Fresh Fruit Tart Recipe
Luscious, seasonal berries and other fruits piled high on top of silky smooth pastry cream and a delightfully buttery and crispy sweet tart crust. Sealing the crust with a layer of chocolate and the cut fruit with a glaze keeps this tart fresh for days. The perfect garden party or summer BBQ show stopper!
Servings 12 servings
Calories 537kcal
Equipment
- Rolling Pin
- Stand mixer with the paddle attachment
- 9 ½" Tart pan with a removable bottom. (You can also use a pie pan.)
- Pie weights for blind baking (Or dried beans, rice, etc.)
- pastry brush
- Knife
Ingredients
Pâte sucrée (tart dough recipe)
- 4 ounces powdered sugar
- 8 ounces unsalted butter room temperature
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 12 ounces all purpose flour
- 1 large egg room temperature
Pastry Cream
- 32 ounces whole milk substitute: almond, soy, coconut milk etc.
- 5 ounces sugar
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract use vanilla bean paste or 1 vanilla bean pod if desired
- 3 ounces cornstarch
- 4 ounces sugar
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 large egg
- 4 ounces unsalted butter softened
Fresh Fruit Tart
- ¼ cup semi-sweet chocolate optional for keeping the crust from getting soggy.
- 2 cups mixed berries of your choice
- 2 Tablespoons apricot preserves for glazing any kind of jam will work.
- 1 Tablespoon water
Instructions
Pâte sucrée (tart dough recipe)
- Add the butter into the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed for about 30 seconds.
- Place a colander over the bowl of your stand mixer and sift in your powdered sugar. This is not required, but if your powdered sugar has lumps in it, it will show up in your crust.
- Add in the salt. Mix on low until everything is combined.
- Add in the vanilla and the egg and mix until combined.
- Then gradually add your flour and mix until everything starts to come together and a dough forms.
- Divide the dough into 2 pieces. (This is enough for 2 tarts.) Wrap dough in plastic wrap and flatten into 2 disks. Refrigerate for minimum of 1 hour before using. If you skip this step, your crust will melt in the oven.
Pastry Cream
- Bring milk and first quantity of sugar (5 oz) to a simmer over medium high heat. Whisking constantly to avoid burning.
- In a separate, large heat proof bowl, combine the eggs, cornstarch, vanilla extract, and the second quantity of sugar (4 oz), whisk to combine.
- Once the milk is simmering, turn off the heat and add ¼ of your hot milk mixture to the egg mixture VERY slowly while whisking constantly. This is going to temper your egg yolk mixture and avoid curdled scrambled eggs. Whisk until smooth.
- Turn the heat back on (medium) and slowly add the mixture to the rest of the milk in your saucepan, whisking constantly. Bring to a simmer.
- Once your mixture starts bubbling, continue whisking for 1 minute to ensure the mixture is cooked and properly thickened.
- Pour your mixture into a heatproof container. Divide your softened butter into cubes and place them on top of the pastry cream, allowing them to melt. Do not cover.
- Allow your pastry cream to cool at room temperature until just warm to the touch. This will take a few hours.
- Stir in your butter with a whisk. Don't be worried if it looks curdled at first, this is normal. Just keep whisking until smooth.
- Optional: Blend pastry cream with an emersion blender to make it extra smooth.
- Cover with plastic wrap so that it's touching the surface of the pastry cream to avoid a skin forming. Chill before using. Can be kept in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
The Tart Shell
- Take your tart dough out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before rolling it out. It should be slightly flexible but still firm.
- Lightly flour your surface and rolling pin and roll it out to ⅛ inch thick. Don't make it too thick! Use a ruler to check the thickness. Rotate frequently and pinch together any cracks when rolling.
- Roll the dough up onto your rolling pin and lay it into the tart shell.
- Carefully lift the dough up on the sides and press it into the pan. Use your fingers to press the dough into the ridges on the side. Don't press too hard that you press through the dough. Make sure you get into the bottom corners!
- Roll your rolling pin flush across the top of the tart shell to remove the excess dough. (Squish together the leftovers and save them to make another tart!)
- Freeze the tart shell for 20 minutes. Do NOT skip this step!
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF
- Press a layer of tin foil into the tart shell, all the way into the corners and fill with pie weights. (Also do this if you're using a regular pie pan instead of a tart shell.)
- Place on top of a baking sheet and blind bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Rotate after 15 minutes to promote even browning. After 30 minutes, lift out the weights and bake for another 10 minutes. The edges will be golden brown and will start to pull away from the edges of the pan.
- Place the whole tart and pan into the fridge to cool down.
Assembling The Fruit Tart
- Wash all your fruit and dry fully.
- Cut off the tops of your strawberries and slice ⅛ inch thick.
- Cut the ends of the kiwi off and use a sharp paring knife to cut off the skin. Slice ⅛ inch thick.
- Gently lift your cooled tart out of the tart pan. Transfer to a plate or keep it on the bottom pan. (Tip: dab a bit of chocolate to the plate to keep the tart from sliding around.)
- Optional: Melt down the chocolate and brush a thin layer onto inside of the tart shell. (This will keep the crust from getting soggy.)
- Refrigerate for 5-10 minutes to set the chocolate.
- Add in the pastry cream and use a spatula to smooth it out. Fill the tart ¾ full with cream.
- Add the fruit to decorate however you like! See my pictures above for ideas.
- Mix the apricot preserves and water, microwave until melted. Glaze the cut fruit (strawberries and kiwi) with the mixture.
- Serve immediately or refrigerate overnight. Lasts 1-2 days in the refrigerator.
Video
Notes
Chocolate- melt low and slow. In a glass bowl, microwave for 30 seconds, stir, 15 seconds, stir, and continue until the chocolate is almost fully melted. Do not burn!
You CANNOT half or quarter the tart dough or pastry cream recipes because they each have 1 whole egg as a required ingredient.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 537kcal | Carbohydrates: 65g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Cholesterol: 103mg | Sodium: 147mg | Potassium: 167mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 36g | Vitamin A: 881IU | Calcium: 103mg | Iron: 2mg