Peach and Plum Tart with Pistachio-Almond Crust

This decadent, delicious and very doable tart is something I created to celebrate summer. It has many of my favorite things: fresh stone fruit, pistachio and almonds blended into the crust, and a light, fluffy center of aerated mascarpone. The fresh plums and peaches keep surprisingly well. There’s no need to cook them or do anything else to preserve them during the life of the tart.

The filling consists of mascarpone cheese and heavy cream, whipped with honey. The crust, a combination of pistachios and almonds, pairs perfectly with the honey-sweetened cream and fresh peaches and plums. This tart is delectable, yet light. The crust is so darn good that it can stand on its own. You now have a pistachio-almond shortbread cookie recipe as well!

When I created this tart, I wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted to feature. Once my filling set, I began playing around with the fruit, which is when I settled on the peach-plum combination, which provided a beautiful contrast in color, texture and acidity.

To make this tart, combine ground pistachios, ground almonds (almond flour), flour, powdered sugar and butter until all of the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated and the dough appears to have large crumbs. Once crumbly, transfer the dough to a Nonstick 9″ Pie Pan. You will have some dough left over, which you can make shortbread cookies out of. Once the dough is pressed in the pan, chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 350F.

Bake until the tart crust is light golden, and starting to brown, about 15 minutes.  Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack until completely cool.

Once the tart is completely cool, prepare the mascarpone cheese/cream filling. I used my KitchenAid Professional 6500 Stand Mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment to make the filling. I added the mascarpone, heavy cream, honey and vanilla extract to the bowl and beat the mixture on medium until firm peaks formed, approximately two minutes.  If you over whip, you will know it because you will be making butter! So, be careful not to over whip.

Pour the filling into the tart pan and smooth the top. Refrigerate the tart while you prepare the fruit.

Arrange the thinly-sliced pear and plum slices around the tart. Lastly, sprinkle the coarsely-chopped pistachios around the tart’s edges. Refrigerate the tart until it is completely chilled. This tart should be served cold and stored in the refrigerator in an air-tight container for up to three days.

To serve, simply cut the pieces–they will come right out of the nonstick pan!  I sincerely hope you enjoy this recipe!