4th Of July Fruit Tart
Celebrate the 4th of July with a fruit tart! This homemade fruit tart is a delicious summertime dessert with a buttery tart crust, filled with a pastry cream and whipped cream, decorated with berries and whipped cream. This recipe makes 12 servings.
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Flag Fruit Tart
I remember having to decorate hundreds of flag fruit tarts at the bakery I used to work at. As soon as the 4th of July came around, we’d prepare for everyone wanting to buy a fruit dessert. Fruit desserts and the summer are a classic pairing because it’s when a lot of berries are in season and taste their absolute best.
This flag tart is perfect for gatherings when you want to go all out with the holiday. Since all of the components are homemade too, it’ll impress everyone and taste so much better than store bought!
What Is A Fruit Tart?
A fruit tart is impressive to look at and usually very colorful. It’s made using a cookie-like crust, with a pastry cream filling, and then arranging fresh fruit on top.
A flag tart is the same idea, although it uses only blueberries and raspberries and whipped cream!
Fruit tarts can be decorated in any design that you like! You can check out my fresh fruit tart post here that has step-by-step pictures that show how to make each component of a fruit tart.
Ingredients
There’s a lot of ingredients for this recipe because a fruit tart breaks down into four parts. The tart crust, the pastry filling, whipped cream, and the berries. But don’t let this worry you – the ingredients are mostly ones you’d find in your pantry. Below you’ll find an ingredients list for each part of a fruit tart.
Tart Dough
- cold unsalted butter
- large egg
- vanilla extract
- powdered sugar
- kosher salt
- all-purpose flour
Pastry Cream
- granulated sugar
- large egg
- large egg yolks
- cornstarch
- whole milk
- vanilla extract
- unsalted butter
Whipped Cream
- cold heavy whipping cream
- powdered sugar
- vanilla extract
Fresh Fruit Assembling
- semi-sweet chocolate, melted
- blueberries
- raspberries
- apricot jam
- warm water
Making a fruit tart can be a little overwhelming because of the different elements that you need to bake/make before putting it all together. Here are a few of my tips.
Tips For Making A Fruit Tart
How To Make A Flag Fruit Tart
- Make tart dough! Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or overnight or freeze for up to 2 months.
- While the dough chills in the refrigerator, make the pastry cream then let it chill for at least 30 minutes. You can make the pastry cream ahead if you want to save time! It can last in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Next, roll out the chilled dough with a rolling pin. I highly recommend using a 9 or 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom to remove the crust in one piece.
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ (177℃). Bake the tart shell on the center rack for 25-28 minutes, turning halfway. When the crust is done, remove it from the oven and let it cool for 30 minutes. (You can also bake the tart crust ahead of time! It can stay wrapped at room temperature for 2 days.) Let it cool for at least 30 minutes on a wire cooling wrack.
- In the meantime, make the whipped cream. We need whipped cream to mix with the pastry cream filling and to pipe onto the top of the tart.
- Wash and dry fruit. I’m using blueberries and raspberries but you could replace the raspberries for strawberries. For strawberries, slice them down the middle so that they can lay flat.
- After the crust has cooled, remove the pan by pushing up on the removable bottom.
- Mix the chilled pastry cream and HALF of the whipped cream together. Add the remaining half of whipped cream into a piping bag prepared with an open star tip.
- Melt chocolate in a microwavable safe bowl for 30-second increments then brush a thin layer of chocolate onto the bottom of the tart crust. Refrigerate the crust for 5 minutes to set the chocolate.
- Add the pastry cream/whipped cream filling into the tart shell and smooth it with an offset spatula. Add enough cream that it’s level with the tart crust edge.
- Arrange the fruit into a flag shape (see pictures above). First place a generous amount of blueberries in the left corner of the tart. Place raspberries in rows with space in-between, then pipe whipped cream star dollops in-between the rows.
- Finally, add apricot jam and water into a microwavable bowl. Heat for 10 seconds and then mix together. Use a pastry b to gently brush the jam onto all of the berries to give it shine and keep the fruit looking fresh. Serve right away!
Can A Fruit Tart Be Made Ahead Of Time?
The tart crust and pastry cream can be made ahead of time. Tart dough can be made ahead and kept wrapped with tinfoil at room temperature for 2 days. Or you can freeze the dough for up to 2 months. Remove the dough from the freezer 30 minutes before rolling.
You can also make pastry cream ahead of time. It will keep in the refrigerator for 3 days.
You can fill a tart crust with pastry cream and keep it in the refrigerator overnight. Then, just before you need to serve it, add the berries and whipped cream. Fresh fruits can leak water and shrivel fairly quickly even when in the refrigerator, which is why it’s best to serve it right away.
How Long Does A Fresh Fruit Tart Last?
Leftover fruit tart can be stored in the refrigerator for 1-2 days. I’ve had a fruit tart sit out at room temperature for about 1-2 hours before serving and taste okay, but it really is best to serve it cold.
