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This Summer Fruit Tart is great for a summer get-together and will even please your wheat-intolerant friends: It’s completely gluten free!
This Summer Fruit Tart consists of a crisp shortcrust pastry shell, is filled with a vanilla-flavoured French pastry cream (crème pâtissière) and is topped with an array of fresh summer fruits. By using a few neat tricks I managed to give my basic shortcrust pastry and crème patisserie recipes a twist to make them gluten free, which is great when you’re wanting to cater to someone else’s dietary requirements.
This recipe was enough to make a tart that was 23cm in diameter as well as 9 mini tarts that I made in a jam tart tin. I just made more because I didn’t want to waste any of the pastry or filling. This does mean though that it would also be enough to make a 24 or 25cm round tart, or perhaps 4-5 small (10cm diameter) fruit tarts.
How to make this Summer Fruit Tart Gluten-Free
Gluten-free baking is by no means easy. There is a reason why people try and avoid it. But if you want to make something that everyone can enjoy, you sometimes have to go that extra mile. Luckily, there are a few ways to make your life easier when it comes to gluten-free baking.
Naturally, you will have to use gluten-free flour in your recipe, but because there is no gluten in it, it often won’t hold whatever you are trying to make together. A gluten-free “glue” you can use though, is xantham gum. This is available in most UK supermarkets, and adding only a teaspoon to the below shortcrust pastry recipe is enough to keep it together and okay to work with. It’s not quite as good at holding together as non-gluten-free shortcrust, but you can always just patch up the sides of the tin if the pastry tears a little.
I also created a Baking Basics post on How to make gluten-free Shortcrust Pastry, so check that out for more tips!
To thicken the vanilla crème pâtissière filling, you can use some more gluten-free flour and cornflour, which thankfully is naturally gluten-free!
Some Suggestions for Recipe Alterations
If you are not making this tart for people who are gluten-free, I would certainly recommend adapting this recipe and making “normal” shortcrust pastry and crème pâtissière. Not only is that easier, but also a lot cheaper in terms of ingredients. Simply follow the instructions and quantities in my Baking Basics posts below:
How to make Crème Pâtissière (French Pastry Cream) | Baking Basics #8
How to make Shortcrust Pastry | Baking Basics #1
I opted for a range of colourful, perhaps more tropical fruits in my below recipe: kiwi, mandarins, etc. The French are also into their berry tarts, so you could also try using only strawberries or raspberries, or a mix of strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. I think the visual of this recipe is quite important, so just make sure you choose some nice fresh fruit and use it to decorate the top of the tart nicely.
I don’t like to waste anything, and this recipe also makes enough pastry and crème pâtissière to make some mini tarts (see below) so you could always do that, too!
More Pâtisserie Recipes
French pâtisserie is difficult and time-consuming to make, so I have to admit I don’t do it very often. Tarts (e.g. fruit tarts) and other French cakes (e.g. Strawberry Fraisier) or pastries (e.g. éclairs) always go down well with my friends and family though, so I do still enjoy making things every now and then. You can check out some of my other (French) pâtisserie recipes below.
