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Fruit Tartlets are the little bakery-window jewels that look fussy but are pure joy to make at home, with a crisp shortcrust shell, silky vanilla pastry cream, and a pile of glossy fresh fruit on top. I made a whole tray last spring for Maddie’s birthday brunch right next to a strawberry angel food cake, and the tartlets vanished before the candles did.
Once you master the easy homemade pastry cream, you can fill these mini tarts with any fruit you love and watch them disappear at every party.
Fruit Tartlets Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 20 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 20 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: About 2 hours (includes chilling)
- 🍽️ Serving: 12 tartlets
- ⚡ Calories: 247kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Buttery, creamy, and fresh with sweet vanilla pastry cream and juicy fruit
- ✋ Difficulty: Intermediate, a fun weekend bake like our no bake raspberry cheesecake bites
Quick Answer
Make a vanilla pastry cream by tempering egg yolks with hot sweetened milk, then cooking it with cornstarch until thick and chilling it. Press a simple shortcrust dough into mini tart tins, bake the shells until golden, and let them cool. Fill each cooled shell with pastry cream, pile on fresh berries and kiwi, and brush with a warm apricot glaze for shine.
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Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Tempering the eggs keeps the cream silky. Slowly drizzling hot milk into the yolks raises their temperature gently so the pastry cream turns out smooth, never scrambled.
- Cornstarch makes a pipeable, sturdy filling. It thickens the cream enough to hold its shape in the shells without tasting heavy or gummy.
- A food processor crust comes together fast. Cutting cold butter into the flour in seconds keeps the dough tender and flaky with almost no effort.
- Chilling at every stage is the secret. Cold pastry cream and cold dough both set up properly, so the shells stay crisp and the filling stays firm.
- The apricot glaze does double duty. It seals the inside of the shell so it stays crisp and gives the fruit that glossy, professional bakery finish.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- They look like they came from a fancy patisserie but use simple, everyday ingredients.
- The components can all be made ahead, so assembly is quick and stress-free for parties.
- They are endlessly customizable and pair beautifully with our layered lemon blueberry trifle on any dessert table.
Key Ingredients
A handful of pantry staples and a pile of fresh fruit are all it takes to make these little showstoppers.
- Whole milk and egg yolks: The rich base of the vanilla pastry cream. Whole milk gives that luxe, custardy texture you want.
- Cornstarch: This is what thickens the pastry cream into a silky, pipeable filling that holds its shape in the shells.
- Butter and flour: Chilled butter cut into the flour makes a tender, crisp shortcrust that snaps in the best way.
- Vanilla extract: A good splash of real vanilla is the soul of the pastry cream, so do not skip it.
- Fresh fruit and apricot jam: Berries and kiwi bring color and freshness, and a quick apricot glaze gives that glossy bakery shine.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
Make these tartlets your own with a few easy swaps.
- Fruit swap: Use strawberries, blackberries, mandarin segments, or sliced peaches in place of any berry.
- Chocolate twist: Brush the inside of each cooled shell with melted chocolate before filling for a chocolate-dipped base.
- Citrus cream: Stir a little lemon or orange zest into the pastry cream for a bright, fresh note.
- Shortcut shells: Use store-bought mini tart shells when you are short on time.
- Make it a big tart: Press the dough into one 9 inch tart pan for a single showpiece, like our strawberry angel food cake at a party.
How to Make Fruit Tartlets
- To make the pastry cream, whisk the milk with some of the sugar in a saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium heat.
- Whisk the egg yolks, whole egg, cornstarch, and remaining sugar in a bowl, then slowly drizzle in the hot milk while whisking to temper the eggs.
- Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it comes to a boil and thickens.
- Stir in the butter and vanilla, pour into a bowl, press plastic wrap onto the surface, and chill completely.
- For the shells, pulse the chilled butter, flour, powdered sugar, and salt in a food processor, then add the egg and water until a dough forms.
- Chill the dough, roll it to about 1/8 inch thick between parchment, and cut rounds slightly larger than your tart tins.
- Press the rounds into greased 3 inch tart tins, chill, prick the bases, and bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes until golden. Cool completely.
- Brush the shells with warm apricot glaze, fill with pastry cream, top with fresh fruit, and glaze the fruit to finish.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Press plastic wrap directly onto the pastry cream while it cools so a skin never forms on top.
- Keep everything cold, from the butter to the dough, for the crispest, flakiest shells.
- Do not overfill the shells so the fruit sits neatly on top and the tartlets are easy to eat.
- Assemble close to serving so the shells stay crisp and the fruit stays fresh and glossy.
- Make ahead: Bake the shells and chill the pastry cream up to two days in advance, then assemble the day you serve.
- Use a piping bag for the pastry cream to fill the little shells quickly and neatly.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
These mini fruit tartlets are made for spring brunches, baby showers, and tea parties, and they look gorgeous arranged on a tiered stand where everyone can grab their favorite fruit combo.
For a full dessert spread, set them alongside our layered lemon blueberry trifle and a batch of candied grapes for a fresh, fruity table that feels fancy without the fuss.
They also make a lovely light finish after a rich meal. If you love the silky filling, learn the technique on its own with our homemade pastry cream guide, then use it in everything from eclairs to no bake raspberry cheesecake bites.
