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Nectarine and Mascarpone Tart in Gingersnap Crust

Posted on 08/23/2010 by Maura

Guys, I am back from vacation.  After two weeks of sitting on the beach, going out to dinner, lobster rolls (recipe coming), boat rides, margaritas, and reading page after page of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played With Fire, I am back to work.  Surprisingly, I am having quite a pleasant Monday, which I was not anticipating after being gone for all of 14 days.  I went for a long bike ride, drank a cup of coffee outside, made myself breakfast and cruised into work 1 minute before 11. Pre-vacation Maura would have been here 20 minutes early, as usual, but I haven’t quite reverted back yet.

I am sad I didn’t go to the farmers markets in Ipswich while I was there.  My mom frequented one farm stand with the best corn and tomatoes ever, but I too busy to go myself.  I’m sure you can understand.  At home, I’ve been on a farmer’s market kick and it would have been nice to see what Massachusetts had to offer.  The one fruit I get every single week is white nectarines.  They are so, so yummy.  The farm is about a mile or two from my work, so extremely local, and their fruit is great.  Since I don’t let anyone else eat my farmer’s market purchases ( ), I was left with some nectarines that were going to go bad.  I had seen this recipe a while ago and have been waiting for the right time to make it, and I’m so glad I did.

The gingersnap crust was something I hadn’t tried before, and I loved it.  Paired with the crystallized ginger and lemon zest, there were so many flavors bursting.  I will definitely, definitely be making this again, especially since my dad got me a bike for my birthday so I can ride off the calories!

Nectarine and Mascarpone Tart in Gingersnap Crust

Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit, July 2002

Ingredients

Crust:

40 gingersnap cookies, coarsely chopped in a food processor or with a rolling pin

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

1 8-ounce container mascarpone cheese

6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon grated lemon peel

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon finely chopped crystallized ginger
Topping:

4 to 5 small nectarines, halved, pitted, cut into thin slices (I used white)

1/4 cup peach jam, warmed

2 tablespoons finely chopped crystallized ginger

For crust:
Preheat oven to 350°F.  Add butter to the bowl of the food processor with the gingersnap crumbs and blend until crumbs are evenly moistened. Press mixture over bottom and up sides of 9-inch-diameter tart pan. Bake crust until color darkens, pressing sides with back of spoon if beginning to slide, about 8 minutes. Cool completely.

For filling:
Beat first 6 ingredients in medium bowl until smooth. Beat in crystallized ginger. Spread filling in prepared crust. Cover loosely and refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.

For topping:
Overlap nectarine slices atop filling in concentric circles. Brush with jam. Sprinkle with chopped crystallized ginger. Serve, or refrigerate up to 6 hours.

About Maura

I have a secret: I cannot do anything in moderation. I always have to take things to the extreme, at the expense of my own and my family's sanity and often times my dad’s checkbook. When I started taking horseback riding lessons, I insisted on having a pony. When I ice skated for probably the second time, I made my mom buy me ice skates that were never again worn. When I thought I wanted to be a teacher, I made my parents turn one of the rooms in the basement into a school room, stocked with an overhead projector, pull-down maps and a real, classroom-sized chalkboard and white board. When I discovered cooking I bossed my older sister around in the kitchen for an entire day, forcing her to make dozens of recipes with me against her will and then had her do all the dishes (sorry Cait). And, when I discovered food blogs I bought the biggest binder I could find, printed out 250 recipes in one day and laminated and categorized each one. My dad was not happy about the ink situation. So, what does this tell you about me? For one, you can trust that every recipe I post is more than delicious and has been meticulously tried and tested for you. Also, that I’m an anal freak. Enjoy! View all posts by Maura → This entry was posted in Dessert, cookies, vegetarian. Bookmark the permalink. ← Pineapple Chicken Baked Beans →