Fresh Fruit Tart

When I lived in France, I loved stopping at a bakery and picking up a little strawberry tartlette for a lunchtime dessert. I found a recipe in a friend's cookbook while living in Lyon that most easily and accurately provides the taste. It's rather easy to assemble and it looks stunning. People will think you are a gourmet pastry chef but all it takes is some gorgeous looking fruit and some creativity.

1 box of store-bought pie crusts (or your own pie crust recipe, but large enough to fit in a tart pan)

1 recipe for cream filling

fresh fruit (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, sliced peaches or in the winter I'll saute sliced apples with some sugar and cinnamon for an apple tart)

Plus 1/2 fruit preserves (preferably similar in taste to selected fruit) and 1 T water

I take the two pre-rolled pie crusts and place them one on top of the other with a little water in between and roll them out together to make a larger crust. My tart pan is about 12 inches in diameter. If you use a 9-inch pie plate or a smaller tart pan, you may only need one crust. Bake the crust according to package directions for an unfilled crust. Let cool.

For the cream filling:

You'll need...
1/3 c sugar
1 T flour
1 T cornstarch
pinch salt
1 egg
1 c of whole milk or light cream
1 t vanilla
1 T unsalted butter


Stir together the dry ingredient in a small saucepan. Whisk together the egg and milk. Pour egg-milk mixture into saucepan and stir over medium heat until it thickens (about 10 minutes) and coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and butter. Let cool.

To assemble the tart, spead the cooled cream on top of the crust. Then arrange fruit on top of cream.

In a saucepan heat preserves and 1 T water until the mixture thins out to a glaze. Brush glaze on top of fruit.

It tastes incredible just as is, but you can heat it up for a couple of minutes before serving and serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

To prepare in advance: I prepared the cream and refrigerated, then baked the crust and assembled the tart the day of the dinner. I didn't add the glaze until immediately before serving.