Mixed Fruit Tart

Makes: One 9-inch tart, enough for about 8 servings

Time: About 1½ hours

Pastry cream and fruit is a classic and ridiculously fine combination. It’s also easy to make, as is this tart: Bake the crust, fill it with cream (Boozy Pastry Cream, is a fun alternative), and top with fruit. Glazing is a nice touch but entirely optional.

• Sweet Tart Crust, fitted into a tart pan and chilled
• 1 recipe Vanilla Pastry Cream, chilled
• 1 cup sliced kiwi
• 1 cup halved red grapes
• 1 cup raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, or hulled strawberries
• ½ cup strained raspberry, apricot, or currant preserves (optional)
• 1 tablespoon water or liqueur like Grand Marnier or Chambord

1. Bake the crust completely. Cool on a rack. You can start the filling while the crust is baking or wait a few hours.

2. Spread a layer of pastry cream on the bottom of the shell (you may not need all of it). Arrange the fruit on the cream, packing in as many pieces as you can. If you’d like to glaze the tart, warm the strained preserves with the water or liqueur in a very small saucepan over medium-low heat until thinned. Brush the top of the fruit with this mixture and serve.

BANANA CREAM TART Not exactly elegant, but rich and satisfying: Peel and thinly slice 6 bananas; toss them with 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice and 1 tablespoon brown sugar. Arrange half of them on the cooled tart shell, then top with the pastry cream, then the remaining banana slices.

STRAWBERRY LEMON TART This is sophisticated and gorgeous: Substitute 2 to 3 cups sliced strawberries for the mixed fruit, but any type of berries will work. Swap in Lemon Curd for the pastry cream and proceed with the recipe.

COCONUT FRUIT TART A coconutty surprise: Substitute Vegan Whipped Cream—whipped coconut cream—for the pastry cream. Toast ⅓ cup shredded unsweetened coconut in the oven at 350°F for 5 to 8 minutes or until golden brown. Layer the toasted coconut beneath the cream.

Adapting Recipes

How to Make Mini Pies and Tarts

Miniature pies and tarts can feel special: everyone gets their own. And they’re not hard to prepare: You can invest in tartlet pans, though a muffin pan does just as well. Use your favorite pie or tart crust or puff pastry. Heat the oven to 350°F and lightly grease the pan(s). Puff pastry dough should be rolled out, cut to size, and fitted into the muffin cup or tartlet pan. Pie or tart dough need not be rolled: just form into small mounds and use your fingers to gently pat them in an even layer into the bottom and up the side of each cup or pan. (You can, of course, roll out if you want to.) Prick the bottom a couple of times with a fork and refrigerate until the dough is cool, at least 15 minutes. Fill and bake (usually about 30 minutes for most baked fillings) or prebake the crusts if needed. For crusts that are completely prebaked, cool on a rack, then loosen and remove the shells from the muffin pan with a dull knife or remove the rings from the tartlet pans before filling.