Fruit Tart Recipe

Make the dough

In a bowl or food processor combine flour, powdered sugar, and salt. Add cold cubed butter and pulse (or cut in with a pastry cutter) until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with pea-sized pieces of butter remaining.

Bind the dough

Whisk the egg yolk with the cold water and add to the flour-butter mixture. Pulse or mix just until the dough comes together. Do not overwork; it should form a cohesive mass when pressed. If too dry, add up to 1 teaspoon extra cold water.

Chill and rest

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface, press into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (up to 2 hours).

Blind bake

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Roll chilled dough to fit a 9-inch (23 cm) tart pan with removable bottom, pressing into edges and trimming excess. Prick bottom lightly with a fork. Line crust with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake 15 minutes, remove weights and parchment, then bake another 8–12 minutes until golden and set. Let cool completely in pan on a rack.

Heat milk

In a medium saucepan, heat the milk with vanilla (if using a split vanilla bean, scrape seeds into milk and add pod) over medium heat until just simmering. Remove from heat and let steep 5 minutes if using vanilla bean; remove pod.

Whisk yolks and dry ingredients

While milk is heating, whisk the egg yolks and granulated sugar together until pale. Whisk in the cornstarch until fully smooth and no lumps remain.

Temper and thicken

Slowly pour about one-third of the hot milk into the egg mixture while whisking constantly to temper. Return the tempered mixture to the saucepan with the remaining milk and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and bubbling (about 2 minutes). Continue cooking and whisking for 30–60 seconds to cook out the starchy taste.

Finish and cool

Remove from heat and whisk in the butter until smooth. Transfer pastry cream to a shallow bowl, press plastic wrap directly onto the surface to prevent a skin, and chill until cold, at least 2 hours (can be made a day ahead).

Prepare glaze

In a small saucepan, warm the apricot jam with 1 tablespoon water over low heat, stirring until smooth and slightly runny. Strain if desired to remove fruit pieces and let cool slightly.

Fill tart shell

When the tart shell is completely cool, spread the chilled pastry cream evenly into the shell using an offset spatula to about 3/8–1/2 inch thickness, smoothing the top.

Arrange fruit

Arrange the prepared fruit on top of the pastry cream. For a classic look: make an outer ring of halved strawberries (cut side down), next ring of kiwi slices, then scatter blueberries and raspberries in the center. Alternatively, create concentric circles or any decorative pattern you prefer.

Glaze fruit

Use a pastry brush to lightly brush the warm (not hot) apricot glaze over the fruit to give shine and help preserve freshness. Be gentle so you don’t displace the fruit.

Chill and serve

Chill the assembled tart for at least 30 minutes to set glaze and chill cream. Just before serving, dust lightly with powdered sugar if desired and garnish with fresh mint leaves.