strain to remove any lumps. Stir in liqueur (if you’re using liqueur) and let cool until warm. Lightly glaze fresh fruit.
Assemble Tart: Remove the crust from the tart pan. Glaze crust lightly with fruit glaze and let sit for 20 – 30 minutes. Beat pastry cream to get rid of any lumps and spread into tart shell until it is 3/4 full. Level cream with a spatula. Decorate tart with circles of mixed fresh fruit, covering all pastry cream. Drizzle with Cabaret Brewed Chocolate Beverage syrup (just use it straight out of the jar). Serve tart the same day at room temperature.
