Fresh Fruit Tart with Pastry Cream

Before you start

The fruit tart in a French pastry case is an assembly job more than a bake. A shell of pâte sucrée is baked completely, filled with cold vanilla pastry cream, then covered with fresh fruit and brushed with a thin apricot glaze. Every element can be made ahead; the only time-sensitive part is putting them together within a few hours of serving.

The main risk is moisture. Pastry cream is wet and cut fruit leaks juice, so a shell that is pale or unsealed turns soft within an hour. Bake the shell until golden, seal it with melted chocolate or egg, use fruit that is ripe but firm, and pat everything dry before it goes on. Choose fruit that holds its shape: berries, kiwi, mango, grapes and stone fruit work; bananas and apples brown, and melon weeps.

Ingredients

• Shell200 g (1⅔ cups, spooned and leveled) all-purpose flour
• 75 g (⅔ cup) powdered sugar
• ¼ tsp fine salt
• 115 g (½ cup) unsalted butter — cool, cubed
• 1 large egg yolk plus 1 tbsp cold milk
• 30 g (1 oz) white or dark chocolate — melted, to seal the shell
• Pastry cream375 ml (1½ cups) whole milk
• ½ vanilla bean, split, or 1½ tsp vanilla extract
• 3 large egg yolks
• 75 g (⅓ cup plus 2 tsp) granulated sugar
• 30 g (¼ cup) cornstarch
• 25 g (2 tbsp) unsalted butter
• Topping450 g (about 3 cups) mixed ripe, firm fruit — berries, kiwi, mango, grapes or apricots
• 80 g (¼ cup) apricot jam
• 1 tbsp water

Method

1. Rub or pulse the butter into the flour, powdered sugar and salt until sandy. Add the yolk and milk and mix just until a dough forms. Flatten, wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
2. While the dough chills, heat the milk with the vanilla bean until steaming. Whisk the yolks, sugar and cornstarch in a bowl until pale, then slowly whisk in half the hot milk.
3. Pour everything back into the pan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly. When it thickens, keep whisking and let it bubble for a full minute; this cooks out the starchy taste and lets the cream hold its set. Off the heat, whisk in the butter (and extract, if using).
4. Strain the cream into a shallow dish, press plastic wrap onto the surface and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, until cold and firm.
5. Roll the dough to 3 mm (⅛ in), line the pan, trim, prick and chill for 30 minutes. Bake at 175°C (350°F) with parchment and weights for 20 minutes, then uncovered for 10 to 12 minutes, until golden all over. Cool completely.
6. Brush the inside of the cool shell with the melted chocolate in a thin layer and let it set for 10 minutes. It forms a moisture barrier between crust and cream.
7. Whisk the cold pastry cream until smooth and spread it evenly in the shell. Pat the fruit dry and arrange it snugly, starting at the outer edge and working in; slice larger fruit 5 mm (¼ in) thick.
8. Warm the jam and water until fluid, strain it, and dab it lightly over the fruit with a brush. Chill the tart for 30 minutes so the cream firms, and serve within 4 hours.

Tips for success

• Lay out the fruit on a plate in the pattern you want before it goes on the cream; moving fruit after it touches the filling smears it.
• Keep the glaze thin and warm. A thick, cool glaze looks gloopy and tears soft berries.
• For a lighter filling, fold 120 ml heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks, into the chilled pastry cream to make crème légère.

Substitutions

Apricot jam glaze

Red currant jelly works on red fruit and needs no straining. For no glaze at all, dust with powdered sugar just before serving; the fruit will dull sooner.

Chocolate seal

Brush the hot baked shell with beaten egg white and bake 2 minutes more. It is neutral in flavor but slightly less waterproof.

Whole milk

Lower-fat milk works but makes a looser cream; add 5 g extra cornstarch. Oat milk gives a dairy-free cream with a light cereal note.

Variations

Individual tartlets

Bake the dough in eight 10 cm (4 in) tartlet pans for 12 to 15 minutes. Fill each with about 60 g pastry cream.

Almond base

Spread 150 g frangipane in the unbaked shell and bake at 175°C (350°F) for 30 to 35 minutes; cool, then add pastry cream and fruit.

Troubleshooting

Pastry cream turned runny after chilling

It did not boil long enough, or it was over-whisked once cold. Bubble it for a full minute while whisking, and loosen it later with a few gentle strokes only.

Lumps in the pastry cream

The bottom scorched or the yolks set in patches. Whisk constantly, reach into the corners of the pan, and strain the cream every time.

The shell went soft within hours

The shell was underbaked or unsealed, or the fruit was wet. Bake to deep golden, seal with chocolate and dry the fruit thoroughly.

Storage

This tart is best within 4 hours of assembly. Refrigerate leftovers, covered, and eat them within 1 day; the crust softens and the fruit weeps. Pastry cream keeps for 2 to 3 days in the fridge, and the baked shell keeps for 2 days airtight at room temperature. Do not leave the filled tart out for more than 2 hours.

Safety notes

The pastry cream is cooked until it boils, which makes the eggs safe; refrigerate it promptly. Do not taste the raw dough. Contains wheat, egg and milk.