Easy Fruit Tart recipe, delicious buttery shortcrust pastry filled with custard and a variety of fruits. Options for homemade and shop bought tart cases and fillings.
I LOVE a good Fruit Tart! The pastry case was made with the addition of ground almonds, which makes for a delicious gentle flavor, the custard filling with vanilla and the fruits, well, they speak for themselves.
Sweet, juicy and delicious! Most fresh berries are at their best in the summer months, when they're in season and they are sweet and juicy. These days, you can buy great quality frozen fruit and berries, so if you wanted to make this fruit tart using frozen fruits, you can!
The main thing to remember is to make sure you defrost on some kitchen paper to get rid of any excess juice as that will end up running all over the custard filling otherwise.
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You can buy a ready-made pastry case, but I would encourage you to make your own. It really does make the world of difference, and you could have it made quicker than it would take you to go to the shop to buy one!
I have also made a recipe to show you how to make your own shortcrust pastry. You can use the shop pastry case, you go with whatever suits you. You can make little flans, but make sure you adjust the cooking times. So go on, give it a go!
The crunchy sweet almond pastry matches perfectly with the soft, creamy vanilla custard filling. This really is wonderful indeed! Best served chilled and enjoyed with friends!
What You Will Need
a flan/quiche dish 23 cm / 9-inch diameter.
Ingredients
6 oz or 170 g Shortcrust pastry. See here to make your own Shortcrust pastry.
(Also in my shortcrust pastry is 2 Tablespoons of ground almonds & 2 Tablespoons of regular sugar. Add those when you add the flour.)
.... OR buy a 9 inch ready cooked pie crust.
The Filling
6 medium egg yolks, room temperature
¾ cup / 170 g sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 ½ cups / 350 ml hot milk
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon heavy cream
Use up the leftover egg whites to make meringues. They'll keep in an air-tight container for a couple of months.
The Topping
fruits of your choice
Some sugar powder for sprinkling over.
Instructions
First things first! Get all your ingredients ready. I like to weigh out and put everything in order of adding into the recipe. If it's all ready, you will whizz through the recipe and NOT forget anything!
Make The Pastry
1.*** If you are using a shop-bought pastry case, skip to the FILLING instructions. Put the oven on to 170C, 325F,Gas 3 (please note I have lowered the cook time to get this pastry case as crisp as a cookie without burning it)
2. Make your shortcrust pastry.
3. Grease your flan dish & make sure you grease up the sides too.
4. Place your rolled-out pastry into your chosen dish.
Make sure you gently push the sides around the dish
and trim any excess pastry.
5. If you see any cracks or missing bits of pastry, use the excess from your trimming to patch these areas.
6. Now you will need to prepare the flan case to take the wet filling. You need to first 'Bake blind' the pastry. See here for more information on blind baking.
You need to bake blind for 20 minutes, then remove the weights and continue to cook for a further 10 - 15 minutes until the pastry is completely cooked.
7. When ready, the flan case should look like the photo below and ready for the filling.
The filling
1. In the bowl , beat the egg yolks and sugar until very thick. Reduce to low speed, and add the cornstarch.
2. Heat the milk in a pan over a gentle heat until it just starts to bubble. Remove from heat and transfer to a pouring jug for ease.
3. With the mixer still on low, slowly pour the hot milk into the egg mixture. *** Put a cloth under the jug to catch any drips!
4. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook over low heat. Keep stirring with a wooden spoon, until the mixture thickens. This will take around 6 minutes. Don't worry if your custard starts to curdle or go lumpy. Just keep stirring until it is as thick as in the photo below then take a whisk and whisk real hard to get the custard smooth.
The custard will come together and become very thick, like pudding. Stir in the vanilla, and heavy cream.
5. Put the custard in a bowl and place plastic wrap directly on the custard and refrigerate until cold. (This will avoid a skin forming)
When your pastry case and custard have completely cooled, give the custard a stir and then spread in the pastry case.
Smooth over the top and add your favorite fruits.
Dust with Sugar powder and refrigerate until ready. If you refrigerate, cover with plastic wrap to avoid any skin forming on the custard.
We'd love to hear from you and what you thought of our recipe. Did you make any changes or add some other ingredients? Let us know in the comments below. Thanks for reading and happy cooking!
Recipe Card
Fruit Tart
Easy Fruit Tart recipe, delicious buttery shortcrust pastry filled with custard and a variety of fruits. Options for homemade and shop bought tart cases and fillings.
Ingredients
The Base
- 170 g or 6 oz Shortcrust pastry OR buy a 9 inch ready cooked pie crust.
