Mini Fruit Tart Recipe – Simply Home Cooked

By Editor On May 25, 2024

Published: May 25, 2024 by Dina

This shortbread Mini Fruit Tart Recipe is filled with homemade custard, fresh berries, and an apricot glaze. This is an easy and elegant dessert that everyone loves.

If you prefer one large tart, I have a delicious almond tart and raspberry tart recipe here as well!

Table Of Contents

Recipe Details

I love using fresh berries when in season to create light but rich desserts like my homemade shortbread mini fruit tart recipe. I know you will love this as much as I do!

TASTE: The shortbread shells are mildly sweet, which pair well with the rich vanilla custard and fresh tart berries.
TEXTURE: The mini fruit tarts have a buttery and crumbly crust that practically melts in your mouth. The creamy custard has an irresistibly rich texture that will have you grabbing for seconds. It so good!
TIME: Like all delicious pastries, you need to have patience. It takes quite a bit of time to bake the dough and make the custard. This is definitely a weekend baking project type of dessert.
EASE: These treats do require a little bit of work. Getting the the shortbread dough into the tart mold can be a little finicky, but the results are well worth it!

What You’ll Need for the Tart Shell

Ingredients for Mini Fruit Tart shells: baking soda, flour, mayonnaise, egg, butter, lemon juice, cornstarch, and sugar.

Eggs– These add leavening and binding to the dough.
Granulated sugar– For some sweetness.
Mayonnaise– Adds richness and also lots of moisture.
Butter– For moisture in the dough.
Lemon juice– This adds a note of tartness while also tenderizing the crust.
Cornstarch– This improves the water binding, making the dough softer.
Baking soda– For leavening.
Flour– The base of the dough.

Custard ingredients

Ingredients for custard for Mini Fruit Tarts: egg yolks, milk, vanilla extract, flour, and sugar.

Milk– The base for the custard.
Vanilla Extract– For flavor.
Egg yolks– Acts as the thick base of the custard.
Sugar– A sweetener.
Flour– This acts as a thickener.

Berries and Fruit Glaze

Ingredients for Mini Fruit Tarts fruit and glaze: apricot preserves, strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries.

Apricot Preserves + water– To make the glaze.
Berries- Strawberries, Blueberries, and Raspberries

Add-ins and Substitutions

Add a topping- You can dust the top with a bit of powdered sugar or add a drizzle of honey for extra sweetness. A dollop of Chantilly Cream is amazing!
Make this dessert gluten-free- Since only the crust has wheat, just substitute a gluten-free flour there and this dessert is ready to go for the gluten-free crowd.
Substitute other fresh fruit- If you’d rather use a different fruit, this recipe is very versatile. Make mini tarts with apples, blackberries, strawberries, peaches, kiwis, raspberries, or any other fruit you like.
Add spices- You can also add your favorite spices to this recipe for additional flavor, such as cinnamon, star anise, nutmeg, or cloves.

How to Make Mini Fruit Tarts

Beat the egg, sugar, and mayo. Using a handheld mixer, beat together the egg, sugar, and mayonnaise in a large bowl.
Mix in the butter cornstarch, and baking soda. Then add the butter, cornstarch, and baking soda in. Squeeze the lemon juice over the baking soda so all of it turns into foam. Then blend until well combined.
Add the rest of the shortbread crust ingredients. Now add the flour to the egg and butter mixture, and blend on low speed. The dough will become quite dense, so it might be easier to just blend it together with your hands.
Form and refrigerate. Once the dough is well combined, form it into a ball and place it in the bowl, covered with plastic wrap. Then refrigerate for 1 hour.

Pro Tip: Make sure to refrigerate the dough so it is easy to work with. If it’s too warm, it will be sticky.

Steps to make Mini Fruit Tarts: beat the egg, mayo, and sugar together, then add the cornstarch, lemon juice, butter, and baking soda, then mix in the flour, form into a ball, and refrigerate.

How to Make the Custard

Beat the yolks, sugar, and flour. Using a handheld mixer, beat the egg yolks and sugar together until well combined. Then mix in the flour.
Boil the milk. Add the milk to a saucepan and bring it to a slight boil, with bubbles just beginning to form.
Strain the milk into the eggs carefully. Very slowly, pour the hot milk into the egg mixture while stirring constantly, to avoid cooking the eggs.
Strain again. Now strain the milk and egg mixture back into the saucepan to get rid of any clumps.

Steps to make Mini Fruit Tarts: make the custard by beating the egg yolks, sugar, and flour together, then adding boiled milk, and finally straining.

Thicken the custard. Place the saucepan over low heat and stir constantly. Once it begins to thicken, pour in the vanilla while still stirring, to avoid clumping. When it’s thick and creamy, take the custard off the heat.
Allow to cool. Place plastic wrap directly over the top of the custard (not just the bowl) so it doesn’t develop a skin. Set it aside to cool to room temperature.

Steps to make Mini Fruit Tarts: thicken the custard and add vanilla extract, then let it cool.

Forming and baking mini fruit tarts

Form the mini fruit tarts. Scoop out 2 tablespoons of chilled dough and press it into the tartlet tin with your fingers so the dough reaches all the way up the sides of the tin.
Bake. Place the tartlets onto a baking sheet and bake for 13 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Baking time may vary depending on the oven.
Add the custard. Using a cookie scoop, place a dollop of custard into each tartlet’s shell.

