Fresh Fruit Tart Recipe
This fresh fruit tart recipe is a showstopper on any dessert table. It has everything you’re looking for in a dessert…a crumbly crust, smooth pastry cream, lightly sweet fruits, and a glaze on top to make everything sparkle in the sun.
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 258kcal
Ingredients
Pastry Cream
- 4 egg yolks
- 2 cups whole milk
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Lemon zest from 1 lemon
Sweet Tart Crust
- 1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup salted butter, melted
- 1 large egg + 1 yolk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
Chocolate Ganache (optional)
- 2 ounces dark chocolate (60-65% cacao), coarsely chopped
- ¼ cup heavy cream
Fruit & Glaze
- Variety of sliced fresh fruits of your choice (ex: kiwi, raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, strawberry, mango, peaches, plums, pears, apricots, etc.)
- ¼ cup fruit jam of your choice
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
Pastry Cream
- In a pan over low heat, simmer milk and vanilla, until it starts to steam.2 cups whole milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a separate bowl, whisk together egg yolks and sugar, then add cornstarch and whisk until smooth.4 egg yolks, ½ cup granulated sugar, 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- Once the milk has warmed up, add about ½ cup of the milk to the egg mixture while constantly whisking. This slow addition of hot milk while vigorously whisking will temper the egg yolks, without turning them into scrambled eggs.
- Increase the heat on the stove to low-medium and add the egg mixture and lemon zest to the milk, whisking continuously. Whisk continuously until sauce thickens to a custard-like consistency (this will happen quickly!).Lemon zest from 1 lemon
- Remove from heat, place in a bowl, and let cool on the counter for a few minutes.
- Once the bowl is cool enough to handle, cover it with plastic wrap, making sure the plastic touches the cream. This will prevent it from forming a crust. Place in the refrigerator to cool for 3 hours.
Sweet Tart Crust
- Using a food processor, mix together flour, powdered sugar, and salt.1 ¾ cups all purpose flour, ½ cup powdered sugar, ¼ teaspoon salt
- In a separate bowl, whisk together egg and egg yolk, lemon zest, butter, and vanilla extract.½ cup salted butter, melted, 1 large egg + 1 yolk, 1 teaspoon lemon zest, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add egg mixture to food processor and pulse just until the crust sticks together when pressed between fingers.Remove dough from the food processor and form into a flat disc, about 1″ thick. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough. Press dough into tart pan, making sure to press it into the edges as well.
- Line crust with parchment paper and press into “corners” and sides well. Then, fill the parchment-lined crust with weights.
- Chill in refrigerator for another 30 minutes. In the meantime, preheat oven to 375°.
- Then, bake the crust for 25 minutes (leave the pie weights in place) until edges start to brown.
- Remove from oven, carefully scoop out pie weights, and let crust cool.
Chocolate Ganache (optional)
- Using a double-boiler method, add dark chocolate pieces and heavy cream. Stir continuously until chocolate melts and cream thickens.2 ounces dark chocolate (60-65% cacao), coarsely chopped, ¼ cup heavy cream
- Alternatively, you can use the microwave. Simply break up chocolate into small pieces and place in a bowl along with the cream. Microwave at 30-second intervals, stirring between each one, until smooth (this should take about 1 to 1-½ minutes total)
- Whichever method you used, let the ganache cool for just a minute or two, then spread over bottom of tart crust.
- Chill in refrigerator for about 15 minutes or until ganache firms up a bit.
Putting it all together
- Remove pastry cream from fridge and spread throughout tart crust to form an even layer (if you chose not to use the chocolate ganache, this cream layer would go right on top of the crust).
- Now, the fun part…decorating! Using any fruits you like, in any design you like, cut up your fruits and decorate the top of your fruit tart! Just press each piece of fruit gently on top of the pastry cream.Variety of sliced fresh fruits of your choice (ex: kiwi, raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, strawberry, mango, peaches, plums, pears, apricots, etc.)
Fruit Glaze
- In a small pan over low-medium heat, add the fruit jam of your choice and about 1 tablespoon of water. Stir continuously for about one minute, until jam is smooth.¼ cup fruit jam of your choice, 1 tablespoon water
- Using a silicone brush, gently touch the tops of the fruit with the glaze and watch it shine!
Serving
- Serve your fresh fruit tart immediately or refrigerate for up to one day. FYI, I found that a pizza wheel cutter slices a fruit tart very nicely! Enjoy!
Notes
- What types of fruits should I use? For my fruit tart recipe, I used kiwi, raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, strawberry, mango, and peaches. But use whatever fruits you like best! Think about grapes, apricots, orange slices, plums, pears, quince, and cherries too. Consider fruits that have different levels of sweetness, different textures, and lots of fun colors!
- Helpful hint for the tart crust: Remove excess dough by running a rolling pin over the edge of the tart pan. It will cut off the excess dough like magic!
- Serving and storage: Serve your fresh fruit tart immediately or refrigerate for up to one day. FYI, I found that a pizza wheel cutter slices a fruit tart very nicely! Enjoy!
- Suggestion: If you enjoy this dessert, you're gonna love our Italian pear almond tart!
Nutrition
Calories: 258kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 15g | Sodium: 148mg | Potassium: 116mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 491IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 69mg