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close up of tart with sliced fruit

Brown Butter French Fruit Tart

Rich and silky brown butter pastry cream in a crisp and crumbly sweet tart crust and topped with ripe peaches, red plums and cherries and sprinkled with toasted almonds and Demerara sugar.
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Prep Time 35 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Chill 3 hours
Total Time 4 hours
Course Dessert
Cuisine French
Servings 8 servings
Calories 256 kcal

Equipment

Ingredients
 
 

  • 1 recipe Páte Sucrée, fully baked
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • ½ cup light brown sugar, packed, divided
  • ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 5 large egg yolks
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla paste (or vanilla extract)
  • 3 cups peaches (I used 3 peaches)
  • 3 cups red plums (I used 3 plums)
  • ¼ cup cherries
  • Toasted almonds, for sprinkling
  • Demerara sugar, for sprinkling

Instructions
 

Brown Butter Pastry Cream

  • Place the butter into a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook the butter until deep golden brown, and the butter stops popping. Set aside to cool until warm.
    ¼ cup unsalted butter
  • In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the milk, ¼ cup of brown sugar and salt and bring to a simmer.
    2 cups whole milk, ½ cup light brown sugar, packed, divided, ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the remaining ¼ cup of sugar and egg yolks and whisk until fully mixed, about 30 seconds.
    5 large egg yolks
  • Whisk in the cornstarch until thickened, for about a minute.
    3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • When the milk mixture is simmering, remove the saucepan from the heat. Carefully and slowly, whisk the milk into the egg mixture.
  • Pour the egg/milk mixture back into the saucepan and place over medium heat, whisking continuously until the pastry cream thickens and slow bubbles pop on the surface.
  • Whisk in the brown butter and vanilla bean paste.
    2 teaspoons pure vanilla paste (or vanilla extract)
  • Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl to remove any curdled bits, and to smooth out the cream.
  • Cover the surface of the pastry cream with plastic wrap so that a skin doesn't form. Allow the pastry cream to cool to room temperature.
  • Chill the pastry cream in the fridge until completely chilled, about 3 hours, preferably overnight before using.

Assembling the Tart

  • Assemble the tart just before serving. Slice the peaches and plums into thin slices.
    3 cups peaches, 3 cups red plums
  • Pit and halve the cherries, leaving a few stemmed and uncut. Set aside.
    ¼ cup cherries
  • Stir the chilled pastry cream. Pour into the cooled, fully baked tart crust.
    1 recipe Páte Sucrée, fully baked
  • With an offset spatula, spread the pastry cream out evenly in the tart crust.
  • Place the peaches and plums over the pastry cream. Top with cherries.
  • Sprinkle the toasted almonds over the tart, filling in some of the gaps where the pastry cream is can be seen.
    Toasted almonds, for sprinkling
  • Sprinkle the tart with Demerara sugar. Serve immediately.
    Demerara sugar, for sprinkling

Nutrition

Calories: 256kcalCarbohydrates: 35gProtein: 5gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 144mgSodium: 82mgPotassium: 301mgFiber: 2gSugar: 29gVitamin A: 843IUVitamin C: 9mgCalcium: 109mgIron: 1mg
Keyword brown butter cream cheese frosting, pastry cream, peaches, plums, stone fruit, tart
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