Imagine this: it’s summer, and you have peaches. You want to make a nifty dessert, but pie seems a bit daunting (all that pie crust, ugh) and crisp maybe a bit too sweet (and it needs ice cream, which I don’t have on hand) .. what’s a home cook to do? My answer: make this quick peach tart.
There’s no fussing with pie dough or a rolling pin, and no peeling the peaches! It’s the quickest and easiest tart I know: mix some stuff for the tart shell, and press it into the pan. Slice peaches, peel and all, and lay them right over the tart shell. Then mix up a little streusel topping, toss it over everything, and bake.
Ta da! Quick peach tart to the rescue. It’s absolutely delicious, and totally easy. This is a real winner.
Quick and Easy Peach Tart
Crust
- 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 c vegetable oil (either coconut oil, or half mild olive oil and half vegetable or canola oil)
- 2 Tbsp whole milk
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
Filling and Topping
- 5 small peaches, pitted and sliced about 1/2 inch wide (no need to peel them)
- 3/4 c sugar
- 2 Tbsp flour
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter – very cold, cut in small pieces
Heat oven to 425˚F.
Place 1 1/2 c flour, 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tsp sugar nn a mixing bowl, and stir well to mix thoroughly. In a separate bowl, mix together the oils, milk, and almond extract. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and mix gently with a fork – just enough to dampen all the flour and bring the dough together. Don’t overwork it.
Using your fingers, pat the dough into a 10-inch tart pan, pushing it up the sides to meet the edge. It should be about 1/8 inch thick all around. Trim and discard any excess dough.
Mix the topping: in a bowl, combine 3/4 c sugar, 2 Tbsp flour, 1/4 tsp salt, and the butter. (If the peaches are very juicy, add up to 1 Tbsp more flour.) Using a fork or your fingers, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until it is crumbly, with a texture of fine granules and tiny pebbles.
Arrange the peach slices, overlapping, in a concentric circle, beginning on the outside edges of the tart pan. Fill in the center in whatever pattern makes sense to you. The peaches should fit snugly.
Sprinkle the pebbly mixture over the top (it’ll seem like a lot!) Bake about 40 minutes, until shiny thick bubbles surround the fruit, and the crust is slightly brown. Cool on a rack.
Excellent served warm or at room temperature, with whipped cream or ice cream.
Quick and Easy Peach Tart
Ingredients
FOR THE CRUST
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 Tbsp whole milk
- ½ tsp almond extract
FILLING AND TOPPING
- 5 medium peaches
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 Tbsp flour
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, very cold
Instructions
- Heat oven to 425˚F. Set up ingredients needed, and separate them according to use (crust or topping).
MAKE THE CRUST
- Place flour, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl, and stir well to mix thoroughly. In a separate bowl, mix together the oil, milk, and almond extract. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and combine gently with a fork. Mix just enough to dampen all the flour and bring the dough together. Don’t overwork it.
- Using your fingers, pat the dough into a 10-inch tart pan, pushing it up the sides to meet the edge. It should be about ⅛ inch thick all around. Trim and discard any excess dough.
SLICE PEACHES AND ARRANGE IN UNBAKED CRUST
- Don’t peel the peaches, but pit them, and cut them into half-inch wide slices. Arrange the peach slices, overlapping, in a concentric circle, beginning on the outside edges of the tart pan. Fill in the center in whatever pattern makes sense to you. The peaches should fit snugly.
MIX TOPPING AND THEN BAKE
- Cut the cold butter into small pieces. In a bowl, combine sugar, flour, salt, and the butter. If the peaches are very juicy, add up to 1 Tbsp more flour. Using a fork or your fingers, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until it is crumbly, with a texture of fine granules and tiny pebbles.
- Sprinkle the pebbly topping mixture over the top, even though it will seem like a lot! Bake about 40 minutes, until shiny thick bubbles surround the fruit, and the crust is slightly brown. Cool on a rack.
- Excellent served warm or at room temperature, with whipped cream or ice cream.