peach tart - a texas hill country summer dessert recipe

Oh the blessing’s of a Texas summer!! Thanks to my fab neighbors & a very wet spring, there were piles upon piles of sweet baby peaches to be had; right here in my hill country hood. These luscious tarts were made for a Chardonnay tasting I catered last week. The recipe seems lengthy but is really quite simple just a few steps; plus you can buy your tart shells at your local gourmet market. Yip!

for the peaches
3 medium size peaches, halved/pitted
1tsp white or brown sugar
½ tsp salt
1tsp extra virgin olive oil

for the honey cream
2 8-ounces cream cheese, room temperature
6 ounces of golden honey
Pinch of salt (optional)

1 package small to medium tart shells (a package of 12 works great for size)
½ jar of peach preserve

peach prep
Place prepped peaches into a medium size bowl. Drizzle olive oil over the peaches and mix so that the oil surrounds the peach halves entirely. Evenly sprinkle salt and sugar over peach halves. Heat a grill pan to high. Place peaches flesh side down, turn heat down to medium and cook until flesh becomes somewhat soft; about 2 minutes. Turn peaches over and cook until just soft. Peaches should be slightly charred and soft to touch but not falling apart. Take off heat and set aside on a sheet pan or tray. Cool completely. Once cool, slice the peach ½’s into ¼’s then 1/8’s then 1/16’s. These slices should be pliable but not falling apart. Set aside.

honey cream prep
Place cream cheese in a mixing bowl and mix on medium with a paddle implement until smooth. Add honey while continuing to mix. Stop mixing and scrape down bowl. Continue to mix until all honey has been poured. Scrape down sides and place in a container that has an airtight seal. Set aside.

tart shell prep
Unwrap tart shells and line them up. Place up to 2 TBSP of honey cream into each shell. Spread honey cream evenly inside the shell with an offset spatula.

putting tart together
Place peach slices on top of the cream beginning from the inside outer edge of the tart circle. Continue this process working from the outer edge in – overlapping the peach slices slightly until you come to the center. Take a small piece of peach or cut a small piece and fill in the center. It will eventually look like a peach rose. Set aside.

glaze prep
In a non-reactive saucepan, over low-heat, heat peach marmalade until just soft. Take off heat. With a wide brush – pastry brush, dip in marmalade, brush off excess on side of pan and gently brush over the peaches on each tart. Cool completely.

Cover tightly and refrigerate tarts until needed. Take out up to an hour before serving and bring to room temperature. Serve as is or with freshly whipped cream topping…maybe a little fresh mint from the garden.

Eat with pleasure. Serves 8-12.