The discussion between eating fruit when it’s ripe, rather than when it’s green has it’s nutritional pros and cons. But for many of us, what it really boils down is flavour!

Nonetheless, there comes a point during the week, when I peer into the fruit bowl and find a few pieces of fruit which are only a day or two away from the compost bin.  That’s when this recipe comes in handy.

The aromas and sweetness contributed by ripe fruit to this recipe means that you don’t really need to do much to get a delicious result. You can substitute the fruits with whatever is in your fruit basket. Just make sure you have a variety..as you don’t want too much water in the filling.

Sweet Short Crust Pastry:

100 grams pure icing sugar

200 grams butter, left at room temperature for several hours, plus additional butter for greasing

375 grams plain flour

1 egg

1 pinch salt

1 tsp natural vanilla extract

Allow all of the ingredients to sit at room temperature for several hours before commencing.

Filling:

2 granny smith apples

1 ripe banana

2 large ripe pears

5cm piece lemon rind

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 cup water

Icing sugar for dusting

How to prepare:

Begin with the fruit filling. Peel the fruit and chop into rough pieces. Place into a saucepan, add the water, lemon rind and cinnamon. Cook on medium heat for approximately 30 minutes, stirring every few minutes until the apples turn soft. Set aside to cool.

Place the icing sugar on a bench, make a well in the center and add the egg.  Using your fingertips, begin working the sugar and egg together, then mix in the butter. Add the vanilla, salt and flour. Continue to mix lightly with your fingertips until the ingredients are combined. Take care not to over-knead the pastry. It should be slightly crumbly, and not too elastic. Form the pastry into a ball, Cover the mixture with cling wrap and refrigerate for up to one hour.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Grease/ or line your baking tin with baking paper. Divide the dough into two portions. Roll out you dough so that it is 5mm thick. Line the base and sides of your tin with the dough. Cut off any excess pastry.

Fill the tart with the fruit filling. If there is some water in the filling, strain it out.

Roll the remaining dough into a long and narrow strip, that it is about 5mm thick. Cut the dough into long strips, about 1 cm wide. Gently lift each strip and start to layer over the top of the tart creating a lattice.

Place the tart into the oven and bake until browned for approxiutmately 40 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius.
Allow for the tart to cool completely before serving. Dust with icing sugar to finish.