RECIPE CARD
4th Of July Fruit Tart
Equipment
- 9-in or 10-in tart pan *preferably with a removable bottom
- Stand mixer or handheld mixer
- pie weights or dried beans
Ingredients
Tart Crust
- ½ cup cold unsalted butter (113g)
- 1 large egg (50g)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (5g)
- ½ cup powdered sugar (57g)
- ¼ tsp kosher salt (2g)
- 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour (180g)
Pastry Cream
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100g)
- 1 large egg (50g)
- 3 large egg yolks (42g)
- 3 tbsp cornstarch (30g)
- 2 cups whole milk (454g)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract (10g) or use 2 tsp vanilla bean paste, or 1 vanilla pod
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter (42g)
Whipped Cream
- 1 cup cold heavy whipping cream (228g)
- 3 tbsp powdered sugar (22g)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (6g)
Fresh Fruit Assembling
- ¼ cup semi-sweet chocolate, melted (43g)
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1 ½ cups raspberries
- 2 tbsp apricot jam (43g)
- 1 tbsp warm water (15g)
Instructions
Tart Crust
- Add cold butter into the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or use a hand held mixer. Beat on medium high speed for 1 minute. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix on medium high speed for 30 seconds. It might look lumpy but that's okay.½ cup cold unsalted butter
- Add the powdered sugar and salt and beat on medium high speed until incorporated. Turn the mixer onto low speed, add the flour in two parts. Mix until the dough comes together and looks smooth.½ cup powdered sugar, ¼ tsp kosher salt, 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
- Scrape the dough off the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Lay out a piece of plastic wrap on a flat surface. Gently knead the dough into a ball using your hands, place it on the plastic wrap, and flatten into a disc. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight. If you skip this step, the tart crust will melt in the oven.
Pastry Cream
- In a large heatproof mixing bowl whisk together the sugar, egg, egg yolks, and cornstarch. Set aside.½ cup granulated sugar , 1 large egg, 3 large egg yolks, 3 tbsp cornstarch
- In a saucepan over medium heat, bring whole milk to a simmer. Continuously whisk the milk to avoid burning. Turn the heat down to low, and carefully pour ¼ cup of hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking continuously to temper the eggs. Keep whisking until the mixture looks smooth. Slowly pour the mixture back into the saucepan through a mesh sieve. Bring the heat back up to a simmer over medium-high heat.2 cups whole milk
- Once it starts simmering and bubbling, about 6-8 minutes, turn the heat to medium-low and keep whisking. You'll notice that it'll become harder to whisk as the mixture thickens. After about 3 minutes, remove the pot from the heat.
- Cut the butter into tablespoons sized pieces and place them over the hot pastry cream. Let the butter melt. Once it's melted, add vanilla extract and stir everything together.3 tbsp unsalted butter, 2 tsp vanilla extract
- Transfer to a bowl and cover the warm pastry cream with plastic wrap, pushing the plastic onto the surface to avoid a skin from forming. Let it cool for 10-15 minutes and then transfer it to the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes.
Preparing The Tart Crust
- Spray a 9 or 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom with nonstick cooking spray. Lightly flour a clean surface and roll out the dough with a rolling pin. It might be a little hard at first because the dough is could, but keep rolling. After each roll, turn the dough a quarter turn with your hands so that it will be an even thickness. Roll out to about 1/8-inch thick.
- Trace the tart pan on parchment paper and cut out a circle (you don't have to trace the fluted edges). Carefully pick up the dough and lay it over the tart pan. Use your fingers to push the dough into the sides of the pan. Use a sharp knife to trim any dough that hangs over the edges of the pan. If the dough has any cracks, patch it with the excess dough. Place in the freezer for 30 minutes
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ (177℃). Lay the parchment circle onto the dough and evenly cover with dried beans or pie weights. Bake the tart crust on the center rack for 25-28 minutes, turning halfway. Look for a golden brown crust and the edges start to slightly pull away from the pan. If the edges start getting too dark, cover with tinfoil.
- Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes. When the tart has cooled, remove the tart from the pan by pushing the removable bottom up from underneath.
Whipped Cream
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whip attachment or using a hand held mixer, add the heavy cream. Whip on high speed until soft peaks form, 1-2 minutes.
- Add powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Whip on high speed for 1-2 minutes until stiff peaks form. Look for a thick and if you turn the whisk attachment upside down, it shouldn't drip back into the bowl. Be careful not to over whip or it will break and get runny.3 tbsp powdered sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract
Assembling The Tart
- Wash and dry fruit and set aside. In a bowl, mix the chilled pastry cream and the whipped cream together.1 cup blueberries, 1 ½ cups raspberries
- *Optional* Melt chocolate in a microwavable safe bowl for 30-second increments. Brush a thin layer of chocolate onto the bottom of the tart crust. Hardened chocolate will prevent the crust from getting soggy. Refrigerate the crust for 5 minutes to set the chocolate.¼ cup semi-sweet chocolate, melted
- Add the pastry cream into the tart shell and smooth it with an offset spatula. Add enough cream that it's level with the tart crust edge. Add the remaining whipped cream into a pastry bag with a star tip attached.
- Pile blueberries into the left corner of the fruit creating a triangle shape.
- Create rows of raspberries, leaving space in-between.
- Pipe star dollops using even pressure.
- Add apricot jam and water into a microwavable bowl. Heat for 10 seconds and mix together. Brush the mixture onto all of the fruit.2 tbsp apricot jam, 1 tbsp warm water
- Serve right away! The decorated tart can last 1 day in the refrigerator.
Notes
- Helpful tools to make a tart crust: 9 or 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom | pie weights | pastry brush | cordless hand mixer | mesh sieve | rolling pin | open star tip | piping bag
