French Fruit Tart

Making French Fruit Tart Ahead

Assembled, refrigerated, for 1 day only — the base softens after that. The baked shell keeps 3 days in a tin and the pastry cream 3 days covered, so build it on the day.

Making French Fruit Tart

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1. Blitz the flour, icing sugar and salt, add the cold butter and pulse to fine crumbs, then add the egg and pulse until it just gathers.

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2. Flatten into a disc, wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

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3. Meanwhile make the pastry cream. Bring the milk and vanilla to a bare simmer. Whisk the yolks, sugar, cornflour and salt until pale and smooth.

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4. Pour a third of the hot milk into the yolks whisking constantly, return everything to the pan, and cook over medium heat whisking hard until it thickens and then boils. Let it bubble for a full minute — this is not optional.

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5. Off the heat, whisk in the butter, strain into a shallow tray, press cling film onto the surface and refrigerate at least 3 hours until cold and firm.

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6. Roll the pastry to 3 mm and line a 25 cm loose-based tart tin, pressing well into the corners. Trim, prick the base and freeze 20 minutes.

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7. Blind bake at 180°C / 355°F with paper and beans for 20 minutes, remove the beans, and bake a further 12 to 15 minutes until evenly biscuit-coloured all over. Cool completely.

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8. Paint the inside of the cold shell with the melted white chocolate and leave 10 minutes to set.

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9. Beat the cold pastry cream smooth with a spatula and spread it into the shell, level with the rim.

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10. Arrange the fruit tightly over the top, brush with the warm sieved apricot glaze, and serve within a few hours.

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Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.

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Worth Knowing

• Bake the shell darker than feels right. A pale tart shell tastes raw and goes soft within the hour.
• Boil the pastry cream properly. Under-boiled crème pâtissière turns to liquid overnight and there is no fixing it.
• Glaze the fruit or it dulls and weeps within thirty minutes. Sieve the jam or you will paint lumps onto the raspberries.

Serving Ideas

A glass of Sauternes · Espresso · Crème fraîche

Quick Answers

What's in a Serving

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.