Fresh Fruit Tart

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Fruit Tart Recipe

A fresh fruit tart is summer. It’s a delicious dessert with a buttery tart crust, vanilla pastry cream, with fresh fruit in each bite. Brushed with a jam glaze for shininess, this is perfect to serve on a summer day.

When I was younger I worked in a bakery and had to fill and assemble many, many fruit tarts. Although sometimes it was overwhelming because they were so popular, it was one of my favorite things to make. A secret that I’ll share with you, is most commercial bakeries don’t make the crust or filling from scratch but get it delivered already made. They still taste good, but making a fruit tart at home from scratch is so much better.

Why You’ll Fall In Love With This Tart

• Delicious fresh fruit (use whatever fruits you like!)
• Easy tart crust that can be made ahead of time
• Pastry cream can be made ahead of time
• Looks very pretty displayed on a table
• Fun to decorate

Let’s Breakdown A Fruit Tart

A fruit tart can be a little overwhelming because there are different components going on – but if we break it down into steps it’s not as scary!

Trust me. If you’re up to making a tart it’s SO worth it! Everyone will be amazed (if you share it).

Tart Crust: My easy tart crust recipe a.k.a pâte sucrée (sweet tart dough), can be made ahead of time and even frozen. Making the crust ahead will help save you time. This crust has a cookie like texture instead of a flaky texture which makes it sturdy enough to hold a pastry cream filling. It’s buttery, crisp, and only uses 6 ingredients.

Pastry Cream: Homemade pastry cream has a smooth and silky texture, rich vanilla flavor, and a total of 7 ingredients. My easy pastry cream recipe a.k.a crème pâtissière, walks you through the steps and shares all my best tips. It’s not as intimidating as it may seem!

Whipped Cream: Homemade whipped cream tastes way better than store bought and takes almost no time at all to make. The only thing you have to be careful of is if you over whip it, it can break and turn runny.

Fruit & Chocolate & Glaze: A fruit tart is a summer staple because it’s the time of year when berries are in season! Popular fruit choices are:

• blueberries
• strawberries
• blackberries
• raspberries
• kiwi
• pineapple
• starfruit
• oranges (mini clementines are great)
• sliced mango
• sliced peaches

To prevent a soggy bottom, melt semi-sweet chocolate and brush over the bottom of the tart crust. Fill with pastry cream, arrange the fruit, then make a quick glaze using homemade or store bought jam. Brush the glaze on the fruit to add shine and help preserve it for longer and it’s ready for presenting and eating!

The Tart Pan

I highly recommend using a 9 or 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. This pan is suited for making traditional pastry crusts and blind baking. This pan is NOT for baking graham cracker or Oreo crusts because those are too delicate. Trust me, using the right pan will make your life easier (no broken tart crust breakdowns — I’ve been there).

Tips For Making The Best Fruit Tart

• Make the tart crust and pastry cream ahead of time, then when it comes to the day you need to serve, all you have to do is make the whipped cream, wash and cut the fruit, and assemble.
• You must chill the tart dough or it will melt in the oven. There’s no secret hack to speeding this up.
• You can brush melted chocolate onto the bottom of the tart and fill it with the pastry cream mixture the night before.
• Add the fruit and brush with glaze just before serving. Cut fruit like strawberries will shrivel quickly. Also, fruit releases water over time and the tart won’t look as nice if it’s been sitting overnight.

Make Tart Dough

1. 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.
2. Then add the egg and vanilla extract and mix on medium high speed for 30 seconds. It might look lumpy but that’s okay.
3. Add the powdered sugar and salt and beat on medium high speed until incorporated. Slowly add the flour on low speed and mix until the dough comes together and looks smooth.

4. Scrape the dough off the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Gently knead the dough into a ball using your hands and then flatten into a disc. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight. If you skip this step, the dough will melt in the oven.
5. While you wait for the dough to chill, make the pastry cream.

Pastry Cream

1. In a large heatproof mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, egg, egg yolks, and cornstarch then set aside.
2. Place a saucepan over medium heat and bring whole milk to a gentle simmer. Continuously whisk the milk to avoid burning.

