My beautiful homemade fruit tart consists of a crisp, chocolate coated shortbread crust filled with pastry cream and topped with fresh fruit. It’s impressive, yet very approachable. Recipe includes a how-to video!
My Favorite Fruit Tart
Buttery, crisp crust; smooth, rich pastry cream; and bright, fresh fruits–these are the quintessential components to a classic fruit tart. Today, I’m sharing my approachable, yet impressive fruit tart recipe so you can make this bakery display-worthy dessert in your home kitchen!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- No soggy crust! We’ll brush the cooled crust with a thin layer of chocolate; this acts as a protective barrier between the cream and the crust. It also adds a nice pop of chocolate flavor that beautifully accents the tart!
- Use any fruit you like. I include my favorites below, but you can really get creative with the combination you do here (or stick to all one type–I love a strawberry tart!).
- Glossy, professional finish: after assembling, you can lightly brush the fruit with a bit of jelly melted with a splash of water. This adds a gorgeous sheen, just like a fruit tart you’d see in a bakery display case.
- Each component can be prepped in advance for quick assembly later. I do recommend waiting to cut any particularly juicy fruits until just before serving though.
A Few Notes Before We Begin
A classic fruit tart is served on a French-style shortcrust known as pâté sucrée or “sweet dough” (it’s similar to what I use in both my lemon tart and my quiche lorraine). This is not quite the typical pie crust you’re used to; instead, it has a higher ratio of sugar, a splash of vanilla extract, and an egg. The result is similar to a shortbread cookie in flavor and texture, and personally, I LOVE it.
I’m using my silky smooth vanilla pastry cream as the filling today, though I’ve scaled my classic recipe down to be the perfect amount for a 9″ tart pan (though it would also work for an 8″ or 10″ pan). It’s easy, I promise!
Let’s get started!
What You Need
Before we begin, I’ll highlight just a few ingredients you might have questions about.
- Fruit. Personally, I love using berries, kiwi, mandarin oranges, mango, grapes, and apricots on my fruit tart. You can use essentially any fruit you would like though, just know that if you are using a particularly juicy fruit (like ripe peach slices or mango), I recommend waiting until shortly before serving to add them as they’ll weep. (You could also just use a single favorite fruit, like I do in my strawberry tart!)
- Eggs. Many recipes use an egg yolk and ice water for the crust, but I have found the best results using a whole egg and no water. This is also one of the rare instances where I recommend using a cold egg rather than a room temperature one, so no need to set your egg out ahead of time!
- Chocolate. This is for coating your crust, it adds not just a nice flavor but also a barrier between the soft custard and the crisp crust (so it keeps the crust nice and firm!). Dark chocolate is my preference, but you could use semisweet, milk, or even white chocolate instead.
- Jelly. This is optional, but if you’d like to give your fruit tart a pretty, shiny finish, you can brush it with some apple or apricot jelly melted with a bit of water just before serving.
SAM’S TIP: Since we’ll only need egg yolks for our cream filling, you can save the leftover egg whites for meringues or angel food cupcakes!
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make a Fruit Tart
Prepare the Pastry Cream
- Cook the milk and cream with some sugar and salt, stirring constantly. When the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a simmer, remove from the heat cool for a few minutes.
- Vigorously whisk the egg yolks and remaining sugar together in a separate bowl, then whisk in the cornstarch until thickened.
- Slowly drizzle some of the cooled cream mixture into the eggs while whisking constantly. Gradually whisk in the remaining cream until everything is combined. This process is known as tempering, it acclimates the eggs to the heat without cooking/curdling them.
- Add the mixture back to your saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking frequently until thickened.
- Remove from the heat and pour through a fine mesh strainer. Stir in the butter one piece at a time, then add the vanilla.
- Cool for 20 minutes at room temperature, then press a piece of plastic wrap directly against the surface and chill for a few hours or overnight.
SAM’S TIP: I recently updated my pastry cream recipe to be a bit more streamlined than this more traditional method, but for this particular recipe I recommend sticking to the method outlined here. This custard is slightly thicker than the one I use for my cream puffs, which makes it slightly more prone to burning when made with my new method.
Make the Crust
While you can make your fruit tart crust using a pastry cutter or a box-grater, I prefer to use a food processor (as I do with my scones). This cleanly and quickly distributes the butter, keeping your ingredients nice and cold and making for an easy to handle and perfectly crisp crust.
- Pulse the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor, then add the butter and pulse until the mixture forms coarse crumbs. Add the egg and vanilla, then pulse again until the dough clings together. The dough will need to chill for an hour, then you can roll it out and form it into your tart pan.
- Prick the bottom of the crust , then add parchment and pie weights. Freeze, then bake until the edges start to turn a light golden brown. Remove the parchment and weights, then bake again until evenly light golden brown. This method is referred to as blind baking.
- Let the crust cool completely, then brush with melted chocolate. Place in the fridge to let the chocolate harden, then it’s time to assemble!
Assemble
- Add the pastry cream over the chocolate and smooth until even. An offset spatula works nicely for this!
- Arrange your sliced fruits over the filling, then brush with melted jelly and water for a shiny finish.
SAM’S TIP: A tart pan with a removable bottom makes cutting into your fruit tart a breeze! If you don’t have one, I’ve linked to the one I like to use in the equipment section below. You can also use mini tart pans for this recipe; I talk more about this in the FAQ section.
