White Chocolate Fruit Tart

This is from Alexis over at Lex, Bri, & Jessie. And HOLYMOLY does it look yummy. I love the idea of fresh fruit, since I am so with her on the not liking cooked fruit thing. My husband thinks I am an alien because I am not a big fan of pies. But this? This I could eat. Most likely ALL of it. Hey, I'm eating for two here! :)

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This recipe comes to me from my mother-in-law. She made it for me for my birthday and I loved it. I'm a very picky eater and try to stay away from desserts for the sake of my waistline, so everyone was glad when I went for seconds on this. My husband loved it too! And I'm going to attempt to make it this weekend for a family celebration in NJ. The recipe was taken from some book where people from all over the US submit their recipes...so the White Chocolate Fruit Tart is actually from Claire Darby from New Castle, DE (just thought I should give her the credit)....Here it is, and I've added my own little notes of things that I will probably modify, just because I can NEVER truly follow a recipe...I always have to change something or give it my own little twist:

Ingredients:

CRUST:

3/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1-1/2 cups all purpose flour

FILLING:

1 package (10 to 12 ounces) vanilla or white chocolate chips, melted and cooled. (My MIL used Ghiradelli)

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream (when I make this, I will probably use light cream in an effort to reduce fat/calories)

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese softened (again, I'll probably use light/low fat cream cheese)

1 can (20 ounces) pineapple chunks, undrained...(pineapples are on sale this week at my grocery store, so I may just buy a few fresh pineapples to use instead...you also need the juice from the pineapple for this recipe, but in my experience, you can extract a good amount of "pineapple juice" just from cutting it up, so I intend to use that)

1 pint fresh strawberries sliced

1 can (11 ounces) mandarin oranges drained...(My MIL used mandarin oranges and it was good. However, I'm not a big fan of canned fruit so I will probably replace these with blueberries and blackberries)

2 kiwifruit, peeled and sliced

GLAZE:

3 tablespoons sugar (again, I modify EVERYTHING, so I'll be trying the raw sugar)

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

WHAT'S NEXT?

1). For Crust: Cream together the butter & confectioner's sugar until light & fluffy. Gradually add the flour & mix well. Press into an ungreased 11 - in tart pan with removable bottom or 12 - in pizza pan with sides (my MIL used the pizza pan). Bake at 300 degrees for 25 - 30 minutes until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

2). For filling: Beat melted chips and cream (make sure cream is at room temp or slightly heated) in mixing bowl. Add cream cheese & beat until smooth. Spread over crust. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Drain pineapple, reserving 1/2 cup juice, & set aside juice. Arrange all fruit over the filling on the crust (try to make it pretty).

3). For glaze: Combine sugar & cornstarch in a small saucepan. Stir in lemon juice and reserved pineapple juice until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook & stir for 2 minutes or until it thickens. Cool, and then brush over fruit. Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

At my birthday "party" we were talking about how this can be made for 4th of July using the 12 - in. pizza pan to represent a US Flag, so that might be a cool idea too! Enjoy!