Published July 1, 2004.
We developed our free-form tart recipe as a quick alternative to pie. For the flakiest pastry, we turned to a French technique in pastry making called fraisage, in which the dough is smeared with the heel of your hand, spreading the butter pieces into long, thin streaks between skeletal layers of flour and water. The dough is then lifted up and back over the fruit (the center of the tart remains exposed) and loosely pleated to allow for shrinkage. The bright summer fruit needed only the simple addition of sugar, 3 to 5 tablespoons depending on the type of fruit.
Though we prefer the tartlets made with a mix of stone fruits and berries (our favorite combinations were plums and raspberries, peaches and blueberries, and apricots and blackberries), you can use only one type of fruit if you prefer. Peeling the stone fruit (even the peaches) is not necessary. Taste the fruit before adding sugar to it; use the lesser amount if the fruit is very sweet, more if it is tart. However much sugar you use, do not add it to the fruit until you are ready to fill and form the tart. Once baked, the tartlets are best eaten warm, or within 3 or 4 hours, although leftovers do reheat well in a 350-degree oven. Excellent accompaniments are vanilla ice cream or lightly sweetened whipped cream or crème fraîche.
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