Tart

Fresh figs and strawberries are favorite summer fruits that make a delicious pairing. Here, they are arranged in a pâte brisée shell, then surrounded by a hazelnut batter, which turns golden brown as it bakes. The batter is similar to frangipane, a classic filling for French pastries, notably pithiviers, and all manner of tarts; it is traditionally made from almonds, but other nuts are also common. Armagnac is a fine French brandy; Cognac or another top-quality brandy can be substituted.

Pear and almond tart is one of the best known—and most revered—desserts of classic French pastry; it’s also one of Martha’s favorites. Almonds are sprinkled over the top and flavor both the press-in crust and the frangipane filling. Halved pears, poached in white wine and vanilla, are nestled in neat rows, leaving just enough room in between for the filling to rise during baking and turn a splendid shade of golden brown.

Move rice pudding out of the bowl and into crisp tartlet shells; top each with juicy, ruby red blood-orange segments. The filling is flavored with vanilla bean and blood-orange juice. The tarts can be served warm, at room temperature, or chilled for an afternoon tea or as a delicious final course after dinner. Arrange the blood-orange sections in a floral pattern, then drizzle the tarts with extra juice.

Take all the layers of classic cheesecake—crumbly graham-cracker crust, rich, creamy filling, and fresh fruit topping—and combine them in a modern tart. Sour cream ups the tanginess factor of the filling; almonds round out the cookie crust; and sugar sweetens the plums, which are cooked into a jam. Save some of the cooking syrup for tossing with the blueberries before scattering them over the top.

Although countless theories exist to explain the name “chess pie,” not one is considered definitive. Whatever its origin, the pantry pie relies primarily on sugar, eggs, and butter for its deceptively complex filling. Here, the traditional dessert is reinterpreted as a more modern-looking tart. An easy crumb crust made from store-bought vanilla wafers replaces the standard rolled-out pie dough, and is baked in a fluted tart ring instead of a pie plate. In testing the recipe, our editors found that Nilla wafers worked better than other brands. The filling is thickened with fine cornmeal; during baking, it forms a thin crust on top, which, when sliced, reveals a creamy golden custard. This version just might become a classic in its own right.

Cornmeal and blackberries appear together in many baked goods and desserts, as their late-summer flavors complement each other beautifully. This recipe calls for you to prepare your own jam, for which you will be rewarded with a few extra jars. Otherwise, seek out a top-quality store-bought jam to use in its place; spike it with two tablespoons kirsch.

The press-in crust for this tart, flavored with ground hazelnuts and cinnamon, doubles as a crumble topping that browns atop the fruit-and-custard filling as it bakes. It’s another highly adaptable, versatile recipe that works well with any type of stone fruit or berry.

The filling for this Italian-style tart begins with a flavorful reduction of port wine and brown sugar; half a fresh Thai chile is added for a subtle—but entirely optional—bit of heat. Start with the best fruit you can find. Small, oval Italian prune plums are firmer and sweeter than other plums; plus, since they are a freestone fruit, their pits are not attached to the flesh and are therefore easily removed.

Usher in fall with a half dozen rustic yet refined tartlets. Over a wonderfully sweet “applesauce” made from the roasted fruit and Calvados, two layers of paper-thin apple slices are brushed with butter and sprinkled with sugar to help them caramelize as they bake. The tartlets are delicious still warm from the oven or at room temperature, especially with a snifter of Calvados served alongside for sipping.

Anyone who samples this sunny lemon tart can tell you that appearances don’t deceive: The dessert tastes every bit as bright and springlike as it looks. Egg yolks, sugar, and freshly squeezed lemon juice create a velvety curd that is poured into a crunchy cornmeal shell flecked with lemon zest and fresh sage. Before it is chilled to set, crème fraîche is dolloped over the curd filling and teased into a swirling pattern with a wooden skewer.

A signature holiday pie—pumpkin—is reinterpreted as a dinner-party dessert for any time of year. If you don’t have the exact pans called for, just be sure that the pastry shells are slightly larger than the flans.

