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Simple Fruit Tart

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This beautiful vegan friendly fruit tart has a tender gluten-free crust and a delicious dairy & refined sugar free vanilla custard filling. It can easily be customized by using your fruit of choice!

Mixed Berry Tart | Gluten, Dairy, & Refined Sugar Free
Fourth of July is a big deal in the United States. Many people get the day off and just about every city and town has festivities planned to celebrate our nation’s day of Independence. People all over get together with family and friends with lots of food and maybe some games. You can hear fireworks going off day and night for several days before, during, and even after the fourth.

While in North Carolina, we lived in a big military town. Each year, my family and I would pack up coolers of food, lawn chairs, blankets, boxes of sparklers, etc., and head down to the local Army base for the big outdoor event they hosted each year. It was kind of like a mini carnival with rides and food venders.

There would be thousands of people camped out for the day to watch the outdoor concerts, parachuters, and air show, which featured synchronized jets speeding across the sky. At dusk, they would fire the canons, one for each state, and people would cheer and holler as their home state was called, while little kids tucked their heads into their parents’ chest, holding their ears tightly to protect them from the loud, booming sound.

As we waited for the fireworks to begin, my mom would light up our sparklers and we would wave our hands excitedly watching the sparks fly in the darkness. You could hear the buzz of loud chatter and laughter throughout the field as we all waited patiently for the fireworks to begin.

The first thunderous explosion in the sky would startle everyone quiet and then we’d sit back and watch the bright sparkles light up the night sky. It was nothing short of amazing each year! They were kind of like the Disney fireworks, if you’ve ever seen them.

Mixed Berry Tart | Gluten, Dairy, & Refined Sugar Free
After the big finale, the sky returned to darkness with nothing but thick clouds of smoke to wish us farewell. We packed up our little camp and everyone helped to carry our mostly empty coolers, bags of trash, dirty blankets, and lawn chairs back to the car. Then we’d wait for an hour or so in the traffic jam of cars who all packed into narrow streets like sardines in a can to get home.

Even through the nuisance of waiting in traffic and having to unpack everything when we got home, we were already looking forward to next year’s celebration.

Mixed Berry Tart | Gluten, Dairy, & Refined Sugar Free
Each year, my mom would make some amazing dessert for the fourth. Like mom, I go all out with desserts. This tart would make a delicious and festive addition any get together or celebration. It can easily be customized to use any fruit you have on hand and can be decorated any way you want.

If you’re making it for another occasion, place the fruit in a circle instead of a star…the possibilities are endless! Best of all, the crust and filling can each be made ahead of time and assembled shortly before serving. Wouldn’t this make a lovely addition to your get together?!

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Simple Fruit Tart

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  • Author: Joscelyn Abreu
  • Total Time: 50 mins
  • Yield: 8–12 servings 1x
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Description

This delicious fruit tart has a tender gluten-free crust and a delicious dairy & refined sugar free vanilla custard filling. Can easily be customized by using your fruit of choice!

Ingredients

Scale

Tart:

  • single pie/tart crust or pâte brisée recipe (gluten-free crust recipe below)
  • pastry cream (recipe below)
  • mixed fruit of choice (I used strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries)

Gluten-Free Crust:

  • 1 1/2 cup gluten-free flour
  • 1 tablespoon coconut sugar (or regular sugar)
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/2 cup palm shortening (or cold butter, if not dairy-free)
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice or distilled white vinegar
  • 4–6 tablespoons ice cold water, just enough to form a dough

Vanilla Custard:

  • 2 cups almond milk or other milk of choice, divided
  • 6 tablespoons corn starch
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup, honey, or other sweetener of choice
  • pinch of salt (omit if using salted butter)
  • 1/2–1 whole vanilla bean, split and seeds removed (optional)
  • 1–2 teaspoon vanilla extract, to taste

Instructions

Gluten-Free Crust:

  1. Blend flour, coconut sugar, and salt together in a large mixing bowl or food processor. Cut in or blend in shortening/butter until mixture is crumbly. Blend in lemon juice/vinegar and water 1 tablespoon at a time, just until dough comes together and is soft, but not sticky. Dough shouldn’t be crumbly, if it is add a little more water until it’s pliable.
  2. Roll dough out in between 2 sheets of parchment paper (to prevent sticking) a couple inches larger than your pan (mine is a 10.25-inch tart pan).
  3. Invert the crust into the tart pan using the parchment paper. Carefully fit the dough into the pan, along the corners and up the edge. Fold in excess dough to reinforce the sides then trim any extra dough. Prick the bottom of the crust and place into the fridge or freezer to chill. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375ºF.
  4. After the dough has chilled for 15–20 minutes, line the crust with parchment and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Place pan onto a baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes. Remove pie weights and parchment and bake for an additional 10–15 minutes until golden brown. Let cool completely before filling. Crust can be made 1–2 days ahead of time, cooled completely, and loosely wrapped in plastic wrap. Assemble the tart shortly before serving.

Vanilla Custard:

  1. Pour 1 1/2 cups milk into a medium saucepan. In a separate dish, whisk together remaining 1/2 cup milk and the cornstarch to make a slurry. Stir in sweetener and salt.
  2. Slowly pour slurry mixture into the pot of milk and whisk until well blended.
  3. If using a vanilla bean, cut it lengthwise done the center and use the back of your knife to scrape out all of the seeds. Stir the seeds and the vanilla bean pod into the milk mixture.
  4. Place saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer, whisking often to avoid clumps.
  5. Custard will thicken as it cooks. Watch it closely and stir often as it can burn easily. Adjust heat as needed.
  6. After a couple minutes of cooking and stirring, the mixture should begin to thicken, like pudding. It will thicken more as it chills, but when it’s ready it should be thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. If custard gets too thick, just stir in a splash more milk.
  7. Turn off the heat and stir in vanilla.
  8. Strain cream, to catch any lumps and vanilla bean, through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Place plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until fully chilled, several hours or overnight. Can be made 1–2 days in advance and refrigerated until ready to use. Before using, whisk again until smooth.

Putting it Together:

  1. Pour chilled custard into the cooled tart shell (remove shell from the pan before filling) and smooth the top with an offset spatula.
  2. Decorate the top with fresh berries or other fruit of choice. Chill for 30 minutes and serve. Best if eaten within a few hours of assembling. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.
  3. Inspired by this tart from marthastewart.com
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 40 mins
  • Category: Dessert, Gluten Free, vegan

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Mixed Berry Slab Pie | Vegan, refined sugar free, dairy free. Gluten-free variation included.

Fresh Watermelon Layer Cake

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  5. Oliver says

    You can’t beat a fruit tart. Especially when it looks as good as yours. Thanks for sharing, I will give it a go.

    Reply

  18. Jocelyn @ Hip Mama's Place says

    That tart looks amazing! It’s simple to make but I just can’t help but be at awe of how you decorated it. SO BEAUTIFUL! I’d be a little guilty to slice into it. I’m keeping the recipe and I’m hoping to make it as beautiful as this.

    Reply

  22. Amisha says

    This is a gorgeous stunning tart Joscelyn! You are simply amazing and so artistic with your desserts, and your pictures are always so beautiful! I loved reading your story as you were growing up, and the whole experience with the fireworks and how your day was spent! Have a lovely 4th of July celebration with your beautiful family!

    Reply

  23. Marilyn says

    This is the most stunning and delicious fruit tart I’ve ever seen! I’m from SC and also remember having lots of military families close by.

    Reply

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