Peach Tart

If I had to choose one and only one fruit that I could eat for the rest of my life, I think it would have to be a peach. As much as I love tropical fruits, when I have lots of it, I tend to get sick of it. Not a peach though. I love cling stone peaches that have that slightly sweet and sour flavour with a firm texture.

Since they were season during the summer and were at an amazingly cheap $0.99 per kilo, I stocked up on heaps of them and was eating 4-5 a day. Even then, there was lots left, so I made a peach tart. I tend to steer clear of tarts because they're so much effort to make the pastry, the filling, and then the topping. However, the baked peaches were so delicious that I would make this tart again, but not often. It was heaps of effort to make all the components and then get it all together.



Peach Tart
From Donna Hay's Modern Classics 2

INGREDIENTS
1 quantity sweet shortcrust pastry (use whatever recipe you have or store bought)
3/4 cup sour cream
2 tbsp caster sugar
1 egg
1 egg white, extra
1 tbsp sugar
6 peaches, stoned and sliced
1 tbsp sugar, extra, for sprinkling

METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 180C. Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface until 3mm thick. Place in a 23cm fluted removable base tart tin. Line with non stick baking paper and fill with pastry weights or uncooked rice or beans. Bake for 10 minutes, remove the weights and bake another 10 minutes or until pastry is golden.

2. Place the sour cream, caster sugar and egg in a bowl and whisk to combine. Pour into tart shell and bake for 10 minutes.

3. Remove from oven and increase temperature to 200C.

4. Place egg white in large bowl and whisk until soft peaks. Stir through sugar and peach slices until coated and then spoon on top of cream filling. Sprinkle with extra sugar and bake for 20 minutes or until golden.

5. Cool completely before serving.