Fruit Tart with French Custard

Fresh Fruit Tart with French Custard and Almond Crust

Who doesn't love a fresh fruit tart? It is my sister Amy's favorite dessert.  I made this in honor of my love of her in celebration of her birthday. This was my first attempt at a true fruit tart and it was delicious!  With the onset of summer and berry season this one will be sure to please.  You could use either pastry cream or french custard to fill your tart.  I am a sucker for french custard so that is what I used.  I also chose to top this one with Strawberries, Raspberries, Blueberries and Blackberries, but you can use any combination of fruit.

Fresh Fruit Tart with French Custard and Almond Crust 

Almond Crust

Almond Tart Crust

Ingredients for Almond Tart Crust:

• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour; more for rolling the dough

• 3/4 Cup Flour
• 1/4 Cup Almond Flour (optional, you can use all purpose flour instead)
• 3 Tbs. granulated sugar
• Pinch of table salt
• 6 Tbs cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/4 Cup cold water

Directions Almond Tart Crust:

• Combine flour, sugar, and salt in bowl and mix.
• Add the butter pieces and cut/mix with pastry cutter
•  Sprinkle 2 Tbs. ice-cold water over the flour mixture and cut with pastry cutter until the dough just begins to come together in small, marble-size clumps. Don't over mix; the dough should not form a ball.
• Turn the dough out onto a work surface and shape it into a thick 4-inch-diameter disk. Wrap the dough in plastic and chill until firm enough to roll, about 30 minutes.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into an 11-inch circle, lifting and rotating it often, while lightly dusting the work surface and the dough with flour as necessary. Transfer the dough to a 9-1/2-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Gently press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. If it tears, don't fret, just patch it back together.  No one will ever know.  Roll the pin over the top of the pan to trim the excess dough. Lightly prick the bottom of the dough with a fork at 1/2-inch intervals. Refrigerate for 20 minutes to firm it up.
• Line the dough with aluminum foil and fill it with pie weights or dried beans. Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake at 350°F for 20 minutes. Carefully lift the foil (and the weights) out of the tart pan and bake the crust until golden brown along the top edge and in some spots on the bottom, 13 to 17 minutes. Transfer the tart pan to a wire rack and cool completely.

French custard

As you already know, I love french custard.  I was so obsessed with this batch that I forgot to take a picture of the pale custardy buttery filling.  If you want to see a picture, you can see one from when I used it to top the sunshine cupcakes. 

Ingredients:

•  4 egg yolks, beaten
•  ¾ cup sifted powdered sugar
•  ¾ cup milk
•  1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•  1 cup (2 sticks) butter

Directions:

• In top of double boiler, combine egg yolks, powdered sugar and milk
• Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and coats back of spoon. This should take 4 to 5 minutes
• Remove from heat and cool to room temperature
• Add vanilla
• In medium bowl, cream butter thoroughly
• Slowly add cooled custard mixture to butter, beating well
• Spread custard on top of cooled tart shell

Fruit Topping for Tart:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sliced strawberries
• 1 pint blueberries
• 1 pint raspberries
• 1 pint blackberries
• 3/4 Cup Apricot jam

Directions:

• Layer fresh fruit on top of french custard
• Melt Apricot jam so it loosens and becomes syrupy
• Brush apricot jam lightly over the top of the fruit
• Store tart in refrigerator, but allow to come to room temperature before serving, about an hour or more.  If you don't allow it to come to room temperature the french custard filling will be hard and you want it to be soft and creamy so that it melts in your mouth. 

Fruit Tart with French Custard and Almond Crust