Christmas Fruit Tart with Meyer Lemon Mousse

 
Will you be hosting a Christmas party this year?  Or, will you be a guest at a friend’s or family member’s house?  Honestly, I enjoy being a guest more than hosting a party at my place.  One reason is that I don’t really have a backyard that is spacious enough to host parties.  The other reason is the tremendous amount effort needed, such as planning, preparation, and cleanup!  As a guest, I’m always happy to bring desserts!  And I’m sure any host would be pleased to see this festive and gorgeous Christmas Fruit Tart with Meyer Lemon Mousse!  But of course, you can still make this pretty fruit tart even if you’re hosting Christmas gatherings at your place.  This tart will make a beautiful centerpiece for sure.
 

 
The crust of this tart is a simple cookie crust. It’s crunchy, buttery, and sturdy enough to hold up the Meyer Lemon Mousse fillings.  The Meyer Lemon Mousse filling is super easy to prepare.  It involves some mascarpone whipped cream and Meyer Lemon Curd.  Click here to check out my homemade Meyer Lemon Curd recipe.  If you want a short cut, it’s okay to use a store bought Lemon Curd as well.  After all, it’s the holiday and it’s alright to give yourself a break if you are in a hurry.  But the good news is that you can make the Meyer Lemon Curd ahead of time and they’ll last quite a long time in the fridge.  
 

 
I used green grapes, pineapple, pomegranate seeds, and persimmon to garnish this tart.  It’s quite self explanatory in terms of how to arrange the fruit to form the Christmas Tree.  You can be creative and use other fruits that you like.  For example, kiwi slices for the tree, yellow peach for the star, and other small fruit as ornaments as well.  These are the fruits that I have on hand so I used them.  The fresh fruit compliment the Meyer Lemon Mousse perfectly.  It’s refreshing yet decadent at the same time.  The mousse filling has a light, fluffy and silky mouth-feel, which contrast wonderfully with the crunch cookie crust.  The pomegranate seeds add a little pop and tartness in this tart.  And its natural color simply brightens up the whole tart.
 

 
It’s such a festive and simple dessert to enjoy!  I hope you’ll give this recipe a try and make it for your holiday celebration.  If you do try the recipe, don’t forget to leave me a message below or email me a picture on how it turned out.  I can’t wait to hear from you!  Stayed tuned for more fun and festive holiday treats next week.  
 
Tools and Ingredients Used:
 
Cooling Racks (Click here for more information)
Baking Sheets (Click here for more information)
Organic Vanilla Extract (Click here for more information)
Kerrygold Butter (Click here for more information)
Powdered Sugar (Click here for more information)
Mascarpone Cheese (Click here for more information)
Rectangular Tart Pan (Click here for more information)
Parchment Paper  (Click here for more information)
Horizon Organic Heavy Whipping Cream (Click here for more information)
Pie Weight (Click here for more information)
Pastry Cutter (Click here for more information)
Pastry Bag (Click here for more information)
Wilton Closed Star 2D Pastry Tip (Click here for more information)

 
P.S. Current Giveaway: The Origami Zoo Kit (Open till December 18th, 2016)

 

 
 
 
 


 
Christmas Fruit Tart with Meyer Lemon Mousse:
Makes: 1 (4 1/4 by 13 3/4-inch Rectangular Tart)

Ingredients For the Crust:10 tablespoons salted butter, cold and diced
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon iced water

Ingredients for the Meyer Lemon Mousse Filling:1 cup cold heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 tablespoons Mascarpone Cheese
1/2 cup Meyer Lemon Curd (see below for homemade recipe or you can use store bought ones)

Ingredients for the Christmas Tree Topping:
8 green grapes, cut in half lengthwise
1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
1 slice of pineapple, cut out star shape with cookie cutter
1 small persimmon, cut into trapezium for tree trunk

To Prepare the Crust:
Preheat oven to 350-degree F.

In a medium mixing bowl, mix flour and butter together with a pastry cutter. Or you can mix by hands as well, until mixture resemble wet sand. Then, stir in the sugar. In a small bowl, mix the vanilla extract with iced water. Pour into the flour mixture and mix well. (Alternatively, you can do this in a food processor.  I highly recommend that you use it if you have one.)

Press the dough onto the bottom and sides of a 4 1/4 by 13 3/4-inch rectangular tart pan with a removable bottom. With a fork, gently prick the dough to prevent from puffing up too much during baking. Cover with a piece of parchment paper. Top the parchment paper with beans or pie weight. Bake for 15 minutes.

Remove the parchment paper and beans, rotate the baking pan and bake for another 15 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.

Cool completely on wire rack before filling.

To prepare the Meyer Lemon Mousse Filling:In the bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk heavy cream, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar until medium peak forms. Add mascarpone cheese and heat until stiff peak forms. Transfer about 1/2 cup of the whipped cream to a pastry bag fitted with a close star tip.Then, add the lemon curd into the remaining whipped cream in the stand mixer and quickly mix until just combined.To assemble:
Fill cooled tart crust with lemon mousse. Arrange grapes into a triangle shape in the middle of the tart, cut side down. Place the pineapple star on the tree top. Sprinkle pomegranate seeds around as ornament. Place persimmon below the grapes as tree trunk.

Pipe reserved whipped cream around the tart for garnish. Enjoy!