- Today we're making a fruit tart.
Homemade is just so much better than store bought.
Check this out.
(chill upbeat music)
(Natasha grunting)
Hey everybody, it's Natasha of natashaskitchen.com.
Homemade fruit tart,
the beauty of this recipe is you can pretty much make
every part of this ahead of time.
And I love make-ahead desserts.
It's so easy, fresh, and seriously so much better
than something out of the store.
Ugh, you'll love the crust.
Okay, and I am totally craving some fruit tart.
It is just freshness for summer.
So let's get started.
Also, we are playing a game.
Let me know if you can spot Sharky somewhere in this video.
We got creative today,
so let me know where you see him in the comments.
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make sure you click below to subscribe.
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First thing's first, we're gonna make the pastry cream.
It's so easy, but you wanna make it first
because it needs a little time to set in the refrigerator.
In a medium heatproof mixing bowl,
combine one egg, two yolks, half a cup of sugar,
three tablespoons of cornstarch,
and an eighth of a teaspoon of fine sea salt.
Whisk that together until it's completely smooth
and lightened in color.
It takes about two minutes.
Next, in a large saucepan, add two cups of whole milk
and two tablespoons of unsalted butter.
Set your saucepan over medium heat and stir occasionally
to prevent the milk from scalding or forming a film.
As soon as you see it start to boil, take it off the heat.
This next part is super important.
You have to temper the eggs
so you don't end up with scrambled eggs.
While whisking constantly,
slowly add one third of that hot milk mixture.
Now you can pour that warm egg mixture
back into the saucepan with the remaining milk
and whisk to combine.
Set that over medium heat
and whisk constantly until it's thickened.
This takes about two to three minutes.
You also wanna give it a chance
to cook off some of that cornstarch
so the cream doesn't separate.
Stop mixing for a few seconds and watch for bubbling.
Once you see the bubbling,
reduce the heat to a very low boil and continue cooking,
stirring constantly for another minute.
When it's done,
the cream should be thickened, smooth, and glossy.
Take it off the heat and whisk in your vanilla extract.
Transfer your custard to a shallow bowl
and cover that immediately with a layer of plastic wrap.
Make sure to lay the plastic wrap
directly over the surface of the hot cream.
This prevents a film from forming on top.
Let that cool completely to room temperature,
then refrigerate for at least two hours.
Or you can refrigerate up to three days ahead.
Now we're gonna make the easy sweet tart crust.
In the bowl of a stand mixer
fitted with a paddle attachment,
combine 10 tablespoons of unsalted softened butter,
one third cup of sugar, and a quarter teaspoon of salt.
Cream that together on medium speed
just until it's combined for about two minutes,
scraping down the bowl as needed.
Now add one egg yolk, which tenderizes the dough,
and one teaspoon of a real vanilla extract.
And I'm using my homemade two ingredient extract.
I will link to the recipe in the notes.
Beat together just until incorporated
and scrape down the bowl as needed.
Now add one and a half cups of all purpose flour.
And if you haven't already,
make sure you watch our video on how to measure ingredients.
It will help you with all of your baking.
Once the flour is in, mix on low speed for about a minute,
or until the flour is fully incorporated
and the dough comes together.
It should look like a cookie dough.
Shape the dough into a disc,
then set it into a 10 or 11 inch tart pan.
Press the dough into the tart pan
until it's about one fourth inch thick all over
on the sides and bottom of the pan.
Continue working the dough
until you have an even layer all around.
I like using the bottom of a measuring cup
to press the corners in squarely.
Now, last but not least,
trim off the excess dough at the top.
I love using my food scraper for this.
It's one of my favorite, most versatile kitchen tools,
and I will link to it in the notes.
But you can also use a butter knife.
Cover the dough with plastic wrap and freeze for 30 minutes
while you preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Set the tart pan over a baking sheet
to make it easier to transfer,
and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit in the center of the oven
for about 25 to 28 minutes,
or until the crust is golden brown.