3. Carefully pour 1/4 cup of the hot milk into the egg mixture while whisking constantly to temper the eggs. Keep whisking until the mixture looks smooth.
4. Slowly pour the mixture back into the saucepan through a mesh sieve. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.
5. Once it starts simmering, 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.

6. After it’s thickened (about 3 minutes), remove from the heat. Cut the butter into tablespoon sized pieces and then place the butter on top of the hot pastry cream. Let the butter melt. Once it’s melted, add vanilla extract and stir everything together.
7. Transfer the pastry cream into a bowl and cover the top with plastic wrap. Push the plastic onto the surface to avoid a skin from forming. Let it cool for 10-15 minutes and then let it chill in the refrigerator.

Preparing The Tart Shell

1. After chilling the tart dough for 1 hour or overnight, let the dough sit at room temperature for 5 minutes before rolling out. Spray a 9 or 10 inch tart pan with a removable bottom with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Lightly flour a clean surface and roll out the dough with a rolling pin. After each roll, turn the dough so that it’ll have an even thickness, about 1/8-inch thick.
3. 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.
4. Use a sharp knife to trim any dough that hangs over the edges of the pan. If the dough rips, patch it with the excess dough.
5. Place the pan in the freezer for 30 minutes. Don’t skip this step!

6. Preheat the oven to 350℉ (177℃) and move an oven rack to the center of your oven. To avoid the tart crust from bubbling, cutout a parchment circle, place on the cold tart dough, and add dried beans or pie weights (as shown above in the image on the left). 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.
7. Remove the tart from the oven and let it cool for half hour. To remove from the tart pan, carefully push the removable bottom up from underneath.

Whipped Cream

1. While the tart cools, make the whipped cream.
2. In a stand mixer with a whisk attachment or a hand held mixer, mix cold heavy whipping cream on medium speed.
3. Once soft peaks form (about 2 minutes), add powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Whip on high speed for 1-2 minutes.
4. Look for stiff peaks and a thicker texture. Be careful not to over whip or it will break and get runny.

Assembling The Tart

1. Wash and dry fruit. Remove strawberries stems and peel and slice other fruits that have a skin like kiwis. I slice fruits 1/8 – 1/4-inch thick.
2. In a bowl, mix the pastry cream and the whipped cream together.

3. *Optional* Melt bitter sweet 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.

4. Add the pastry cream mixture into the tart shell and smooth it with an offset spatula. Add enough cream that it’s level with the tart crust edge.
5. Arrange the fruit in a shape you like. See my pictures for ideas.

6. Add apricot jam and water into a microwavable bowl. Heat for 10 seconds and mix. Brush the mixture onto all of the fruit.
7. Serve right away! The decorated tart can last 1 day in the refrigerator.

FAQ

Can I Make this without a stand mixer?

Yes! A hand held mixer will work. This cordless hand mixer is my absolute favorite right now.

Can i make a fruit tart ahead of time?

Tart dough can be made ahead of time! Keep it in the refrigerator overnight or freeze for up to 2 months. Take out frozen dough 30 minutes before rolling. You can also make the pastry cream up to 3 days ahead and keep it in the refrigerator. Unfilled, baked tart crust can be stored at room temperature for 2 days.

Sliced fruit releases water and the moisture from the fruit and custard will make the tart crust soggy over time. Fruit that is left out in the open for long periods of time will shrink and won’t look as nice. Assemble the tart just before serving.

Can i use granulated sugar in the tart dough?

Granulated sugar is not as fine as powdered sugar which means when mixing it will add air to the dough and make it fluffy. Dough that has been aerated will puff and shrink more when baking, pulling away from the edges of the tart pan. We want minimal shrinking when making tart crust.

do i need whipped cream in the filling?

If you don’t have heavy whipping cream (heavy cream) you don’t have to make whipped cream to mix with the pastry cream filling. The whipped cream adds more stabilization and a delicious creamy taste. I think the addition of whipped cream is what makes this tart stand apart from others 🙂

can a fruit tart sit outside?

A tart can sit out for a few hours out before it needs to be refrigerated.

how long does a fruit tart last?

Fruit tarts should be served right away! Leftover fruit tart can last 1-2 days in the refrigerator.

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