Name: Classic French Fruit Tart
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Ingredients: TART CRUST (PÂTE SUCRÉE); 1 cup unsalted butter, softened; 1/3 cup sugar; 1/3 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed; 1 large egg yolk; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 2 ¼ cups flour; 2 teaspoons cornstarch; ½ teaspoon Himalayan pink salt; PASTRY CRÈME (CRÈME PÂTISSIÈRE); 2 cups whole milk; ½ cup sugar; 3 Tablespoons cornstarch; 1 large egg; 2 large egg yolks; 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 4 cups fresh mixed berries, sliced kiwi, mango, or peaches (avoid fruit with a high moisture content like melon and citrus and oxidizing fruit like apples and bananas); OPTIONAL GLAZE *; ¼ cup apricot jam; 1 Tablespoon water

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If you need an idea for a dessert to make for your next summer barbecue, look no further, because my Classic French Fruit Tart is the perfect dessert for any summer gathering. Really, it’s an excellent dessert to make for any occasion year-round, but I particularly love this one for the summer, because that is when the berries, traditionally used for this tart, are in season and tasting amazing! I also love making this for Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day, because fresh berries make an excellent option for fun patriotic designs like the one pictured below.

A French fruit tart combines three delicious components that marry together into a delectable dessert: 1) a shortbread tart crust (pâte sucrée), 2) a silky, homemade pastry crème (crème pâtissière), which is essentially a vanilla custard, and 3) mixed berries (and other fruit of your choice). Does it really get any better than that? Well, if you add some of my homemade Vanilla Bean Chantilly Crème, the answer is YES…it does get better than that!

Let me begin by warning you that this does take a bit of time to make, as the crust will need to be refrigerated before baking it and the pastry crème will need to cool completely before you can assemble your tart. Trust me though, you’ll forgive the hard work it takes to prepare this when you take your first bite into it!

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To make the crust for this Classic French Fruit Tart, you are going to need unsalted butter, sugar, brown sugar, an egg yolk, vanilla extract, flour, cornstarch and Himalayan pink salt. For the pastry crème, you will need whole milk (do not substitute low-fat or skim milk), sugar, cornstarch, egg, egg yolks, unsalted butter, and vanilla extract. When it comes to the fruit used, this is entirely up to your preference. In my opinion, mixed berries are the best option for topping a tart. It is important that you only wash your berries right before using them and dry them extremely well, as any excess water will seep into your pastry crème. Take extra care when washing raspberries, as they have very delicate skin. I would suggest that you stay away from melon and citrus fruits (due to their high moisture content), and oxidizing fruits like apples and bananas (because they turn brown quickly).

An optional step I include in my recipe but don’t mention in the video below is glazing your tart with apricot jam. This technique is customarily used by French pastry chefs to provide that beautiful glossy shine you see on all of the tarts in French patisseries. This is not a necessary step if you plan on serving your tart the same day that you make it, because your fruit will be just fine for a day. If you are making this ahead of time, however, you will definitely want to glaze your fruit with the apricot jam, as it will not only seal your fruit (locking in its freshness and preventing it from losing its color and looking wilted and dry.), but it will also provide your fruit with a lasting, lovely shine.

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To make this work of art, begin by preheating your oven to 375°F and preparing your tart pan by greasing it with cooking spray; set aside.

Place your butter in a large bowl and beat it with an electric hand mixer until creamy. Add in your sugars and beat until well incorporated; about 30-60 seconds. Add in your egg yolks and vanilla extract and beat well; set aside.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk together your flour, cornstarch, and salt. With your mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture to your wet ingredients until completely combined. Your dough will become dry and crumbly as it’s mixed. When the flour mixture is fully incorporated, turn your mixer off and work the dough with your hands until it binds together. Grab handfuls of your dough and press it into the sides of your tart pan building up an edge. Press the remaining dough evenly into the bottom of the pan. Poke holes over entire crust with a fork. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before baking. Bake in your preheated oven for 23-26 minutes and let it cool completely on your countertop.

