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Fresh fruit tarts

Fresh fruit tarts, a still from its video, with the channel name and the recipe title in text across it

By Tom · Updated

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  • Serves 6
  • About 1 hour 45 min
  • One to take your time over

These beautiful fruit tarts are the perfect summer treat. Crisp homemade sweet pastry, silky vanilla pastry cream, and a topping of fresh seasonal fruit finished with a glossy apricot glaze. Don't worry if you've never made fruit tarts before, I'll guide you through every step and show you just how achievable they are at home.

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The recipe

Fresh fruit tarts

These beautiful fruit tarts are the perfect summer treat.

  • Serves 6
  • 20 min prep
  • 25 min cooking
  • 1 hour hands-off
  • One to take your time over

Times and difficulty are our estimates from the method, not stopwatch figures.

Scale
6 servings
Measurements

Ingredients

Sweet pastry

Pastry cream

Topping

Glaze

Tick things off as you go — they stay ticked if you close the page.

A dotted underline means the amount has been rounded to something you can measure.

Method

  1. Step 1

    Place the flour (150 g) and icing sugar into a bowl. Rub in the cold butter (75 g) until the mixture resembles fine (40 g) breadcrumbs. You can also do this step using a food processor.

  2. Step 2

    Add the egg yolk (1 yolk) and mix to form a dough, adding a little cold water (50 ml) if required.

  3. Step 3

    Shape into a disc, wrap, and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

  4. Step 4

    Roll out the pastry and line tartlet tins. Chill for a further 20-30 minutes before trimming off the excess pastry.

  5. Step 5

    Blind bake at 170°C for 15 minutes. Remove the baking beans and bake for a further 10 minutes until golden. Cool completely.

  6. Step 6: Pastry cream

    Heat the milk (250 ml) in a saucepan until just below boiling.

  7. Step 7

    In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks (1 yolk), sugar, cornflour (15 g) and vanilla (1 tsp) until smooth.

  8. Step 8

    Gradually pour the hot milk (250 ml) onto the egg mixture, whisking continuously.

  9. Step 9

    Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened.

  10. Step 10

    Remove from the heat and transfer to a clean bowl.

  11. Step 11

    Cover the surface with cling film or baking paper and allow to cool completely.

  12. Step 12: Assembly

    Fill the cooled tart shells with the chilled pastry cream and smooth the surface.

  13. Step 13

    Arrange the fresh berries neatly on top of each tart.

  14. Step 14: Glaze

    Heat the apricot jam (100 g) and water (50 ml) together until smooth.

  15. Step 15

    Strain if desired, then brush lightly over the fruit to create a glossy finish.

  16. Step 16

    Chill until required and serve.

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Questions people ask

How long does fresh fruit tarts take?

About 1 hour 45 min from start to finish: 20 min of prep, 25 min of cooking, and 1 hour hands-off while it waits. That figure is worked out from the method rather than timed with a stopwatch, so give yourself a little more the first time.

How many does it serve, and can I change that?

As written it serves 6. Use the scale control on the recipe card to change it: every quantity in the ingredients and inside the method steps updates with it. Seasoning, and anything measured in pinches or splashes, is deliberately left alone.

Can I see the ingredients in ounces and pints?

Yes. The metric and imperial switch on the recipe card converts every quantity, rounded to amounts you can actually weigh or measure rather than to four decimal places. Your choice is remembered for every recipe on the site.

Is it vegetarian?

Yes, as written. If you are cooking for a strict vegetarian, the one to check is the cheese: several hard cheeses are made with animal rennet.