I will be one of many to admit that I’m in denial of winter still clinging to its last few weeks. Toronto has been a cluster of warm, sunny days mixed with snow-covered cars and winds. This has resulted in some very entertaining people watching since there are some who are still in full-blown winter mode (hat, mitts, scarf, down jacket, etc.) and some who are wearing shorts (yes, shorts in March in Canada, I know). I’m not quite in that deep in denial, but I am to the point that I’m planning cottage trips and making desserts that will at some point require fresh summer peaches.

Unfortunately, in the time being, I had to use frozen peaches instead of fresh because it’s just what I had on hand. Obviously this makes a big difference in flavour and texture but either way they still tasted amazing.

I also only had about a handful of peaches left in the bag because I didn’t plan ahead very well, so I just sliced up some apple and used that instead of peach on some of them. Still tasted great. I’m sure you could do this with mango, orange slices, berries, etc. whatever you have on hand that you want to use up.

If you’ve never worked with puff pastry before, know that it is tricky and may look a little ugly if you make mistakes but it will almost always taste good and look impressive after baking. You need to thaw it out (don’t try to use it half-thawed, it won’t work and you’ll be annoyed) and it can dry out or be sticky if you wait too long. I basically kept mine in the fridge right up until I had to cut it into pieces and that worked well for me. I found this recipe on Some The Wiser.

Ingredients

Makes 6 tarts

• 1 large sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 5oz. goat cheese, softened
• 1 cup peach slices, fresh or frozen*
• Black pepper to garnish
• 4-5 tbsp. honey, for drizzling

*If you’re using frozen, thaw out your peaches in the fridge overnight.

Method

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Cut sheet of puff pastry into 6 rough squares (I used a pizza cutter); they don’t have to be perfect. Slather on some goat cheese onto each one, leaving a small border around the edges. If your cheese is being uncooperative and crumbly, microwave it for 20 seconds so it spreads easily. Lay your peaches (or other fruit of choice) on top of the cheese, then grind a small amount of black pepper onto the tops of the fruit.

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until puffy and golden brown on the edges. Drizzle a bit of honey on the top of each tart and they’re ready to serve!

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COMING IN APRIL