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To make the pastry crème, bring your milk to a boil in a medium saucepan. While your milk is warming, in a medium bowl, whisk together your sugar, egg, egg yolks and cornstarch until they are very smooth and have lightened in color; about 2 minutes. When the milk has just reached a boil, while whisking constantly, slowly drizzle a small amount of your hot milk into your egg mixture to temper the eggs. Once tempered, pour the entire egg mixture back into your saucepan, and return it to the stovetop over medium heat, whisking frequently until the mixture begins to thicken. Once your mixture has thickened, remove your saucepan from the heat. Add your vanilla and whisk in your butter, one piece at a time, until completely melted and your mixture is smooth. Pour into a heatproof bowl and cover with a piece of plastic wrap pressed directly against the surface of the pastry crème, covering it entirely to avoid a “skin” from forming on it. Allow to cool at room temperature for 20 minutes and then transfer it to the refrigerator to cool completely (about 2 hours).

To assemble your Classic French Fruit Tart, remove the crust from your tart pan and transfer it to a serving platter or cake pedestal. Whisk your chilled pastry crème until smooth and then spread it evenly over the surface of your tart crust with an offset spatula. Arrange your fruit over the entire surface of your tart in your desired design. Keep your tart refrigerated until you are ready to serve it. I highly recommend topping this with some of my homemade Vanilla Bean Chantilly Crème when serving it.

Classic French Fruit Tart

Recipe by Sarah K. Young

Servings

servings

Prep time

hour

Cooking time

minutes

Calories

619

kcal

This Classic French Fruit Tart combines the delectable flavors of a shortbread tart crust (pâte sucrée), a homemade vanilla pastry crème (crème pâtissière), and a generous layer of delicious fresh berries and fruit, resulting in a crowd-pleasing dessert!

Ingredients

TART CRUST (PÂTE SUCRÉE)
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ¼ cups flour
2 teaspoons cornstarch
½ teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
PASTRY CRÈME (CRÈME PÂTISSIÈRE)
2 cups whole milk
½ cup sugar
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups fresh mixed berries, sliced kiwi, mango, or peaches (avoid fruit with a high moisture content like melon and citrus and oxidizing fruit like apples and bananas)
OPTIONAL GLAZE *
¼ cup apricot jam
1 Tablespoon water

METHOD

Tart Crust (Pâte Sucrée): Preheat oven to 375°F. Prepare a tart pan by greasing it with cooking spray; set aside.
Place butter in large bowl and beat with an electric hand mixer until creamy. Add in the sugars and beat until well incorporated; about 30-60 seconds. Add in egg yolks and vanilla extract and beat well; set aside.
In a separate medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt. With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture to wet ingredients until completely combined. The dough will become dry and crumbly as it is mixed. When flour mixture is fully incorporated, turn mixer off and work the dough with hands until it binds together. Grab handfuls of dough and press it into the sides of the tart pan building up an edge. Press the remaining dough evenly into the bottom of the pan. Poke holes over entire crust with fork. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before baking.
Bake in preheated oven for 23-26 minutes.
Pastry Crème (Crème Pâtissière): In a medium saucepan, bring milk to a boil. While milk is warming, in a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, egg, egg yolks and cornstarch until very smooth and lightened in color; about 2 minutes. When the milk has just reached a boil, while whisking constantly, slowly drizzle a small amount of the hot milk into the egg mixture to temper the eggs. Once tempered, pour the entire egg mixture back into the saucepan, and return to the stovetop over medium heat, whisking frequently until the mixture begins to thicken. Once mixture has thickened, remove saucepan from heat. Add vanilla and whisk in butter, one piece at a time, until completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Pour into a heatproof bowl. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap pressed directly against the surface of the pastry crème, covering it entirely to avoid a “skin” from forming on it. Allow to cool at room temperature for 20 minutes and then transfer it to the refrigerator to cool completely (about 2 hours).
To Assemble: Remove the crust from tart pan and transfer to a serving platter or cake pedestal. Whisk the chilled pastry crème until smooth and then spread it evenly over the surface of the tart crust with an offset spatula. Arrange fruit over the entire surface of tart in desired design. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Optional Glaze: In a heatproof prep bowl, heat jam and water together for 30 seconds. Whisk to incorporate. Using a pastry brush, dab fruit with a thin coating of mixture.

Recipe Video

Notes

*NOTE: If serving tart on the same day you make it, this step is not necessary. If making it ahead of time, do not skip this step, as the jam will seal in the moisture of the fruit, preventing it from losing its color and looking wilted and dry.

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