Frequently Asked Questions
I recommend brushing the inside of your baked, cooled crust with a bit of melted chocolate, then let this harden in the refrigerator before filling with pastry cream.
Not only will the chocolate layer serve as a protective shell that keeps moisture off of your pastry, it adds a nice pop of chocolate flavor that beautifully accents the tart, too. I also recommend serving within just a few days of preparing.
Yes, although the number of mini tarts will vary depending on the size of your pans. Your bake time will likely be different, but other than that, you won’t need to make any other changes.
Yes, though I suggest you make the crust and filling in advance and assemble your fruit tart shortly before serving.
You can prepare the crust up to 5 days in advance and store it in an airtight container at room temperature. The pastry cream can be made up to 3 days in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. I recommend preparing and adding the fruit just before serving.
I’d love to hear what fruits you decide to pair together for yours–let me know in the comments below!
Enjoy!
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Fruit Tart
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Servings: 8 slices
Calories: 461kcal
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Instructions
PASTRY CREAM¹
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Combine milk, cream, ¼ cup (50g) sugar, and salt in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly until sugar is dissolved and mixture comes to a simmer. Remove from heat and allow to cool in the saucepan for 10 minutes.
½ cup (118 ml) whole milk, ⅔ cup (158 ml) heavy cream, ¼ cup (50 g) + 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar, ¼ teaspoon salt
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In a separate medium-sized bowl vigorously whisk together egg yolks and remaining 2 Tablespoons of sugar for about 15 seconds. Sprinkle cornstarch over the mixture and whisk again until slightly thickened (about 30 seconds).
3 large egg yolks, 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
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Measure about ⅓ cup of (slightly cooled) cream mixture and slowly drizzle it into the egg mixture while constantly whisking. This is to temper your eggs and keep them from cooking! While still whisking, gradually drizzle in the remainder of your cream mixture until completely combined.
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Pour mixture back into saucepan and return to the stovetop over medium heat. Whisk frequently until thickened almost to a pudding-like consistency (mixture may simmer, this will take several minutes) and immediately remove from heat.
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Pour through a fine mesh strainer into a heatproof bowl. Add butter, one piece at a time, whisking after each addition until completely combined. Whisk in vanilla extract.
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter softened and cut into 4 pieces, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
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Allow to cool for about 20 minutes at room temperature, then cover by placing a piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap directly against the surface of the pastry cream and refrigerate for at least 2-4 hours. While this is chilling, prepare the tart crust, as it will need to chill for a total of 90 minutes.
Tart Crust
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Combine flour, sugar, and salt in the basin of a food processor².
1 ½ cups (190 g) all-purpose flour, ½ cup (65 g) powdered sugar, ¼ teaspoon salt
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Scatter butter pieces over the flour mixture and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs (about 10 pulses).
8 Tablespoons (113 g) unsalted butter
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In a small dish, whisk together egg and vanilla extract and drizzle over flour mixture. Pulse again until dough just begins to cling together and holds together when pressed with your thumb and forefinger (see image in post or video), about 15 one-second pulses.
1 large egg, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
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Form dough into a disc and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Chill for one hour.
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Roll chilled dough into a 10-11” disc and form into a 9” tart pan. Prick multiple times with a fork and then take a large piece of parchment paper and carefully form it into your tart crust (if your crust is being damaged as you try to do this, just chill your dough and then fit with the parchment paper). Fill parchment paper with pie weights or dry beans, and make sure you are using enough parchment that you can easily lift it and the weights from the tart. See video for visual if needed. Transfer to freezer for 30 minutes to prevent shrinking. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375F (190C).
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Once dough has chilled and oven is preheated, transfer to 375F/190C oven (I’ve found it can be tricky moving a tart pan with a removable bottom and sometimes like to bake mine on a cookie sheet to easily remove it from the oven) and bake for 20 minutes or edges are just beginning to turn light golden brown. Carefully remove parchment paper and pie weights and bake another 5 minutes until light golden brown all over. Allow to cool before assembling.
ASSEMBLY
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Once tart crust has cooled, spread or brush (with a pastry brush) a thin layer of chocolate over the bottom and up the sides of the tart crust. Place this in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes for the chocolate to harden.
¼ cup (45 g) semisweet chocolate chips
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Once chocolate is hardened, remove from fridge and evenly spread chilled pastry cream in the shell. Arrange fruit over the cream as desired.
3 cups Fruit of your choice
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If desired, melt together apple jelly and water for 10-20 seconds and stir well. Use a pastry brush to brush or dab jelly over the surface of the fruit for a glaze. Serve.
2 Tablespoons apple jelly, 1 teaspoon water
Notes
¹Pastry Cream
The pastry cream will need to chill for at least 2 hours after preparing. It can be made as far as 3 days in advance of assembling your fruit tart and stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
²Food processor alternative
Alternatively you may use a pastry cutter to make this recipe, or even use a box grater to grate the butter into the dough like I do in my puff pastry recipe.
Storing
Store leftovers in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 2 days.
Nutrition
Serving: 1slice | Calories: 461kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 159mg | Sodium: 177mg | Potassium: 139mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 906IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 57mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
I originally published this recipe in June 2020. Recipe remains unchanged, but post has been updated to include more tips and helpful hints.
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