This 4th of July fruit tart is so easy to make for your next patriotic BBQ. The dough for the crust can be made ahead of time and kept in the fridge until ready to bake. You can even bake the crust a day or two before to save time. To make the crust you need a 9-inch tart pan, either round or square will do. I liked using the square shape so it looks more like a flag. You also need unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa. This can be hard to find at your local grocery store, but I always use Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa which has always worked just fine in recipes that call for Dutch-processed.
The mascarpone whipped cream holds up great, unlike regular whipped cream that will deflate over time. I often can only find mascarpone in an 8oz size. You can save the extra mascarpone for something else or do what I do and double the whipped cream recipe to have some extra to top other desserts or ice cream. For the fruit you can easily swap out the raspberries for strawberries if that is preferred. Make sure to wash and dry the fruit well before putting on the tart so that the juices don’t stain the whipped cream.
The chocolate ganache is so easy to make and tastes great on just about anything. You might end up with some extra depending on how deep your tart comes out. You can also add a variety of flavors to the ganache like I do in my mocha ganache recipe. Or you could add 1/2-1 teaspoon of your favorite extract like almond. I hope you enjoy this 4th of July Fruit Tart!
4th of July Chocolate Fruit Tart
Ingredients
Chocolate Tart Shell
- 1 cup (4.3 oz) all-purpose flour plus more for rolling
- 3/4 teas salt
- 1/3 cup (1.2 oz) Dutch-processed cocoa powder, unsweetened I use Hershey's Dark
- 1/4 cup (1.8 oz) sugar
- 1/2 cup (4 oz) unsalted butter 1 stick, cold
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 teas vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp heavy cream
Chocolate Ganache
- 1 1/3 cups (8 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2/3 cup (5.3 oz) heavy cream
- 1 tbsp corn syrup optional
Mascarpone Whipped Cream
- 3/4 cup (6 oz) heavy cream
- 4 ounces mascarpone cheese
- 1/4 cup (1.8 oz) sugar
Fruit
- 1 pint fresh blueberries
- 1 pint fresh raspberries or strawberries
Instructions
Chocolate Tart Shell
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Place the flour, salt, Dutch-Processed cocoa, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor (see notes). Run the food processor for about 10 seconds to combine the ingredients.
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Cut the butter into cubes and place in the food processor. Pulse until the butter has broken up and no large chucks are visible. Don't over processes.
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In a separate bowl whisk together the egg and heavy cream. While the food processor is running slowly add the egg/heavy cream mixture. As soon as the dough forms a ball stop the food processor.
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Scoop the dough out onto a well floured work surface and kneed gently just until it comes together and forms a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator for at least an hour before rolling. You can also store overnight.
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When ready to roll preheat the oven to 350°F.
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Take the dough out of the refrigerator and roll between the parchment until you get a square (or round depending on the shape of your tart pan) large enough to cover the bottom and sides of the pan. Make sure your parchment sheets are large enough to roll to 11-12 inches in each direction.
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Lay the dough in the tart pan and press it down into the pan and up the sides. Trim the dough flush with the top edge, then prick all over the bottom with a fork.
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Bake at 350°F for 18-20 minutes or until firm. Cool completely before adding filling
Chocolate Ganache
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Place the chocolate chips in a heat proof bowl, set aside
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Put the heavy cream into a microwave safe measuring cup or bowl and microwave for 2-3 minutes or until boiling. If you don't have a microwave you can bring to a boil in a saucepan on the stove.
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Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let it sit for about 5 minutes so that the chocolate melts
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Using a whisk slowly stir the chocolate until it has completely mixed with the cream. If there are any lumps of un-melted chocolate you can microwave for a few seconds (no more than 10 seconds at a time) to melt it completely.
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Stir in the corn syrup and 0.5-1 teaspoons of extract of your choice. Allow to cool before pouring into tart shell.
Mascarpone Whipped Cream
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Combine the heavy cream and mascarpone in the bowl of a stand mixer (or a stainless steel bowl if using an electric hand mixer). Mix by hand until well combined (you want to get them combined by hand before using the electric mixer).
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Add the sugar and vanilla extract to the bowl, then beat on high speed until stiff peaks form.
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Refrigerate until ready to use. Any unused portion can be refrigerated in an air-tight container for 1-2 days
Tart Assembly
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Once the tart shell has cooled pour in the chocolate ganache and smooth with a spatula.
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Place the mascarpone whipped cream in a pastry bag fitted with a shell piping tip. Pipe the mascarpone whipped cream to look like the lines of a flag. If you don't have a pastry bag you can put it into a zipper top bag and cut a corner off to pipe straight lines of whipped cream to make it look like the stripes of a flag (see notes)
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Once the top is covered in with whipped cream add the washed and dried blueberries and raspberries (or strawberries) to look like an American flag.
Recipe Notes
- If you don’t have a food processor you can make the dough with a mixer. Beat the butter, sugar, and vanilla together for 2 minutes. Add the egg and heavy cream, beat until combined. Combine the flour, salt, and cocoa in a separate bowl, then add in batches to the mixer and mix until the dough comes together.
- If you don’t want to pipe the whipped cream you can put the tart with the ganache in the refrigerator until firm, then spread the whipped cream over the ganache. You can still line up the fruit in lines to look like the stripes of the flag.
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