More summer desserts

Seriously regret not bringing our ice cream maker with us to my parents' house. Trying not to think about my beloved frozen yogurt, chocolate sorbet, or mint chocolate chunk ice cream... trying so hard.

In other, non-frozen treat related news, today I decided to make another no-bake fruit tart. Did I mention I made a strawberry tart last week? It was good too but I forgot to take a picture. Sorry!

This afternoon I was, let's see, simultaneously dying of heat exhaustion, eating a hot dog, and dreaming about dessert. I thought about yesterday's Minimalist column and decided, hey, why not make a dessert that requires only a little bit of mixing (mascarpone, cream cheese, vanilla, sugar, and lemon zest), a little bit of smoothing (into a graham cracker crust), and a little bit of garnishing (with fresh, beautiful strawberries and blueberries)?

For about 2 seconds I considered making the crust from scratch. But because I felt unabashedly lazy today, that thought evaporated into nothing more than a good intention. And you know what? I can totally condone using a store bought crust in this case; this dessert is homey and satisfying and is not trying to be fancy. This is a tart you could serve to your family and friends and enjoy just because the fruit is flavorful, the creamy filling is sweet and a little lemony, and you didn't have to turn on the stove, oven, stand mixer, or food processor and make a big mess.

And I like that.


Berry Tart with Cream Cheese/Mascarpone Filling (inspired by Mark Bittman)

MB uses ricotta and honey in his version, whereas I decided to use mascarpone and plain old refined sugar. For my money, mascarpone has a much richer flavor and decidedly smoother texture.

• 1 8-ounce container mascarpone cheese
• 8 ounces of cream cheese
• 1/4 cup sugar
• zest of one small lemon
  
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 pint berries (strawberries, blueberries, etc.) or any other seasonal fruit
• 1 9 inch graham cracker crust

Prepare graham cracker crust (pre-bake only if desired). Combine first 5 ingredients in a bowl and mix until creamy and smooth. Spread cream cheese mixture into crust, carefully and evenly. Arrange any combination of thinly sliced fruit or berries on top in any manner that pleases you. Refrigerate at least 2 hours prior to eating.