Fruit Tarts (Refined Sugar-Free) 水果挞

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The thing about making pastries, especially those pretty ones, it always seems like the most difficult task that can only be accomplished by professional pastry chefs. Not until I tried making these fruit tarts, that I realised it’s really very easy to put together a platter of beautifully glazed fresh fruit tarts that’s not only pretty to look at, but also taste super delicious. In fact I had so much fun making them and decorating with the fruits, I made numerous batches in a go. My family, especially my mum who is very careful about sugar intake, and my SO who loves desserts, all gave me a thumbs up. Well that’s the best motivation to make them more yummy treats right?

How to make fruit tarts

The process of making these fruit tarts is really quite simple, as I break it down:

• Make the pastry cream – I made the vanilla pastry cream and placed it into a piping bag a day before so there’s enough time to chill the cream and let the flavour develop fully. This cream is also known as crème pâtissière, which is a thick, rich, and creamy custard. It’s made of egg yolk, sugar, and full cream milk. Commonly flavoured with vanilla, thickened by the neutral flavoured corn starch, put to a low heat while whisking it constantly helps deactivate the egg yolk’s starch-dissolving amylase. Butter is added at the end to add gloss and flavour. Some recipes use vanilla beans which you need to infuse with the milk by boiling it and steeping it long enough for the vanilla flavour to develop. In this recipe, I used the vanilla extract, thus skipping the step of boiling the milk. I have also used stevia sweetener in place of the sugar which makes it a healthier version.
• Make the tart shell – I made the tart shell the same day as the pastry cream. The dough can be chilled in the fridge and bake either on the day itself or the next day. It’s made of a few simple ingredients – plain flour, stevia sweetener, salt, cold butter and egg. You can mix the ingredients by hand, or using the blitz function of a food processor or a kitchen mixer with paddle attachment.
• Make the glaze – The glaze is the easiest of all steps. Just mix a small amount of water and a fruit jam over low heat and you’ll get a nice glaze that gives a glossy finish to the fruits. It’s important to note that the glaze should be used while warm, as it become thicker and firmer while it cools. So if that happens, just pop it into a warm oven to warm it again or over the stove for a low simmer.
• Assemble the fruit tarts – Simply pipe the pastry cream onto the tart shells, top with fruits, brush the fruits with glaze and it’s ready to serve! I like to chill it a little bit before serving but not too cold.

The ingredients are not complicated and you might already have most of them in your pantry if you are into baking and cooking.

• Butter – Make sure you use a good quality butter and keep it chilled cold. I usually cut the butter in advance into small cubes then chill it in the fridge until I’m ready to add it into the dough mixture.
• Dry ingredients – This consists of plain flour, stevia sweetener and salt for the dough. Corn starch is used to thicken the pasty cream.
• Refined sugar alternative – Stevia sweetener is used in the dough of the tart shell and the pastry cream as it’s a much healthier option than normal sugar.
• Eggs – I used large fresh eggs at room temperature. I also like to emphasise that the eggs should not be kept too long in the fridge as it’s not ‘fresh’ anymore for quality baking.
• Vanilla extract – I like using vanilla extract in liquid form as it’s easy to mix in. However if you are using vanilla bean, you will need to boil it in milk and steep it to let the flavour infuse into the milk.
• Fruit jam or yuzu honey – Many recipes out there uses apricot jam. In this recipe, I used the Korean yuzu honey which tastes like citrus jam but with a unique yuzu flavour.
• Full cream milk – Make sure you use full cream milk so the taste is rich and creamy. Remove the milk from the fridge to bring it to room temperature before using it.
• Fruits – You can use whatever fruits you fancy. In this recipe, you will see I have 8 different types of fruits–strawberries, blueberries, kiwis, figs, mango, green & purple grapes, and raspberries.

If you love tarts, do check out my other recipes, using a similar list of ingredients as the tart base:

• Buttery Cheesy Pineapple Tarts 芝士凤梨酥 (Kue Nastar)
• Melt-in-Your-Mouth Pineapple Tarts
• Melt-in-your-mouth Bunny Shaped Pineapple Tarts 玉兔凤梨酥 (Rabbit Shaped Kue Nastar)
• Taiwanese Pineapple Cake (Pineapple Winter Melon Paste) 鳳梨酥

Watch how to make fruit tarts on YouTube

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Fruit Tarts (refined sugar-free) 水果挞

Create a platter of fruit tarts with all your favourite fruits in bite-size, it's incredibly easy to make, yet refreshingly delectable. I made these lovely tarts with refined sugar alternative, thus making it a healthier version. Which is your favourite fruit on the tart?

