FRUIT TART

For Pate Sucree (sweet crust): 2 tablespoons sugar 5 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 egg 1 cup flour For Creme Patissiere (pastry cream): 1-1/4 cup milk 1/3 cup sugar 3 tablespoons cornstarch 3 egg yolks 1/2 cup whipped cream 2-3 pints fresh sliced fruit, such as strawberries

For the sweet crust: Cream together sugar and butter. When light, add egg, then flour, and combine to form dough. Refrigerate dough for one hour before rolling out.

For the pastry cream: In a saucepan, bring milk just to a boil. In a bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch, and egg yolks. Gradually add milk to yolk mixture. Stir until combined. Pour mixture back in the saucepan, and bring just to a second boil, stirring constantly. (Mixture should thicken and be smooth.) Remove from heat, and pour into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, making sure that the plastic wrap touches the entire surface of the pastry cream. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Roll out pate sucree on floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness. Place in greased tart tin, and refrigerate for 1/2 hour.

Blind bake tart tin for approximately 20 minutes in a 350-degree F. oven. (Note: To blind bake - or keep shell flat while baking - prick pastry, then line with piece of foil cut slightly larger than pan. Press foil onto bottom and up side. Fill with dried beans or uncooked rice to weight pastry down so it doesn't puff. After baking, remove beans or rice and foil, prick pastry again, and return it to oven until golden.) Cool on rack until ready to fill. Whip cold pastry cream until smooth. Fold in whippe d cream. Spread into tart shell.

Cover pastry cream with fresh fruit and serve.

To finish the tart, you can glaze the fruit with melted-down apricot preserves.