Mixed Berry Tart with Apricot Glaze

Serves 4
With Apricot Glaze: Calories  137; Protein  4g; Carbohydrates  25g; Fiber  2g; Total Fat 2g, Saturated 1g, Polyunsaturated 1g, Monounsaturated 1g; Cholesterol 1mg; Sodium 203mg
With Variation: Calories  131; Protein  4g; Carbohydrates  23g; Fiber  2g; Total Fat 2g, Saturated 1g, Polyunsaturated 1g, Monounsaturated 1g; Cholesterol 1mg; Sodium 204mg

You can enjoy this colorful tart any time of year. If fresh berries aren’t available, substitute kiwifruit, and peaches or nectarines, and canned mandarin orange sections.

Crust
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 to 3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons light stick margarine, chilled and cut into ¼ inch cubes
2 to 3 tablespoons cold water
Flour for rolling dough

Filling
1 ¾ cups fat-free milk
1 small package sugar-free, fat-free (about 1 ounce), or regular (about ¾ ounces) instant vanilla pudding mix
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or almond extract

Topping
½  cup fresh raspberries
½ cup fresh blueberries
½ to ¾ cup sliced fresh strawberries
1 tablespoon all-fruit apricot spread, lightly beaten with a fork

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

For crust, in a large bowl or food processor, combine flour and sugar.

Add margarine and combine with your fingers or process until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Add cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and mix with your fingers or process until dough is manageable (if dough is overworked, it will be tough). Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; roll dough into a 12-inch circle. Press dough on bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie pan or a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Prick shell all over with a fork. If desired, cover shell with cooking parchment or aluminum foil and fill with dried beans, uncooked rice or pie weights.

Bake for 10 minutes. Remove parchment or foil and beans, rice or pie weights. Bake crust for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. If edges of crust begin to brown too quickly, cover them with aluminum foil (leave center uncovered). Let cool completely on a cooling rack about 20 minutes.

For filling, in a medium bowl, combine all ingredients. Whisk for 2 minutes. Pour mixture into cooled crust, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, about 5 minutes.

Arrange berries on filling, alternating fruits to form decorative concentric circles. Brush top with apricot spread until berries are glazed and shiny (if preserves are thick and unspreadable, warm them slightly in the microwave, 20 to 30 seconds).

Reduce the amount of sugar in the crust to 1 tablespoon. Warm 1 tablespoon all-fruit apricot spread until it melts. As soon as the crust comes out of the oven, brush it with the apricot spread. The crust will absorb the spread and soften.

When baking an unfilled crust, or “baking blind,” use the weights of dried beans, uncooked rice, or metal or ceramic pie weights to prevent the crust from puffing up and slipping down the sides of the pan. If you don’t have any of these, you can nestle a pie pan of equal size into the pan with the uncooked crust, then bake it.

This recipe is reprinted with permission from The New American Heart Association Cookbook Seventh Edition, Copyright © 2004 by the American Heart Association. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, a division of Random House, Inc. Available from booksellers everywhere.