Amazing Fresh Fruit Tart Recipe (+VIDEO)

Looking for an amazing fresh fruit tart recipe? The combination of crispy tart crust, smooth & rich cream, and juicy fresh fruits taste divine.

JUMP TO RECIPE VIDEO

Today, I'm guiding you through the processes step-by-step so you can make the perfect fresh fruit tart successful at home!

❤️ I love this fruit tart because:

It's so simple yet incredibly delicious.
There is no need to blind-bake the tart crust. It's so simple to make!
I can enjoy many variations with different fruits and fillings.
It's not overly sweet.
You can take breaks between the steps and make it at your own pace.

💬 The filling is diplomat cream (pastry cream + whipped cream). It's my favorite for fresh fruit tart!

In this post, you'll learn essential baking tips such as:

How to bake the tart crust to get the best result
Tips to make amazing diplomat cream
Tips to decorate fruits beautifully
How to make the Nappage glaze with jam

... and so on.

Let's get started!

Jump to:

📌 What's In Fruit Tart?
📌 How To Make Fruit Tart
📌 Uses For Fruit Tart
📌 Frequently Asked Questions
📌 VIDEO: Watch How To Make It!
📌 Printable Recipe
Fresh Fruit Tart
📌 Pin It!

📌 What's In Fruit Tart?

Tart Dough

All-purpose flour
- Gluten in flour creates a crunchy texture for the tart crust.
Almond flour
- It adds a fantastic flavor and more delicate, light crunchiness to the crust.
Powdered sugar
- It creates more light crunchiness than granulated sugar.
Salt
- I use regular table salt.
Unsalted butter
- Use cold butter.
Egg
- Egg helps to connect all the ingredients to make the dough.
Bread flour to dust on a working surface
- Bread flour spreads more evenly and does not stick as much as cake or all-purpose flour. Use all-purpose flour if you can not get bread flour.

The Filling

Pastry cream

Whole Milk
- Use full-fat whole milk.
Vanilla Beans
- I highly recommend using vanilla beans for their incredible flavor. My favorite kind is Madagascar vanilla beans.
Granulated Sugar
- Sugar is necessary to make smooth and shiny pastry cream.
Egg Yolks
- It helps to thicken the cream and add rich flavor.
Corn Starch
- It helps to thicken the cream as well. It gives a light, slightly jelly-like texture.
All-purpose flour
- It also helps to thicken the cream. Compared to corn starch, it gives a chinkier, heavier texture. I often like to blend cornstarch and all-purpose flour.
Salt
- It adds more depth in flavor.
Butter (Unsalted)
- It is optional. It adds richness in flavor and thickens the cream slightly more.

Whipped cream

Heavy cream
- The whipped cream and pastry cream mixture is called "diplomat cream (creme diplomat)" and is often used for other desserts such as cream puffs. Today, we are adding about ⅕ of the pastry cream amount.

Decorations

Fresh fruits of your choice!
- Remove excess moisture from fruits with a cloth or paper towel before use.

Nappage (optional)

Apricot jam
- Nappage refers to the clear liquid for baking to add shine to desserts. You can buy the pre-made nappage online or use apricot jam as an alternative!
Water
- Heat the apricot jam with water to make it loose so you can brush it more easily.

📌 How To Make Fruit Tart

The 7 steps:

Tart Dough

Make a half batch of the original tart dough and bake the crust.
- I listed the half amounts of the ingredients at the end of this post in the printable recipe. Or you can make one batch of the original recipe and store the rest in a freezer to use next time.

The Filling

Make pastry cream.
Whip heavy cream until it gets fluffy and stiff.
Combine the pastry cream and whipped cream.
Pipe it in the crust.

The decoration

Use any fruit you like to decorate them on top.
Make a Nappage glaze and apply it on top of fruits with a brush.
- Heat the apricot jam and water together until it starts boiling.
- Strain it.

📝 More Tips With Images

Now, let me share detailed tips on each step, which are crucial for making the fruit tart successful.

Step 1: Check out my tart crust recipe to see how to make the dough and bake the crust.

💬 Roll it very thinly to get the light crunchiness (2-3 mm). The texture feels different, depending on how thick it is.

💬 Chill the dough completely in the fridge or freezer before baking them. You can prevent the dough from sliding down in the oven. And the texture of your crust gets better, too!

