[Thailand Recipes] Mango Coconut Fruit Tart

Unless it’s ice cream or a traditional Thai dessert, I know I shouldn’t even bother trying to tempt him. I know because I’ve tried. I’ve made cakes which were deemed to be too rich, brownies which were too chocolatey, and cobblers and pies that were just too sweet for his tastes. 

 

However, in all of my attempts at sweets, I did come across a dessert which is neither ice cream nor Thai that he loves – the fruit tart. The fruit tart crust, although it’s called pate sucree or sweet pastry crust, is really more buttery than it is sweet. And the filling, while creamy and delightfully vanilla-y, is not too rich or too heavy for his tastes.

The boyfriend likes my homemade fruit tarts so much that he’s actually suggested we open a little dessert shop featuring them. He certainly knows how to flatter this home cook…

So with his preferences in mind, I set out to make a variation on the traditional fruit tart, this one inspired by the flavors of mango sticky rice. I kept the same buttery pastry crust that the boyfriend likes, but filled it with a wonderfully coconut-y cream and topped it with deliciously sweet, ripe mangos.

There’s no sticky rice in this fruit tart, no, but one bite and I was reminded of the flavors of this famous Thai dessert. And these few variations were enough to create a wonderful new Thai-inspired twist on the fruit tart that the boyfriend loves.

Thai-Inspired Mango Coconut Fruit Tart

Makes 8 servings

INGREDIENTS

Pastry Crust Ingredients:
1 and 1/2 cups flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Coconut Cream Ingredients:
1 and 1/4 cups coconut milk
3 large egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons flour
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
See a Sausage Gnocchi Recipe

INSTRUCTIONS

To Make Pastry Crust:

Cream the butter and sugar together until they are light and fluffy.
Add the beaten egg and mix until just incorporated.
Add the flour and salt and mix until a soft dough is formed.
Form the dough into a ball and place in saran wrap in the freezer for 10-15 minutes.
Once chilled, press the dough into your tart pan and place in freezer for another 10-15 minutes.
Use a fork to prick the bottom of the crust and place into a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. Remove and let cool completely.

To Make Coconut Cream:

Mix the sugar and egg yolks together in a heat-proof bowl.
Then add the flour and cornstarch and mix until incorporated.
In a separate saucepan, heat the coconut milk to a gentle boil. Remove from heat and pour slowly into the egg yolk mixture while stirring constantly.
Once everything is mixed well, pour back into the saucepan. Heat again until its boiling and then continue stirring for another minute or two until it becomes thick. Remove from heat and save until ready to assemble the tart.

To Assemble Tart:

Spread the cooled coconut cream into the pastry crust.
Peel and cut ripe mangos as you would if you were making mango sticky rice (i.e., diagonal slices on each side of the mango). Then add a few more diagonal slices in between to achieve thin slices.
Arrange the thin mango slices on top of the cream-filled crust in a flower pattern, working from the outside in. Enjoy immediately!

This recipe and image sources are referred in website: Rachelcooksthai.com. Thanks so much!