Then take it out of the oven
and set the tart pan over a wire rack
and let it cool completely to room temperature
before removing the mold.
Now, I have some pastry cream here that I made earlier
which has chilled and set and is ready for filling.
Set your cooled tart crust over a serving platter.
You can keep the bottom of the tart pan under the crust,
or you can gently pry it off if you prefer.
Give the pastry cream a quick stir to lighten it up,
then you can add it to your crust.
Now smooth out the top
so you have an even surface for your fruit.
What I love about fruit tarts
is you can use whatever fruit is in season.
You'll need about four cups of fresh fruit or berries.
Here's my favorite way to decorate a fruit tart.
Working from the outside in,
I like to start with some fresh sliced strawberries
around the border.
It also looks great when you pair
different color fruits next to each other.
I'm gonna add a layer of clementine orange segments.
Next, we have some fresh, juicy raspberries.
After a couple of rows of raspberries,
I like to pile blueberries in the center.
If you have some extra blueberries,
it looks great to go in and fill in the empty spaces.
It does take a few minutes
to decorate a fruit tart like this,
but if you're short on time
you can absolutely just put in the fruit randomly
and your tart will still look beautiful and delicious.
Oh, ho, ho, ho! (gleefully laughs)
I cannot wait.
Okay, and the last step,
this adds extra flavor and it preserves the fruit.
It's especially important
if you have some cut fruit like the strawberries.
It keeps it looking more vibrant.
All right, so this is just apricot preserves
with a tablespoon of water.
And I popped it in the microwave for about 20 seconds
just to loosen it up and make it easier to spread on.
Okay, so you wanna glaze all of your berries
with this apricot preserve glaze.
It also gives it that beautiful shine
that you'll see in the bakery glass windows,
so it'll look a little bit more professional.
Oh, look at that.
Picture perfect.
Almost too pretty to eat.
Almost. (laughs)
We're gonna dive right into this, slice it up, and enjoy
because I am craving this so badly. (laughs)
Oh my goodness.
All right, here we go.
And it does help to use a serrated knife
to get through that cookie crust nicely
without it falling apart.
So just slice it up like a pizza.
Ah, and I just love how easily it cuts through that crust.
My experience with store bought tarts
is it's just like the hardest crust.
And every time you cut through it,
it just, ka-pow, (laughs) gets destroyed.
But this crust is so good.
Everything has been building up to this moment right here,
the taste test.
So let's do this.
All right, check this out.
Look at these beautiful layers.
So delicious.
All right, we're gonna slide that right onto my plate here.
Oh.
Oh, it's untwirling.
I was like, "Is the camera gonna fall on my head?" (laughs)
There's a camera up there.
Show 'em the camera. (laughs)
Okay, enough messing around.
Let's do this.
Look at this, look at this, look at this.
And just piled high with summer berries and fruit.
And in different seasons,
you can totally use different fruits
because that's usually what's gonna taste the best
is what's in season.
Okay, here we go.
Gonna cut right into this.
Get a little bit of everything.
A little bit of berries, a little bit of cream,
a little bit of crust.
And this crust, I'm telling you, you're gonna love it.
You're not just gonna scoot it aside
like the store bought ones. (laughs)
Here we go.
Mm.
100. (laughs)
And it's lightly sweet from the crust to the cream,
to that yummy apricot glaze on top.
It's just the perfect amount of sweetness.
And really, every bite is so exciting
because there's so much different fruit on here.
I just wanna keep eating it.
That's exactly what I'm gonna, hum. (laughs)
That's really good.
The cookie crust is so easy to chew
with just the right amount of crisp, right?
It does keep pretty well in the fridge.
You probably wanna eat it the same day that it's made
for the fruit to stay the prettiest and the freshest.
If you're not gonna serve it right away,
I do like to keep it in the fridge
to keep that custard firm.
I hope you guys love it,
and we'll see you on the next episode
of "Natasha's Kitchen."
Hmm.
(beeper beeps)
Wow. I don't know how that happened.