Caroline Serves Up An Easter Tart

Happy Easter to you all! I’m keeping today’s celebration easy and simple with a casual dish that I can heat up and serve in the coming days. When I was looking for recipe inspiration, I flipped through one of our newest cookbooks, Festive, and landed on this Asparagus Tart recipe. It uses simple seasonal ingredients for a light, yet decadent dish that’s perfect for a spring brunch. Serve with white wine and Jeffrey’s favorite hot cross buns, if you’re feeling like baking (see here), surrounded by family or friends and lots of sunshine.

Filled with year-round inspiration, Festive from Marja Wickman and Elina Cerell is a cookbook organized by season and filled with a plethora of ideas and recipes for a variety of celebrations. I've been seeing fresh asparagus popping up at the farmers market, so when I spotted this recipe (and the short ingredient list), I earmarked it to give it a go. I didn't have mini tart pans on hand, so I used a large pan to make one sliceable pie.

While store bought pie crust works in a pinch, there's nothing more satisfying and delicious than homemade. The crust for this tart comes together quickly and is well worth the extra effort – all you need is flour, butter, water and salt. I mixed it all in this hand-glazed Porcelain Serving Bowl. It's the perfect size and I love the soft color palette. 

I recently swapped an older tea towel in my kitchen for this Salt & Pepper Linen Tea Towel. It has a whimsical seasonal plant print drawn by illustrator Marion Rekersdrees that I'm loving.

Next, I made the filling which is a wonderfully rich combination of crème fraîche and cream cheese. This recipe calls for peppermint cream cheese, but I used regular. If you want to go the peppermint route, I imagine adding in a couple drops of peppermint extract would give this tart a fun, refreshing flavor.

Fresh asparagus is abundant right now, whether you're at the grocery store or the farmer's market. The sprigs not only make this tart look beautiful, but they add that fresh herby flavor that compliments the richness of the dairy in this dish. Chop off the woody ends and cut a few different lengths to fit the pan or pans you have. 

After about 30 minutes in the oven, the Asparagus Tart is cooked through and lightly toasted on the top. I served it warm on my favorite Chamberlin Platter with my Stone Jug striped Linen Napkins. I also set the Easter table with the Maya Placemats, a grouping of these festive ceramic bunnies (see here and here) and the brass salt and pepper mills. 

For this recipe and many other delicious ones along with design inspiration for gatherings, pick up a copy of Festive in our home store or online here. I give the Tart a big thumbs up and I'm looking forward to checking out more. I hope your Easter is filled with all your favorite faire, family or friends.