Where oh where has the summer gone?
I know it’s not over yet. Especially around here. Locally, our summer extends through the end of September. But still! This summer went by sooooooo fast. I can’t believe Labor Day is next week! I feel like I say that every year, and it probably won’t stop anytime soon.
The days feel long at times, but the years are short! Truest expression ever.
I’ve been L-O-V-I-N-G the summer fruit. Namely, the cherries, berries, watermelon, and stone fruit! Give me all the peaches, plums, nectarines, and apricots you have! I love them all. And can never seem to get my fill this time of year.
I think it’s because I know it’s ending soon, and so I’ve got to soak it all up (read: inhale as much as possible) before we are all inundated with pumpkin spice and caramel apple everything. Between the berries and peaches, I stuff as much summer corn in my face as possible…because honestly? It’s probably my favorite summer produce (I have two more recipes coming up soon featuring corn…so stay tuned if you’re as obsessed as I am!).
All the way back in March, I knew I wanted to do a summer tart featuring stone fruit. I knew it was going to happen. It wasn’t until now that I got my act together.
This tart comes together easier than you are probably expecting. Part of the reason is because there is no dough making involved. Nope! Nada. Zip.
Instead, I’m using store-bought puff pastry for this crust. I wasn’t sure if it would work, given puff pastry’s natural tendency to, well, puff…but I figured out a way to make it work as a tart crust. You press it into a tart or pie pan, just as you normally would with regular dough, and then weigh it down so it can’t puff up too much.
The result? You still get a pastry crust that has enough structure to hold your fillings with the light airiness of puff pastry! It’s a dream.
And this was huge for me because I LOATHE making pie dough from scratch. I still have never once gotten it just right. This puff pastry situation keeps my stress levels oh so low. And I love that.
After the pastry is baked and cooled, I fill it with a whipped ricotta situation that is TO-DIE-FOR delicious AND incredibly easy. Winning! All you have to do to make it is to cream together some ricotta and cream cheese until fluffy and dreamy, then stream in a little honey (as much or as little as you want), and it’s done. It’s ready to get spooned into that perfect puff pastry crust and layered with all the stone fruit you desire.
For this particular tart, I went with a combo of peaches and pluots. Not only are their colors beautiful, but they taste phenomenal together. The peaches are super juicy and sweet, and the pluots are slightly tart. And just look at that magenta color! Freaking gorgeous. Drizzled with a little more honey, they come together to form summer dessert perfection!
The only catch with this is that you want to assemble and fill this tart just before serving. While the puff pastry crust works beautifully, you definitely don’t want to let that creamy filling sit in it for too long. You run the risk of sogginess, which totally defeats the whole point of using puff pastry in the first place, right?
You can, however, prep all the components ahead of time. Bake and cool the crust, make the whipped ricotta, and slice your fruit. It takes minutes to put together.
And the seasonal deliciousness makes it all worth it in the end.
I promise.
Stone Fruit & Whipped Honey Ricotta Puff Pastry Tart
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed (but still chilled)
- 8 oz whole milk ricotta
- 2 oz cream cheese, softened
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of fine salt
- 2–3 ripe stone fruits (use anything you like: peaches, plums, nectarines, etc)
- Additional honey, for drizzling
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 400°F.
- Gently unfold the puff pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Lightly roll the pastry out so it is roughly ¼-inch thick.
- Press the pastry into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Trim off the excess dough.
- Prick the bottom of the tart shell with a fork and then place a piece of aluminum foil over the dough, gently forming it to the shape of the tart. Fill the tart with dried beans or pie weights.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until the pastry is mostly cooked through. Carefully remove the foil and pie weights/beans and bake for another 3-5 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and crisp.
- Remove the tart pan from the oven and allow the pastry shell to cool completely in the tart pan before filling.
- While the tart shell is baking, make the filling by placing both the ricotta and cream cheese in the bowl of stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Cream together the two cheeses until they are fluffy and smooth. Drizzle in the honey and the pinch of salt. Continue to whip the mixture until smooth and creamy.
- Pour the ricotta filling into the cooled tart shell.
- Slice the fruit and arrange in an even layer on top of the ricotta filling. Chill or serve immediately. Drizzle with additional honey before serving.
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