Easy Elegant Fruit Tart with Shortbread Crust

A beautiful tart, part tart, part cheesecake, part fruit fest, easy to make but with an impressive and dramatic appearance that's sure to garner ooo's and ahhh's. Naturally, this four-layer tart tastes as good as it looks, whether topped with colorful berries or juicy peaches or ... what inspires you?! It's the perfect European-style dessert for summer celebrations and weekend occasions when fresh berries and other summer fruits are at their peak.

Fresh & Summery. Looks Impressive But Easy to Make. Tastes Great, Better Than Bakery-Bought. Beautiful Color! No-Roll Press-In Shortbread Crust. A New Addition to The Homemade Pantry, a Kitchen Parade Specialty. Potluck & Party Friendly. Vegetarian. Egg-Free. So Good!!

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~ PIN This (berries) ~

~ PIN This (peaches) ~

COMPLIMENTS!

• "My family ate the first one that I made very quickly. I'm making the second one today!" ~ Anonymous

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Peering Through Bakery Windows With Longing

In France and Switzerland and Scandinavia, I’ve stood, slavering, outside patisserie windows, hoping the calories would stay behind the thick glass. They did but I could not. From those European creations of butter and cream and fruit and nuts, all so perfectly formed by expert hands, came irresistible calls for slow, savored consumption.

This elegant, summer-fresh tart will unleash your inner European pastry chef. It cries out for creative flair in the choice and arrangement of fruit, in the selection of liqueurs and jams.

This is a tart you may swooooon over. Is it a cheesecake? Sort of. Is it a tart? You bet.

But is it delicious? Yes, ma’am!

It’s an easy, elegant dessert, one which I’m willing to bet you’ll make again and again.

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Recipe Overview: Easy, Elegant Fruit Tart

• This recipe makes a small nine-inch fruit tart that serves eight. It has four layers: the no-roll Shortbread Crust; the Cream Cheese Layer; the Fruit Layer with your choice of colorful summer fruit; and topped with a final layer of a thin jammy glaze. Only the crust is baked and cooled, the other layers require no cooking. The tart is a balance of crisp and creamy, sweet and tart, simplicity and elegance with just the right amount of richness without being too heavy.
• The Crust = a barely sweet, crisp, sturdy, buttery and cookie-like shortbread crust, mixed with a hand mixer and pressed into a tart pan. No roll!
• Distinctive Ingredients = Cream Cheese + Berries or Other Colorful Summer Fruit + a Fruity Liqueur + Vanilla & Almond Extracts + a Fruity Jam or Jelly
• For Garnish = No garnish is required, this is a show-stopper all on its own.
• Kitchen Tools = You'll need a nine-inch tart pan with a removable bottom that makes it easy to lift the tart out of its baking pan to fill and to serve. (That said, I think you could line a quiche pan or another round or square pan with parchment and it would lift up quite easily.) For the Shortbread Crust and Cream Cheese Layer, you'll need a hand mixer. For the Crust, a wood tart tamper (affiliate link) is helpful though not required.
• Timing = Make this tart the day you'll serve it. (That said, the tart crust might be baked the day or the night before.) It requires very little hands-on time but cooling/chilling time is important in three different stints.
• Appearance = This tart is all about dramatic appearance, besides great taste and texture, of course. If you've ever been stunned by the beauty of fruit tarts in Europe, this is your tart. (FYI please do not be tempted by or judge this tart by American-bakery fruit tarts which may look pretty but rarely if ever taste good.)
• Technique = No special techniques are used in this tart, that makes it extra forgiving for someone who is new to baking or questions their own skills. Even the crust requires "no rolling" — that means no rolling pin, no fussing with sticky pastry. Instead, the shortbread dough is pressed right into the tart pan with your fingers. You can definitely do this!
• The tart is vegetarian but would be easy to convert to vegan with a plant-based butter and a plant-based cream cheese. No eggs!
• This is pantry-friendly recipe, if you have berries or other colorful ripe fruit, you may already have all the other ingredients on hand.
• This is a budget-friendly recipe, especially compared to the cost of purchasing a fruit tart these days.
• So good! I hope you love it!


• Still a little daunted? Then check out a still-easier tart, Easy-Easy Jam Tart. It's an amazing tart in just 15 minutes!
• Not quite what you're looking for? Check out my other recipes for pies & tarts.

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How to Make the Shortbread Crust

The detailed recipe is written in traditional recipe form below but here are the highlights in five easy steps. You can definitely do this!

