Hello, beautiful people! I thought it might be fun to share a delicious fruit tart recipe right out of my novel, Lichgates.

Braeden, one of the series’ main characters, is a prince with a sweet tooth. He’s particularly fond of fruit tarts, which are a delicious end to any meal (or for him, quite often a meal of their own). Read on for info on how to make your own, and get your free copy of Lichgates while you’re at it. The links to get the novel are at the bottom of this post.

This is a great recipe that’s fun to make with kids because (a) it’s easy and doesn’t have a lot of cooking in it, and (b) the kids can customize their tart with whatever fruit they like best. You should do the glazing, of course, but their tart(s) will still be theirs.

 

Ingredients

Crust: Premade mini pastry shells

At some specialty food stores, you can actually find premade crusts for small tarts like these. If your store doesn’t carry small pastry tart shells, you can also use a large pie shell for one giant tart or even the individual soft shortcake shells.

 

Filling: Vanilla yogurt

A traditional fruit tart recipe usually calls for a cream cheese/vanilla/sugar concoction that takes a while to cook, but I’ve found that vanilla yogurt works really well for this. I’m a fan of Oikos Greek yogurt, but I know Greek yogurt is too bitter for some taste buds. Whichever vanilla yogurt you prefer should work perfectly.

 

Topping: Your favorite fruits

Here’s where you can get creative. The best bet is to pick your two favorites and then let each child pick his or her favorite as well. That will get a nice variety of fruits.

Recommended choices: strawberries, kiwis, raspberries, and blueberries.

 

The Glaze: Honey

I’ve read recipes that call for a limeade glaze, and Paula Deen has a pretty good recipe for one if you would prefer that. Personally, I like honey—it never goes bad and tastes great.

 

The Tart

Take your pastry cup and fill it about 2/3 of the way with vanilla yogurt. Place the fruit in as decorative and fun a way as possible. For the best proportions, make sure you can see at least a little of the yogurt when you finish (that is, don’t pile three inches of fruit on your tart).

Tip: make a smiley face or bears or cats or other animals with your fruit. It’s interactive and fun.

 

The Glaze

Drizzle the honey over the fruit tart in a very thin layer (too much overpowers everything), using a pastry brush to smooth out the drips.

If you don’t have a pastry brush, you can use a slightly moistened paper towel instead, though it’s less effective. This won’t do as good a job, but it serves its purpose.

 

Serving

Refrigerate the tarts once you make them. Let them chill for about 15 minutes and take them out of the fridge about 5 – 10 minutes before you want to eat them. Add whipped cream if so desired.

 

Viola! Enjoy. If you make these tarts, take pictures to share with us in the comments!

 

About Lichgates (Grimoire Saga #1)

Kara Magari is about to discover a beautiful world full of terrifying things—Ourea.

Kara, a college student still reeling from her mother’s recent death, has no idea the hidden world of Ourea even exists until a freak storm traps her in a sunken library. With no way out, she opens an ancient book of magic called the Grimoire and unwittingly becomes its master, which means Kara now wields the cursed book’s untamed power. Discovered by Ourea’s royalty, she becomes an unwilling pawn in a generations-old conflict—a war intensified by her arrival. In this world of chilling creatures and betrayal, Kara shouldn’t trust anyone… but she’s being hunted and can’t survive on her own. She drops her guard when Braeden, a native soldier with a dark secret, vows to keep her safe. And though she doesn’t know it, her growing attraction to him may just be her undoing.

For twelve years, Braeden Drakonin has lived a lie. The Grimoire is his one chance at redemption, and it lands in his lap when Kara Magari comes into his life. Though he begins to care for this human girl, there is something he wants more. He wants the Grimoire.

Welcome to Ourea, where only the cunning survive.

Grab your FREE copy

Amazon: USA | UK | Germany |  France | Spain | Italy |

Buy the Paperback | Kobo | Apple | Barnes & Noble

Add to Goodreads | Watch the Trailer | VIP List

Learn More (free chapters and excerpts)