Peach Almond Tart

Tastē Tuesday~  Peaches are one of my favorite fruits.  They are special, and a succulent peach cannot be taken for granted.  In today's age where you can get watermelon, fresh berries, apples, etc. year round, peaches can only be purchased in season...if you want a sweet, juicy taste of bliss at least.  Even in season, you must have the proper mix of a discerning eye and touch as well as good luck.  Otherwise, you end up biting into either a crunchy and bland or bitter, mealy piece of fruit.   Alas, if you have chosen the perfect peach, your bite turns into an experience of smooth, sweet, heaven.    A peach's versatility also makes it quite a special little fruit.  Fresh, they are a pleasant addition to any meal or snack, they can be grilled, put into pies, added to ice-cream to make a delicious ice cream shake, canned for the winter, and even doused with blue cheese and honey for a more savory salad.  

My first experiment with this summer's peaches was a Peach Almond Tart.  We enjoyed it warm right out of the oven...rapidly consuming 4 of the 6 servings.  Warm, it was a yummy evening treat, lending itself both the feeling of summer's fresh, delicate fruits and the enjoyment of summer's last bountiful harvest that could be savored on a crisp evening at the end of the season.  Summer or early fall, this tart would serve as a great ending to an al fresco dinner.

I also wanted to try it cold.  Thankfully we had enough self control to put the last two slices away in the refrigerator.  Although I prefer the tart served warm, cold, it was a better fit with a morning cup of coffee or as an after lunch treat.  The peach takes a different note of flavor depending on whether it is warm or cold.  If you make this in the future, come back and let me know which you think is best! 

Why does the peach season have to be so short...if it were longer...the special memories of buying as many as possible from the roadside stand, knowing you have to eat them all before they go bad, eyeing the buckets of peaches at the grocery store each time you walk in, knowing they will soon disappear, and trying a plethora of new recipes in a couple of short months would not be so special...and the anticipation of summer would not be as exhilarating!

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Peach Almond Tart
Adapted from Alice Currah, Savory Sweet Life
Total time:  35 mins, Serves: 6-9
Ingredients

• 1 sheet pre-made frozen puff pastry
• 4 ounces 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
• ⅓ cup flax meal & flour (2/3 full with whole ground flax meal and last 1/3 all-purpose flour)
• ⅓ cup confectioners’ sugar plus 1 tablespoon for dusting
• 1 egg white
• ½ teaspoon almond extract
• 1 large ripe peach, pit removed and cut into ⅛-inch slices
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons toasted almond slivers or slices

Instructions

1. Thaw the frozen puff pastry according to package instructions.
2. Add the cream cheese, flour, ⅓ cup confectioners’ sugar, egg white, and almond extract to a bowl and mix with a hand mixer or thoroughly by hand. 
3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
4. When the puff pastry is ready to use, roll the sheet on a floured surface to 12x12 inches.
5. Transfer the sheet to a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
6. Fold the pastry sheet edges in on each side by ½-inch to form an inward seam.
7. Evenly spread the almond cream over the tart from inseam to inseam.
8. Add the peach slices in a single even layer over the cream.
9. In a small bowl mix the sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the peach layer.
10. Bake the tart for 20 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
11. Remove the tart from the oven to cool.
12. Sprinkle the almond slivers over the tart followed by a light dusting of confectioners’ sugar.
13. Serve warm or cold.

*The original recipe calls for blanched finely ground almond flour.  I did not have this on hand.  Since we are trying to eat down our house in anticipation of the move, I did not want to buy any.  However, different types of flours soak up liquids differently, so I also did not want to substitute the entire amount for all-purpose flour.  Since the flavors of peach and almond marry so nicely, if you have almond flour on hand, I would suggest trying it.  However, if you have neither almond flour or finely ground flax seed, I think you could try 1/3 cup all purpose flour without too much of a difference since the portions are small.  I figured the flax would be a bit healthier in addition to it reacting to liquids more closely to almond flour than all-purpose flour.