Peach Melba Tart ( Without the Melba)

One of the joys of living in the country is trying to find all the ingredients for a particular recipe.  I went to two different stores looking for raspberries.  No luck.  So I am making a Peach Melba Tart without the Raspberries.  I don't know what the name would be now.  Creamy Peach Tart?  That works for me.

This recipe is adapted from the Food Network Magazine.  The biggest change is that I left out the raspberries, so this is a Peach UnMelba Tart.

 

Creamy Peach Tart

The Crust:

1/2 cup sliced almonds
3/4 cup flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
6 Tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces
2 Tablespoons ice water 

The Glaze:

1 peach, diced
1/2 cup sugar
2 wide strips lemon zest
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

or just buy some peach jam.  This is the method I highly suggest for the glaze.


For the Filling and Topping:

1/2 cup ricotta Cheese
1 8 ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
3 firm peaches, thinly sliced
1/2 cup raspberries, should you be able to find them

 

Make the crust first.

 

Preheat the oven to 375°. Spray a 9 inch tart pan with removable bottom.  Set aside.  Spread the almonds on a baking sheet and bake for about 4 minutes, until slightly golden.  Transfer to a small bowl and cool completely.

 

Combine the flour, 1/3 cup of the toasted almonds and sugar in a food processor and pulse until finely ground. 

 

Add the butter and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse meal. 

 

Add 2 Tablespoons ice water and pulse until the dough comes together.  Dump the ball of dough on a piece of plastic wrap and form into a disk.  Wrap tightly and refrigerate until slightly firm, about 15 minutes.

 

Unwrap the dough and use the plastic wrap to press the disk into the tart pan.  Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes.

 

Place the tart pan on the baking sheet that used to have the almonds on it.  Line the crust with foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Then remove the foil and pie weights and cook until golden brown all over, about 15 to 20 more minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.



This is where you are supposed to make a glaze by putting all the glaze ingredients

 

in a pan with a cup of water and simmer until reduced and thickened.  Remove the zest and cool.

 

Don't bother. You only need a little glaze and this makes a lot.  So learn from my experience and heat up some peach jam in a small saucepan with a bit of lemon peel and a teaspoon of lemon juice to use for the glaze and be done with it!

 


Make the filling while the crust is cooling.  I used my Kitchen Aid and put the ricotta, the softened cream cheese, the confectioner's sugar and the nutmeg in the bowl.  Beat for about 5 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides a few times.  When it is smooth and creamy, spread it on the cooled crust.  The picture in the magazine showed unpeeled peaches.  I couldn't do that.  Gotta peel them.  You can do it either way!

 

Peel the peaches and cut into thin slices.  The original recipe called for 2 peaches. 

 

I had large ones and they still looked skimpy, so I cut up one more.  Arrange in concentric circles. 

 

And start with three peaches so you aren't fiddling to fit in the others, like I did.

Brush with the glaze.  Reserve a bit to toss with the raspberries that I am sure YOU can find.  Place the raspberries and the remaining sliced almonds on the tart and chill until serving.

 

The tart was creamy and delicious and just sweet enough.  Our peaches from a local orchard are juicy and sweet so you don't need a lot of sugar in the crust or the creamy filling.  Just right!