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Pin It Many years ago I took a week long pastry class at Le Cordon Bleuand one of the first things we made was this Fruit Tart. Once I returned home, itdidn't take long for this dessert to become one of my family's favorite. This classictart has three components, a fluted edged sweet pastry crust, a luscious pastrycream, and glistening rows of fresh fruit. It looks enticing whether you use asingle fruit or a medley of fruits and berries. While the components of this Fruit Tart can be made a day or two in advance, it is best enjoyed the day it is assembled. The cookie-like pastry crust, which also goes by the name Pate Sucree, has a sweet flavor and a crisp texture that is the perfect vehicle for holding the pastry cream. The crust is pre baked and once baked and cooled, I like to seal the crustby spreading on athin layer of apricot glaze.This 'sealing' prevents the filling from softening the crust over time. The classic filling for a fruit tart is pastry cream, or creme patissiere, which is a rich, thick custard made from a mixture of milk, vanilla, eggs, sugar, flour and cornstarch (a thickener) that is cooked on the stove. It can be made a few days in advance so the only thing you need before assembling the tart is a quick whisk to get rid of any lumps. Of course, the first thing you notice about a fruit tart is the fruit. The fruit can be arranged in concentric circles or rows, or it can be randomly piled on the cream. There are so many fruits to choose from but it is important that the fruit looks and tastes its best. While berries, with their vibrant colors, are always popular, other fruits are nice as well. Slices of kiwi, pineapple, melon, peaches, plums, nectarines, and mango are some fruits that work well. If you like, you can glaze the fruit with either an apricotglaze (recipe included) or red currant jelly (for red colored fruits) to give the fruit a beautiful shine and it also prevents the fruit from drying out. | | | Related Recipes You May Like | | | | | | | | | Easy Fruit Tart | Blackberry Tart | Apple Tart | Berry Tarts | Cherry Tart | Peach Tart | | | | | | | | Sweet Pastry Crust:In a separate bowl, whisk the flour with the salt.Place the butter in thebowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, and beat until softened.Add sugar and beatuntil light and fluffy. Gradually add the beaten egg, beating just untilincorporated. Add the flour mixture all at once and mix just until it forms a ball. Flatten the pastry into a disk,cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 15-30 minutes or just until firm(can place in freezer for about 10-15 minutes.)Lightly butter and flour, or spray with a non-stick vegetable/flour cookingspray, an 8 - 9 inch (20 - 23 cm) tart pan with a removable bottom.Evenly patthe chilled pastry onto the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Cover withplastic wrap and place in the freezer for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F(205 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Lightly prick bottom of pastrycrust with the tines of a fork (this will prevent the dough from puffing up asit bakes). Place tart pan on a larger baking pan and bake crust for 5 minutes.Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and continue to bakethe crust for about 15 minutesor until dry and lightly golden brown.Remove from oven and placeon a wire rack to cool completely before filling. Can be covered and stored fora few days. Pastry Cream:Ina medium-sized heatproof bowl, mix the sugar and egg yolkstogether. (Don't let the mixture sit too long or you willget pieces of egg forming.)Sift the flour and cornstarch(corn flour) together and then add to theegg mixture, mixing until you get a smooth paste. Meanwhile, in a saucepanbringthe milk and vanilla bean just to boiling (just until milk starts to foam up.) Remove from heat andadd slowly to egg mixture, whisking constantly to prevent curdling.(If you geta few pieces of egg (curdling) in the mixture, pour through a strainer.) Removevanilla bean, scrape out seeds, and add the seeds to the egg mixture. (Thevanilla bean can be washed and dried and placed in your sugar bowl to give thesugar a vanilla flavor.) Then pour the egg mixture intoa medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until boiling, whisking constantly.When it boils, whisk mixture constantly for another 30 - 60 seconds until itbecomes thick. Remove from heat andimmediately whisk in the liqueur (if using). (Stir in vanilla extract is usinginstead of a vanilla bean.) Pour into a clean bowl andimmediately cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a crust from forming.Coolto room temperature. If not using right away refrigerate until needed, up to 3 days.Beator whisk before using to get rid of any lumps that may have formed. Apricot Glaze: Heat the apricot jam orpreserves and water in a small saucepan over medium heat until liquid(melted). (Can also heat in the microwave.) Remove from heat and strain the jam through a fine strainer to removeany fruit lumps. To Assemble Tart: To remove the tart from the fluted sides of the pan, place your hand under thepan, touching only the removable bottom not the sides. Gently push the tartstraight up, away from the sides. The fluted tart ring will fall away and slidedown your arm. If you want to remove the bottom of the pan, run a knife or thinmetal spatula between the crust and metal bottom, then slide the tart onto yourplatter. Spread a thin layer ofapricot glaze over the bottom and sides of the baked tart shell to prevent thecrust from getting soggy.Let the glaze dry (about 20 minutes).Then spread the pastry cream onto the bottom of the tart shell. Place fruit randomly on top ofcream or in concentric overlapping circles, starting at the outside edge. After arranging the fruit,rewarm the glaze, if using, and gently brush a light coat on the fruit. If notserving immediately, refrigerate but bring to room temperature before serving. This fruit tart is best eatenthe same day as it isassembled.Cover and refrigerate any leftovers. Serves about 6-8 people. View comments on this recipe on YouTube References: Le Cordon Bleu,London. | 
Sweet Pastry Crust: 1 1/2 cups (195 grams) all purpose flour 1/8 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar 1 large egg, lightly beaten Pastry Cream: 1 1/4 cups (300 ml) milk (whole or 2%) 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise or 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste 3 large egg yolks 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar 2 tablespoons (20 grams) all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons (20 grams) cornstarch (corn flour) 1/2 tablespoon liqueur (Grand Marnier, Brandy, Kirsch) (optional) Apricot Glaze: (optional) 1/2 cup (120 grams) apricot jam or preserves 1 tablespoon water Topping: 3 cups (720 ml) fruit (raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, kiwifruit, bananas, plums, pineapple, melon, etc.) | | | | | | | | | | New Videos | | | Chocolate Yogurt Pound Cake Video | | | | Carrot Muffins Video | | | | Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroons Video | | | | Frozen Berry Crisp Video | | | | Baked Rice Pudding Video | | | | Drop Biscuits Video | | | | Chocolate Peanut Cookies Video | | | | Cranberry White Chocolate Shortbread Video | | | | Vanilla Cupcakes Video | | | | Yogurt Pound Cake Video | | | | Butter Cookies Video | | | | Chocolate Torte Video | | | | Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies Video | | | | | | |