The Filling
- 6 medium egg yolks, room temperature
- ¾ cup or 170 g sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 ½ cups or 350 ml hot milk
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
The Topping
- fruits of your choice
- Some sugar powder for sprinkling over.
Instructions
*** If you are using a shop bought pastry case, skip to the FILLING instructions. Put the oven on to 170C, 325F,Gas 3 (please note I have lowered the cook time to get this pastry case as crisp as a cookie without burning it)
- Make your shortcrust pastry. Click here for instructions.
- Grease your flan dish & make sure you grease up the sides too.
- Place your rolled out pastry in to your chosen dish. Make sure you gently push the sides around the dish and trim any excess pastry.
- If you see any cracks or missing bits of pastry, use the excess from your trimming to patch these areas.
- Now you will need to prepare the flan case to take the wet filling. You need to first 'Bake blind' the pastry. See here for more information. You need to bake blind for 20 minutes, then remove the weights and continue to cook for a further 10 - 15 minutes until the pastry is completely cooked.
- When ready, the flan case should look like the photo below and ready for the filling.
The filling
- In the bowl , beat the egg yolks and sugar until very thick. Reduce to low speed, and add the cornstarch.
- Heat the milk in a pan over a gentle heat until it just starts to bubble. Remove from heat and transfer to a pouring jug for ease.
- With the mixer still on low, slowly pour the hot milk into the egg mixture. *** Put a cloth under the jug to catch any drips!
- Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook over low heat. Keep stirring with a wooden spoon, until the mixture thickens. This will take around 6 minutes. Don't worry if your custard starts to curdle or go lumpy. Just keep stirring until it is as thick as in the photo below then take a whisk and whisk real hard to get the custard smooth. The custard will come together and become very thick, like pudding. Stir in the vanilla, and heavy cream.
- Put the custard in a bowl and place plastic wrap directly on the custard and refrigerate until cold. (This will avoid a skin forming)
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
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Wilton Performance Pans Flower Cake Pan, 4-Piece Petal Shaped Set of 17, 12.75 and 9-Inch Pans
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Non-stick Quiche Pan, 8 Inch Perforated Pizza Flan Pan with Removable Loose Bottom, Carbon Steel Round Tart Pan, Fluted Perforated Pie Tray Bakeware Pan for Pizza, Cakes, Cheese, Desserts
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CHEFMADE 9.5-Inch Round Tart Pan with Removable Loose Bottom, Non-stick Carbon Steel Quiche Pan, FDA Approved for Oven Baking (Champagne Gold)
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Webake 4 Inch Mini Tart Pan Set of 6, Non-Stick Quiche Pan Removable Bottom Mini Tart Tins
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Wilton Non-Stick Mini Tart Pan, 12-Cavity
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 264Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 141mgSodium: 115mgCarbohydrates: 40gFiber: 1gSugar: 30gProtein: 5g
Nutrition information isn’t always accurate
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Monisha Sharma
says:How do we handle fruit that is cut, and not whole as in your recipe
lovefoodies
says:Hi Monisha, I’m not quite sure what you mean, do you need advice on preparation of the fruit or how to decorate the tart with the fruit?
Monisha Sharma
says:Hi, what I meant to ask is, how do I prep the fruits that is cut up into smaller bits, for example – Banana, Pineapple, sliced kiwi, sliced strawberries, etc. from my earlier experience, these fruits release moisture after being cut, and make the tart soggy and runny. Thanks!
lovefoodies
says:Hi! Ok, now I understand! There are a couple of things you can do, once you slice the fruits, place them on some kitchen paper to pat any excess juice off them, and if it were me, I would arrange the fruits on the tart just before serving. Don’t forget, with banana, it does have a tendency to go brown as soon as it comes into contact with the air, so for that fruit, slice just before serving.
The other thing you could do if you wished, was to use a gelatine glaze brushed over the fruits once you’ve pat them dry and arranged them. You can get them in small packages in the bakery section of the shop. Or you can mix a tablespoon of apricot jam with a tablespoon of hot water, stir until it’s all mixed, allow to cool, then brush that over the top of the fruit once it’s arranged. It helps to keep the fruit fresh in colour and texture, if you are not eating immediately. I hope that helps!!
Monisha Sharma
says:Thanks so much for your super quick response! Those are great tips and very workable, I am surely going to apply them and am can tell I will get great results. :)
I love your recipes … your Moist Coconut Pound/Loaf Cake was a SUPER HIT!!! EVERYONE loved it – including a friend who is not a big coconut fan .. Thanks again ..
lovefoodies
says:So happy you are enjoying the recipes Monisha!
Don’t be afraid to ask anything you like at any time. I’m always happy to help :) Have a lovely weekend.
Mary