No matter what you’re celebrating this weekend – or any weekend this summer – a show-stopping and delicious fruit tart is just what you need to feel festive. Plump, juicy berries piled high on a rich, silky vanilla pastry cream, all snuggled into a buttery crushed cookie crust is a match made in dessert heaven. And it’s way easier to pull off than you’d think.
The tart comes together from three simple components — a crispy cookie base, a creamy filling, and a big pile of strawberries (or other berries). You can make the cookie base and filling ahead, and you can also assemble the tart up to six hours before serving and you’re all set for a barbecue, picnic, or dinner party showpiece. And a little insider tip: If you’re lucky enough to have leftovers, a slice makes a pretty amazing breakfast treat, too.
Using store-bought ginger snaps for the crust adds a touch of ginger-y spice to the tart’s base layer. That said, feel free to use any flavor of cookies as long as they are crisp. Plain, cinnamon or chocolate grahams are delicious when paired with this filling and fruit. If you have a food processor, it’s the fastest and easiest way to pulverize the cookies into fine crumbs. Alternatively, pile the cookies into a heavy-duty zipper top plastic bag. Push the air out of the bag, zip closed and using a rolling pin of mallet gently tap on the bag until the cookies are crushed into fine crumbs.
The creamy vanilla cooked custard filling lightened up with a bit of whipped cream adds a silky contrast to the crispy crust and sweet, juicy berries on top. The pastry cream comes together on the stovetop in minutes and can chill in the fridge up to a day in advance. Just before assembling your tart, I like to fold in a bit of whipped cream to the chilled custard to make it lighter. For a more classic texture, you can use it just as it is.
Alternatively, if you are in a rush or want to avoid turning on your stove, a batch of whipped mascarpone cream can also be used in place of the pastry cream. (You can grab the whipped mascarpone cream recipe from our strawberry shortcake recipe.) If you go this route, I suggest assembling the tart only an hour or two before serving. While stable, the fruit juices will leech more quickly into this whipped cream.
I like to make strawberries the star of this tart, but you can take advantage of the best of summer’s produce. Any ripe, fragrant fruit — even a combo of two or three — will be gorgeous as well as delicious. Stone fruits like peaches, plums or apricots need to be pitted and cut into slices or small pieces.
When it comes time to arrange the fruit, please don’t fuss! A jumble of strawberries (or any ripe fruit), piled casually on top can be more beautiful than a precise, time-consuming pattern. It’s a good reminder that perfection is not the goal and that a casual, relaxed approach creates a most stunning result.
Make-Aheads
- The baked crust can be covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 month.
- The filling can be prepared, covered, and refrigerated for up to 1 day.
- The assembled tart can be covered and refrigerated for up to 6 hours before serving.
- Leftovers can be covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days.
Kitchen Notes
Pastry Cream
We’re using a classic pastry cream (a cooked, thickened custard) for the filling. It’s easily made on the stovetop.
Lightened Pastry Cream
While the chilled pastry cream can be used as is, folding a little whipped cream into the chilled pastry cream makes for a lighter, softer filling.
Pro Tips
- Measure the flour for the filling carefully. Lightly spoon flour into the measuring spoon and level off. Repeat two more times for a total of 3 tablespoons. If you use a scale, you will have .9 ounces/25 grams.
- I prefer using four egg yolks (from large eggs) in this pastry cream but with egg prices at a premium, I have substituted two large eggs in place of the four yolks. The cream isn’t quite as rich or creamy, but the results still pair well with the fruit and crust.
- While the cream cooks, use a narrow-tipped whisk to be sure to get into the edges/corners in the bottom of the pan. For a smoother, creamier texture, be sure to pass the hot custard through a fine-mesh sieve set over a medium bowl.