I've been making this Easy Elegant Fruit Tart for almost 25 years but it's only recently (2024) that I included a specific crust recipe. Mostly, I just used a store-bought pie crust, especially after discovering that a Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust is "not bad" and even "quite good" when it's rolled out a little thinner and sprinkled with a little sugar. Just discard the excess dough.

Still, I knew that this tart really called for and was worthy of a better crust, a French sweet pastry called pâte sucrée. Trouble was? For the life of me, I couldn't make one worth eating!

And frankly, I didn't make the tart as often as it deserved because, well, the crust wasn't quite right.

Then in a stroke of brilliance (if I say so myself!) I realized that the pastry dough I use for mini shortbread tarts (sorry, I haven't posted that recipe yet) would likely make an excellent tart shell. And it does!

So now I make one tart and turn around and make another. It's that good! It really makes for a special summer!

The best news is that the shortbread dough calls for no special ingredients; takes just minutes to make; and then, get this, doesn't even need rolling, just pressing with your fingers.

Here are the five easy steps.

• Let the butter come to room temperature for an hour, just leave it out on the kitchen counter. The one-hour timing is important, less time and it's harder to mix, more time and the butter is too soft.
• Use a hand mixer to mix the pastry dough, the butter, the powdered sugar, the flour, a little salt plus a little vanilla and almond extract.
• Now "press" the crust! That's right. Use your fingers to press the dough evenly into the tart pan. Start with the sides, then finish with the center. Super easy, yes?!
• Let the crust cool in the fridge for 30 minutes.
• Bake the crust at 350F/180C for just ten minutes. Then use a wood tart tamper (affiliate link) to gently press the dough to shape the tart. Then bake for about another 10 minutes, until the tart is crisp and slightly golden.
• Let the crust cool completely before spreading it with the Cream Cheese Layer and arranging the fruit.

Other crusts may work well too. Here are a few ideas.

• Try the no-roll Almond Press-in Crust I use in this Blueberry Cheesecake Pie.
• Try a prepared graham cracker or chocolate cookie crust – or make your own, either with My Favorite Graham Cracker Crust the Homemade Chocolate Cookie Crust in Fresh Strawberry Pie.
• I think puff pastry would also work really well!

How to Arrange All Those Berries ... and Other Colorful Fruit

For creative cooks, the real fun is arranging the berries on top for a magical Instagram-worthy presentation! For those of us who are less ambitious (um ... me), it's still easy to create a showstopper dessert with minimal effort. Here are a few ideas.

Oh! And don't stop with berries. A fruit tart positively begs for colorful fruit, a small "canvas" to "paint" with creativity.

• For a Structured, Elegant Look — Arrange berries in concentric circles working from the outside in, the larger berries around the outer edge, the medium-size berries in the next ring, then the smaller berries in the center.
• For a Carefree, Effortless Look — Scatter a mix of glorious berries (or even just a single berry) across the top of cream cheese. Fill in the gaps with more fruit (perhaps another berry).
• For a Patriotic Holiday — Arrange the fruit in red and blue or red and white stripes, leaving slim strips of the cream cheese layer visible for the "white".
• For Drama with a Single Fruit — Create a noticeable pattern with the fruit, think small since the tart is not a large canvas.
• For a Rainbow Effect — Create rainbow stripes or even a rainbow shape with fruit.
• For a Sunflower Effect — Arrange slices of ripe peaches around the outer edge, then fill the center with small seedless grapes. Doesn't it look like a sunflower?!
• More ideas? Please chime in!

Bookmark! PIN! Share!

How do you save and share favorite recipes? recipes that fit your personal cooking style? a particular recipe your mom or daughter or best friend would just love? If this recipe inspires you, please do save and share! I'd be honored ...

~ PIN This (berries) ~

~ PIN This (peaches) ~

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EASY ELEGANT FRUIT TART with SHORTBREAD CRUST

Hands-on time: 45 minutes over about 2 hours
Time-to-table: About 4 hours
Makes 1 nine-inch tart to serve 8

SHORTBREAD CRUST
• 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons, usually 1 stick, 112g) salted butter, warmed on the counter for 1 hour
• 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour
• 7 tablespoons (55g) powdered sugar (also called icing sugar)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt (only if using unsalted butter)

CREAM CHEESE LAYER
• 8 ounces (225g) low-fat or full-fat cream cheese, room temperature
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons liqueur (see TIPS)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract

FRUIT LAYER (see TIPS)
• 1/2 pint blueberries
• 1/2 pint raspberries
• 1/2 pint blackberries
• 1/4 cup fruit jam or jelly
• 1 tablespoon liqueur

MIX THE SHORTBREAD CRUST In a large mixing bowl, use a hand mixer (sorry, the control of a hand mixer is just better here) to mix the butter, flour and powdered sugar on low speed for about 5 minutes, moving the beaters around the bowl to ensure even mixing, watching the mixture as its texture moves from (1) dry and floury to (2) something akin to dry sand to (3) wet sand and then (4) begins to form small clumps and (5) finally larger clumps. (During the 5 minutes, some times the butter balls up inside one or both beaters, if this happens, be sure to scrape it out and then continue.)

