• Blog
  • Podcast
  • Videos
  • Nav Social Icons

  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Hospitality
    • Cooking
    • Hosting
    • Household Management
    • Celebrate
    • Basics
  • Lovely Living
    • Beauty
    • Fashion
    • Favorites
    • Hobbies
    • Parenting
    • Personal Care
    • Reflections
  • Recipes
    • Appetizer
    • Main Dish
    • Sides
    • Dessert
    • Breakfast
    • Beverage
  • Chronicles
    • The Lovely Archives
    • Family
    • Hurley House
    • Ina
    • Journals
  • Shop
    • Beauty
    • Closet
    • Cookbooks
    • Gifts
    • Home
    • Kitchen
    • Library
    • Needlepoint
    • Organization
    • Table
  • Blog
  • About
  • Mobile Menu Widgets

    Connect

    Search

  • Hospitality
    • Hosting
    • Household Management
    • Cooking
    • Basics
    • Celebrate
  • Lovely Living
    • Fashion
    • Favorites
    • Hobbies
    • Parenting
    • Beauty
    • Personal Care
    • Reflections
  • Recipes
    • Appetizer
    • Main Dish
    • Sides
    • Dessert
    • Breakfast
    • Beverage
  • Shop
    • Beauty
    • Closet
    • Cookbooks
    • Gifts
    • Home
    • Kitchen
    • Library
    • Needlepoint
    • Organization
    • Table
  • Chronicles
    • The Lovely Archives
    • Family
    • Ina
    • Journals
    • Hurley House
  • About

Vanilla Cream Tart With Fresh Fruit

June 30, 2021 · In: Dessert, Recipes

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Vanilla Cream Tart with Fresh Fruit is beautiful. Stunning, even. This is the kind of tart that used to intimidate me as a home cook. I would convince myself that tarts of such magnitude were only possible in French patisseries or were reserved for trained pastry chefs.

And then, Ina convinced me otherwise. Tarts are nothing more than pies in a fancy pan. If you can make a pie, you can make a tart. Ina also showed me how to make pastry cream at home, opening up an entire world of dessert options I had previously considered out of reach.

Today I am sharing my recipe for Vanilla Cream Tart with Fresh Fruit, and I hope you too will be convinced that this is the kind of dessert you can make in your home kitchen. This tart in particular is simply a combination of elements that are easy to execute with only a bit of basic know-how.

The recipe is below, and if you are participating in the Pie Challenge, the exclusive video tutorial will land in your inbox tomorrow, guiding you through everything you need to know for tart success!

Vanilla Cream Tart with Fresh Fruit

This recipe will yield one 9-inch tart, or 4 4-inch tarts.  Alternatively, you can also prepare this in a standard pie plate to serve 8 to 10.  This tart is best served the day you add the fruit, as the fresh fruit will begin to break down, but can be enjoyed for several days after assembling.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients

for the crust…

  • 1 1/4 cups finely ground Saltine cracker crumbs 4 ounces
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 8 tablespoons 1/2 cup, 1 stick unsalted butter, melted

for the filling…

  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar plus 2 tablespoons
  • pinch of Kosher salt
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 3 tablespoons corn starch
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

for serving…

  • as assortment of fresh fruit (blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, kiwi)
  • 1/4 cup apricot jam

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350.  In a medium bowl, combine the cracker crumbs, granulated sugar, and melted butter, stirring until evenly mixed.  Press the crumb mixture into the bottom and up the sides of your desired pie or tart pan.  Bake the crust for 20 minutes, or until just beginning to turn golden brown on the edges.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool while you prepare the filling.
  • To make the filling, heat the milk, 1/2 cup sugar, and the Kosher salt over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.  Pay attention to the milk as it heats.  You want it to be steaming, and just on the verge of simmering, but not actively boiling or bubbling.
  • While the milk mixture heats, combine the remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, the egg yolks, and the cornstarch in a medium bowl.  Very gently combine with a whisk until the cornstarch is incorporated, then whisk vigorously for at least 1 minute until the mixture is pale yellow and expanded in volume.
  • Once the milk mixture is steaming, add one ladle of milk to the egg yolk mixture, and stir to combine.  Repeat this two more times, until about half of the hot milk mixture has been added to the eggs.  Pour the now-warm egg yolk mixture back into the pot with the remaining milk, and begin to whisk constantly.  At this point, you are looking for a bubble to burst on the surface, the first sign that the mixture has reached its thickening point, but you really must keep whisking to prevent the bottom from scalding.
  • Take a three second break to look for bubbles, and then continue whisking.  Once you see a bubble burst on the surface, set a timer (or count in your head) for one minute.  Whisk constantly during this minute!  Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla, continuing to whisk until the butter is completely incorporated.
  • Pour the hot pastry cream into the prepared crust, smooth it out evenly, and then top with a sheet of plastic wrap directly touching the filling.
  • Refrigerate until firm, at least four hours, or up to two days.To finish the tart, top with an assortment of fresh fruit.  For added shine, brush the fruit with a bit of apricot jam (warmed in the microwave to loosen it up).  Slice and serve!

