Name: Classic Fruit Tart
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 70 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: ½ cup All-Purpose Flour, maida; 35 g Unsalted Butter, COLD, cut into small cubes; 1 tbsp Powdered Sugar, for the tart shell; 1 tbsp Water, ice water, use cautiously to bind dough; ½ cup Milk, for vanilla custard; 1 tbsp Custard Powder, vanilla flavor; ⅛ cup Sugar, for custard; ⅛ cup Kiwi, peeled and sliced; ⅛ cup Strawberry, hulled and sliced; ⅛ cup Grapes, seedless, halved; ⅛ cup Mango, peeled and sliced; ⅔ tbsp Apricot Jam, or honey, warmed, for fruit glaze

1 hr 10 mintotal

30 min hands-on40 min hands-off

Prep 10 min · Cook 20 min

Serves: 2
Difficulty: Hard
Spice: None

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Method

Make the Tart Shell: In a bowl, mix maida and powdered sugar. Add the COLD butter cubes. Rub the butter into the flour using your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
Sprinkle the measured ice water gradually. Gently bring the mixture together to form a dough. Do NOT knead it like roti dough. Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
30 min
Roll the chilled dough out on a floured surface to a 1/4-inch thickness. Carefully drape it over your tart pan.
Press the dough gently into the corners of the pan. Roll your rolling pin over the top edge to neatly trim off excess dough. Prick the base all over with a fork (to stop it from puffing). Chill the pan for 10 minutes.
10 min
Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Bake the tart shell 'blind' (empty) for 18-20 minutes until crisp and light golden. Let it cool entirely.
18–20 min
Make the Custard: Mix custard powder with a small portion of the cold milk to make a lump-free slurry. Boil the remaining milk with sugar in a pan.
Lower the heat, pour in the slurry, and stir until the custard becomes thick and glossy. Let it cool, covering the surface with cling wrap to prevent a skin.
Assemble: Spread the thick, cold vanilla custard evenly into the baked, cooled tart shell.
Arrange the sliced kiwi, strawberries, grapes and mangoes in neat concentric circles over the custard.
Brush the fruit lightly with warm apricot jam or honey for a glossy finish. Chill for 1 hour before slicing.
1 hr

How to tell it's done

The shell should be crisp and buttery, holding thick custard and glossy fresh fruit without turning soggy.

Getting it right

Tip

Keep the butter cold and the custard cool. Warm dough bakes hard, and warm custard softens the tart shell.

What to serve it with

Serve cold slices with whipped cream, extra berries or a light apricot glaze.

Common mistakes

The tart shell shrinks or turns soggy.: Rest the dough before baking, prick the base and cool both shell and custard before assembly.

Storing and reheating

Refrigerate assembled fruit tart for up to 1 day. Do not freeze it; the fruit and custard release water and soften the crust.

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Ingredients