Fresh Fruit Tart with Pastry Cream

What a delicious treat! I made this tart for my boyfriend's birthday. He really doesn't go for sweets, so I made a list of his favorite fruits and loaded them up in this sweet pastry shell. My favorite part about making this dessert was making the pastry cream. I once again used my America's Test Kitchen tested cookbook (The New Best Recipe) for the recipe, which calls for half-and-half, sugar, egg yolks, cornstarch, butter, and vanilla. Nothing very extraordinary. After simmering the half-and-half with the sugar for a little while, a mixture of the egg yolks, some sugar, and the cornstarch is added and heated. Suddenly, what once was two runny liquids transforms into a thick, pale yellow custard. And it only gets better! Mix in some vanilla and a little butter and you get a rich, thick, slightly sweet bed that only compliments fresh fruit. Needless to say, this recipe pleased even my sweets-impaired boyfriend.