A lovely fruit tart with an easy to make gluten free crust, a perfect dairy free vanilla pastry cream, and topped with your favorite fruit or berries.
I think I have a new go to summer dessert.
Several years ago, when I first met my husband, he gave me an eclair for my birthday. Somehow I had gotten through my entire adult life up until then without tasting one of those cream-filled treats. And it was LOVE at first bite.
But it wasn’t the perfect pastry dough outside or the chocolate glaze on top that had my heart fluttering. It was the vanilla pastry cream on the inside. Silky, smooth, and lightly vanilla flavored. Where had this been my whole life?
So I’m not going to try to compare this fruit tart to a luscious eclair, but the custardy vanilla cream is definitely inspired by that first decadent bite many years ago. And after many test batches, I think I finally nailed down my dairy free and refined sugar free version.
Introducing my simple fruit tart with the perfect vanilla pastry cream and a quick and easy press-in gluten free crust. I topped mine with loads of summer berries. Hope you love it!
(NOTE: my original recipe recipe used arrowroot powder instead of corn starch as the thickener, but due to the inconsistent nature of arrowroot as a thickener, I changed the recipe, no longer making it a paleo recipe. If arrowroot is heated too high, the thicken qualities lessen.)
Here’s the recipe deets:
the crust… a combination of almond flour, butter/ghee/coconut oil, maple syrup, and an egg. So super simple Just mix and press. No rolling out. Light and flaky. Pairs perfectly with the rich and creamy filling.
the vanilla pasty cream… smooth, velvety, and heavenly. A combo of coconut milk, egg yolks, maple syrup, corn starch, vanilla, and butter/ghee/coconut oil. I would describe it as a cross between a custard and a pudding. (NOTE: my original recipe recipe used arrowroot powder instead of corn starch, but due to the inconsistent nature of arrowroot as a thickener, I changed the recipe, no longer making it a paleo recipe. If arrowroot is heated too high, the thicken qualities lessen.)
the topping… summer berries are always nice, but feel free to top it with any fruit or berry that you like. So versatile. Maybe even a chocolate drizzle. Wouldn’t that make it an eclair tart?
I recommend making the vanilla pastry cream ahead of time. Let it chill overnight. Once the crust has completely cooled, assemble the tart and chill for 30 minutes before serving.
It really is the perfect spring or summer dessert. And a total crowd pleaser. This thing did not last long in our house. Rave reviews from the entire family. Hubs actually said it’s the BEST thing I’ve ever made.
xo,
Katja
P.S. If tarts are your thing, check out my Lemon Curd Tart. It has a similar summer vibe with a bright lemon flavor.
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Fruit Tart with Vanilla Cream (gluten free and dairy free)
- Yield: one 9 inch tart 1x
Description
A lovely fruit tart with an easy to make gluten free crust, a perfect dairy free vanilla pastry cream, and topped with your favorite fruit or berries.
Ingredients
FOR THE VANILLA PASTRY CREAM
- 1 can (15 ounce) full fat coconut milk ( I use THIS BPA free brand)
- 5 egg yolks
- 5 tbsp maple syrup (or honey or coconut sugar)
- 1/4 cup organic corn starch
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp butter, ghee, or coconut oil
FOR THE CRUST
- 2 cup blanched almond flour (I use THIS brand)
- 1/4 cup butter, ghee, or coconut oil – melted
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 egg, lightly whipped
- 1/4 tsp salt
TOPPINGS
- fresh fruit or berries of your choice
Instructions
- Pour coconut milk into medium sauce pan and gently heat until steaming but not boiling.
- Meanwhile, with a hand blender, whisk together egg yolks and maple syrup on medium speed for 2 minutes. Slowly add in cornstarch. Turn hand mixer on low and VERY slowly (to prevent eggs from cooking) drizzle hot coconut milk into egg mixture. Go slow or eggs will curdle and cook.
- Once all coconut milk has been added, return mixture back into saucepan and turn onto low/medium heat. Stir the mixture continually for about 5 minutes. Continue to stir continually, until mixture thickens and coats the back of the spoon and is smooth and free of lumps – about 2-3 minutes. Keep stirring to keep clumps from forming on the bottom. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon of fat of choice. Pour pastry cream into large glass bowl and place a round piece of parchment paper directly on the surface (to prevent a skin from forming) and chill for at least 4 hours (or overnight.)
- To make crust, preheat oven to 350’F and liberally grease a 9 inch tart pan. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together almond flour, melted fat of choice, maple syrup, egg, and salt until well incorporated. Press mixture evenly into bottom and sides of tart pan. Prick the bottom of the crust several times with a fork to prevent puffing up. Bake for 10 minutes, until crust is starting to get golden. Allow to cool completely.
- To assemble fruit tart: pour chilled pastry cream into cooled crust and smooth the top. Add whatever fruit or berries make you happy. Chill for 30 minutes before serving. (Fruit tart is best served within a few hours.)
