Peach Crème Fraîche Tart with Wild Blossom Honey

This recipe was adapted from a tart featured in the August 2006 Gourmet magazine. I used a raw wild blossom honey, which I buy from Capers, to sweeten the crème fraîche The honey has a very unique and full-bodied flavour and actually tastes slightly different each time I buy a new jar.

We made two versions of the tart, one topped with peaches and one with a blueberry glaze.

Peach Crème Fraîche Tart with Wild Blossom Honey
(makes 2 small tarts)

Tart Crust

1 1/4 cups of unbleached flour
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1/2 tsp of sea salt
7 tbs of cold butter, chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
1 large egg

Tart Filling

1 cup of cream cheese
1/2 cup of crème fraîche
1 1/2 tbs of wild blosson honey
1 1/2 cups of blueberries
1 tbs of cornstarch

Special Equipment

Fluted tart pan with a removable bottom (3"X 3/4")
Pie weights

Method:

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees Celsius.
2. Mix the flour, sugar and sea salt in a large bowl. Add the pieces of butter and mix well until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs with small lumps of butter. Add the egg and knead for about 2-3 minutes.
3. Set the tart tins on a baking sheet and fill them with dough. Press the dough along the bottom and up the sides of the tin. Once this step is completed, cover the tins and refrigerate for about 1/2 an hour.
4. To bake the tart shells, set the tins on a baking sheet, butter one side of some foil and then press the buttered side down on to the base of the tart. Add the pie weights on top of the foil to cover the base. Bake for 20 minutes or until the crust is golden. Once ready, remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
5. Next, mix together the crème fraîche, cream cheese and honey until a smooth cream is formed. Set aside.
6. Add the blueberries to a small pot on the stove over a medium heat. Add the sugar and about 1/2 a cup of water. Stir and bring to the boil.
7. In a small cup, mix the cornstarch with about 1/3 cup of hot water to dissolve.
8. Once the blueberries are boiling, add the cornstarch mixture slowly and stir until the blueberry mixture thickens. Remove the blueberries from the stove and set aside to cool.
9. When you are ready to assemble the tarts, spoon the crème fraîche mixture into the tart shell, spread on the blueberry mixture evenly and then arrange the peach slices on top.

Comments

[Terry B]

Peaches are delicious this year, and this looks like an amazing use for them. Beautiful photography too.

[Patricia Scarpin]

Even though I have just baked a sweet tart, I would never be able to resist this one - it looks so delicious!