Peach Rose Tart

I finally wandered over to the local peach orchard after nearly three years (how is that possible???) in Texas. Peach orchards aren’t something they have in Michigan, where apple orchards are KING. While I didn’t necessarily get the family orchard outing memories that you get at an apple orchard, I did get: peaches. (Crazy, right?) To be more specific: I got the best peaches ever. So good, in fact, that I didn’t want to bake them, and instead found a way to showcase them in their glory in this Peach Rose Tart.

This beauty has a sweet pastry crust filled with homemade vanilla pastry cream, topped with peach roses. The little flowers on top are some extra crust that I cut out and baked up for garnish. I put a lot of effort into the appearance of the tart, but this tart would still be amazing with a much simpler presentation. Just one bite will brighten your day!

I used an 4″x14″ rectangular pan from my (ridiculously extensive) bakeware collection for this tart (like this one [here]). The recipe can also be made into a 9″ round tart without any alterations to the recipe.

The crust is blind-baked on its own and the pastry cream added after it has cooled completely. Pie weights help to keep the dough from rising/getting bubbles as it bakes. You can buy actual pie weights if you’d like (like these [here]), but I just use black beans. They’re cheap and you can use them over and over again.

I use vanilla bean paste in my pastry cream, as it has better flavor than extract and is more convenient (and cheaper!) than vanilla beans. If you don’t have vanilla bean paste, you can substitute with one vanilla bean or vanilla extract. If you’re looking for vanilla bean paste and can’t find it at your local grocery store, you can find it online (see link [here]).

I find it seriously therapeutic forming all of the peach slices into little roses and arranging them. I could have spent all day making them, but realize that I’m a strange creature. There is no requirement to spend the time and effort to make roses. Arrange the fruit as you like!

Sometimes I’m so focused on making my sweets look pretty that they’re not exactly…practical. I thought for sure that there would be no good way to slice this with the peach roses on top. I’m happy to report that, with a good, sharp knife, the peach roses slice like butter and the tart slices present beautifully. (I have no actual photographic evidence of this, however, since we ate it too quickly!)

While I’ll continue to pine for Michigan apple orchards…at least there are super awesome peaches in Texas. I made some preserves so I can have the flavor of summer anytime I want. I’ll let you know what I end up doing with those… 🙂

Other posts you may like:

Ginger Peach Biscuit Pie

Classic Fruit Tart

Strawberry Peach Tart

Strawberry Almond Tartlets

Peach Streusel Scones

Vanilla Plum Tart

Cereal Milk Tartlets

Peach Rose Tart

Amee

This Peach Rose Tart has a sweet pastry crust filled with homemade pastry cream and topped with fresh peaches! Taking the time to make rosettes from the sliced peaches results in a showstopper dessert!!

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Servings 1 4"x14" tart (or one 9" round tart)

Ingredients

  

Pastry Cream:

• 6 egg yolks
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (see note)

Sweet Pastry Crust:

• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and diced (1 stick)
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (see note)
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 Tbsp milk

Topping:

• 3 yellow peaches, halved, pitted, and thinly sliced (see note)
• 3 white peaches, halved, pitted, and thinly sliced

Instructions

 

For Pastry Cream:

• In a large heatproof bowl, combine egg yolks and 1/3 cup sugar. Whisk until color turns pale yellow and mixture slightly increases in volume. Add the flour and whisk to combine.
• In a large saucepan, combine milk, the remaining 1/3 cup sugar, and vanilla bean paste (see note). Bring mixture to a boil, then immediately remove from the heat.
• Pour a small amount of the milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture while whisking constantly. Continuing to whisk, gradually add the remainder of the milk mixture. Once combined, pour the entire contents of the bowl back into the saucepan.
• Over medium heat, bring the mixture to a gentle boil, whisking constantly. Continue cooking and whisking until mixture bubbles and has thickened, 2-5 minutes. 
• Pour thickened pastry cream into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic directly to the surface of the pastry cream to prevent it from forming a skin. Place in the refrigerator and allow to cool completely.

For Crust:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine flour and diced butter. Mix on low speed until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
• Add the powdered sugar and mix to combine.
• Add vanilla bean paste (see note), egg yolk, and milk. Mix until the mixture just starts to come together.
• Turn the dough out onto your counter and knead gently into a ball (resist the temptation to add more flour!). Press the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator until firm (at least 1 hour).
• Once the dough has chilled, roll the dough out to fit your tart pan (see note). Once the pan is lined, cut off excess dough. Place lined tart pan and excess dough (wrapped) in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
• Preheat your oven to 400F. Once the crust has chilled, prick all over the bottom with a fork to dock the dough. Line the crust with foil and fill with pie weights (see note).
• Bake 15 minutes. Remove foil and pie weights. Return to the oven for another 5-10 minutes, or until golden. Allow to cool completely before taking out of the pan.
• If desired, roll out the excess dough and cut out shapes that will go on top of the tart. Bake 3-5 minutes, depending on the size of the shapes (I baked like-sizes together, so I didn't have to worry about some being done before others on the same cookie sheet).

Assembly:

• Once pastry cream is chilled and crust is cooled, spoon the pastry cream into the crust, smoothing the top.
• Arrange the peaches on top of the pastry cream as desired. If you'd like to make the peach roses as I did, thinly slice the peaches and roll them together to resemble roses. Place peach roses on the pastry cream.

  If desired, place baked pastry shapes on top of the peaches as decoration.

  Enjoy!

Notes

Note on vanilla bean paste: If you don't have vanilla bean paste, you can add the seeds from one vanilla bean, or you could substitute vanilla extract. If using extract, add it at the very end after the cooking process is complete. That said, I highly recommend the vanilla bean paste, as it has better flavor than extract, and is more convenient (and cheaper!) than whole beans. If you can't find it at your local grocery store, you can find it online (see link [here]).

Note on tart pan: I used an 4"x14" rectangular pan from my (ridiculously extensive) bakeware collection (like this one [here]). The recipe can also be made into a 9" round tart without any alterations to the recipe.

Note on pie weights: Pie weights help when blind-baking a crust, helping to keep the dough from rising/getting bubbles as it bakes. This makes sure that you have the room that you need for filling. You can buy actual pie weights if you'd like (like these [here]), but I just use black beans. They're cheap and you can use them over and over again.

Note on peaches: If you're making the peach roses, you'll need about six peaches to achieve the look. If you're arranging the fruit otherwise, you likely won't need as many peaches.