This homemade Fruit Tart Recipe is just like the kind you’ll find at fancy French bakeries, with a shortbread crust and vanilla pastry cream and topped with beautiful fresh fruit. Watch the video tutorial and see how easy it is.
We love making bakery-style French desserts at home, from our Classic Eclair Recipe to our Peach Galette Recipe. If you feel the same, this Homemade Fruit Tart is a must-try!
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Fruit Tart Recipe
If you’ve ever been to an authentic French patisserie, you’ve probably seen the stunning fruit tarts in the bakery case, alongside the almond croissants and cream puffs. The fruit tarts are beautifully arranged and glistening – almost too pretty to eat!
Did you know you can make one at home that’s even better? I’ll show you how to make the perfect Sweet Tart Crust (pate sucre), vanilla Pastry Cream filling, and how to arrange the fruit. Here’s why you’ll love this fruit tart recipe:
- Impressive – No one will believe you made this beautiful fruit tart yourself!
- Fresh and perfect – When you buy a tart, sometimes you take it home and realize the fruit is a little past its prime. Make it at home and you can make sure all the fruit is at the peak of ripeness.
- Versatile – Use the seasonal fruit you have on hand and enjoy this tart year-round.
- Easier than you think – While making a fruit tart does take time, there’s nothing about the process that’s difficult.
Fruit Tart Video Tutorial
Watch Natasha make this fruit tart recipe, then grab the ingredients and give it a try yourself!
Ingredients
Scroll down to the recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
- Pastry cream – Make a batch of my Pastry Cream Recipe. This can be made up to 3 days ahead.
- Sweet tart dough – Use my Pate Sucre Recipe.
- Fresh fruit or berries – You’ll need 4 cups of fruit such as strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, kiwi, mandarins, etc.
- Apricot preserves – Combine this with a tablespoon of water to glaze the fruit.
The Best Fruit for a Fruit Tart
Use fruit based on the season you are in. You can change up your fruit tart in so many ways. Here are some of our favorite fruits to use:
- Berries – Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries
- Stone Fruit – Cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, plums
- Currants – Black currants, Red currants
- Citrus – Clementine or mandarin orange segments
- Tropical fruits – Mango, kiwi, starfruit
Pro Tip: Avoid fruit that discolors quickly, such as banana or apple, unless you are planning to serve immediately after assembling. Also, avoid fruits that release a lot of juice such as melon or sliced citrus. Berries should be rinsed and dried thoroughly with paper towels; turn raspberries upside-down on a paper towel so any water in the hollow center drains out.
How to Make a Fruit Tart
You can get a head start on this recipe by making both the pastry cream and tart dough in advance.
- Make the pastry cream – Do this first, since it needs time to set. Let the cream cool to room temperature, then refrigerate it for at least 2 hours, or up to a few days ahead of time.
- Make the tart crust – Follow the recipe for the tart dough. Once baked, set the tart pan on a wire rack and cool completely to room temperature.
- Add the pastry cream – Once the crust has cooled, carefully release it from the pan and set it on a serving platter. Spread the pastry cream into the tart pan.
- Arrange the fruit – Top the pastry cream with the fruit; you can do this in rings or just scatter it over the top.
- Make the glaze – Microwave the apricot preserves and water in a heat-safe bowl for about 30 seconds, or until the preserves are softened. If the preserves have bits of fruit, you can strain them out.
- Glaze the tart – Use a pastry brush to brush the preserves evenly over the fruit.
Pro Tip: If you are serving right away, you can skip the glaze, although it adds an extra layer of flavor and the glossy finish looks very professional.
Common Questions
A fruit tart is a classic French dessert made with a sweet crust, vanilla-flavored pastry cream, and glazed fruit on the top.
Use a jam that is lighter in color such as apricot jam or apple jam. Other varieties will work but they do add a rosy color to your fruit.
A cream cheese frosting is sturdy enough to make a nice base for a tart. You can also use a mascarpone-based frosting, which is easy and there’s no need to cook it.
No, this recipe won’t work in a pie pan. You need to be able to remove the mold.
