bakingfruitpastry
I am looking to re-create a bakery-style fruit tartlette. I was wondering what the glaze on top of the fruit tarts you find in US bakeries is and how you can create it at home.
I have heard that it's just heated apple jelly, but I imagine that might change the flavor of the whole tart. It seems like it's largely a preservative since I don't see any glaze in home recipes, but I like texture it adds.
My best guess would be wampee fruit - has roughly the same size, shape, and stem colour, and obviously comes from the same region, although I'm not sure about the interior:
It's hard to tell from the low contrast in the photo but it could also be loquat, AKA "Japanese Plum".
Only problem with the second choice is that loquat usually has full-on brown branches as opposed to green stems - so it's probably the wampee.
As commented by SAJ14SAJ, you can dust the apple pieces with some of the cake mix. There is no need to change the proportions asked for by the cake mix box. You also do not need to cook the apples ahead, but you can slice them quite thinly or cut in small pieces to ensure that they are cooked enough.
Best Answer
The glaze on most fruit tarts is just melted jelly. Given the small quantity involved, you probably wouldn't particularly notice the apple flavour. However, there's no reason you couldn't use another type of jelly if you preferred.
If you take a look at many fruit juice blends, you'll note that the base is usually apple, even when that's not the advertised fruit flavour, so it's obviously not an overpowering flavour when mixed with other fruits.
This Tips for Pies and Tarts page has a couple suggestions at the end for glazes for fruit pies and tarts.