Check all the other important tips in the tart crust post!

Bake in any tart rings and molds you like.

🔥 Bake it at 350 F | 176 C for 10 - 22 mins until it gets a nice golden brown.

Adjust the time and temperature depending on the oven, the size, and the thickness of your crust.

💬 The crust is more fragile when it's very hot. Take it out from a pan after it cools down.

Step 2: Make pastry cream.

Follow all the steps in the post to see how to make it.

I made one batch of the recipe to fill all the tarts in the post (4 small tartlets, 1 rectangle tart, and 2 medium tarts), which is also enough for about 1 10" | 25 cm tart pan. Make more or less as you like!

Step 3: Whip heavy cream until it gets fluffy and stiff.

Use a very stiff whipped cream to make a thick diplomat cream.

Step 4: Combine the pastry cream and whipped cream.

Mix until they are evenly blended:

Creme Diplomat

The mixture of pastry cream and whipped cream is called "diplomat cream" (Creme Diploma). It is often used for desserts such as fruit tarts and cream puffs.

Whipped cream adds a creaminess and fluffiness to pastry cream, making it taste dreamy. If you haven't tried it yet, please do!

You can also use this pastry cream as is for the filling and it still tastes amazing.

Step 5: Pipe it in the crust.

3 tips to pipe the filling on the tart crust

Use a pastry bag to pipe easier. (optional)
Don't pipe around the edge too much so it won't come out later.
Pipe higher toward the center so your fruit decorations get more volume later.

This is how much you can fill from one batch of the filling:

It is also enough for about 1 10" | 25 cm tart pan.

Step 6: Decorate it with fruits on top.

I dusted some powdered sugar on the edge as an accent.

💡 Mix a bit of cornstarch in powdered sugar. The sugar remains on the surface a little bit better!

3 tips to decorate fruits on top of a fruit tart:

Remove the excess moisture with paper or cloth to prevent the crust from getting soggy.
Decorate with bigger fruits first and fill the gaps with smaller fruits.
Create some volume like a mountain to make it look gorgeous.

I often focus on those 3 when I decorate fruits, but there are exceptions. The most important thing is for you to have fun!

Or divide sections with different colors like this:

Step 7: Nappage glaze

💡 Nappage refers to the clear liquid for baking to add shine to desserts. You can buy the pre-made nappage online or use apricot jam as an alternative!

The 3 tasks of Nappage glaze

It adds a fantastic shine to the fruits. The tart looks even more fabulous!
It prevents fruits from getting dried quickly.
It helps fruits to stick to each other to prevent them from falling.

Heat the apricot jam and water together until it starts boiling. And strain it.

There is no need to strain it if the jam does not contain chunks.

2 tips for applying Nappage

Tap gently when you brush it. Avoid adding too much pressure to prevent the fruits from sliding.
Apply it while it's still warm. It'll slowly get thick and lumpy as it cools down. Heat it again if it cools down too much!

📌 Uses For Fruit Tart

As a whole cake: Share it with your family and friends to celebrate the special occasion.
As plated desserts: Bake it in smaller pans to enjoy the crispy crust more.
As petit desserts: Bake in one-bite petit molds for a party with a larger crowd; they'll look very festive and are easy for your guests to grab.

📌 Frequently Asked Questions

How should I store it, and what's the shelf-life?

Store in an air-tight container in the fridge. It is possible to store it for up to five days, but I highly recommend consuming it within that day. The crust slowly soaks up the moisture from the filling and gets soggier. And the fruits lose freshness as they sit.
Fill the cream right before you serve for the best taste!

What is the shelf-life of the tart dough?

In the fridge: for up to five days
In the freezer: for up to a few months

How should I store the baked crust in the fridge?

Store it in an air-tight container with silica gels inside to block moisture.

How should I store the baked crust in the freezer?

Store it in an air-tight container and bake it for 1 - 3 minutes before use to release some excess moisture.

What kind of fruits should I use for fruit tart?

Use any fruit you like! Some fruits are soggier than others. Remove the excess moisture with kitchen towels or a clean cloth to prevent the tart from getting soggy.
Some of my favorite fruits for fruit tarts are strawberries, raspberries, other berries, mangoes, grapes, oranges, and cherries!

The pastry cream is loose. Why?

It happens most frequently when the starch in the flour is not cooked enough. Try heating it longer next time!