Once the large clumps form, add the extracts and mix in the extracts on low speed for about 15 seconds until a smooth, even dough forms. The dough will be supple and easy to handle; if it's at all sticky, just dust your hands with a little flour.

SHAPE THE CRUST Break the dough in half. With one half, gently roll out a rope as long as the inside perimeter of the tart pan. (Need a visual? This easy technique is pictured in Cranberry Linzer Tart.) Arrange the rope along the edge of the tart pan, then use the tips of your fingers to evenly press the dough to the top of the pan's edge, no need for perfection quite yet, you'll come back again. Flatten the second dough half between your hands, then use the flat of the fingers of one hand to evenly spread the dough across the center, meeting up with the edge rope. Now use your fingers to gently shape the edge and the bottom so the dough is an even thickness throughout.

Place the dough in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.

BAKE THE CRUST Heat the oven to 350F/180C. Bake the crust for 10 minutes, the sides will slip down a little. Use something like a wood tart tamper (affiliate link) or a flat-bottomed drinking glass to press the tart down all around the perimeter, this will push the sides back up into place, then lightly across the bottom. Return to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes until the tart is crisp and golden. Let cool completely, about 30 minutes is usually good.

CREAM CHEESE LAYER Meanwhile, combine the Cream Cheese ingredients until smooth with an electric mixer. Spread this evenly atop the cooled Shortbread Crust.

FRUIT LAYER Gently arrange the berries (or other fruit) in concentric circles, starting with larger blackberries along outer edge, then the raspberries, then filling the center with blueberries.

Heat the jam and liqueur in a small pan until just warm and spoon evenly over the fruit.

CHILL Refrigerate the tart for about two hours before serving. The Shortbread Crust will soften slightly (without turning soggy) after several hours.

ALANNA's TIPS For liqueur, choose something fruity such as Gran Marnier or something subtle such as a dry sherry. If you prefer something non-alcoholic, choose a white grape juice or something similar. The rings of black-then-red-then-blue berries are extraordinarily beautiful but perfectly ripe peaches or other juicy fruits, artfully arranged, are also spectacular.

FOR MORE INFO If you "skipped straight to the recipe," please scroll back to the top of this page for ingredient information, ingredient substitutions, tips and more. If you print this recipe, you'll want to check the recipe online for even more tips and extra information about ingredient substitutions, best results and more. See https://www.kitchenparade.com/2005/08/easy-elegant-fruit-tart.php .

NUTRITION INFORMATION Per Slice (assumes 8): 391 Calories; 20g Tot Fat; 14g Sat Fat; 61mg Cholesterol; 315mg Sodium; 41g Carb; 3g Fiber; 20g Sugar; 5g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS Old Points 9 & PointsPlus 10 & SmartPoints 18 & Freestyle 16 & future WW points

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More Fabulous (and Fabulously Easy) Pies & Tarts

more
~ Pies & Tarts, Crusts & More~
from a life-long pie-baker

• THE RECIPE Mini Blueberry Tarts With a "pop" of fresh blueberry right in the middle.
• THE ORIGINAL Finnish Fruit Tart Finns adore this with blueberries. (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Easy-Easy Jam Tart An amazing tart in just 15 minutes!
• ANOTHER TAKE Cranberry Linzer Tart An impressive European fruit tart, made easy with an almond press-in crust. (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Fresh Strawberry Pie Fresh glazed berries in a homemade chocolate-cookie crust, a real crowd pleaser. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Rhubarb Bakewell Tart Sour rhubarb + sweet almond frangipane.

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Shop Your Pantry First

(helping home cooks save money on groceries)

~ cream cheese ~
~ blueberries ~
~ blackberries ~
~ raspberries ~
~ peaches & nectarines ~
~ grapes ~

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Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail, you'll find my current address in the FAQs. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, for more scratch cooking recipes using whole, healthful ingredients, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. If you make this recipe, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below.

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