This fruit tart is endlessly adaptable, deceptively simple, and always looks like a showstopper. Here are the highlights:
- Use whatever fruit you love! I’ll share some favorite combinations.
- Chose your crust: one option is fun and the other option is easy.
- Skip the thermometer entirely thanks to a fail-proof custard.
It’s the kind of dessert that feels like a project but comes together with delightful ease.
Jump to my recipe for a fruit tart with vanilla custard + options to customize. Or read on for some other fun ideas. And if you’re looking for even more, my cookbook, A Dish for All Seasons has many more fruit tart options, including ganaches, curds, candied citrus peels, and more.
Ingredients you can use in this fruit tart:
The recipe at the end of this post is endlessly adaptable. Here are some flavorings for the custard + plenty of fruit ideas to make it your own.
Fresh fruit
What fresh fruits work in a fruit tart? Just about anything, so long as it’s not too crunchy or watery. Any of the following work beautifully:
Stone fruit: sliced peaches, nectarines, apricots, etc.
Berries and cherries: strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, pitted cherries, etc.
Wintery fruits: sliced pears or persimmons
Mediterranean fruit: halved figs, grapes, or mulberries
Tropical fruit: sliced bananas, mangos, kiwis, or dragonfruit
Used in moderation: passion fruit curd or pomegranate arils
Flavorings
While you can always go with classic vanilla, choose one of the following to spice things up:
choose 1:
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp orange blossom water
- ½ to 1 tsp rose water
- 1 to 1½ tsp almond extract
- 2 tsp lemon or lime zest
Fruit tart combinations I love
Whether you’re meticulously arranging kiwi and mango slices or piling on an absolute mountain of berries, you can’t go wrong. Here are my favorites:
Tropical tart: Mango slices, banana slices, and kiwi slices layered together and topped with a drizzle of passion fruit pulp, with lemon zest custard.
Berry almond: Strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries, topped with sliced almonds, with almond-extract-flavored custard.
Autumn rainbow: Pomegranate arils, persimmons, kiwis, blueberries, and figs with orange blossom-flavored custard.
Banana pudding: Caramelized bananas with vanilla custard.
mini fruit tarts
Oh and don’t forget—you can make any of these with little mini fruit tart shells (like the blackberry one above!).
Each recipe will yield six 4¾ in [12 cm] fruit tarts. The graham cracker crust itself bakes for about the same amount of time in mini form (but keep an eye on them in the last 2 minutes of baking, and pull them early if you need to, especially if your tart shells are smaller than 4¾ in [12 cm]).
PrintFruit Tart (with any fruit + video)
Ingredients
For the tart shell*:
- 21 or 22 honey graham crackers or digestive biscuits (10½ oz [300 g])
- ½ cup [115 g] unsalted butter, melted
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
For the custard:
- 2 cups [480 g] milk
- ½ cup [100 g] granulated sugar
- Flavorings (e.g., ½ tsp almond extract or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 large eggs
- 3 Tbsp [30 g] cornstarch
For the topping:
- About 4 cups [500 g] fruit (e.g., bananas, kiwis, mango, and passion fruit; or strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries)
- 3 Tbsp [60 g] apricot jam
Instructions
To make the tart shell*:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F [180°C].
- Place the graham crackers or digestive biscuits in a food processor and process until they’re the texture of dry sand. Add the butter, honey, sugar, and salt and blend until it’s the texture of wet sand. Dump the mixture into a 10 in [25 cm] tart pan. Use your fingers and the back of a measuring cup to tightly pack the mixture into an even layer across the bottom and sides. Start by packing the bottom with the cup, and then use your fingers to pack the sides tightly (one hand on top and one hand on the side to create even pressure).
- Bake the shell for about 12 minutes. It’s done once it begins to brown a bit more and smells nutty.
To make the custard:
- Combine the milk, sugar, flavorings, and salt in a small saucepan.
- Place over medium heat and let it come almost up to a simmer. While the milk heats, whisk together the eggs and cornstarch in a medium mixing bowl until completely lump-free. Once the milk mixture is barely simmering, slowly dribble about half of it into the egg mixture while whisking constantly. Add the egg mixture to the remaining milk mixture in the saucepan and immediately whisk together. Bring to a simmer, whisking constantly. Once bubbles break the surface and it thickens significantly, remove from heat.
To fill the fruit tart:
- Immediately pour the filling into the tart shell and smooth out the surface. Wait about 2 minutes for the surface to cool slightly, and then top with produce (push down slightly so they sink in a little).
- Microwave the apricot jam for 30 to 60 seconds (just until runny) and brush over the surface of the fruit. Chill the tart for at least 1 hour.
- If your pan has a removable bottom, remove the collar just before serving (if not, simply serve out of the pan). Leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for a day or two, but the tart is best served a few hours after it is assembled.
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Notes
* For an even easier alternative, buy a pre-baked tart shell or a pre-rolled pie crust (and bake according to the package instructions—do not par-bake, but fully bake it). Then just make the custard and fruit topping.
Psst… by the way, I wrote a whole cookbook of adaptable recipes like this one. It’s called A Dish for All Seasons!
Check it out for adaptable base recipes + ideas for seasonal (and evergreen!) variations.
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