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A strawberry tart is the perfect summer dessert. It starts with a buttery crust, a creamy filling, and then a topping of fresh berries finished off with a fruit glaze. Both pretty and delicious!
One of my favorite bakery treats is a fruit tart. They are just so pretty and delicious. When I am in France, besides a fresh croissant, a little fruit tart is my favorite treat to buy. Since traveling is on hold right now with the pandemic, I decided that making some pretty little strawberry tarts at home would help soothe the loneliness my traveling spirit was feeling. If I couldn’t go to the little patisserie in Paris, I was going to bring it to me!
This strawberry tart recipes begins with a baked sweet pastry crust which is filled with a cream cheese custard filling. Then itis topped with fruit and then a glaze applied. Pretty and delicious.
Ingredients Needed
- Flour, I prefer unbleached all purpose flour
- Butter, I use salted butter
- Sugar
- Salt
- Cream Cheese
- Sour Cream. Could substitute with Greek yogurt.
- Sugar
- Egg
- Salt
- Vanilla Extract
- Lemon Zest
- Strawberries
- Red Currant Jam
How to Make Strawberry Tart
- Add your flour, butter, sugar and salt into the food processor.
- Pulse until mixture is crumbly.
- Add ice water into the mixture a tablespoon at a time and pulse until mixture turns pale yellow and starts to clump together.
- Bring dough together with your hands and form into a ball, Flatten the ball and wrap in some plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight.
- Divide dough into 4 pieces if making individual tarts.
- Roll out dough to about 1/8 inch thick into a circle that extends about 1 1/2 inches beyond the edges of the tart pan.
- Lay dough into the tart pan and push down into the bottom and up the sides.
- Remove excess dough hanging over the edges. Dough should be even with the top of the tart pan.
- Wash strawberries, remove tops and drain on paper towels.
- Prick the dough with a fork to prevent the dough from bubbling up while baking.
- Bake at 375 degrees F. until crust is lightly golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.
- Mix together cream cheese which is at room temperature, sour cream, sugar, egg, salt, vanilla extract and lemon zest. Mix until smooth.
- Spread a layer of the custard on the bottom of each strawberry tart, about 1/2 inch thick. You may have extra custard.
- Bake the tarts for about 15 minutes or until custard is set.
- Cool at room temperature before adding berries.
- Place berries on top of custard, gently pushing on them a bit. Place the strawberries, cut side down starting with one in the middle and adding a row around it.
- Combine jam and water in a sauce pan over low heat to create a glaze.
- Brush glaze over the top and sides of the fruit.
- Remove tarts from tart pan and serve.
- Keep the tarts refrigerated until ready to serve.
Tips from leigh Anne
- The strawberry custard tart is a three step process but you can do the steps ahead of time and then assemble before serving.
- A food processor is the easiest way to make the pastry crust for this strawberry tart but it can also be done by hand.
- I use frozen butter and use my cheese grater to grate the butter so it is easier and quick to incorporate into the dough.
- Use your tart pan to make sure your circle of dough is large enough to cover the bottom and sides of the tart pan. I use a tart pan with a removable bottom. If you are making one large strawberry tart, this is the tart pan I use.
Frequently Asked Questions
I don’t have a processor what can I use to make the pastry crust?
You can easily make it by hand using a fork or a pastry blender. It just takes a little more time
How long will a strawberry tart last?
They will last 1-2 days in the refrigerated, depending on how ripe your fruit is. Keep covered with plastic wrap or in an airtight container
What other fruit can I use in a fruit tart?
Other fruits that work well are raspberries, blueberries, mandarin oranges, and kiwi slices.
What can I use besides a mini tart pan?
If you do not have individual tart pans, you can make one large tart using a full tart pan, a pie tin or a springform pan.
Check out more delicious tart recipes:
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Strawberry Tart Recipe
Ingredients
Pastry Crust
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup butter frozen and grated
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 6 Tbsp ice water add a tablespoon at a time
Cream Filling
- 1 8 oz. cream cheese room temperature
- 2 Tbsp sour cream
- 4 Tbsp sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 tsp lemon zest
Strawberry Topping
- 1 lb. fresh strawberries enough to fill tart pans
- 1/4 cup red currant jam can also use apricot or seedless strawberry jam
- 2 tsp water
Instructions
Pastry Crust
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Combine all ingredients except water in a food processor. Pulse together until crumbs are formed.
- Gradually, a tablespoon at a time, pour in water while pulsing. Pulse until dough turns light yellow and begins to form a clump.
- Form mixture into a ball and flatten the all. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Roll dough out to about 1/8 inch thick, into a circle about 1 1/2 inches bigger around than your tart pan.
- Place dough into a removable bottom tart pan or pans and press into bottom and up the sides of pan. Remove excess dough, dough should be even with the top of the pan.
- Use a fork to prick the bottom of the dough. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until begins to turn golden brown. Allow to cool before filling with cream cheese filling.
Cream Filling
- Place cream filling ingredients into a bowl and mix until smooth and creamy.
- Add cream cheese filling to tart pan, mixture should be about 1/2 inch thick.
- Bake for another 12-15 minutes until filling is set and crust is browned. Allow to cool.
- Add berries to cream cheese layer. Start in the middle and work around in a circle.
- Heat jam and water in a sauce pan cool slightly and then brush over the fruit.
- Remove from tart pans and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
Tips & Notes:
- A food processor is the easiest way to make the pastry crust but it can also be done by hand. I use frozen butter and use my cheese grater to grate the butter so it is easier and quick to incorporate into the dough.
- This recipe makes 6 individual tarts but you could make one large tart using a full tart pan, a pie tin or a springform pan.
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Nutrition Facts:
sam says
amazing 10/10
Kate says
Lovely rich pastry crust which supported the filling and berries well. Filling was a very nice consistency.
Karen says
This recipe turned out great! We had so many fresh strawberries from our garden this year and I was looking for something different to make with them! Thanks so much. Just made a second today.