Steps to make Mini Fruit Tarts: form the tart shells with your fingers in a mold, then fill them with custard.

Warm and strain the preserves. In a small dish, combine the apricot preserves and water, and microwave it for about 20 seconds. Then press through a mini mesh strainer to get rid of any chunks.
Add berries and glaze to the mini fruit tarts. Arrange the berries on the custard-filled tartlets and then brush each one with the glaze using a pastry brush.

Steps to make Mini Fruit Tarts: add the strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries to the tarts, then brush them with apricot preserves.

Recipe Tips

Strain the hot milk into the eggs SLOWLY– This avoids scrambling your eggs and also strains out anything that might have clumped in the milk as it heated
Re-strain- You strain again to double check that no clumps are present.
Stir constantly- This is tiring, but absolutely necessary to avoid clumping, curdling, and burning the bottom of the pan.
Cover the thickened custard with plastic wrap- You place the wrap directly on the surface of the custard as it cools so no air hits it and makes a skin. That skin would get into your custard when you mix it, making clumps.

FAQs

How to keep a fruit tart from getting soggy?

To keep your fruit tarts from getting soggy, make sure you don’t wash the berries and fruit with running water, but instead wipe them off with a damp paper towel or cloth. The glaze will stick to them better, which is what keeps them looking shiny and vibrant and avoiding sogginess.

What is fruit tart filling made of?

The custard filling for a fruit tart is made with egg yolks, sugar, milk, flour, and vanilla extract. It is thick and creamy with a delicious vanilla flavor.

Serving Suggestions

These Mini Fruit Tarts have a delicious mixture of sweet fruit and creamy textured custard You can serve it alongside almost anything for a delicious pairing.

Make This Recipe in Advance

Make ahead: The tart shells, custard, and glaze for these mini fruit tarts can be made in advance. You can make the tart shells a few days in advance and leave them at room temperature. The custard can be made 3-4 days ahead, and the glaze can last for months. Just don’t assemble the tarts until a few hours before serving them. The longer they sit, the more juices will leak out of the fruit.

Storing: You can store these mini fruit tarts in an airtight container or covered by plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. The crust will start to become soggy after that from the moisture in the custard and fruit.

Freeze: You can freeze the tart shells for 1-2 months in an airtight, freezer-safe container or ziplock bag.

More Yummy Fruit Desserts!

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Full Recipe Instructions

Mini Fruit Tart Recipe

This Shortbread Mini Fruit Tart Recipe is filled with homemade custard, fresh berries, and an apricot glaze. This is an easy and elegant dessert that everyone loves.

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Servings: 14

Calories: 277kcal

Instructions

Using a handheld mixer, beat together the egg, sugar, and mayonnaise in a large bowl. The mayonnaise sounds weird but its my moms old trick to get the most tender shortbread crust! Trust me its so good!
Now add the butter, cornstarch, and baking soda. Squeeze the lemon juice over the baking soda so all of it turns into foam. Then, blend everything with a handheld mixer until well combined.
Add the flour to the egg and butter mixture and blend on low speed. At this point the dough will become more dense, so it might be easier to just blend it together with your hands.
Once the dough is well combined, form it into a ball and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Then refrigerate for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks and sugar with a handheld mixer just until combined. Then mix in the flour.
Pour 2 cups of milk into a saucepan and bring it to a slight boil (just until bubbles begin to form).
Slowly pour the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture while stirring constantly. Make sure you pour very slowly so that the hot milk doesn’t cook the eggs.
Use a fine mesh sieve to strain the milk and egg mixture back into the saucepan to get rid of any clumps.
Place the saucepan back onto the stove and heat it over low heat while stirring constantly. Once it begins to thicken, pour the vanilla in while stirring. You literally don’t want to stop stirring or else the custard will become clumpy. Remove the custard from the heat once it’s reached a thick and creamy custard consistency.
To prevent the custard from forming a skin, place plastic wrap directly on top of the custard, not just on-top of the bowl. Set it aside and let it cool down to room temperature.
Scoop out 2 tbsp of the chilled dough into each tartlet tin and press the dough with your fingers so that it reaches all the way up the sides of the tin.
Place the tartlets onto a baking sheet and bake for 13 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Baking time may vary depending on the oven.
Using a cookie scoop, place a dollop of the custard into each tartlets shell.
Combine the apricot preserves and water in a small dish and microwave for about 20 seconds then press it through a mini mesh strainer to get rid of any chunks.
Arrange the berries onto the custard filled tartlets however you desire and brush with the glaze using a pastry brush.

Notes

You can make the the tart shell, custard, and glaze a day in advance. Just don’t fill them or put fresh berries too far in advance. They taste best when served fresh.

Nutrition

This recipe was originally posted April 8, 2015, we’ve tweaked it a bit since then.

Hi, I’m Dina, so glad you stopped by! I believe life is too short for bad coffee and boring meals. With my easy to follow step-by-step recipes, you’ll be surprised at how quickly a wholesome and delicious meal can come together. I hope you find something you enjoy!

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