Fresh Fruit Tart

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This fresh fruit tart is perfect for your patriotic celebrations this summer! The delicious, colorful, tart can be made with a grain-free crust, a shortcrust dough or graham cracker crust. It’s a beautiful way to highlight seasonal fruit.

Red white and blue dessert tart with strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries.

I love any kind of dessert with fruit and this easy fruit tart is no exception. It’s not too sweet, with a tangy lemony filling and is a very adaptable recipe. Use whatever fresh fruit is available! (This recipe was originally published on December 11th, 2011)

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

Overhead view of red, white and blue fruit tart.

Ingredients for fresh fruit tart

I’ve made this easy fruit tart several times, with a couple of different types of crust. A shortbread crust, which is more like cookie dough and a little to sweet for my taste. There’s pie dough, which won’t be as sweet as the short dough crust. And then there’s graham cracker crust, which is the original recipe from Nigella Lawson. My latest incarnation is this nut-based, grain-free crust, which also makes it gluten free.

For the grain free crust

  • 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

For the filling

  • 2 8-ounce bars cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1 cup lemon curd, (8 ounces) at room temperature
  • 10-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom, 2 inches deep
  • Assorted fresh fruit (the amount of fruit will vary depending on how you’d like to arrange)
  • 2 Tablespoons Apricot Jam,
  • 2 Tablespoons water

How to make this fruit tart recipe

I’ve made this easy fruit tart several times, with a couple of different types of crust. 

I’ve tried a shortbread crust, which is more like cookie dough and a little to sweet for my taste. There’s pie dough, which won’t be as sweet as the short dough crust. And then there’s graham cracker crust, which is the original recipe from Nigella Lawson. My latest incarnation is this nut-based, grain-free crust, which also makes it gluten free.

For the gluten-free nut crust

  • 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. 
  • Press dough into bottom and sides of the pan. Trim excess dough.
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Press dough into a greased tart pan with removable bottom. 
  • Blind bake for 12-15 minutes, or until crust is golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.
Grain-free nut crust pressed into pie plate.

​Filling

  • In a clean processor bowl, or in the bowl of an electric mixer, process the cream cheese and lemon curd until smooth. 
  • Spread it into the bottom of the chilled tart crust, covering the base evenly.
Pouring lemon curd mixture into tart shell.

Finishing the fruit tart

  • Wash and slice the fruit. 
  • Spread the filling onto the cooled bottom of the crust.
  • Arrange fruit in a pattern starting with center and moving outward.
  • To achieve a bakery quality finish, use a pastry brush to apply a thin layer of apricot glaze before chilling.
  • Wrap well with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Assembling the fruit tart.

​Apricot glaze

  • Heat 2 Tablespoons apricot preserves or jam and 3 Tablespoons water in a small saucepan over medium heat, until jam is melted and any lumps disappear.
Brushing glaze on red white and blue dessert.

Alternate crust options

The graham cracker crust is also a no-bake option.

Red, white and blueberry fruit tart
Graham cracker crust.
  • If you’d like to make this fruit tart with the original graham cracker crust, follow these instructions:
  • Pulse 27 sheets of graham crackers and one 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 the recipe below for filling and finish

Fruit options

Don’t limit this showstopper dessert to just berries. It’s the ideal base for a variety of your favorite fruits from and kiwi slices to stone fruit

More French fruit tarts:

pear tart.

More patriotic July desserts:

top shot pie

Gluten free and grain free desserts:

 Grain Free Fresh Berry Cake or Strawberry Fool. 

Strawberry Fool is a mousse-like dessert, made with Knott's Berry Farm strawberry puree. | @whatagirleats
Strawberry fool

Fruit tart top shot.

Fresh 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. 
4.96 from 64 votes
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 20 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American, English
Servings 8 servings
Calories 535 kcal

Equipment

  • 1 loose-bottomed 10-inch fluted tart pan 2 inches deep

Ingredients
  

Grain-Free Crust

  • 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

Lemon Filling

  • 2 8-ounce bars cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1 cup lemon curd, (8 ounces) at room temperature
  • 1 lb. assorted fresh fruit washed and sliced

Apricot Glaze

  • 2 Tablespoons apricot preserves or jam,
  • 2 Tablespoons water

Instructions
 

Grain-free crust

  • 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. 

Lemon Filling

  • 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.

Finishing tart

  • 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.

Apricot Glaze

  • 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: 1sliceCalories: 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!

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4.96 from 64 votes (38 ratings without comment)

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