Summer fruit bowl tartlets
See this recipe step by step

Summer fruit bowl tartlets

Mary Cadogan shows us how to make a classic French crème pâtissière – the perfect filling for these lovely summer fruit tartlets

Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Serves 8

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 45 mins

Cook time

Cook 35 mins

plus cooling

Method

  1. To make the crème pâtissière, pour the milk into a pan. Split vanilla pod down its length using a small sharp knife (do not cut in half completely). Twist tip of the knife inside the pod to open out like a book at one end, then run the knife down its length to scrape out seeds. (See step 1)
  2. Put the seeds and empty pod in a medium-sized pan with the milk and bring slowly to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for a couple of mins. (Step 2)
  3. Put egg yolks, sugar and flour into a bowl. Whisk with a hand electric mixer until the mixture becomes pale and fluffy - it should leave a trail that stays on the surface momentarily when the whisk blades are lifted. This whisking will take about 2 mins. (Step 3)
  4. Pour about a third of the hot milk into the bowl, whisking on a slow speed all the time until it has all been mixed in. Now whisk in the remaining milk, removing pod. (Step 4)
  5. Return the mixture to the pan, scraping it out of the bowl using a rubber spatula. Bring slowly to the boil, stirring all the time, until the custard is thickened, smooth and glossy. At first, it will look a bit lumpy, but persevere - keep stirring and it will become smooth. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2 mins, stirring. (Step 5)
  6. Remove the crème pâtissière from the heat. Beat in the butter until it has melted, then scrape into a bowl. Cover the surface of the crème pâtissière directly with cling film (this will stop a skin forming). Leave to cool, then chill in the fridge until needed. (Step 6)
  7. Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Divide the pastry into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each one to line a 7-8cm deep fluted tartlet tin, trim leaving a little pastry sticking up above the tin. Line each one with a paper cake case and add a layer of baking beans. Put on a baking tray and bake for 10 mins, then remove the paper and beans and bake for a further 5 mins until the pastry is crisp and golden.
  8. Trim any pastry edges that need it with a small sharp knife. Remove from the tins and leave to cool on a wire rack.
  9. Halve or quarter any large strawberries and remove the stalks from any redcurrants, then mix the fruits together. Fill the pastry cases with crème pâtissière and pile a generous layer of fruits on top. Dust thickly with icing sugar and scatter over some chopped pistachios, if you like.
Try

TIP

Measure your flour carefully. It should just be gently rounded on the tablespoon, not heaped. Too much flour will make the sauce too thick and give it a floury taste.
Take care to keep the milk at simmering point to avoid it boiling away, thus reducing the quantity.
Rinse the vanilla pod after use and dry it on kitchen paper. It can then be tucked into a jar of caster sugar to make vanilla sugar.
The crème pâtissière will keep for up to three days in the fridge.

TIP

For a lighter finish for filling cakes, tip the crème into a bowl and whisk lightly, then fold in 150ml whipped double cream.
Adding a little butter to the finished crème gives it a glossy finish.

PER SERVING

281 kcalories, protein 5g, carbohydrate 32g, fat 15 g, saturated fat 6g, fibre 2g, sugar 14g, salt 0.46 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, August 2011.

Try 3 issues of Good Food magazine for £3 - subscribe now!

Latest comments and suggestions

  • Binder photo ratman

    13 July 2011

    ratman commented on this recipe

    You can make this even easier. Buy ready made sweet pastry cases from Morrisons. Take a tub of mascapone grate half an orange zest into it and add icing sugar to taste. fill pastry case with mix then add berries. Yumm.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo lylamol

    14 July 2011

    lylamol commented on this recipe

    wots the point of doing that when this is a recipe that ur supposed to be following???

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo almira

    16 July 2011

    almira commented on this recipe

    Half the pleasure of these recipes is in the doing. Why would you want to produce an assembly recipe?

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo aussie

    18 July 2011

    aussie commented on this recipe

    Live and let live! All of us need short cuts sometimes! And inspiration!

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo scullery maid

    24 July 2011

    scullery maid rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    Made this as one large tart. Worked ok, but not in a rush to do it again.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo Tiny

    07 August 2011

    Tiny commented on this recipe

    Took 2 attempts to get the creme right ( Ist one a practise run) as there is no indication of how thick the creme is supposed to be. I think I got it right but it was absolutely delicious anyway. Looks very impressive assembled and tastes divine. With reference to other comments - there's nothing wrong with shortcuts if pushed for time and the filling works well with ready made brandy snap baskets too - but do try it with pastry cases as the recipe shows if you have the time as it so pretty and delicate.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo Tiny

    07 August 2011

    Tiny rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Forgot to leave the rating!

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo loorien

    27 August 2011

    loorien rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I loved the strong vanilla taste of the cream with the sharpness of the fruit-I used raspberries and blackberries. I will definitely do it again, although it is quite time consuming to get it all done. The result though is very impressive, the little tartlets looked like ready bought sweets from a quality cafe.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo springbob

    27 December 2011

    springbob rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I made this as one big tart and it turned out beautifully. The creme was particularly delicious. Husband loved it, think he will demand this often!

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo looby

    02 April 2013

    looby commented on this recipe

    Can I freeze anything at any stage or make ahead-I'm catering for 60 guests but there will be 7 desserts to choose from.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

Leave a comment or suggestion

You must sign in or register to leave a comment.

Sign in / Register

Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Serves 8

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 45 mins

Cook time

Cook 35 mins

plus cooling

Ingredients

FOR CRÈME PÂTISSIÈRE

  • 300ml milk
  • 1 vanilla pod
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • 50g caster sugar
  • 1 rounded tbsp plain flour
  • knob of butter

FOR THE TARTS

  • 300g shortcrust pastry
  • 400g mixed summer fruits , such as small strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and redcurrants
  • icing sugar , for dusting
  • a few chopped pistachios , if you like
Print this recipe
Add to your binder

PER SERVING

281 kcalories, protein 5g, carbohydrate 32g, fat 15 g, saturated fat 6g, fibre 2g, sugar 14g, salt 0.46 g

Advertisement

Your binder

Here are three other great reasons why to sign up:

  • You get an online binder, where you can store all your favourite recipes and create menus.
  • You can add your own recipes to this site for others to try; plus, rate and make comments on recipes, and share your views on our blog.

Follow Good Food

Advertisement

All about Good Food

Magazine

Good Food Magazine

Subscribe to Good Food magazine - enjoy 100+ triple-tested recipes delivered to your door, every month.

Order today, and receive your first 3 issues for just £3

On TV

Foodie TV

See your favourite chefs on Sky Channel 247, Virgin TV 260 and find their recipes at goodfoodchannel.co.uk.

Good Food Apps

Good Food Apps

For Good Food on the go, download our apps to your phone or portable device.
Find out more here

Buy ingredients

With just one click, the full list of recipe ingredients will be put into a basket at your choice of provider. Choose from:

mySupermarket Compare prices and choose a retailer you wish to buy them from.

Ocado Let Ocado deliver all you need for this recipe, right to your door

Tesco Buy all the ingredients from our recipes through your Tesco online shop.

new

Asda Shop with Asda? You can now buy ingredients for our recipes via your Asda online shop.

In association with the above providers. Terms and conditions apply.

Close