Notes
Making a good vanilla cream custard is a fine art, but if you follow the instructions carefully, it will be delicious. In order to get the cream to set, it has to be sufficiently cooked and thickened without overcooking. If it get clumpy, turn down the heat and just keep stirring to keep it smooth and to keep the bottom from overcooking. Stirring continually is the secret to a creamy, smooth vanilla pastry cream.
I use a 9 inch tart pan, but you could also make this in a pie dish if you don’t have one.
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OMG! I just made this for my sister’s birthday, and it was fabulous. So rich and creamy. Thank you!
This tart was SO GOOD! I love vanilla cream, and this came out so tasty. I added fresh raspberries and blueberries. My family loved it.
Thank you for this great recipe. I’ve been wanting a good pastry cream. This was perfect.
The pastry cream has a chalky texture to it – I’m thinking because of the arrowroot. Does anyone else have the experience? I wished it had been as smooth as pastry cream using dairy. Did I do something wrong to it to get that chalky texture?
Hi, Juley! The only thing I can think of is that the arrowroot wasn’t mixed in well enough. But whisking it in and then slowly cooking it on the stove while stirring should be enough to make it dissolve. I’ve made this recipe numerous times and have never had a chalky texture. Did you use 2 tbsp? 🙂
2 TBSP? your recipe says 1/4 cup. Could I substitute Knox Gelatine?
Oops! I meant 4 tbsp. I haven’t tried this with gelatin. I’m sure it would work. It just won’t be a custard. It will be a bit of a different texture. Please report back if you try it. 🙂
Hi, is it possible to use cornstarch instead?
I haven’t tried it with cornstarch, so I cannot say. Please let me know if you try it. 🙂
I tried it! Seemed to work out ok, didn’t taste all too chalky or anything and still thickened:)
I used corned and it turned out great
Made this a few days ago and WOW! I impressed everyone with this beautiful and yummy tart. Thank you for this recipe!
Yay! So glad you liked it. I LOVE LOVE the vanilla cream.
I’m not sure what I did willing but I couldn’t get the cream to set. It tastes slaving but it’s very soupy. Any ideas? I will definitely make it again if I can get it to set.
Oh, no! It’s hard to say what happened. It’s important to cook the vanilla cream enough but only at a low medium temperature. Maybe it wasn’t cooked enough. I’ve never had it not set before. Sorry to hear that. 🙂
This was amazing! Just made it for a family BBQ. The vanilla cream is so creamy and delicious. Thank you!!
I just made this for Father’s Day and it was a big hit. So creamy and fresh. My non GF and dairy free family was even impressed. Thank you so much for the great recipe. Will definitely be making this again.
Yay! I’m so glad you all enjoyed it. 🙂
Can regular almond flour be used instead of blanched almond flour?
Yes, the texture will just be a little different. Blanched almond flour is a bit lighter. 🙂
im not a fan of coconut will this be to strong ?
Depends on your taste buds. I’m used to coconut so it tastes good to me. 🙂
Hello, I made this recipe and it was so good! Thank you for posting this. One thing I will share though is that upon making it the night before for an event the next day, I found that the custard hadn’t set even though I followed your instructions exactly. So I did some digging and found that “ the proteins in egg yolks begin to coagulate at 155 degrees Fahrenheit, and become solid at 165 degrees.” So I poured it back into a sauce pan and starting slowly reheating it while whisking to get it to 165 and it set beautifully! It tasted delicious and was a big hit! Hoping that note will help anyone who had the same trouble with it setting. Thanks again so much for this recipe 🙂
Great tip. Thank you. I guess you have to make sure that you get it HOT enough in order for eggs to set. 🙂
OMG!!!! Just made this and it was DELICIOUS!!!! My filling turned out to be a big soupy mess but my kids and I wolfed it down anyway! I’m now investing in some glass mixing bowls and cooking thermometer so I can give it another try
Do you think coconut cream would work in place of the full fat coconut milk?
I think that coconut cream may be too thick and concentrated for this recipe.
Really delicious. Raves all around.
I think I underbaked the crust, but will make that change for next time.
Custard was superb. I added an assortment of berries: blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries.
This is a showstopper.
Yay! So glad you loved it. 🙂
This looks amazing!! Would I be able to mini tarts with the same recipe ?
Yes, you could make them smaller. 🙂
When you say the cream getting too hot ruins the thickness, does that mean it gets jellie-fied? My filling turned into a jello when it cooled. I thought I had the temp right but it may have went over. It thickened really fast when I added the arrowroot and water mixture. I want to try again, the flavor is amazing!
Usually if it’s too hot, it will turn out too runny.
I used tapioca instead of arrowroot which is a 1:1 ratio and I seized up, I don’t even know how to explain the texture except for like boogers lol
I have never tried it with tapioca instead of arrowroot. Not sure tapioca works the same as arrowroot in this recipe.
Amazing. I used corn starch in lieu of Arrow root powder and it worked beautifully. My crust took 15 minutes to cook and brown but was delicious! Thank you!