Classic Fresh Fruit Tart
This French-style fresh fruit tart recipe combines a buttery shortbread crust, vanilla pastry cream custard, and heaps of mixed fresh fruit into a chic and special dessert perfect for special celebrations all year round, especially in summer when so much fruit is at its peak.
Servings: 8 people (1 x 8" or 9" tart)
Calories: 352kcal
Ingredients
For the Vanilla Pastry Cream
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 egg
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
For the Pastry Crust
- 1 recipe pâte sucrée (recipe follows in link, below)
To Finish
- 2 pints fresh berries of choice, rinsed and fully dried, plus any other sliced fruit you’d like to use, such as sliced kiwi or mango
- 1/4 cup apricot jam
Instructions
For the Pastry Crust
- Complete the pâte sucrée through baking and cooling. TIP: This will take a few hours total, though most of that is inactive chilling and baking time. This can be done up to 2 days in advance; store wrapped or in an airtight container at room temperature.
Make the Vanilla Pastry Cream
- In a medium saucepan, whisk the milk with a couple tablespoons of sugar. Heat over medium-high heat, just until boiling. Remove from heat.
- While the milk is heating on the stove, in a heat-proof mixing bowl, whisk together the remaining sugar, egg, egg yolks, and cornstarch. Whisk until the mixture is very smooth and lightened in color, about 2 or 3 minutes.
- Whisking constantly, whisk about a quarter of the hot milk into the egg mixture.PRO TIP: This is called tempering. Tempering the eggs helps raise their temperature without cooking them, and helps emulsify them into the milk.
- Pour the milk-tempered egg mixture into the pot of milk. Whisk to combine. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly to prevent “scrambled eggs” on the sides and bottom, until the magic happens and the pastry cream thickens, about 2 minutes. Stir in the butter and vanilla and cook one minute more, stirring constantly. The pastry cream should make thick, lazy bubbles.
- Pour the thickened pastry cream into a clean, shallow bowl set over an ice bath. Stir gently until the pastry cream cools to warm room temperature and no more steam comes off the top.PRO TIP: setting the bowl on a bag of frozen vegetables works great as an easy ice bath alternative, and there’s no risk of water splashing in.
- Cover the pastry cream with plastic wrap set directly on the surface of the pastry cream. This prevents a skin from forming on top. Chill.
To Finish
- Transfer the tart shell onto a cardboard round or whatever serving dish you will be using. (Once it is filled with the pastry cream and fruit, the tart will be too heavy and delicate to move.)
- Pour the pastry cream into the tart shell, leaving a ¼” brim. Use an offset spatula to smooth an even surface. (If you have any extra pastry cream, enjoy it as a parfait with some fresh berries.)
- Arrange a generous amount of fruit and berries in a layer over the pastry cream in your desired design.
- Heat ¼ cup apricot jam with 1 tablespoon or so of water over medium heat, whisking, until thin. Strain, if needed, through a sieve. Use a pastry brush to gently dab the entire fruit tart with a thin layer of apricot glaze. Chill until ready to serve.
Notes
Making this in advance:
You can complete the entire tart up to one day in advance, and store it in the refrigerator, uncovered. If you want to get a head start on the different components, here's what I recommend.
- The tart shell: You can make the tart shell up to three days in advance. Store it at room temperature, wrapped in plastic wrap so it doesn't stale.
- The pastry cream: You can make pastry cream up to one day in advance. Give it a good stir before using it the next day. You don't want to make pastry cream too far in advance or it will start to become rubbery due to starch retrogradation.
- I recommend cutting fruit like kiwi or mango right before you use it. Cut fruit tends to oxidize and lose its perkiness pretty quickly. Berries and be washed and dried in advance, and stored in the fridge.
Nutrition
Calories: 352kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 88mg | Sodium: 174mg | Potassium: 201mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 394IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 101mg | Iron: 1mg
Disclaimer: Nutrition information is provided for courtesy purposes only, and is an estimate not verified by medical or nutrition experts. Read the full nutrition disclaimer.