I use this 11-inch pan, which is what I use to make Quiche also. The bottom is removable, which makes it so much easier to get nice, clean slices. You can also use a 10″ round tart pan or a 9″ square tart pan.
Make-Ahead
You can easily make this fruit tart ahead of time, but I don’t recommend freezing it because the fresh fruit will release liquid into the filling after freezing and thawing.
- To Refrigerate: Once assembled, this fruit tart will last for 1 to 2 days in the refrigerator, depending on the fruit you use. Whole berries will last longer than cut fruit.
This authentic fruit tart recipe will give you a bakery-style dessert at home, and it’s easier to make than you think.
More Fruit Dessert Recipes
If you love home-baked pastries and desserts, then you won’t want to miss these fruit dessert recipes:
- Apple Crisp Recipe
- Blueberry Pie
- Apple Turnovers
- Blueberry Lemon Cake Recipe
- Lemon Bars
- No Bake Cheesecake
Fresh Fruit Tart Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Sweet Tart Dough Recipe, Pate Sucre
- 1 Pastry Cream Recipe
- 4 cups fresh fruit or berries, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, clementine segments, etc
- 1/3 cup Apricot Preserves with 1 Tbsp water
Instructions
- Make Pastry Cream Recipe first since it needs time to set. Place a sheet of plastic wrap directly over the surface and cool the cream to room temperature then refrigerate for 2 hours to set. You can make the cream a few days ahead.
- Make the Tart Crust Recipe in a 10 to 11-inch round tart pan. Once baked, remove from the oven and transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely to room temperature then carefully release the tart from the pan. You can leave the bottom of the pan on if you prefer.
- Set the tart pan over your serving platter (it will be hard to transfer once the crust is filled). Spread the pastry cream evenly into the tart pan.
- Arrange your fruit to your preference. You can either arrange fruit in rings or scatter it randomly over the top.
- Make the Glaze: In a heat-safe bowl, combine apricot preserves and 1 Tbsp water and microwave for 30 seconds just enough to soften and loosen up the preserves. If preserves have a lot of fruit pieces, you can strain those out. Use a pastry brush to brush preserves over the fruit, applying an even coating over all the fruit.
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Fabulous! The pate sucreé pastry was so much better than other tart crusts that I have made, and I could sit and eat the pastry cream with a spoon! I made two of them for a staff meeting at work and was quite disappointed when there was none left to bring home. This recipe is definitely a keeper.
So glad you enjoyed it, Myra!
Hi Natasha!
I love making your tart recipe for family and friends. I was wondering if I wanted to make mini fruit tarts using your tart crust recipe and buying mini nonstick removable pans how long should I put it in the freezer and how long should I bake them for? Also would I still bake them at 350? Any help is appreciated thank you!
Hi Gracie! I haven’t tested it myself but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. You’ll just have to watch them in the oven because they will bake faster.
Hi Natasha.
I prefer making eggless tart shells. Once they are filled, they tend to go soggy after some time. How can I retain the texture for longer time after they are filled?
Hi Nancy. I have not had issues with my crust getting soggy. It would depend on what you’re filling your tart crust with. Our pastry cream holds up well, without leaving liquid behind to make the crust wet.
Made it for a birthday part and didn’t have time for a test run. Turned out great! Was a hit! Thx so much.
Hello the best cook ever! I want to make this recipe with peaches (since we just went to peach picking) would peaches be fine on the filling? Also would it be too much to glaze with peach preserves (also planing to follow your peach preserve recipe!)
Hi Maggy, I haven’t tried this tart with peaches specifically, but I bet that could work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
Hi Natasha,
I loved your apple pie recipe, and I can’t wait to try making this tart for the first time. Quick question, I noticed in your YouTube video that you didn’t mention whipped cream; do I need it for the recipe?
Thanks for sharing your fantastic recipes! I’m looking forward to giving this one a go!
Hi Melissa. In the recipe card you will click on “pastry cream” in red font, which is a separate recipe for the filling that you are going to use in this.
Hi Natasha, are the mandarins used fresh or jarred mandarin?
I usually use fresh fruits.