Think of one of these glistening tarts as an elegant interpretation of a beloved candy bar: One bite into the chocolate crust reveals a center of soft caramel and toasted nuts. Each batch fills six small tartlet pans (or a seven-inch round tart pan). Vary them by topping some with chocolate ganache and others with chocolate shavings. To make shavings, spread leftover chocolate from step 4 on a baking sheet; refrigerate until firm, then scrape with a knife or a dough scraper.

Clafoutis, a rich, creamy custard dessert from the French countryside, is made from a quickly blended batter that is usually poured over fruit and baked. Cherries are the traditional choice, but other stone fruits, such as sliced apricots and plums, as well as berries and figs, are good options. Here, clafoutis makes an unexpected—and utterly delectable—filling for individual tarts.

More than other types of chocolate, milk chocolate melts in the mouth like butter, with a luscious taste and texture. It partners well with all varieties of nuts. Here, pistachios are mixed into the cookie crust, ground into a paste and spread over the partially baked crust, and sprinkled on top as a garnish. Slicing the tart reveals a “racing stripe” formed by the paste between the dark crust and filling.

Old-fashioned yet quietly innovative, this custard tart is satisfyingly rich and creamy. It’s also unsparing with the dominant spice, nutmeg—and all the better as a result.

Crème brûlée—a French restaurant favorite whose name means “burned cream”—is delicious all on its own, but even more so when baked in a crisp tart shell. A kitchen torch is used to caramelize the sugar on the surface of the custard, producing spectacular color and crackle. If you don’t have a kitchen torch, use the broiler: chill the tarts for half an hour, then broil them for about a minute. For the best results, prepare the tarts no more than one day in advance, and wait to brûlée them until just before serving. This way, the shells will remain firm and crumbly, and the topping will retain its trademark sheen.

Few desserts are as vibrantly seasonal and—contrary to its eye-catching appearance—as downright simple as this. Sliced apricots arranged in alternating rows lie on a bed of rich pistachio paste atop puff pastry. Chopped pistachios are scattered on top.

What’s more appealing than a batch of fresh-baked, half-moon-shaped pies filled with rich homemade apple butter? Nothing, except maybe a batch of hand pies filled with an assortment of colorful, tasty fruit butters (try peach, plum, apricot, or pear). If you are making your own apple butter, choose eating apples, such as Mutsu, Gala, or Golden Delicious.

A homemade dessert does not have to be complicated. This tart involves little more than assembling a few staples from the freezer and the pantry. Think of it as a deconstructed chocolate-almond croissant—one meant for the end of a meal, rather than the start of the day.

Small puff-pastry squares make great vessels for summer fruits steeped in honey and fresh lime juice. The technique for making the shells is similar to that used to create the French pastries known as vol-au-vents (or “flying in the wind,” so called for their ethereal texture). Vol-au-vents are traditionally filled with savory fillings and served as a first course. Here, plums and strawberries fill the pastries for the last course; feel free to substitute other fresh berries or stone fruits, and to garnish each with a tiny dollop of whipped cream, if you wish.

Consider this a sweet blending of culinary tastes and traditions. As in many Italian desserts, the fruit is minimally sweetened, and seasoned simply with fresh citrus zests. Apples are sautéed until golden, then tumbled onto a round of rich pastry dough to create a crostata. The whole thing is finished with a crumb topping with subtle hints of two classic Thanksgiving pie spices, cinnamon and allspice, and served with another all-American favorite, vanilla ice cream.

Prunes, or dried plums (as they are sometimes called), become downright irresistible when drenched in a flavorful concoction of red wine, sugar, cinnamon, and freshly squeezed orange juice. Here, the poached fruit gets baked atop puff pastry for an easy, elegant dessert.

Crisp, flaky sheets of phyllo topped with sugar-coated Pluots celebrate simplicity and summer at once. Pluots, a cross between plums and apricots, are available at farmers’ markets and many supermarkets; feel free to substitute any other stone fruit. Have a clean, damp kitchen towel ready to cover the unused sheets of phyllo dough and keep them from drying out while you work.

Here’s a great weeknight dessert option—no rolling pin required. The cream cheese dough comes together quite easily, and is simply patted into a thin round. A single pear is thinly sliced, then tossed in a bowl with pear brandy, sugar, and lemon juice. The mixture is then fanned out over the dough before baking. Whipped cream makes a nice accompaniment, as does a snifter of pear brandy, naturally.