Fruit Tart Recipes

Both of these fruit tart recipes include kirsch, a brandy made from distilling fermented cherry juice. The word kirsch is German and means simply cherry. Cherry brandy is a popular ingredient in recipes from the Alsace region in eastern France, which shares a border with Germany.

Kirsch in recipes

You'll often find kirsch paired with fruits and featured in pastries, and it is also an ingredient in some fondue recipes. When they use it in recipes, the French use a cooking brandy, which is actually a mixture of kirsch and neutral alcohol. If you want to sip kirsch as an after dinner digestif, be sure to select a true cherry brandy and not the cooking variety.

Plums for Your Plum Tart

When I first came to France and heard people speak of prunes I assumed they were talking about dried plums. I soon found out that the French word for plum is prune and the word for prune is pruneaux. There are several different varieties of plums grown in France, and that appear at the grocery store in the summer and early fall. Some of the more popular types are:

• Reine Claude - round, green, firm and sweet
• Mirabelle - small, yellow to orange, with a yellow-orange flesh
• Quetsche - large, oval, dark purple skin with a yellow flesh
• Americano-Japonaise - can be quite large, a recent addition to French markets

To make these fruit tart recipes, I used what I found at the grocery store in May, which unfortunately meant plums from Chile. I prefer buying in season fruit but the tart didn't care - it still looked and tasted wonderful!

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• 1 unbaked pie shell
• 2 pounds plums
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 2 tablespoons Kirsch

Fit the pie shell to a 10 inch tart pan and prick the bottom several times with a fork.

Wash the plums, cut them in two, and remove the pits. Place them skin side down in the tart shell. Sprinkle the fruit with two tablespoons of the sugar.

Beat the rest of the sugar (6 tablespoons) with the egg. Stir in the flour and mix completely. Stir in the milk, butter, and Kirsch.

Pour the mixture over the plums and bake at 400°F for 45 minutes. Let cool completely. Serve cold.

Makes 6 - 8 servings.

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Cherries for your Cherry Tart

There are many different sorts of French fruit tart recipes. Here's a yummy cherry tart. It takes a little time to prepare because you have to pit all of those cherries. Maybe you can get one of your kids to do that. Be sure you have a cherry pitter.

You can makes this cherry tart with Montmorency cherries if you can find them, but any cherry that is good for baking would work well.

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Tarte Montmorency

• 1 unbaked pie shell
• 2 pounds cherries, pitted
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon Kirsch

Fit the pie shell to a 10 inch tart pan and prick the bottom several times with a fork.

Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the cherries. Cook for 5 - 6 minutes, shaking the pan from time to time. Add 1/4 cup of the sugar and continue cooking the sauce thickens and caramelizes slightly. Remove from heat and pass through a sieve. (You won't need the cooking juices.)

Spread the cherries on top of the tart shell.

Beat the eggs with the other 1/4 cup of sugar and the flour. Stir in the milk and the Kirsch. Pour this mixture on top of the cherries. Bake at 400° F for 40 minutes.

Allow to cool completely and serve cold.

Makes 6 - 8 servings.

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