Grain Free Red, White, and Blue Berry Fruit Tart

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This grain free red, white and blueberry fruit tart is a remake of an earlier post which had a graham cracker crust.

The original recipe, Patriotic Red, White and Blueberry Fruit Tart, posted on September 10th, 2011, was due for a update.

Fruit tart with glaze

While I love the original graham cracker crust, I’m always looking for ways to eat all our favorite treats with less sugar, and gluten or grain free, if I can do it without sacrificing the flavor.

I love any kind of dessert with fruit, and this one is no exception. Not too sweet, not too tart and very adaptable; as you can use whatever fresh fruit is in the store. The filling is simply lemon curd and cream cheese. That’s it! No added sugar, other than what is the lemon curd. It’s the perfect filling for fresh fruit, which doesn’t need to be masked by an overly sweet filling. (This post contains affiliate links)

Fruit tart top shot

Use any crust you’d like!

I’ve made this easy dessert several times, with a couple of different types of crust. There’s short dough crust, which is more like a cookie dough, pie dough, which won’t be as sweet as the short dough crust, and the original recipe, from Nigella Lawson, which is a graham cracker crust. The latest incarnation is a grain free crust, which is basically just a nut crust.

(Here is the original recipe for the graham cracker crust: Pulse 27 sheets of graham crackers and 1 stick, 8 Tablespoons of unsalted butter in a food processor until it resembles sand. Press into the sides and bottom of a tart pan. Chill 10 to 15 minutes. Follow recipe below for filling and finish)

The most difficult part of the recipe is letting the pie chill for a couple of hours before you decorate it, so do prepare it in the morning if you plan on serving it later in the day.

For the grain free nut crust; mix the nuts, butter and a few dates for natural sweetness.

grain free nut crust

Pulse nuts, butter and dates in a food processor.

Press nut mixture into a greased pie plate or tart pan with a removable bottom.

nut crust before baking

Press the crust up the sides of a tart pan with a removable bottom.

Bake the nut crust for about 10-15 minutes to set it. Allow it to cool to room temperature.

Bake grain free nut crust

Allow baked crust to cool. While the crust is cooling, prepare the filling, (which takes about 3 minutes!) and prep the fruit. Spread the filling into cooled pie crust.

Pouring lemon curd mixture into tart shell

Spread filling into cooled crust. Arrange the fruit in any pattern you wish.

Assembling the fruit tart

Arrange fruit in a pattern starting with center and moving outward. To achieve a bakery quality finish, brush the top of the fruit with an apricot glaze before chilling.

Brushing glaze on tart

If you’re looking for more patriotic desserts, try Star-spangled meringues with fresh berries, or this simple fresh strawberry pie. If you’re looking for more grain free desserts, try this Grain Free Berry Tart or Strawberry Fool. 

Fruit tart top shot

Red, White and Blue Berry Fruit Tart

Cynthia
This no-bake fruit tart is adapted from Nigella Lawson. It is one of my favorite patriotic dessert recipes! (I've included the original crust recipe for those who do not need a grain free/gluten free option. 
4.92 from 23 votes
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Prep Time 20 mins
Cook Time 3 hrs
Total Time 3 hrs 20 mins
Course Dessert
Servings 8
Calories 535 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 3 cups walnuts and almonds, (you can use pecans and hazelnuts as well)
  • 5 Tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 8 dates, soaked in hot water for 5 minutes, then pit
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 8-ounce bars cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1 cup lemon curd, (8 ounces) at room temperature
  • Assorted fresh fruit
  • 1 loose-bottomed 10-inch fluted tart pan 2 inches deep
  • 2 Tablespoons Apricot jam,
  • 2 Tablespoons water

Instructions
 

  • Soak dates in hot or warm water 5 minutes, then pit.
  • In a food processor, fitted with blade, pulse nuts, butter, dates and salt until a dough forms. 
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Press dough into a greased tart pan with removable bottom. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until crust is golden. 
  • In a clean processor bowl, process the cream cheese and lemon curd and spread it into the bottom of the chilled tart crust, covering the base evenly.
  • Arrange the fruit gently (so it doesn't sink in too much) on top of the lemony cream cheese.
  • Refrigerator the tart, preferably overnight, or for at least 4 hours. It does need to get properly cold in order to set enough for the tart to be unmolded and sliced easily.
  • For the glaze: mix 2 Tablespoons apricot jam and 2 Tablespoons water in a small sauce pan and cook over low heat, stirring until jam is melted and thin enough to brush over fruit. Add more water if necessary. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 535kcalCarbohydrates: 36gProtein: 17gFat: 39gSaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 26mgSodium: 558mgPotassium: 396mgFiber: 4gSugar: 28gVitamin A: 270IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 246mgIron: 1.5mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Some of the items used in this post are listed here for your convenience, at no additional cost to you. (affiliate link)

No-bake Red, White and Blueberry tart with lemon cream cheese filling.

No-bake Red, White and Blueberry tart with lemon cream cheese filling.

cynthia

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Comments

  7. Kim @ The Cookie Puzzle says

    Oh wow….what a easy, cool,refreshing yes beautiful dessert! I will be making this for sure! Thank you for taking the time to link up at Party in Your PJs, we hope you join us again tonight when the party goes live at 7pm CDT

    Reply

  19. Annie @ Annie's Noms says

    This is just the prettiest tart I’ve seen! It’s beautiful! I love all the berries we get in Summer, they are so pretty to photograph and you can make amazing patterns with them on desserts! I love nothing more than a fresh fruit tart on a warm Summer’s night!

    Reply

  24. kim says

    5 stars
    I’m all about berry desserts in the summer and this one looks just perfect! Saving this for my next upcoming barbecue!

    Reply

  35. Mimi says

    I love nut-based crusts, although I don’t remember making any without flour. But why not, if it works?!! This is a beautiful dessert.

    Reply

  37. Emily @ Recipes to Nourish says

    5 stars
    This is so fun and festive for summertime and perfect for the 4th of July! Love this idea with all of these delicious berries!

    Reply

  44. Chris-27 says

    5 stars
    I made this tart for our Fourth of July barbecue, as it’s my grandies favorite dessert. They were thrilled, so was I, as they decorated it, without any help from me. One was in charge of berries, and the other had the warm apricot glaze, to drizzle over the top. I made a graham cracker crust, and, I did bake it for 10 minutes (350F) which I find makes it easier to serve. (No stray cracker crumbs.) This dessert is a keeper, and very quick and easy to put together. I only have 4 oz of lemon curd, so used 4 oz of the apricot jam to make up the required amount. Very tasty.

    Reply

  45. Tara Dix says

    I made this recipe a while back and loved it. The crust makes a nice change and the lemon curd and cream cheese filling is just so delicious. I copied your decorating with the fruit and had lots of comments on how pretty and delish it was!

    Reply

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