Depending on the fruit you choose, you can also switch up the flavor of gelatin in the glaze and leave off the nuts.
Deceptively easier to make than it looks, this is a great dessert to bring to get-togethers and it’s also a healthier alternative to heavier more calorie laden desserts.
Easy to make, healthy, impressive appearance…this tart is ALL good!
Crust Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened to room temperature
1/4 cup crushed macadamia nuts *optional.
Crust Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350-degrees. In medium bowl, whisk together flour, confectioners’ sugar and nuts. Gently stir in softened butter, do not over mix. Press into a tart pan with removable sides. Refrigerate for approximately 30 minutes. Transfer tart pan to baking sheet for stability and bake for 20 minutes or until crust is slightly golden. Leave crust in pan and cool on a rack to room temperature before filling.
Filling Ingredients:
8 ounces cream cheese
4 ounces Cool Whip topping
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon brandy or rum *optional - Can also use imitation flavoring in place of alcohol or just eliminate entirely.
Filling Instructions:
Blend cream cheese and powdered sugar. Fold Cool Whip and brandy or rum extract into cream cheese/sugar blend. Spoon filling into cooled crust and spread evenly over bottom and to crust edge.
Topping Ingredients:
Approximately 1 quart fresh fruit, sliced and patted dry. Fruits that work well alone or combined are strawberries; mango, blueberries; raspberries - anything bright and fresh. I prefer to use several fruits of different colors. Patting the fruit dry keeps it from bleeding.
Macadamia nuts for garnish. *optional.
Topping Instructions:
Slice fruit to desired shape and thickness, and lay out decoratively atop cream cheese filling. If using strawberries by themselves, I prefer to leave them whole. Cutting off the stems, I place them cut side down so the strawberries stand up in beautiful, plump, red mounds. Be creative - depending on the fruit of choice, slice in whatever shape you desire to make a beautiful design.
If desired, add chopped/or halved macadamia nuts decoratively around the edge of the tart.
Glaze Ingredients:
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup water
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 to 3 tablespoons off Jell-O powder.
Hint: When you choose a flavor of Jell-O, make sure that it not only compliments the flavor of the fruit you are using, but that the color goes well too. Example; use strawberry Jell-O for strawberries, or if using multi-colors of fruit, lemon is a good choice as the colors show through the yellow shade quite well. For this tart I had peach on hand - it worked fine and the flavor was great but I still would have preferred to have had lemon on hand...it really brightens up the colors of the fruit, whereas the peach tended to make the fruit look like it was covered in caramel - not a bad look, just different.
Glaze Instructions:
In a small sauce pan over medium heat, cook sugar, water and cornstarch until it has thickened and turned opaque. Remove from heat and whisk in the Jell-O powder. Allow to cool partially before pouring over the fruit. Pour the glaze over the fruit starting in the center of the tart and circling around and around until you reach the edge. Make sure to cover all the fruit; the glaze will spread out in between the fruit on its own. Refrigerate tart, uncovered, until ready to serve. Remove tart pan rim just prior to serving. If glaze has dripped over edge of tart pan, simply run your finger around the top of the edge and that will 'cut' through the glaze for easy release. Be sure to refrigerate any unused portions.
“Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first.” ~ Ernestine Ulmer
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