5 from 3 votes

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Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Chill in fridge 2 hours hrs

Total Time 3 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine Western

Servings 18 tarts

Calories 236 kcal

Ingredients

 

MetricUS Customary

 

1x2x3x

Tart shells (yields 460g dough)

• ▢ 250 g plain flour
• ▢ 50 g stevia sweetener
• ▢ ⅛ tsp fine salt
• ▢ 120 g unsalted butter chilled
• ▢ 1 large egg room temperature

Pastry cream

• ▢ 200 ml full cream milk room temperature
• ▢ 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ▢ 2 big egg yollks room temperature
• ▢ 45 g stevia sweetener
• ▢ 20 g corn starch
• ▢ 20 g unsalted butter chilled

Glaze

• ▢ 2 tbsp yuzu honey apricot jam or any other citrusy jam is ok
• ▢ 1 tsp water

Fruits

• ▢ Raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, figs, grapes, mango, kiwis washed and pat dry

Instructions

 

Make the pastry cream (you can make this a day before)

• ▢
  Separate the egg yolks from 2 large eggs.
  
• ▢
  Place the 2 big egg yollks and 45 g stevia sweetener in a large mixing bowl. Whisky the mixture until it turns pale and fluffy.

  Add 1 tsp vanilla extract and 20 g corn starch. Whisk until incorporated and smooth.
  2 big egg yollks, 45 g stevia sweetener, 20 g corn starch, 1 tsp vanilla extract
  
• ▢
  Add 200 ml full cream milk into the mixture and mix until well-incorporated.
  200 ml full cream milk
  
• ▢
  Sieve the mixture into a saucepan.
  
• ▢
  Place the saucepan over low heat and keep whisking until the cream starts to thicken about 15 minutes (depending on the heat).
  
• ▢
  Once the cream forms a soft peak and not falling off like liquid, turn off the heat. 

  Note: be careful not to let the cream curdles. you can try to add more milk and whisk it into more liquid form.
  
• ▢
  Add 20 g unsalted butter. Whisk into a smooth mixture and the butter fully melted.
  20 g unsalted butter
  
• ▢
  Sieve the cream into a clean bowl.
  
• ▢
  Cover the cream with the clingwrap touching the surface of the cream. This way it reduces any air pockets between the surface of the cream and the clingwrap.

  Chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight.
  
• ▢
  After chilling, mix or whisk the cream briefly.

  Transfer the cream into a piping bag, and keep it closed. Chill in fridge until ready to use.
  

Make the tart crust (you can make the dough a day before)

• ▢
  Cut 120 g unsalted butter into cubes. Keep chilled in the fridge until ready to use.
  120 g unsalted butter
  
• ▢
  Add 250 g plain flour, 50 g stevia sweetener and 1/8 tsp fine salt into the mixing bowl of the food processor. Pulse for a few seconds to mix the dry ingredients.
  250 g plain flour, 50 g stevia sweetener, 1/8 tsp fine salt
  
• ▢
  Add the cold butter cubes.
  
• ▢
  Pulse until it turns into fine sandy crumbs.
  
• ▢
  Add 1 large egg and mix until larger clusters are formed.
  1 large egg
  
• ▢
  Transfer the mixture into a large mixing bowl.

  Use your hands to press the mixture together to form a pastry dough.
  
• ▢
  Divide the pastry dough into 25g (I'm using 2.5-inch tart mould). 

  Press the pastry dough into the shape of the mould, pressing gently on the sides to slide it down and cut off any excess at the edge with a knife. The crust should be about 3mm thick.
  
• ▢
  Poke the bottom of the pastry with a fork to make small holes.

  Cover with clingwrap.

  Put in the fridge to rest and chill for at least 1 hour, or up to 24 hours.
  
• ▢
  Preheat the oven on 170C or 338F. Transfer the hard chilled dough into the oven straight from the fridge. Bake for 15 minutes until golden brown. 

  Then leave it in the mould to cool for 30 minutes before removing the tart shell from the mould. Keep it chilled in the fridge until ready to use.
  

Make the glaze (recommended to make it before assembling the fruit tarts)

• ▢
  Mix 2 tbsp yuzu honey with 1 tsp water in a saucepan over low heat and mix well.

  Once it simmers, turn off the heat.
  2 tbsp yuzu honey, 1 tsp water
  
• ▢
  Sieve out the big bits.

  Use the glaze while still warm, as it gelatinises when cooled.
  

Assemble the fruit tarts

• ▢
  Wash and prepare the Raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, figs, grapes, mango, kiwis.

  Cut the grapes in half, mango, kiwis, strawberries and figs into smaller pieces.
  Raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, figs, grapes, mango, kiwis
  
• ▢
  Pipe the pastry cream onto the tart shells, about 3/4 full.
  
• ▢
  Place the fresh fruits over the pastry cream.
  
• ▢
  Brush a thin layer of glaze over the fruits.
  
• ▢
  Keep in the fridge until ready to serve.

  Best to remove from the fridge for about 30 minutes before serving.
  

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 236kcal

Keyword dessert, fruit tarts, fruits, pastry

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