Today’s my birthday! #Thisis36. Let’s celebrate with this peaches and cream tart.
I’ll admit that it’s not ideal that it fell on a Monday because Mondays…are kind of the worst on a regular day, let alone a birthday. Luckily, this weekend was relaxing in the best possibly way, and I spent yesterday floating lazily on the lake, occasionally standing up on my paddle board, under an almost-cloudless sky for hours upon end. My friends and I finished it off with a slice (or three) of ice cream cake per usual. In short, the perfect day.
While water-time and ice cream are certainly birthday traditions, there’s one more that I just had to mind: Peaches.
While to me Friends > Seinfeld, I do always remember Kramer’s obsession with Mackinac peaches and his insistence that they were only at their best two weeks a year. While I’m not sure about the two weeks part, my birthday does fall smack in the middle of the best peaches, and during our summers in Canada, Grandma always paid homage by making her fresh and delicious peach upside down cake. While I could have gone that route, I decided to twist up tradition this year, nodding to the original, while creating something new and different to celebrate the season (and the day).
A peaches and cream tart.
It goes like this:
I roasted fresh peaches with brown sugar and a drizzle of butter (to mimic the effect of the upside down cake). Make sure you take them off the foil as soon as they get out of the oven. Otherwise, they’ll stick, and you’ll have to roast a new batch.
Been there, done that.
Sweetened cream of wheat (farina) is beaten with butter, vanilla and whipped cream for a light and fluffy center.
Oh, and you’ve seen that before (read: Viennese Honey Cake).
All filling a homemade almond meal shortbread crust.
Peachy, creamy and delicious.
Plus, how pretty!
The perfect way to celebrate summer (or, maybe a summer birthday!).
This post was sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill. Thanks to Bob’s, and to you for supporting the brands that support THB.
Peaches and Cream Tart
This Peaches and Cream Tart is a delicious alternative to traditional summer desserts- an almond shortbread crust is filled with sweetened cream of wheat and topped with fresh peaches.
Ingredients
- For the crust:
- 1/3 cup Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour
- 1 cup Bob’s Red Mill All-Purpose Flour
- 1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
- 2 TB granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes
- 1 egg yolk, from a large egg
- For the filling:
- 6 TB Bob’s Red Mill White Wheat Farina
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 cup whipping cream
- 1 packet unflavored gelatin
- For the peaches:
- 3 large fresh peaches
- 1 TB unsalted butter, melted
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
Directions
- Step 1 First, make the filling, part 1.
- Step 2 In a deep saucepan, cook the farina and milk over medium-low heat until thick, and all the liquid is absorbed. Stirring occasionally. Let cool completely (put in the fridge to help this along, or prepare it the night before).
- Step 3 Make the crust:
- Step 4 In the bowl of a food processor, add the flour, confectioner’s sugar, granulated sugar and salt. Give it 2 pulses. Add the cubed butter and pulse about 20 times until the mixture is sand-like. Add the egg, and pulse a few more times to combine. Press the mixture together with your hands and form into a disk. Press flat and wrap in saran wrap. Let chill in the refrigerator at least an hour.
- Step 5 Preheat the oven to 375F.
- Step 6 Slice the peaches to about 1/4” thick. Lay them flat on a foil lined cookie sheet. Drizzle them with the butter and sprinkle with the 1/3 cup brown sugar.
- Step 7 Bake for about 30-minutes until soft and bubbly. Remove slices from the pan as soon as they come out of the oven.
- Step 8 Once the peaches come out of the oven, the crust should be almost ready to go. Brush a tart pan with a bit of melted butter. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to about 1/4”- 1/2” thickness. Place in in the tart pan. Using a fork, poke the bottom of the crust all around. Bake 20-25 minutes until the tart is golden brown. Let cool completely.
- Step 9 While the crust is cooling, finish up the filling. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the whipping cream and gelatin. Let sit for 2 minutes. Whip until the cream has stiff peaks. Transfer whipped cream to another bowl.
- Step 10 Back in the mixer, add the cooled farina and the softened butter. Beat with the paddle until very smooth. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat until well blended. Gently fold in the whipped cream and return to the fridge until the crust has completely cooled.
- Step 11 To assemble:
- Step 12 Fill the cooled crust with the cream mixture. Fan the peaches out, shiny side up in to a pretty arrangement. Cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight. Serve!
so pretty!
Thank you! I was proud of myself, since I never get the upside down one to look so nice.
Your tart is absolutely stunning!!
For roasting the peaches, might I suggest roasting them in halves and then slicing them once they’re cooled. I’ve tried roasting the slices and the halves and had much better success with the halves. Much easier to get off the baking sheet! 🙂
Thank you! And that actually makes a lot of sense- and I should have done that before I screwed up batch #1! Next time- and thanks for the tip!