The Easiest Dessert You'll Make All Summer

Any-fruit tart with a shortbread crust

Throughout my childhood my mom had an arsenal of easy-to-make recipes that she turned to again and again for potlucks, PTA get-togethers, and last-minute dinner parties: baked barbecue chicken drumsticks, couscous salad with a rainbow of chopped vegetables, and a fruit tart that stole the show every time.

Two weeks ago when I was helping my husband, Ryan, set up at the farmers market, the woman two booths down from us approached me and said, “I know this is a weird question, but did you happen to work at Cantina when you were a teenager?”. In 2007 Cantina was a Mexican restaurant at the corner of the tiny town of Andes, New York where I waitressed for a summer after graduating. It should be known that it was a loose interpretation of Mexican food. You could get pitchers of frozen margaritas heaping bowls of chips and salsa, and overly stuffed burritos. While inauthentic, it was packed every night that summer. Today, it’s an upscale art gallery. Back to the market. The woman went on to say, “You brought in your mom’s fruit tart and I remember it was so good that I paid you to make one for me!”. Eighteen years later, she still remembers how good that tart is.

To make it, a shortbread dough is pressed-in to a fluted tart pan. While I’ve never tried making it in anything else, I bet a pie tin would work too. Then, you add your fruit of choice. That could be all berries, the latest stone fruit in season, or a combination of both. You could also use frozen fruit if you want to make this in the off season. There’s no custard, jam, or anything else that requires standing over a stove. You just place the fruit on the dough, sprinkle it with sugar, and pop it in the oven. That’s it.

Makes enough dough for one 12-inch tart pan, which feeds 8 to 10

Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing

• 2/3 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 large egg

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 4 pounds assorted fruit of choice

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Grease a tart pan of your choosing.

2. Add the butter, sugar, and salt to a medium bowl and use a hand mixer to beat until combined.

3. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until combined.

4. Add the flour and beat until the dough comes together, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. The dough will be crumbly.

5. Press the dough into the tart pan. Top with fruit of your choosing and sprinkle with sugar.

6. Bake until the tart is aromatic and the crust is golden brown, about 45 to 50 minutes.

7. Let cool to room temperature before serving.