Easy Easter Desserts

“Here comes Peter Cottontail, hoppin’ down the bunny trail, hippity hoppin’, Easter’s on its way.”

Forget the bunnies, it’s time to usher in spring with a couple of colorful, fruity desserts. I served these at the farm several Easters ago. Both are perfect, make aheads for an Easter brunch. One, a Strawberry Cream Cake from Southern Living can be found in the recipe at the end of this post. There’s a quick, but inspiring video recipe here.  I I you’re in a hurry, fBetty Crockeberry-laced cake, had a delicate pink hue to both the cake and icing. Happily, the taste lived up to its looks.

Strawberry Cream Cake

French Patisserie Fruit Tart

The other dessert, a French Patisserie Fruit Tart, was a magnificent bit of culinary art. The crust was pressed gently into a tart pan before going into the oven. Next came the creamy vanilla filling that provided a base for the vibrant design.

Now this is where the fun begins. For the final layer, you create a fruit pattern with the help of whoever’s hanging out in your kitchen at the time. Warning! There will be opinions on the layout, but it’s hard to mess up this tart. It’s a beauty!

For the fruit topping, blueberries raspberries, mandarin oranges, kiwi, and strawberries work best. Using a pastry brush and some apricot preserves thinned with water, paint a protective and tasty glaze over the completed design. The finish gives a soft gloss like those you see on pastries in a French bakery.

French Patisserie Fruit Tart 

Ingredients:

Shortcrust:

• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 4 oz unsalted butter cut into pieces
• 1 Tbsp sour cream
• 2 Tbsp sugar

Vanilla Cream:

• 6 oz cream cheese softened
• 1 Tbsp sour cream
• 1 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 3 Tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla

Glaze:  ¾ cup apricot jam (optional)

Fruit Toppings:

• 2 kiwi peeled and sliced
• 1/3 cup blueberries
• 1/2 cup raspberries
• 1/2 cup strawberries slice

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Place all crust ingredients in a food processor and process until it looks like cornmeal. Press mixture into a 10″ tart pan and bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.
3. To prepare the cream filling, place the heavy cream in the cold bowl and mix with hand mixer for about 2 minutes. Slowly add the sour cream, cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Continue mixing until mixture is smooth.
4. For Glaze: Simmer ¾ cup apricot jam for about 5 minutes. Thin with a bit of water if too thick. Push jam mixture thru a sieve and discard seeds. Allow mixture to cool for ten minutes.
5. Assemble the tart by first filling the cooked crust with the vanilla cream mixture, then arrange fruit in a pattern on top the cream layer. Brush with glaze.

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