My crust completely fell apart when trying to remove it from the nonstick tart pan. Should I lightly grease the pan? The dough was perfect and it baked perfectly, just stuck to t bottom
Hi Elizabeth, Are you using a non-stick tart pan with a removable bottom? It will make it much easier to remove from the pan. Once you remove the outer ring from the pan, you can then slide a knife gently around the base to help the tart slide off the base easily or serve it on the base too.
Also- was the dough very crumbly when you were making your crust? If so, it’s likely due to using too much flour, which can cause the crust to be very crumble and break apart. I recommend watching my tutorial on How to measure ingredients.
Hi Natasha,
I am making my first ever fruit tart and decided on yours after looking through many recipes. I have two questions. Have you ever used confectioners sugar in the tart crust instead of granulated, if not why. Also I’m making this to take somewhere, should I keep in pan for transport so it doesn’t break? Thank you, will update after made!
HI Robin, traditionally it’s made with granulated sugar so I haven’t tested a replacement since granulated works well. You could keep it in the pan or transfer to a rimmed serving platter so it doesn’t slide off – whichever method is more convenient for you and feels safer (it really depends on the serving platter – if it has a pedestal, it will be difficult to travel)
I just wanted to give update on making your tart. I did finally make it, and I have to say everyone really loved it! Including me! We all loved the pastry cream filling, and the shortbread crust came out great! I decorated it similar to yours, so beautiful! So I now have future requests for this tart, my family loved it so very much. Thank you for your wonderful recipe!
I’m so thrilled to hear that, Robin! Thank you for your awesome feedback.
Once the tart is made and put together, do I store it on the counter or in the fridge? There aren’t any instructions about this part. Thanks!!
Hi Emma, if you’re not serving it right away, we share the steps to store under the Make-Ahead section of the recipe post. Note “Once assembled, this fruit tart will last for 1 to 2 days in the refrigerator”. I hope that helps.
Hi Natasha, love this tart…So delicious! I’ve made it a few times. The first time round, the pie crust came out of the tart pan easily but since then it just sticks to the pan and cracks. Your advice would be greatly appreciated!
Hi Aqu! I’m so glad you’re loving the recipe. Are you using a non-stick tart pan with a removable bottom? It will make it much easier to remove from the pan. Once you remove ththe outer ring from the pan, you can then slide a knife gently around the base to help the tart slide off the base easily or serve it on the base too.
Also- was the dough very crumbly when you were making your crust? If so, it’s likely due to using too much flour, which can cause the crust to be very crumble and break apart. I recommend watching my tutorial on How to measure ingredients . I hope that helps.
The most delicious fruit tart! I will be making this again and it everyone was impressed! Thank you for the recipe! I wish I could share a pic!
You’re welcome! Feel free to share some photos on our Facebook page or group so other readers can see them too!
Great recipe and directions! Made a beautiful and delicious tart. Will definitely do again 😋
Thank you for your excellent feedback!
Hi! When blind baking the crust I see some cooks that add pie weights or beans on top of foil so the sides of the crust don’t fall or the bottom doesn’t puff up. Is that not required for this type of crust? Can’t wait to try this!
Hi Andy! That’s correct. See my note in the crust recipe blog. This type of crust is Pâte Sucrée which incorporates egg and is a short-flake crust that is more cookie-like and crumbly. It’s different from traditional pie crust (Pâte Brisée).
I hope you love this recipe!
Made the crust 5 days ahead and stored it in the freezer, and made the cream 3 days ahead. I assembled everything with the fruit the day before serving. It worked out so well! Sooo delicious, fresh, and a perfect balance of taste/texture.
That’s great to hear, Lena!
I was wondering if I will be able to use the tart dough and bake it inside a muffin tin, as a mini tart and fill with the pastry cream? Looking forward for your answer.
Hi Emily! I haven’t tested it myself but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. You’ll just have to watch them in the oven because they will bake faster.
I haven’t made this tart yet. When and how do you take the tart out of the pan?
Hi Susan, you release it in step 2: “Once baked, remove from the oven and transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely to room temperature then carefully release the tart from the pan.”