By: Katherine Sasser · In: Dessert, Recipes

you’ll also love

Seven Salad Secrets
Sweet Potatoes with Brown Sugar Pecan Topping
The Hurley House House Salad

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Next Post >

Homemade Whipped Cream

Primary Sidebar

Search

Featured Posts

Spring Favorites

New Cookbooks I Am Really Enjoying

My Favorite Pie Baking Supplies

Latest on Instagram

katherinesasser

katherinesasser


See those brass tacks holding my canvas onto that
See those brass tacks holding my canvas onto that wooden frame? 

The wooden frame is made from stretcher bars, and there is a cool little tool I use to install the tacks. The whole set up isn’t complicated, but if you’re a visual learner like me, I made a little video tutorial for you over on the blog!

Elevating the everyday is not about fussy, braggad
Elevating the everyday is not about fussy, braggadocios gestures. It’s about imputing dignity and beauty into otherwise mundane or ordinary occurrences. 

It’s not about perfection. It’s about discovery. 💗

Felt right to wear a dress for Tag Sale Day! Bring
Felt right to wear a dress for Tag Sale Day! Bring on the tablecloths and tea sandwiches…let’s elevate the everyday!

Week Two of the Summer Cookbook Club is complete,
Week Two of the Summer Cookbook Club is complete, and this week was a doozy! Two big recipes with very different results. 

Check out the blog post and video for all the details!

This season’s hottest new accessory is the Ring
This season’s hottest new accessory is the Ring Pop Popsicle! 

Fantastically frosty, subtly sweet, and available in shades sure to make you salivate, this is the seasonal bling you’ve been craving. 😉

Breakfast Salad has become such an integral part o
Breakfast Salad has become such an integral part of my routine that I made it an official blog post, complete with back story, testimonial, and a recipe! Salad for breakfast? Yes please!!


Load More...



Follow on Instagram


Browse by Category

Hi, I'm Katherine

Hi, I'm Katherine
hello!

I share lifestyle content through the lens of hospitality. If you are interested in learning about the beauty that creating space can bring, you've come to the right place!

Read More

Connect

Recent Posts

Summer Cookbook Club: Week 3

Stretcher Bar and Tack Kit Tutorial

Archives

Follow Along

@katherinesasser

See those brass tacks holding my canvas onto that See those brass tacks holding my canvas onto that wooden frame? 

The wooden frame is made from stretcher bars, and there is a cool little tool I use to install the tacks. The whole set up isn’t complicated, but if you’re a visual learner like me, I made a little video tutorial for you over on the blog!
Elevating the everyday is not about fussy, braggad Elevating the everyday is not about fussy, braggadocios gestures. It’s about imputing dignity and beauty into otherwise mundane or ordinary occurrences. 

It’s not about perfection. It’s about discovery. 💗
Felt right to wear a dress for Tag Sale Day! Bring Felt right to wear a dress for Tag Sale Day! Bring on the tablecloths and tea sandwiches…let’s elevate the everyday!
Week Two of the Summer Cookbook Club is complete, Week Two of the Summer Cookbook Club is complete, and this week was a doozy! Two big recipes with very different results. 

Check out the blog post and video for all the details!
This season’s hottest new accessory is the Ring This season’s hottest new accessory is the Ring Pop Popsicle! 

Fantastically frosty, subtly sweet, and available in shades sure to make you salivate, this is the seasonal bling you’ve been craving. 😉
Breakfast Salad has become such an integral part o Breakfast Salad has become such an integral part of my routine that I made it an official blog post, complete with back story, testimonial, and a recipe! Salad for breakfast? Yes please!!
Yesterday in The Lovely I wrote about how I am not Yesterday in The Lovely I wrote about how I am not good at what I call summering.

Summering is when we embrace a season of rest. I am good at daily and weekly recharging, but an entire season of rest? Ummm, not my strong suit.

And so, when faced with something I am not yet good at, I approach it the same way I approach anything else I want to learn. I dive in and do the thing!

If you need me, I will be actively summering. Flubbing it up, figuring it out, and knowing that learning by doing is the way forward.
Lillian chose a smoky purple. Norah went with a pu Lillian chose a smoky purple. Norah went with a punchy pink. And I stuck with my favorite red. Let flip flop season begin!

Copyright © 2022 ·