Winter Fruit Tart Delight (Printable Version)
Crisp pastry with creamy custard and topped with juicy seasonal winter fruits for a fresh finish.
# What You Need:
→ Pastry
01 - 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed
03 - 1/4 cup granulated sugar
04 - 1 large egg yolk
05 - 2 to 3 tablespoons cold water
06 - Pinch of salt
→ Pastry Cream
07 - 2 cups whole milk
08 - 1/2 cup granulated sugar
09 - 4 large egg yolks
10 - 1/4 cup cornstarch
11 - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
12 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
→ Fruit Topping
13 - 1 medium pear, thinly sliced
14 - 1 medium apple, thinly sliced
15 - 1 cup seedless red grapes, halved
16 - 1/2 cup pomegranate arils
17 - 1 medium kiwi, peeled and sliced
18 - 1 orange, segmented
→ Glaze
19 - 1/4 cup apricot jam
20 - 1 tablespoon water
# How to Make It:
01 - Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Cut in cold butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add egg yolk and 2 tablespoons cold water, mixing until dough forms, adding more water if necessary. Shape into a disk, wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
02 - Preheat oven to 375°F. Roll chilled dough on a floured surface to fit a 9-inch tart pan. Press dough into pan, trim edges, and prick base with fork. Line with parchment and fill with pie weights. Bake for 20 minutes, remove weights and parchment, then bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes until golden. Cool completely.
03 - Heat milk in a saucepan until steaming. Whisk egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch in a bowl until smooth. Gradually whisk hot milk into egg mixture. Return to saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in butter and vanilla extract. Transfer to a bowl, cover surface with plastic wrap, and cool completely.
04 - Spread cooled pastry cream evenly within the chilled pastry shell. Arrange pear, apple, grapes, pomegranate, kiwi, and orange slices artfully on top.
05 - Warm apricot jam with water in a small saucepan until smooth and melted. Optionally strain and then brush gently over the arranged fruit to glaze.
06 - Refrigerate tart for at least 1 hour prior to serving to allow flavors to meld and glaze to set.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- It turns the quiet fruit of winter into something that actually looks like celebration.
- The pastry cream is forgiving and doesn't need babysitting the way custards usually do.
- You can swap fruits based on what's cheap or ripe without ruining anything.
02 -
- If you skip chilling the dough it will shrink in the oven and you'll have a sad shallow tart.
- Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the pastry cream while it cools or a thick skin will form and ruin the texture.
- Don't brush the glaze on hot fruit or it will slide right off and pool at the bottom.
03 -
- Freeze your butter for ten minutes before cutting it into the flour, it makes the pastry flakier.
- Taste your fruit before arranging it, if something is too tart or bland you'll know before it's too late to swap.
- A tiny pinch of salt in the pastry cream brings out the vanilla without tasting salty.