Fruit Tartlets FAQs
Yes. Bake the shells and make the pastry cream up to two days ahead, storing the shells airtight at room temperature and the cream covered in the fridge. For the crispest result, fill and top the tartlets within a few hours of serving.
Firm, glossy fruit works best, like blueberries, raspberries, sliced strawberries, kiwi, and mandarin segments. Avoid very watery or browning fruit such as banana or sliced apple, which can weep or discolor on top of the cream.
Brush the inside of each cooled shell with warm apricot glaze before adding the pastry cream. That thin barrier seals the crust, and assembling close to serving time keeps everything crisp.
Absolutely. Pre-made mini tart shells and a quality vanilla pudding or pastry cream make a fast shortcut. The homemade versions taste fresher, but shortcuts are perfect for a busy day.
Pastry cream is a classic custard made from milk, sugar, egg yolks, cornstarch, butter, and vanilla, cooked on the stovetop until thick. It is the same silky filling used in eclairs, cream puffs, and these fruit tartlets.
The baked, unfilled shells freeze well for up to a month. Pastry cream does not freeze well because it can separate, so make it fresh. Never freeze fully assembled tartlets, as the fruit and cream will not thaw nicely.
Craving more fresh fruit desserts? Try our strawberry angel food cake next.
Set these out next to a bowl of our caramel apple dip for a fruity dessert table.
These pair beautifully with our mini cheesecakes on a dessert table.
Set these out next to a slice of our lemon bundt cake.
Set these out next to a tray of our fairy cakes for a tea party.
Mini Fruit Tartlets with Pastry Cream
Ingredients
Pastry Cream:
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1/4 + 1/3 cup granulated sugar divided
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 large whole egg
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Sweet shortcrust pastry:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter chilled, chopped into cubes
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons chilled water
Garnishes:
- 1 tablespoons apricot jam/conserve optional
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1 cup raspberries
- 2 kiwifruit skin removed and sliced
Instructions
- To make the pastry cream, add the milk and 1/4 of the granulated sugar to a medium saucepan, and whisk to combine.2 cups whole milk, 1/4 + 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- Place the saucepan over a medium heat, stirring often, and bring to the boil.
- While the milk mixture is heating, add the egg yolks, whole egg, cornstarch and remaining 1/3 granulated sugar to a large mixing bowl. Whisk until smooth.2 large egg yolks, 1 large whole egg, 1/4 cup cornstarch
- Once the milk mixture has come to the boil, remove from the heat and pour in a very slow drizzle into the bowl with the egg mixture while whisking constantly.
- Once all of the milk mixture has been added to the egg mixture, pour the combined mixture back into the saucepan.
- Place the saucepan back over a medium heat and bring back to the boil while whisking constantly.
- Once the mixture has come to the boil, remove from the heat. Stir through the butter until melted, then stir through the vanilla.2 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pour the mixture into a medium bowl and immediately cover with plastic wrap, ensuring the plastic wrap is touching the surface of the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming.
- Transfer to the fridge to cool completely.
- While the pastry cream is cooling, make a start on the pastry. Add the chilled butter cubes, flour, powdered sugar and salt to the bowl of a food processor.1/2 cup unsalted butter, 2 cups all purpose flour, 1/4 cup powdered sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Process until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
- Add the egg and chilled water to the processor and pulse until the mixture has just combined and a crumbly dough begins to form, adding additional chilled water only if necessary.1 large egg, 2 tablespoons chilled water
- Turn the pastry dough onto a floured surface and bring the dough together with your hands.
- Shape into a disc.
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°c. Work with half of the dough at a time, covering the other half in plastic wrap and returning to the fridge.
- Place the dough between two sheets of parchment paper, and roll with a rolling pin until the dough is approximately 1/8 inch in thickness.
- Cut rounds from the dough that are larger than the tart tins using a sharp knife or large cookie cutter.
- Press the rounds of dough gently into the 3 inch tart tins which have been greased with a non-stick cooking spray, shaping the dough with your fingers to the inside of the tin.
- Trim the excess dough with a sharp knife or by running a rolling pin over the top of the tart tins. Repeat with the remaining half of dough.
- Place tart tins in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
- Pierce the base of the pastry with a fork at least 4 times. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, or until cooked through and starting to turn golden.
- Set aside to cool completely.
- Once the pastry shells have cooled completely, remove from the tart tins.
- Combine the apricot jam with 1 tablespoon of water, and microwave for 30 seconds or until hot.1 tablespoons apricot jam/conserve, 1 tablespoon water
- Whisk with a fork to combine.
- Use a pastry brush to brush the inside of each pastry shell with the apricot mixture.
- Fill the shells with approximately 2 tablespoons each of the pastry cream, and top with the fresh fruit.1 cup blueberries, 1 cup raspberries, 2 kiwifruit
- Glaze the fruit with the remaining apricot mixture, if desired.
Notes
- Chill It – Keep that cold butter icy—makes the buttery shortbread crust flaky, not floppy!
- Roll Easy – Use parchment paper—no sticking, smoother than my dance moves!
- Press Right – Shape the tart dough into the tart molds—no gaps, just cozy crusts!
- Fork It – Poke the tart shells with a fork—stops them puffing up like a balloon!
- Cool First – Let the pastry dough chill—keeps it from shrinking like my laundry mishaps!
- Brush Smart – Use a pastry brush with apricot preserves—shiny fruit without the mess!
Nutrition
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