- Mary Berry’s Religieuses (Choux Pastry)
- Lemon Meringue Pie
- Chocolate Éclairs
- Bakewell Tart with Feathered Icing | Bake Off Box #5
- Franzbrötchen | Cinnamon Pastries | German Baking Classic
- Mary Berry’s Fraisier Cake
- Mini Chocolate and Raspberry Sandwich Cakes
- Mini Blueberry Bakewell Tarts
- Vegan Raspberry and Chocolate Tarts | SU2C Bake Off Technical
- How to make Shortcrust Pastry | Baking Basics #1
- How to make Crème Chantilly (Sweet Whipped Cream) | Baking Basics #7
- How to make Crème Pâtissière (French Pastry Cream)| Baking Basics #8
Summer Fruit Tart (Gluten-free)
Recipe
Ingredients (enough for a 23cm round fluted tin and 9 mini tarts):
FOR THE PASTRY:
- 225g gluten-free flour
- 1 tsp xanthan gum
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
- 110g unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
- 1 medium egg, beaten
FOR THE CRÈME PÂTISSIÈRE:
- 400ml full-fat milk
- 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 4 medium egg yolks
- 60g caster sugar
- 30g cornflour
- 20g gluten-free flour
TO FINISH:
- 1-2 tbsp apricot jam
- fresh strawberries (about 10-15), blueberries and raspberries
- 1 large kiwi
- Tinned mandarin segments
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
- 250ml cold water
YOU WILL ALSO NEED:
- Food processor (optional)
- Rolling pin
- 22cm fluted, loose-based tart tin
- Ceramic baking beans (or rice)
Method:
- To make the pastry, place the gluten-free flour, xantham gum powder and caster sugar into a small bowl or the bowl of a food processor. Add the cold, cubed butter to the bowl and then either rub it in with your fingertips, or blitz in the food processor, until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
- Add in the beaten egg and briefly mix or blitz until the pastry starts coming together in a ball. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and briefly work together in a smooth dough – you do not want to over-work the dough!
- If the pastry seems too soft, flatten into a disk, wrap it in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for 20-30 minutes. If not, continue straight to the next step.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan.
- Place the loose base of the tart tin onto a clean work surface and then dust the top and the surroundings with a bit of flour. Place the shortcrust pastry into the middle of the base, then roll out until 2-3mm thick and the edges of the circle are roughly 3-4 cm from the edge of the base of the tin.
- Lightly flour the top of the pastry and fold the overhanging pastry into the middle of the tin, then carefully place the base into the tin and unfold the edges again (check out this video and Baking Techniques post here for a visual). Use a small bit of excess pastry to gently press the pastry into the fluted edges around the tin. Trim off most of the overhanging pastry, but leave some to allow for pastry shrinkage.
- Prick the base all over with a fork and then chill the pastry case in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Near the end of the chilling time, preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Take the pastry case out of the fridge and scrunch up a piece of baking paper (this will make it easier to fit into the case). Place the baking paper over the pastry case and fill with baking beans and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until the edges start to brown.
- Remove the tart case from the oven and lift out the ceramic baking beans and baking paper (carefully tip the beans into a container and leave to cool, they will be very hot). Use a sharp knife to run around the top of the tart tin and trim the edges of the pastry. Then return the tart to the oven and bake for a further 10 minutes to dry out the bottom. Once baked, leave to cool completely on a wire rack.
- In the meantime, you can prepare the crème pâtissière. Whisk together the egg yolks, cornflour and gluten-free flour in a bowl until paler in colour. Add the vanilla bean paste to the milk in a small pot and then heat until it just starts to boil.
- Pour the warm milk into the egg mix in a small stream, whisking continuously to prevent the eggs from cooking. Return the mix to the pot and set over a low-medium heat. Stirring constantly, heat the crème pâtissière for 3-4 minutes until thick, then pour into a shallow bowl. Cover the crème pâtissière with clingfilm, making sure it’s touching the surface to prevent a skin from forming.
- Chill the crème pâtissière in the fridge until needed.
- Wash the berries and pat them dry with some kitchen towel, before cutting the strawberries in half. Drain the tinned mandarin segments and cut the kiwi into thin slices. Set aside until needed.
- Once the pastry tart has cooled completely and the crème pâtissière is cold and firm, you can start assembling the tart. Gently warm 2 tbsp of apricot jam in a small pot or the microwave, and then brush it over the base and sides of the pastry.
- Next, spoon the crème pâtissière into the pastry case and spread out in an even layer. Decorate the top of the tart with the prepared fruit in any way you like, making sure you fill all of the gaps.
- To make the glaze, place the cornflour and sugar into a pot and whisk in a third of the water to create a paste. Set the pot over a medium heat, then pour in the remaining water and whisk until fully dissolved. Bring the mixture to the boil and leave for 1-2 minutes to thicken, then spoon it over the fruit making sure to cover everything in an even layer.
- Place the tart in the fridge and allow the jelly to set for at least 20-30 minutes before cutting into slices and serving.
