Fresh Fruit Tart with Vanilla Pastry Cream
Flaky, buttery crust filled with homemade vanilla bean pastry cream and topped with an assortment of fresh fruits.
Servings: 8
Ingredients
Tart Dough:
- 1/2 cup Cold Butter 1 stick, sliced into small pieces
- 1 1/3 cups Flour
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1/4 cup Ice Cold Water
- 1/2 teaspoon Vinegar
Vanilla Bean Pastry Cream:
- 1 cup + 2 Tablespoons Sugar
- 4 Tablespoons Cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 2 1/2 cups Whole Milk
- 6 Egg Yolks
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla or 1 Vanilla Bean scraped
Fresh Fruits:
- Raspberries
- Strawberries
- Blackberries
- Blueberries
- Kiwi
- Mangoes
- Peaches or Nectarines
- Red Plums
- Oranges
- Green Apple
Fruit Glaze:
- Strawberry or Apricot Jelly
Instructions
Tart Crust:
- To make pie crust: Stir together flour and salt. Slice cold butter into tiny shreds and add to bowl or food processor. Pulse until coarse meal or small peas form.
- Slowly add ice cold water, 1-2 tablespoons at a time to butter-flour mixture. Add vinegar and pulse until it starts to form together.
- Press dough into a ball. Pat each ball into a disk, tightly wrap in Saran Wrap and let it chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. 2 hours is preferred.
- Unwrap the dough, turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and roll it out, using a rolling pin. Don't overwork the dough. The key is to work quickly to keep the dough as cold as possible. Keep the tart pan nearby so you can check the size.
- Fold the dough in half and gently lift and position it over the tart pan. Unfold. Press the dough against the sides and bottom of the pan.
- Line the crust with foil or parchment paper. Fill it with pie weights, rice, or beans and press against the sides of the crust. You can double line the crust with parchment paper to ensure that the rice doesn't get stuck in the dough.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Remove parchment paper and pie weights and return to oven and cook for an additional 6-8 minutes (for a total of 16-20 minutes cooking time).
Pastry Cream:
- In a heavy-bottomed pot, heat milk over medium heat until warmed but not boiling.
- In a large bowl, add sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Tossing the sugar and cornstarch/flour together in a bowl beforehand prevents the cornstarch from clumping when you add the egg yolks. Whisk in the egg yolks. The mixture will be thick and pasty.
- Remove the milk from heat and add the milk, a little at a time, to the egg cornstarch mixture. You want to add the warmed milk, in small batches, as to temper the egg yolks, so they won't cook and curdle. This is an important step!
- Return the mixture to the saucepan and heat over medium heat. Whisk vigorously for 3-4 minutes as the mixture begins to thicken. A whisk helps to keep the clumps from forming and to create a smooth pastry cream. Watch for the mixture to start to bubble. You want to allow it to boil for a short time to get rid of the cornstarch/flour flavor but you don't want it to boil for more than about 10 seconds, or the mixture will become grainy.
- Remove from the heat and if so desired, you can strain the pastry into a fine mesh sieve to remove any lumps. Stir in the vanilla. I love to use vanilla beans or vanilla bean paste to truly highlight the vanilla flavor.
- Pour into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, placing it directly on the surface of the pastry cream to keep a skin from forming on the top. Refrigerate for about 2-4 hours or until chilled.
- Cut and slice fruit. To make fruit glaze, heat jelly in a microwave-safe bowl for 20-30 seconds, or until melted. Brush over fresh fruit to make it shine.
Assemble Tart:
- Once you blind-bake the pie crust and let it cool and made the homemade pastry cream and let it chill and set up, you are ready to assemble. Start by filling the tart crust with vanilla pastry cream. See the above post if you would like to brush melted chocolate or glaze on top of the crust before adding the pastry cream for an extra layer of protection. Evenly spread the pastry cream in the tart crust.Top with sliced fresh fruits of your choice. Brush with a fruit glaze for shine and extra sweetness. Let chill until ready to serve.